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Archive for October 2007

West Jet Humour

 Subject: West Jet Humor

                             

You gotta love the Canadian sense of humour.

West Jet is an Airline with head office situated in Calgary , Alberta

West Jet airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight “safety lecture” and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:

 

On a West Jet flight (There is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”

 

On another West Jet Flight with a very “senior” flight attendant crew, the pilot said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.”

 

On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.”

 

“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane.”

 

“Thank you for flying West Jet Express. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.”

 

As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at the Vancouver Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. Whoa!”

 

After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in Ontario, a flight attendant on a West Jet flight announced, “Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted.”

 

From a West Jet Airlines employee: “Welcome aboard West Jet Flight 245 to Calgary . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”

 

“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child traveling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are traveling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.”

 

“Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than West Jet Airlines.”

 

“Your seat cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.”

 

“As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses.”

 

And from the pilot during his welcome message: “West Jet Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”

 

Heard on West Jet Airlines just after a very hard landing in Edmonton : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, “That was quite a bump, and I know what y’all are thinking. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t the airline’s fault, it wasn’t the pilot’s fault, it wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault, it was the asphalt”

 

Overheard on a West Jet Airlines flight into Regina , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain was really having to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to Regina. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of our airplane to the gate!”

 

Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.”

 

An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the Passengers exited, smile, and give them a “Thanks for flying our airline.” He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, “Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Why, no, Ma’am,” said the pilot. “What is it?” The little old lady said, “Did we land, or were we shot down?”

 

After a real crusher of a landing in Halifax , the attendant came on with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal.”

 

Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like to thank you folks for flying with us today. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you’ll think of West Jet Airways.”

 

Heard on a West Jet Airline flight. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing. If you can light ‘em, you can smoke ‘em.”

 

A plane was taking off from the Winnipeg Airport. After it reached a comfortable cruising altitude, the captain made an announcement over the intercom, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. Welcome to Flight Number 293, nonstop from Winnipeg to Montreal. The weather ahead is good and, therefore, we should have a smooth and uneventful flight. Now sit back and relax… Oh, My God!” Silence followed, and after a few minutes, the captain came back on the intercom and said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am so sorry if I scared you earlier. While I was talking to you, the flight attendant accidentally spilled a cup of hot coffee in my lap. You should see the front of my pants!” A passenger in Coach yelled, “That’s nothing. You should see the back of mine!

Asset Management - Joint Tenants

Joint TenantsHome ownership Asset ManagementClarity is critical when holding joint propertyThere is some recent Supreme Court of Canada court rulings which change tax implications for Canadians.People often ask about holding investment accounts or property jointly with an adult child. There are valid reasons to pursue this path, along with some pitfalls to consider.A popular estate-planning strategy is for a parent to register an asset, such as an investment account or family cottage, in joint names with adult children.Joint ownership is generally set up for two reasons: to avoid probate fees — since such an asset passes by right of survivorship to the surviving joint owner and therefore does not form part of the estate of the deceased; or for convenience, so the child can help the parent with management of the parent’s assets.While joint ownership allows parents to accomplish both of these objectives, these arrangements can have some complications. If not properly set up, putting a family home, investment accounts or other assets into a joint name with an adult child can result in complications upon death of one party.There are risks in putting a family home in joint ownership with a child and is not is not a step to be taken lightly.The Supreme Court of Canada reviewed and clarified the law regarding joint assets on May 3rd 2007. Canadians now have to be aware that assets held jointly between parent and children will not automatically become the child’s assets when the parent dies.Joint ownership usually includes the right of the survivor of the joint owners to receive legal and beneficial title to the entire asset when the other owner dies. However, in law, there is a distinction between being the person who has legal title being the registered owner and the person who the beneficial owner being the one who has the use and enjoyment of the asset.A registered owner may not always have the right to the use and enjoyment of the asset. Instead, they may be in fact just holding the asset for the original owner’s estate. This is often the case when a parent sets up joint ownership of an asset with an adult child. This can be a good strategy when considering more than one child in your estate planning.Historically, courts would usually rely on the legal presumption that the intention of an individual who jointly owned an asset, such as an investment account or vacation property with their adult child was for that asset to pass, by right of survivorship, upon his or her death directly to that child.As a result, the asset would not form part of the estate of the deceased parent and would thus not be subject to probate fees.However, in light of two recent Supreme Court of Canada rulings, unless there is evidence to the contrary, it is now presumed, at least in the case of assets held in joint ownership by a parent and adult child, that the asset is being held by the surviving joint owner in trust for the parent’s estate.As a result, it is important for Canadians to clearly document their intentions whenever they own assets jointly with an adult child. If the intention as to what is supposed to happen to the asset when the original owner dies is not clear, the asset will likely pass to the original owner’s estate to be distributed in accordance with his or her will.Without the clearly stated intention of the original owner, many joint ownership situations have the strong possibility to end up in a lawsuit. The best documentation of intention is a separate written record of intention. Having such a document will also help to avoid potential legal disputes and costly court battles.We recommend in general that people should create a “letter of wishes.” This is a document that can endure separately from a will and deal with matters not covered in a will.The letter of wishes should clearly state exactly what you wish to happen in the event of your death. It should be dated and witnesses and to be done in much the same way as a will. The letter of wishes can be a supporting document to the will.You can also do a Deed of Gift evidencing you intention that upon your death, the joint asset is to go directly the child — there are other advantages and disadvantages Canadians need to be aware of.The advantage of having a letter of wishes is that; No probate fees will be payable with respect to that asset on death. The assets will be removed from the scope of the will. The transfer is easier and the survivor will not experience any delay in receiving the asset on death.The disadvantages are; Potential for loss of control over the asset by the parent. There is a potential to trigger immediate tax consequences such as capital gains or property transfer taxes. There is a potential for future tax consequences to child.  Such as in the case of the asset being a principal residence and the child already has his or her own principal residence, the capital gain exemption may be eroded. There is the risk of assets having claims made against the joint owner from creditors, or even spouses on marriage breakdown.

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