Tony Tyler, president and director general of the International Air Transport Association, is calling the EU’s ban on foreign carriers a “misguided approach that does little if anything to improve safety.” Speaking at a forum in Astana, Kazakhstan, Tyler said, “There is no transparency, no clarity on why some carriers are put on the list and no clear indication of what is required to get off the list.”
The pilots union for Pinnacle Airlines is objecting to the regional carrier’s decision to file a sealed Section 1113 motion to reject the union’s collective bargaining agreement. A letter Pinnacle filed in conjunction with the Section 1113 motion reiterates the need to save $76 million annually–including about $60 million from pilot concessions, according to the union—as it restructures under Chapter 11 with financing provided by Delta Air Lines.
A large portion of the FAA budget will be exempt from mandatory sequestration cuts, set to take effect on Jan. 3, according to data released late Friday by the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB).
International Communications Group , Newport News, Va., named Davert Leong electrical engineer-production, and David Casey and Doyle Sisson lead embedded software engineer and project manager, respectively. Debbie Glass was added as technical writer.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carrier: Atlanta - New York LaGuardia - September 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carrier: Atlanta - New York LaGuardia - September 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats
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India has approved a long-pending policy reform allowing foreign airlines to buy stakes of up to 49% in the country’s local carriers. Though Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was previously allowed in the aviation sector, foreign airlines were prohibited from investing in Indian carriers, says Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh.
Thai AirAsia on Sept. 30 will shift its Bangkok operation to Don Mueang International Airport from Suvarnabhumi Airport. CEO Tassapon Bijleveld tells Aviation Week that the move, which includes transferring all Bangkok services within the AirAsia group to Don Mueang, should enable Thai AirAsia to expand services beyond those allowed at congested Suvarnabhumi Airport. “There’s not enough aircraft parking bays and passenger check-in counters and we couldn’t grow,” says Tassapon.
Boeing says a new contract proposal presented to the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (Speea) will “more than offset some increased health insurance cost sharing” requested by the manufacturer. The company says the net effect will mean average pay increases of more than 3% for engineers and 2% for technical workers over the lifetime of the proposed four-year contract. A Speea official said the union is evaluating the proposal.
Kazakhstan’s national carrier Air Astana is considering a new provider of heavy maintenance for its fleet of Airbus narrowbodies under a plan to eventually conduct all maintenance in-house. Air Astana currently sends all its Airbus A320-family aircraft to ATC Southend in the U.K. for heavy checks, but the carrier’s senior VP-engineering group, John Wainwright, tells Aviation Week the carrier it is considering a Chinese maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) provider to lower costs.
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.
