Albert Lee Ueltschi, a farm boy who became one of aviation's giants through his founding and long leadership of FlightSafety International, died of natural causes late Thursday, Oct. 18. He was 95.
Orders for spares and aftermarket services are expected to fuel GE Aviation’s fourth-quarter and 2013 growth, CEO Jeffrey Immelt tells analysts Oct. 19. “[Revenue passenger miles] are still up, so we believe there will be a pent-up demand for services and spares that we expect will be positive for 2013,” Immelt says. Also, the company expects to see a large increase in production of GEnx engines in the fourth quarter, up to “close to 60” units this year, compared with 35 in the same period last year.
As governments take an increasingly risk-based approach to aviation security, an industry-driven cargo group has aligned with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to establish guidelines for such efforts. The Global Air Cargo Advisory Group (GACAG) and ICAO have agreed on a risk-based approach to screening the supply chain—airports, airlines, air forwarders, and more—that also loops in governments around the world, GACAG Chairman Michael Steen tells Aviation Week.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 28-29—NBAA Tax, Regulatory & Risk Management Conference, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, Fla., www.nbaa.org Oct. 30–Nov. 1—National Business Aviation Association 65th Annual Meeting & Convention, Orange County Convention Center, Orlando Executive Airport, Orlando, Fla., (202) 783-9000, www.nbaa.org
African startup FastJet is moving ahead with its planned mid-November launch, signing lease agreements for a further two Airbus A319s with Volito Aviation, picked ground-handling and maintenance providers and announced senior management appointments. The airline, which says it is the first low-cost carrier in Africa, plans to launch operations next month from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The airline wants to build a fleet of five A319s after six months and fly 15 after the first year.
AviancaTaca Holding has not directly bid for TAP Portugal, although its majority owner, Brazilian conglomerate Synergy Group, has been named the sole candidate to buy the ailing state-owned Portuguese carrier. “AviancaTaca and none of its subsidiaries will participate directly in the privatization of TAP,” a spokeswoman tells Aviation Week. The Synergy Group, which is headed by German Efromovich, also holds a stake in Mexico’s Volaris, which has no affiliation with AviancaTaca.
South African Airways named Liam Quinn business development manager; Jon Danks head of U.K. marketing and communications; Stephen Gerrard commercial manager; Matt Parr leisure manager; Philip Ariss corporate sales manager; and Kerry Farmer online sales manager.
The availability of used Boeing 747 aircraft is growing substantially, based on listings in Airfax, which advertises aircraft sales and leases for more than 100 marketers worldwide. Airfax currently lists 61 available 747s, up from 42 at the beginning of the year. The number most recently topped 60 in the first half of 2010, but generally runs lower. It dipped below 30 in late 2010 before beginning a steady climb that accelerated in the past few months, with increases in nearly every month since March.
United Airlines today will break ground on its first widebody aircraft maintenance hangar at the Washington Dulles International Airport hub. The airline, which is investing almost $45 million in the 125,000-sq.-ft. facility, expects construction to take a year. When opened, the hangar will enable United to perform maintenance simultaneously on two widebodies. United employs some 300 technical operations workers at Dulles.
