Delta Air Lines’ vocal criticism of smaller regional jets might make it more difficult for the carrier to unload its own 50-seat fleet, says Michael Kraupp, CFO of SkyWest, one of Delta’s major feeders. Kraupp in an interview with Aviation Week criticized Delta for disparaging comments about the economics of operating 50-seat jets at current fuel prices. Kraupp instead says the 50-seat jet is a productive asset that will be operating for a considerable time.
American Airlines has started implementing some elements of the new contracts it negotiated with two of its unions as well as new terms for its pilots, who last month rejected the airline’s proposed contract.
A top Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official warns that the agency will be unable to continue expanding checkpoint lanes at airports to accommodate passenger growth.
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of September 12, 2012, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
The FAA says its troubled en route automation modernization (ERAM) program is back on course, although a government watchdog says there are still large numbers of glitches with the new system that could again derail progress. ERAM is operating in some capacity at nine of the FAA’s 20 en route centers, with five of the nine using it as their prime air traffic control system, FAA Acting Administrator Michael Huerta told lawmakers at a congressional oversight hearing. He says the agency is on track to complete the operational rollout at all centers by 2014.
Uruguay’s proposed Sept. 13 auction of Pluna Airline’s assets has been deferred to Oct. 1 after two of the four potential bidders, Argentina’s Sol Lineas Aereas and Uruguay’s CUTSCA, withdrew from the sale, a source close to Pluna tells Aviation Week. Of the four bidders who originally expressed interest, only Uruguay’s BQB remains committed, the source says. It is unclear if Venezuelan carrier Conviasa, which initially expressed an interest in Pluna assets, will participate in the Oct. 1 auction. The terms of the auction could change, the source tells Aviation Week.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Chicago O’Hare - New York LaGuardia, September 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Chicago O’Hare - New York LaGuardia, September 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Depts. Share ASKs (000) Share
Germany and the U.S. have signed an agreement to develop sustainable aviation biofuels on both sides of the Atlantic. The pact, signed at the ILA Berlin air show by German Federal Transport Minister Peter Ramsauer and U.S. Ambassador Philip Murphy, will serve as a guide to accelerate cooperation to bring “drop-in” biofuels to volume production. Unlike other sustainable fuel programs, drop-in biofuels are similar enough to hydrocarbon fuels to allow them to easily “drop in,” or replace, current fuel sources.
At least one U.S. senator has placed a hold on a bill that would prohibit U.S. airlines from participating in the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS), preventing a vote on the contentious issue. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), the chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, says the committee provided “broad support” for the bill. Still, “a couple of people don’t like it,” Rockefeller tells Aviation Week . “One of them might be holding it up.”
AMR Corp. says a change in its mainline pilots’ scope clause enables it to close regional subsidiary American Eagle Airlines’ Los Angeles base and assigning the capacity to SkyWest Inc.
The FAA’s voluntary safety program, which protects U.S. airlines, repair stations and other aviation organizations from rule violations under certain conditions, for a second time will come under the scrutiny of the U.S. Transportation Department’s Office of Inspector General.
Passengers returning to the U.S. from a foreign country with comparable airport security measures can bypass a second screening of their checked baggage under new legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The No-Hassle Flying Act of 2012 (H.R. 6028) gives the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) the discretion to exempt inbound baggage from domestic rescreening before continuing on another flight or flight segment if the baggage already has been screened according to an “aviation security preclearance agreement” between the U.S.
A major U.S. airline is on the verge of signing an agreement for more than 20 million gallons a year of synthetic jet fuel made from natural gas. “It could be two weeks; we had hoped to announce it here [at the ILA Berlin air show], but we are still dotting some i’s and crossing some t’s,” said George Boyajian, VP for business development at Primus Green Energy, based in Hillsborough, N.J.
American Airlines’ pilots union has authorized a strike ballot, a move that could set a precedent for a U.S. airline restructuring under the protection of Chapter 11. The airline’s management quickly denounced the Allied Pilots Association’s (APA) action as illegal, and several sources close to the situation say there is confusion about the legitimacy should APA’s members authorize a strike. “It’s obvious this announcement is simply a diversionary tactic,” says an American spokesman.
Airbus by year-end will undergo significant organizational changes, said CEO Fabrice Bregier on the eve of the ILA Berlin air show, signaling a shift from previous centralization policies. Bregier plans to give more power to facilities and local plants in an effort to speed up processes. Details of the initiative are to be presented to the company’s various works councils next week. The reorganization is planned to be implemented on Jan. 1, 2013.
Thai Airways International is requesting government permission to manage Krabi International Airport and develop the facility into an international gateway for southern Thailand. Phuket International Airport currently is the main international gateway into southern Thailand, but as Thai Airways’ interim CEO Chokchai Panyayong tells Aviation Week, Phuket’s capacity is limited because it has only one runway.
