The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee is asking the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to stop operation of its Screening of Passengers by Observation Technique (SPOT), a program that uses officers to assess passenger behavior, which is again facing racial profiling allegations. In an Aug. 13 letter, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) asks TSA Administrator John Pistole to conduct a third-party study of its scientific premise, a comprehensive risk assessment and a cost-benefit analysis before the program should continue.
Virgin Australia is injecting more widebody aircraft into its domestic transcontinental routes, as it continues to battle Qantas in this crucial market. The carrier gradually is up-gauging services between eastern cities and Perth from Boeing 737-800s to Airbus A330-200s. On Sept. 21 Virgin Australia is set to begin flying its fifth A330, which will allow it to have widebody service on all of its five daily flights from Melbourne to Perth.
Air Berlin is deepening its restructuring by cutting a further eight narrowbodies from its fleet this year to stabilize its financial performance. Under the “Shape and Size” program, Air Berlin already has reduced its fleet by 13 aircraft, and while the new fleet cuts are not being specified, it is expected they will include a mix of the Airbus A320s and Boeing 737 NGs previously targeted by the cost cutting initiative.
GOL Linhas Aeras Inteligentes could reduce its payroll beyond the 1,500 employees cut in the second quarter as it continues a cost cutting effort. The Brazilian carrier’s restructuring also includes a revamp of its senior management, and last month Paulo Kakinoff, former head of Audi Brasil, was brought in as CEO and Edmar Lopes Neto was promoted to CFO and head of investor relations. The airline’s founder, Constantino de Oliveira Junior, is now chairman of the board.
The Uruguayan government has revised the criteria for its auction of Pluna Airlines’ assets, and now requires that any buyers purchase the bankrupt carrier’s aircraft and route authorities together and guarantee the resumption of services.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Bogota - Cali, August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Bogota - Cali, August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way Depts. Share ASKs (000) Share Seats/Dept.
Aviation Week Intelligence Network has calculated a country-by-country ranking of the age of airline widebody, narrowbody and regional jet fleets and posted them online on AWIN’s commercial aviation channel at http://www.aviationweek.com/awin/CommercialAviation.aspx. AWIN subscribers can find these rankings under the Fleets section of Executive Quick Views.
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The oldest regional jet fleets in countries where at least 10 of the aircraft are in active service are in Peru, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Belgium and Switzerland, where the average age ranges from 13.9 to 22.5 years, an Aviation Week analysis shows. But the oldest regional jet fleet, by region, is in Africa. The analysis is based on a fleet database that includes aircraft ages, and was calculated only for aircraft delivered and in active service for any purpose: commercial, military or private. It does not include new or used aircraft on order.
The business and general aviation market is gaining ground in 2012, with sales and deliveries of jets and turboprops all improving by double digits, says the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). Sales for the first half of 2012 reached $8.2 billion, a 13.2% increase from the $7.2 billion posted in the first six months of 2011.
American Airlines’ pilots today could see new contract terms imposed by a bankruptcy court judge after the union rejected management’s recent contract offer. The Allied Pilots Association (APA) last week overwhelmingly rejected American’s “last, best and final” contract offer, objecting to the six-year duration of the proposed contract. In the wake of that vote, the union’s board asked APA President David Bates for his resignation and appointed Keith Wilson interim president.
Nick Gitsis and Irene Dornier, the founders of Philippines-based Seair, have received less than expected for the sale of their 40% stake in the carrier to Pan-Asian operator Tiger Airways. Tiger earlier this year priced the deal at $7 million, but at the time said the transaction was subject to due diligence. Now, Tiger says the $2.5 million paid on Aug. 14 for the 40% holding was “reduced by the liabilities determined in the due diligence review.”
Airlines for America (A4A) is entering U.S. presidential politics, with letters to the leaders of both main political parties requesting that the group’s national airline policy be part of their official manifestos. During the Republican and Democratic parties’ nominating conventions, which begin Aug. 27 and Sept. 3, respectively, the two political parties unveil the national platforms they will offer voters in the November elections.
FedEx early next year will offer voluntary buyouts to U.S.-based employees at its FedEx Express airfreight unit and FedEx Services division but says the cost-cutting move will not impact operations. The decision will affect mostly non-operational staffers “as part of a broader plan to improve efficiencies and reduce costs,” the Memphis-based company says. A spokeswoman tells Aviation Week that FedEx does not expect an impact on flights or employees directly involved in moving cargo through its network.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Salvador - Sao Paulo - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Salvador - Sao Paulo - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
Italian low-fare airline Windjet looks set for an imminent collapse should a last minute, government-backed agreement with Alitalia fail. Windjet ceased operations Aug. 12, immediately stranding thousands of passengers. The airline also has commitments to serve some 300,000 passengers for the next several months, most of them in the busy summer travel season, a concern that has prompted the Italian Ministry of Transport to organize emergency meetings to resolve the problem.
