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.
FAA is giving Airbus A320-family operators as little as 48 months to weigh elevators or check maintenance records to ensure routine work—including painting—has not added too much weight to the structures. The U.S. agency, following a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) mandate issued in October 2012, ordered the inspections in a Jan. 6 airworthiness directive. “It has been identified that maintenance activities, such as repairs or the accumulation of paint layers, may cause the weight of an elevator to exceed the certified limits,” FAA says.
Alaska Air Group boosted revenue passenger miles (RPMs) 6.8% in 2013 on a 7.1% bump in available seat miles (ASMs), the company reports. Mainline carrier Alaska Airlines saw RPMs grow 7.2% on 7.9% more ASMs, while Horizon grew RPMs 3.5% while keeping ASMs almost flat.
Southwest Airlines’ deal to buy 85 Split Scimitar Winglet shipsets (SSW) and take 600 options sets the carrier up to become Aviation Partners Boeing’s (APB) largest customer for its newest winglet modification program. The agreement, finalized last week and announced Jan. 2, will provide 52 kits for existing 737-800s and 33 more for aircraft on tap for delivery in 2014. Southwest took options on 95 more of the kits – which are designed for -800s “provisioned” for blended winglets.
