MSP Airport / Metropolitan Airports Commission

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pawsinne
Block E
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby pawsinne » January 10th, 2017, 11:21 am

Wait how does an employer keep you from getting frequent flyer miles from your work flights? Wowww.

It's not uncommon. Many companies have it written into contracts with the airlines that ff miles get diverted to the purchaser (the company). The company then uses this money for more flight purchases. It does not prevent you from getting status with the airline.

Target does this with their employees.
Rarely captured, but any frequent flyer miles you DO earn from employer reimbursed/paid travel are taxable compensation to you in the eyes of the IRS and state....

mattaudio
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby mattaudio » January 10th, 2017, 11:55 am

The IRS says no: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/a-02-18.pdf
"Consistent with prior practice, the IRS will not assert that any taxpayer has understated his federal tax liability by reason of the receipt or personal use of frequent flyer miles or other in-kind promotional benefits attributable to the taxpayer’s business or official travel."

This has come up a few times in "The Hobby" where credit card issuers will send 1099-MISCs for credit card signup bonuses. But the IRS hasn't wanted to get into it, since they know what anyone in "The Hobby" knows: It's nearly impossible to accurately value points and miles. The only time the IRS waded in was when Citi was stupid enough to send 1099-MISCs.

MattW
Rice Park
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby MattW » January 10th, 2017, 1:45 pm

^^ The State of MN doesn't even allow status. You cannot give the airline your ff account. Same for hotels, etc.
I don't understand what you mean. Could you please elaborate?

jebr
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby jebr » January 10th, 2017, 3:55 pm

The State has some super strict rules on any sort of kickback or something looking like a kickback for state employees. I remember going through a training way back in the day for a workstudy job and essentially anything with value is not allowed to be given to a state employee. My guess is that status with an airline is considered something of value and so it isn't allowed to be earned, in case it would sway an employee to act more favorably to one company over the other against the state's interest (or so the logic would be, anyways.)

talindsay
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby talindsay » January 10th, 2017, 4:22 pm

MN law prevents us from taking frequent flyer miles, as public service employees. Full stop.

mattaudio
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby mattaudio » January 10th, 2017, 5:10 pm

I'm sure that's a great recruiting pitch for government agency headhunters...

MNdible
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby MNdible » January 10th, 2017, 8:53 pm

Should we ban MNdible for his coastal elitism?
I'm so friggin' elite. You all have no idea.

MattW
Rice Park
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby MattW » January 11th, 2017, 12:09 pm

^^ The State of MN doesn't even allow status. You cannot give the airline your ff account. Same for hotels, etc.
I don't understand what you mean. Could you please elaborate?

With subsequent replies, total brain fart there. RBY meant Gov employees and so on. I was thinking he meant there was some law on the books about private companies taking FF miles and so on. :oops:

QuietBlue
Target Field
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby QuietBlue » January 11th, 2017, 1:56 pm

I'm sure that's a great recruiting pitch for government agency headhunters...
Does it affect that many employees to a significant degree, though? And even if it did, there are still other perks to working for the state (well, aside from things like shutdowns).

matt91486
Nicollet Mall
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby matt91486 » January 11th, 2017, 3:14 pm

I'm not pro-kickbacks, but the state prohibiting the accrual of frequent flier miles on official business does seem like it's a needlessly high level of regulation

QuietBlue
Target Field
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby QuietBlue » January 11th, 2017, 3:48 pm

Oh, I agree. Plus, it's permitted for federal employees. I just don't see it as being much of a deterrent to people working for the state.

talindsay
Wells Fargo Center
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby talindsay » January 12th, 2017, 8:02 am

I typed a rant but decided to delete it. It's just another example of a belief that nobody would work in the public sector unless they were looking to enrich themselves on the backs of good, honest private-sector businesses.

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FISHMANPET
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby FISHMANPET » January 12th, 2017, 9:52 am

I've been a public sector employee for 8 years and I've never needed to fly anywhere for work. The vast majority of employees of anything aren't flying around, and the vast majority that do fly for work are flying so infrequently that losing out on a few airline miles or whatever doesn't matter.

RailBaronYarr
Capella Tower
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby RailBaronYarr » January 12th, 2017, 11:48 am

At the same time, I will admit that at my previous private sector job, I knew plenty of instances of employees purposely picking a flight that was on their preferred airline (usually Delta, since FF benefits mean more on your hub's airline) even when it meant it was more expensive.

I also had an interesting conversation with someone who posited that this was as much a lobbying play from the airline industry to save money, pitched around public transparency. Since the airlines bundle the benefit of miles into their ticket prices, when public employees aren't able to use them (and their agencies don't aggregate them the way Target, etc do), the airline saves a bit of money in the long run.

mattaudio
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby mattaudio » January 26th, 2017, 10:09 am

Two general points of feedback:
1. It's sort of a shame that the "landside tram" isn't being extended to the hotel, under the new parking ramp and under the existing post office. That would help provide better landside connectivity - for example, landside access between hotel and LRT (and T2 by extension). There are already plans to extend this landside tram in the future, so why isn't it happening now?

2. The new parking exit plaza seems like a total waste of space, just as the existing one is. Is there not a way to use the bottom level of a parking ramp to accomplish that function?

In more general terms, I think the current location of the post office complex would be an excellent location for a second primary curbside area for T1. Instead, they are planning to do a curbside oriented lengthwise along Concourse G when that is expanded and international arrivals are reconfigured. The current plan seems to use space inefficiently, since curbside space would eat into the constrained space between the parking ramps and the southern parallel runway.

Imagine instead if a new landside terminal was built at the Post Office location, oriented between the inbound roadway/concourse A/B/C and the outbound roadway/Concourse G. You could easily have curbsides on the east and west side of the building. The airside tramway would easily extend right into the basement of the building, with a station likely on the eastern edge in order to also serve the hotel and future eastern development. New skyways would connect the landside terminal to the existing concourses to the north, and to the extension of G to the south.

Best of all, this building could host the international arrivals, with sterile connections from extended G gates and second-story connections from existing A/C gates, right into a centralized international arrivals hall on the top floor. This building could have a L1 arrivals / L2 departures layout similar to the existing landside building for T1, but then have an entire L3 for security, and L4 for international arrivals. It would actually integrate very well with our existing airside infrastructure.

Image
Here are two older maps I made years ago, I think it was before the current hotel proposal.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1koyuk ... sp=sharing MSP International Terminal concept with crossfield taxiways.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1gnGF7 ... sp=sharing A way to eliminate Post Road / Glumack Drive conflicts, while providing for full return-to-terminal loop, since MSP 2020 plan includes realigning Glumack Drive when the crossfield taxiways are built.

twincitizen
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby twincitizen » February 7th, 2017, 7:10 am

$25MM of MAC money for noise mitigation: http://finance-commerce.com/2017/02/air ... itigation/

138 single-fam and 88 multi-fam units in Minneapolis are eligible.
MAC memo: http://metroairports.granicus.com/MetaV ... a_id=23680

mattaudio
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby mattaudio » February 7th, 2017, 9:02 am

Speaking of, a big issue down in the southern part of the city is that MAC windows installed during the 90s and early 00s are failing. Lots of people wish they kept their original 1920s-1940s windows and fixed them up instead.

Edit: Also, the DNL metric is complete B.S.

seanrichardryan
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby seanrichardryan » February 7th, 2017, 10:38 am

New windows are generally crap unless you're buying at the top of the market (and even those have their problems *see aluminium clad wood*). Double strength laminated storms would have been less invasive, less wasteful, and have had the same benefits.
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mattaudio
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby mattaudio » February 7th, 2017, 10:42 am

Agreed. I have Marvin Ultimate DHs through most of my house, and even they aren't the best (including airplane noise attenuation). But I bought an originally unlivable house where half the old windows were unusable (including missing sashes, etc) so it was necessary. The people I know who are happiest with their window situation have 1. rebuilt/improved their original windows through rehabilitation and weather stripping, and 2. have high-quality storms on the outside.

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mister.shoes
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Re: MSP Airport

Postby mister.shoes » February 7th, 2017, 2:05 pm

We've got Renewal by Anderson DHs and MON-RAY storms from the 2010 project. So far, so good. It's only been 7 years, though.
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