Luxury Real Estate

By Jim Walberg of Caribbean Island Realty

Tonight on CBS 60 Minutes - Captain Sullenberger (Sully) personally told his story to Katie Kourac. Here are some of his unforgettable comments from the interview:

“When the birds hit the plane and the engines shut down it was the most sick and disbelieving feeling I have ever had.”

“I never imagined that a plane crash, with me as the pilot, would be the way my career would end.”

“We were descending rapidly to the water. It was coming up at us FAST. I knew I had to immediately solve this problem. I have been asked if I was praying. My focus was so intent on the landing that someone else would have to do the praying.”

“Once the birds hit the plane, we were in the water within 3 ½ minutes. We went from trying to go back to La Guardia, then to New Jersey, and then the only alternative was the Hudson River. The training took over for the water landing. Touchdown level, with the nose up, decent rate that was survivable, touch down with enough speed to not have a crash landing.”

“We are constantly trained to land in water. If possible, land near boats so you have a chance of being rescued. ‘Brace for impact’, was the announcement I immediately made when it was evident we were going in the Hudson River. Then the flight attendants were also instructing all the passengers to BRACE…BRACE, HEADS DOWN. It was very comforting to know that he had a competent crew.” He was asked if, during those 3 ½ minutes, if he knew he could actually land the plane. He immediately said, “YES! I was sure I could!”

“My entire flying career has unfolded in a manner that prepared me for that one moment.” As I said on Fox News the day after the landing…Sully was the right guy, with the right experience, at the right time in history.

After the landing, Sully turned to his co-pilot and said, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” Sully was asked if he felt a sense of relief now that they were in the Hudson River? Sully said, “NOT AT ALL! I still had 155 passengers to get off the plane safely.”

And that is exactly what he did! When it was confirmed to him that all 155 people were safe and accounted for, he said, “It was as if the weight of the universe was lifted off of my shoulders knowing everyone was safe.”

There was a reunion with some of the passengers and their families this past weekend in North Carolina with Sully and the crew. Here are some of their thoughts about the event that changed all of their lives.

More than one woman said, “Thank you for not making me a widow.” And, “I have a three year old child that will now have a father.” And, “Thank you for saving my life.” A passenger in First Class froze for a moment after the landing. Then he remembered that he had a young niece - the daughter of his brother who was killed in the World Trade Center. He said, “My family would not survive another loss of a child, so I knew I had to get out of the plane and survive.”

Sully has been asked how he is embracing the name HERO. He said, “I don’t feel comfortable embracing that name. But, I don’t want to deny it either. Something has captured the imagination of the country. People want good news, and this is one of those moments of non-stop good news.” He also told the passengers at their reunion, “We will be joined together for the rest of our lives because of this event.”

His favorite card out of the thousands that have been sent to him the past three weeks read, “To save a life is to save a world. Bless you Captain Sully.”

By Michael Marquette
From his blog: The arrival of the luxurious Qantas A380 aircraft

On Sunday, September 21, Australian airline Qantas will welcome to Australia the first of 20 of its luxurious A380 aircraft, having flown via Singapore from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France.


Affectionately referred to as the Super Jumbo, the A380 will be welcomed into the Qantas fleet at a ceremony in Sydney, which Simon Turner, founder of Marquette Turner Luxury Homes, has been invited to attend.

Marquette Turner Luxury Homes certainly recognizes the luxurious credentials of this amazing aircraft, and we are very excited at the prospect of viewing the best cabin design in the sky, which has been overseen throughout by world-renowned industrial designer Marc Newson.

Simon will have the honour of being one of the first proud Australians to view first-hand Marc’s stunning creative touch to all four classes on board the aircraft, First, Business, Premium Economy and Economy, which will no doubt truly reflect “the Spirit of Australia.” To view the interiors and take an interactive tour of the aircraft from the comfort of your chair, simply click here.

Qantas will operate its first A380 commercial passenger service from Melbourne to Los Angeles on October 20, 2008, and its first Sydney-Los Angeles service on October 24. Two additional A380s will be delivered by the end of 2008.

Simon will report back to you post-ceremony on Sunday.


Editor’s Note:
Michael Marquette is the co-Founder and Director of Marquette Turner Luxury Homes, a member of Luxury Real Estate in East Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded on Australia Day 2007 by Marquette and Simon Turner, Marquette Turner is a property consultancy company covering the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria. Marquette has a background in medicine and a large retail and wholesale business. While some airlines falter in changing times, others thrive, like in this example. That’s wonderful that Turner was invited to attend this event. I look forward to hearing how it goes.

By Jim Walberg
From his blog: A Different Type Of “Caribbean Hurricane” Disaster Has Been Averted!

American Airlines has agreed to restore flights this Winter San Juan and St. Thomas!

You may recall from a past article about the “Hurricane” that was coming to the Caribbean the first week of September. That impending disaster was having American Airlines cancel almost 40% of their winter flights to St. Thomas and San Juan, Puerto Rico. It would be have been devastating to the tourist industry of the Caribbean, since the “high” tourist season is about to begin the end of next month. Well, the disaster has been averted because of the hard work of the Virgin Islands Tourism Commissioner Beverly Nicholson-Doty and Gov. deJongh’s Public/Private Sector Airline Committee.

Last month, Ms. Nicholson-Doty and the Airline Committee from the USVI flew to Miami to personally request the American Airlines senior vice president for the Caribbean and Latin America regions to reconsider. They met with Peter Dolora with the intention of not leaving the meeting until American Airlines renewed their commitment to reinstate the winter flights to the Caribbean.

American Airlines’ once-a-day flight between Miami and St. Croix will begin again on November 2nd. The daily flight between New York’s JFK Airport and St. Thomas will resume November 20th, and a second flight will be added on Fridays starting December 18th. American’s flight between Boston and St. Thomas will run on a twice-weekly schedule starting November 2nd, and on December 18th, it will be back to flying five days a week.

There is a piece of the transportation puzzle to the Caribbean that has yet to be solved with American Airlines that is troublesome. American Airlines’ inter-island connecting flights, served by American Eagle, WILL NOT continue to go from San Juan to the USVI! “We are looking at various options,” Nicholson-Doty said, declining to be specific because of ongoing negotiations. So, three weeks ago American Eagle cut its eight daily flights between St. Thomas and San Juan to only three, and there is no agreement if the American Eagle flight schedule will ever re-instate the five flights they are abandoning. American Eagle is also eliminating five of its eight daily flights between San Juan and St. Croix. Again, it is a very difficult situation for the USVI and the Caribbean, because there was an increase in tourist visits to the Caribbean the past 12 months, and now American Airlines is faced with the reality that their business model still cannot make a profit, even with the increased numbers of passengers from last year! Oil prices are still a critical issue for all of the airlines.

The USVI Tourism Department is “putting its money where its mouth is” by investing $1.5 million of its money into partnering with American, Delta and, “to a lesser degree,” Spirit Airlines to advertise the territory and the airlines! This is BIG news! The USVI knows that it is a win-win scenario if they can drive more traffic to these airlines in order to keep these routes as full as possible – even though they have cut back many of their flights. Their marketing efforts include radio and newspaper advertisements, billboards and airport signage. Additionally, in Atlanta buses were wrapped with ads touting the U.S. Virgin Islands and a tagline to call Delta Vacations.

In return for the USVI advertising investment, Nicholson-Doty said the airlines provided complimentary airplane seats for travel agents, travel writers and sweepstakes winners. One of the target cities for this ad program is Charlotte, North Carolina. “The USVI Tourism Board is spending $375,000 to advertise St. Croix in radio, newspaper and Internet ads,” Nicholson-Doty said. U.S. Airways flies to St. Croix from Charlotte on Saturdays. “The ad campaign encourages early bookings to the USVI,” Nicholson-Doty said. Some of the other airlines thinking of serving the Caribbean have contacted the USVI Tourism Board seeking revenue guarantees, but Nicholson-Doty stated, “The USVI could be paying for empty seats, and we are only developing marketing relationships that are a win-win for both sides.”

Another Hurricane has been averted by the foresight and determination of the current USVI administration to face the issues head-on and find solutions. So those of you who were worried about how you were going to get to your favorite spot in Paradise – have a rum punch at Duffy’s Love Shack in Red Hook, instead. Until next time… your Caribbean lifestyle reporter remains on duty!!!


Editor’s Note:
Jim Walberg is the co-Broker/Owner of The Bay Area Team, the most-successful team at Keller Williams Realty-Danville. He is also a member of the global Luxury Real Estate network. Jim is an exceptional blogger, as you can see by visiting his blogs, East Bay Real Estate and Caribbean Islands Realty, and reading his great blog entries like the one above. He is the master of fractionals and other luxury homes in the Bay Area and the Caribbean, and he always has a lot of great opportunities to share. Whew! That is definitely good news. Many Caribbean countries depend upon tourism for their economies, especially during the winter when U.S. travelers want to escape the cold for the “isles of perpetual June.” As I mentioned in my last blog entry, I just finished writing a City Spotlight on Nassau, Bahamas for the winter 2009 issue of LuxuryRealEstate.com Magazine. It’ll be out in December.