Oh, so VLJ is a TLA like TGV
There’s been a lot of buzz in air travel circles about VLJs lately.
In this instance the phrase air travel circles is meant to apply to more than circling above Heathrow waiting to land.
Cessna over in Wichita, Kansas make VLJs. Irish businessmen own JetBird which is intending on using VLJs to serve over 800 destinations within Europe, all closer to business centres than primary airports.
The first time I went to France was before the Channel Tunnel existed. From Boulogne on the north French coast down to Naples in Italy I took a 24-hour train that passed Paris, Genoa, and Rome.
From the train you could see the Leaning Tower of Pisa which is not how I ever thought I’d see it, mind you I’ve no great desire to go any closer.
And seeing glimpses of Paris and Rome for the first time was also quite exciting, but one of the most exciting things about that train journey was seeing other trains.
I know that might sound geeky, but back then the TGV was news -they were just being launched -and seeing their orange sleekness stream through the northern French countryside was a futuristic sight that only the Bullet in Japan could have bettered.
And they sounded great. To a teenager. In French. Tay Vay Zhay. What great magic does that stand for? Train à Grande Vitesse. Oh, a very fast train.
How did they come up with that? Japers mister, that’s a very fast train you have there. Excellent. Three letters, an acronym, and a logo. What, no drum machine?
And that’s what VLJs are. More or less. Very Light Jets.
Who started this nonsense of taking ordinary descriptive language, not scientific or engineering terms, but everyday language, and converting them into three letter acronyms. Was it because people would be confused if the acronym only had two letters, or their brains would explode when faced with a fourth?
And what ever happened to names? As in naming things without rules for catchy industry acronyms? And what’s wrong with descriptive language? This lazy silliness predates text speak so I don’t know who to blame.
If we were only building skyscrapers now they’d be called ATBs (Awfully Tall Buildings). And a thoroughbred racehorse would be a HRF (A Horse that Runs Fast). And of course I could do this all day, butt he kettle just boiled.
If you’re interested in reading more on the role of Kansas in the future of European air travel, try this article
See Other Travel Goodness:
• Train Travel in Ireland
• Cycling Across America
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