American Airlines’ pilots union, which recently resumed talks with the carrier on a new contract, says the seven-day negotiating window set by management may be too short to resolve the months-long dispute. “No one is wildly optimistic,” a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association (APA) tells Aviation Week. “We should know in a couple of days if management is serious or if this is just another delay tactic.” APA members in August overwhelmingly rejected American’s last contract offer, prompting the carrier to seek the bankruptcy court’s abrogation of the contract.
Airbus’ research and development efforts on titanium alloys will include a focus on the creation of new alloys with improved machining capabilities and mid- and high-temperature resistance and better fatigue and damage-tolerance properties. The manufacturer’s senior VP-material procurement, Eric Zanin, speaking yesterday at the Titanium 2012 conference in Atlanta, also said Airbus is looking to reduce titanium’s buy-to-fly ratio to lower the amount of the metal needed for each part.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Segment Performance: Asia/Oceania - U.S., 12 Months Ending December 2011, Ranked By Onboard Passengers Onboard ASMs % Chg. Seats Per Load
The FAA has trimmed almost 20% from its latest biennial five-year outlook for infrastructure projects eligible for Airport Improvement Program (AIP) funding, in part because of the current economic climate. In a new National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems report to Congress, the FAA estimates $42.5 billion of AIP-eligible projects from 2013 to 2017 for the 3,300 airports that qualify for grants, a $19.8 billion, or 19%, decline on the $52.2 billion estimated in its previous report for AIP development for 2011-2015.
The turmoil at South African Airways (SAA) has reached a new level following the resignation of Siza Mzimela as the airline’s CEO about 19 months after she assumed the role. Mzimela’s departure is understood to be linked to the airline’s deteriorating financial performance and its rough relationship with its parent, the South African government’s Ministry of Public Enterprises.
Delta Air Lines plans to expand its Asia network through the addition of two new nonstop Boeing 767-300ER services from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. The proposed services, which still require government approval, are Shanghai Pu Dong International Airport and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. Delta also plans to upgauge its Seattle service to Tokyo Narita International to a Boeing 747 and increase frequencies between Seattle and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, attributing this growth to its code-share accord with Sea-Tac-based Alaska Air Group.
Click here to view the pdf Aircraft Operating Costs and Statistics - 12 Months Ended March 2012 - Jet Aircraft Page 8 MD11 Manufacturer: McDonnell Douglas
Pinnacle Airlines’ pilots union claims the regional carrier’s Chapter 11 restructuring proposal unfairly targets the work group. According to the local Air Line Pilots Association chapter, Pinnacle’s pilots represent 58% of the company’s total labor costs but account for 78% of the carrier’s $76 million concessions package. The overall demands, the union says, “are neither fair nor equitable to the Pinnacle pilots,” even with some changes the airline recently made to work rules.
Etihad Airways, Air France-KLM and Air Berlin have signed a code-sharing agreement that includes routes among their hubs and a selected number of destinations beyond their main bases. The deal, due to become effective Oct. 28, includes both operating units of the Air France-KLM group, Air France and KLM.
Click here to view the pdf Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way - London Heathrow - Miami Nonstop Passengers Per Day Each Way - London Heathrow - Miami British Airways Virgin Atlantic Others
From the outside, Boeing’s EcoDemonstrator looks like any other American Airlines 737-800, but beneath the skin this is a flying testbed for near-, mid- and long-term technologies the manufacturer hopes will dramatically improve efficiency and safety while reducing noise and fuel burn.
Air India on Oct. 5 took delivery of the first Boeing 787 built at the airframer’s Charleston, N.C., facility—the first U.S. commercial jet airliner to be produced away from the Puget Sound or heritage West Coast sites. The aircraft is Air India’s third 787 and marks the 28th 787 delivered since entry-into-service. Some 25 of the model have been handed over during the course of this year, and the rate continues to accelerate as Boeing completes the refurbishment of earlier production aircraft.
BBA Aviation appointed Luke Chiang regional sales manager for Asia Pacific and Grant Boast for Sub-Saharan Africa. Wayne Thomson is the new regional field service engineer for Australasia.
Qatar Airways on Oct. 8 is expected to finally announce it will join the Oneworld alliance, and Oneworld will celebrate the deal as an important milestone in its development. The question is: What development? The past few weeks have seen fundamental change in the landscape of long-haul air travel. Qantas Airways was the first to announce a U-turn by forming a bilateral partnership with archrival Emirates Airline while dropping a long-standing joint venture with British Airways.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Donna Thomas at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 11-13—Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Aviation Summit, Palm Springs Convention Center, Palm Springs, Calif., 800-872-2672, www.aopa.org Oct. 17-19—Latin America & Caribbean Engineering &MRO Summit, Sao Paulo, Brazil, www.ubmaviation.com/our-brands/UBM-Aviation-Events
Just days before the Oct. 10 deadline for merger negotiations between EADS and BAE Systems, there is still no sign that the companies and relevant European governments have developed a common strategy to proceed with the consolidation effort. An agreement by the deadline looks increasingly unlikely. BAE Systems could apply for an extension, but industry sources say the manufacturer is opposed to such a move.
The deal has been in the making for more than a year, and now—after this lengthy process—the Lufthansa board of directors has finally approved what is a pretty dramatic breakthrough for the carrier’s modus operandi: The group is setting up a subsidiary for European direct services, operating a fleet of around 90 aircraft. The unit will be headquartered at Cologne/Bonn Airport in Germany.
Without better segmentation of the market and more accurate flight time data, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) says a 10-year FAA program to reduce general aviation (GA) fatality rates 10% by 2018 could miss its intended goal and could leave behind certain “riskier” segments of the industry. Safety statistics from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reveal that the overall number of GA fatalities per 100,000 flight hours has consistently decreased since 2009, the baseline for the FAA’s 10-year program.
