Allegiant Air says the $4-6 discounts it recently started offering consumers who pay for their travel with debit cards instead of credit cards is reaping benefits.
In a ruling that could marginally increase airline expenses, the European Union’s Court of Justice decided that carriers must compensate passengers for lost belongings even if those items are in baggage checked in the name of another passenger on the flight. The primary effect of the ruling will be to increase the number of passengers who can claim damages for one lost bag, Depaul University International Aviation Law Institute professors note on their “Aviation Law Prof” blog.
The incoming chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has a long list of priorities for the next congressional session, but aviation is not among them. Given that the FAA Modernization and Reform Act that passed early this year will last for four years, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) says he will focus his energy largely on highways, railways and ports.
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Timco is confident its new Cincinnati regional jet (RJ) heavy maintenance facility will drive business to other parts of the company, notably a pair of support shops and its original cabin equipment product line, Bill Norman, president of Timco Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Services, tells Aviation Week. Norman notes that the Cincinnati operation—Timco’s first foray into regional jet heavy maintenance, has natural synergies with the company’s composites center and structures support shops at its Greensboro, N.C., headquarters.
Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee has certified the ATR 42-600 and ATR 72-600, an approval that allows the aircraft to be operated in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States. A key part of the changes to the -600 variants is the full glass cockpit and new avionics suite. ATR operators in the region include UTAir, UTAir Ukraine, Nordstar Airlines and Azerbaijan Airlines. In May 2011 the European Aviation Safety Agency certified the ATR 42-600; ATR 72-600 approval followed in June 2012.
Fadec International, a BAE Systems and Sagem engine control joint venture, has formed a new company with General Electric called Fadec Alliance to develop digital controllers for the CFM Leap and GE Passport engines.
When President Barack Obama on Nov. 27 signed into law a bill that prohibits U.S. carriers from participating in the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS), environmental groups were quick to object, but now industry officials say the action allows the issue to be decided by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which is weighing its own plan for global market-based measures to combat greenhouse gas emissions.
Aviation groups are concerned that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will fail to issue foreign repair station certification rules by the year-end deadline the agency once projected.
AirAsia wants to move its Kuala Lumpur flights into Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s new passenger terminal, KLIA 2, all at once, rather than in phases. It would be too costly for the airline and confusing for passengers if AirAsia split its operations between KLIA 2 and the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), AirAsia Malaysia CEO Aireen Omar tells Aviation Week.
American Airlines has asked the bankruptcy court overseeing its restructuring to eliminate the lump-sum payment option for retiring pilots, arguing that the carrier could be left short of crews if the motion is not granted. The company says pilots will have a strong incentive to retire if the lump sum is offered. Additionally, American says more pilots than expected could take the option to lock in their benefits. This could result in a “mass exodus” of pilots, seeking to “run on the bank,” the carrier argues in filings to the bankruptcy court.
Rolls-Royce’s (R-R’s) engine assembly plant in Singapore has completed its first production Trent 900 engine, a R-R spokesman said at an event in Singapore marking the occasion. The engine left the factory yesterday and is on its way to Toulouse, where it will be installed on an Airbus A380, says the spokesman. He says R-R Singapore aims to assemble 15-20 engines this year.
Uruguay’s President, Jose Alberto Mujica, has committed to relaunching Pluna, the former state-run carrier that liquidated earlier this year after private investors withdrew from the airline. Seven of Pluna’s aircraft were auctioned last month to Spanish charter operator Cosmo, which deployed the Bombardier CRJ900ERs on new routes between Spain and Eastern Europe. Uruguay retains six CRJ900ERs and Pluna’s route authorities, a source familiar with the matter tells Aviation Week.
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Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), as expected, will take over as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the 113th Congress beginning in January. House Republicans selected Shuster a day after the current chairman, Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), endorsed the 11-year veteran of the committee. Shuster previously told Aviation Week the committee could re-examine the scope of aviation industry regulation under his leadership.
Thai domestic low-cost carrier Nok Air is preparing to launch international services in 2013. The board of Thai Airways International has approved Nok Air’s international expansion, as well as the carrier’s plan to launch an initial public offering next year, says a Nok Air spokesman. Approval by Thai Airways’ board means Nok Air board approval will follow because Thai Airways owns 49% of Nok Air and occupies five of the nine seats on its board, adds the spokesman.
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Airlines for America (A4A) has found an ally in its effort to force pipeline operators to disclose more of the financial data that airlines and other shippers can use to challenge their rates, which are regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). In a joint filing on Nov. 27, A4A and the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) provided comments in support of a FERC notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would compel the additional data in the disclosure forms that pipeline operators already are required to submit regularly.
Hypersonic technology is extremely difficult to master and high-speed travel generally involves long distances. These simple, but axiomatic principles of hypersonic studies not only dictate key areas of research but also, increasingly, influence who teams with whom.
Indonesia AirAsia aims to grow organically in Indonesia by appealing to local travel agents. The low-cost carrier traditionally has relied on direct sales through the Internet, but AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes says this tactic has proven to be incorrect in some markets, such as Indonesia. “We cut out a big part of the market by doing that,” he says. Despite growing Internet penetration, many consumers in Indonesia continue to book through travel agents and cannot book directly through the web because they do not have credit cards.
