Sean Broderick covers aviation safety, MRO, and the hardware side of the airline business from Aviation Week Network's Washington, D.C. office.
Broderick's aviation career started in 1991, working for Airbus in Toulouse. His industry experience includes four years with an aviation consultancy, where he helped launch a U.S. Part 121 carrier; 12 years with the American Association of Airport Executives, where he served as editor of Airport Magazine; and 20 years in full- and part-time roles with Aviation Week writing primarily about safety and the aftermarket.
Broderick was named the 2020 Aerospace Journalist of the Year by the Aerospace Media Awards. He also shared in a 2020 Neal Award for Best News Coverage with Aviation Week Network colleagues. Broderick and Aviation Week colleague John Croft shared the 2015 Flight Safety International Cecil A. Brownlow Publication Award recognizing "significant contributions by journalists to aviation safety awareness."
He graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Communications ('91) and earned an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications ('13) from West Virginia University.
An FAA-led review of the Boeing 787 design, certification and manufacturing process will speed the agency’s push to adapt its oversight to so-called manufacturer “risk-sharing” business models that place more than just financial risk with subcontractors. The review’s results, released in report form March 19, found that Boeing’s processes—while not perfect—are producing a safe and reliable aircraft. Review team members also confirmed that FAA’s production approval oversight focuses too much on the top level of the supply chain.
Guided by a mix of capacity-conservative plans and flight-grounding winter storms, U.S. full-service airlines—along with behemoth Southwest Airlines—saw capacity grow by just half a percentage point in 2014’s first two months, while the rest of the so-called value carriers added 7% to their networks. Consultancy Oliver Wyman compiled the data for Aviation Week.
Thales Group’s acquisition of LiveTV expands the French company’s already extensive inflight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) offerings with complementary technologies, and could jump-start LiveTV’s efforts to expand its reach from the cabin to airline operations. The $400 million all-cash deal, announced March 13, ends JetBlue’s multi-year effort to shed a valuable, but non-core, asset. It also expands Thales’ already-formidable IFEC presence, which began in 1999 with the purchase of B/E Aerospace’s IFE business.
