The FAA, facing a growing number of legal challenges, is pushing off the planned closure date for up to 149 contract air traffic control towers until June 15. The agency had planned to end federal funding for the towers in three phases over the next month as it seeks to shave $637 million from the remainder of its fiscal 2013 budget, as required by sequestration. The first group of towers was set to close April 7. The FAA, however, now is scrapping the phased approach and plans to end funding for all 149 towers on June 15.
Allegiant Air expects to increase Boeing 757 capacity at two airports serving destinations within the contiguous U.S. as a result of turning most of its Hawaii network seasonal, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas-based carrier tells Aviation Week. The carrier already uses 757s for all of its flights between Plattsburgh International Airport in New York and McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas and for part of its capacity from Las Vegas to Bellingham International Airport in Washington and McAllen/Miller International Airport, Texas.
EVA Air is keen to expand its operation from Taipei Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 2 to the proposed Terminal 3, once the new facility is opened. “EVA has a strong will to migrate our ground service from Terminal 2 to Terminal 3. Terminal 2 is not enough . . . construction of Terminal 3 is going to become an increasingly important and urgent issue in future,” the airline says in a statement issued to Aviation Week. The carrier is the biggest airline tenant at Terminal 2.
Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia has announced recruitment plans for domestic operations in India, set to begin later this year. The airline, which last month received government approval to form a joint-venture carrier in India, will interview prospective flight attendants and pilots April 13 in Chennai, an airline spokesman says. “Experienced flight attendants or fresh graduates of any discipline are also welcome to attend the interview,” the spokesman says.
The Texas Transportation Commission is providing up to $2 million to ensure the continued operation of 14 contract towers that are set to lose federal funding. The towers are among 149 contract towers that are slated to lose federal funding beginning June 15 as part of FAA’s attempt to meet mandatory budget cuts under sequestration.
Airbus says it has no immediate plans to go up to a monthly production rate of 11 Airbus A330 widebodies after reaching rate 10 at the beginning of the month. The company still is considering a further increase, but that depends on a broad range of issues to be resolved, among them supply chain readiness and market response, a spokesman says.
The major U.S. controllers’ union, responding to a new study on consolidating U.S. air traffic control (ATC) facilities, says it supports facility consolidation and realignment if certain conditions are met. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) says it can accept consolidations “where they enhance operational services and the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System.” The union notes it is collaborating with the FAA on plans for an integrated New York ATC center that would combine other ATC facilities.
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Sberbank of Russia entered the aircraft leasing business on April 4 on signing a deal for 12 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. It expects to place another order for 30-50 aircraft and foresees the near-term potential to lease more than 100 jets within the country. Herman Gref, Sberbank’s chairman and CEO, says his estimate of the size of the market for the bank’s leasing arm is based on discussions in the past few weeks with the chairmen of Russian carriers, including Aeroflot. He also expects that most of the aircraft—perhaps 80%—will be 737s.
US Airways has become the first U.S. airline to gain FAA approval for a package of four ACSS-built flight deck surveillance tools designed to increase situational awareness and boost operational efficiency. ACSS is a division of L-3 Aviation Products.
Pratt & Whitney and Air New Zealand plan to invest a combined NZ$20 million ($16.8 million) to increase by 50% the capacity of their joint-venture engine overhaul center. The project will enable the Christchurch Engine Center in New Zealand “to consolidate all of its operations into one central workshop where currently they are operated out of multiple locations,” the center’s general manager, Brendon McWilliam, tells Aviation Week. It also will mean efficiency gains, he says.
International Airlines Group’s (IAG) deal to convert 18 Boeing 787s options into firm orders for British Airways (BA) also includes new commercial terms and delivery slots that could lead to a 787 order for Iberia.
Startup Cambodia Airlines, which is part owned by Philippines Airlines’ (PAL’s) majority shareholder, plans to launch operations in late June or July, and intends to operate two Airbus A321s and two Bombardier Q400s on domestic and short-haul international routes by the end of the year. The startup, which was unveiled April 2, is a joint venture between Cambodia conglomerate The Royal Group and San Miguel Corp., with 51% ownership assigned to The Royal Group and the remainder to the Philippine corporation.
A report prepared for the U.S. Congress reveals key direct and indirect consequences that could arise from the FAA’s closing of 149 contract tower airports, starting April 7. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) report, issued March 26, predicts a slight increase in accidents at the airports over a 15-year period as well as possible economic and delay impacts caused by airlines and business operators moving services from non-towered facilities to more congested airports with towers.
The MA600F freighter, a key program for Avic’s main turboprop line, has entered flight testing. The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) team handling the type certificate conducted ground inspections of the aircraft, a version of the MA600 passenger aircraft, mid-March. The CAAC now has issued the necessary permit for test flying, says manufacturer Avic, although the MA600F made its first flight Oct. 24, 2012.
Turkish Airlines is prepared to lease more widebody aircraft to maintain its ambitious growth plans if Airbus and Boeing cannot deliver the jets it ordered quickly enough, says Chairman Hamdi Topcu. “The manufacturers have slot difficulties presently,” Topcu tells Aviation Week. Delivery delays “may appear to be an obstacle to our growth, but through leasing we want to overcome this.”
Boeing test pilots have begun simulator sessions at the company’s test and development complex at Boeing Field, near Seattle, in the run-up to certification ground and flight tests of the modified 787 battery system.
San Miguel Corp., which owns a controlling stake in Philippines Airlines, has signed a joint-venture agreement with Cambodian entrepreneur Kith Meng to create Cambodia Airlines. Under the agreement, unveiled at an April 2 news conference, Meng will own a 51% stake in the carrier and San Miguel the remaining 49%. A spokesman for Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation tells Aviation Week the company is “in the process of applying” for an air operator certificate. He also says Cambodia has no limits on foreign ownership.
