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.
The highest average age for widebody aircraft in active service is in North America, where the jets are about four years older than those for airlines in Africa and five years older than in Europe or the Middle East, an Aviation Week analysis shows.
Republican leaders on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee (T&I) are asking the FAA to reconsider its recent rule to mandate what had been voluntary helicopter routes over Long Island in New York.
A new study estimates that potential across-the-board budget cuts to the FAA could amount to an $18.4 billion blow to the economy, including the loss of up to 73 million passenger enplanements and 2 billion lb. of airfreight. Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta called the study, released Aug. 13 by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), “very significant” and urged Congress to take action. “Let’s not let the FAA be victimized by budget politics,” he said.
Click here to view the pdf WIDEBODYT AGE, BY COUNTRY* WIDEBODYT AGE, BY COUNTRY* COUNTRY Average Age IRAN 27.8 UNITED STATES (& TERRITORIES) 17.9 CANADA
Latam Airlines Group, formed from the merger of LAN Airlines and Grupo TAM that closed June 22, is adding capacity even as it works to digest the merger and adapt to a increasingly volatile Brazilian domestic market. LAN’s capacity grew by 9.6% in the second quarter, while TAM’s contracted by just under 1%, Latam CFO Alejandro de la Fuente Goic told analysts Aug. 13. This quarter will be the last in which LAN and TAM report operational and financial statistics separately.
From Aug. 15 Pinnacle Airlines could be without a single employee in its financial reporting department as a result of staffing issues linked to the U.S. regional carrier’s Chapter 11 restructuring.
Investment grade and higher-credit carriers are more willing to lease a higher percentage of their fleets because they are becoming more comfortable with the business model and because leasing likely provides the best source of financing, says Air Lease Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy.
Latam Airlines Group , Santiago, Chile, appointed Alejandro de la Fuente interim CFO following the departure of Libano Barroso, who will remain VP of TAM.
Horizon Air could face a proposed civil penalty of more than $1 million for allegedly failing to meet FAA safety regulations. The agency alleges that Horizon used blind rivets, rather than the mandatory solid rivets, on new security flight deck doors installed in 22 Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. The Seattle-based regional airline then operated those aircraft on more than 186,000 revenue passenger flights between the end of 2007 and mid-2011 before replacing the rivets, the FAA’s claim states.
As efforts to introduce routine UAV operations into the U.S. National Airspace System gain momentum, work is progressing to make the system safer and more secure from potential hacking, according to FAA and industry officials.
Cuts to U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP) staffing, already threatening to lengthen wait times at U.S. airports, could affect Canadian airports as well. Looming mandatory budget cuts scheduled to go into effect Jan. 2 under a process known as “sequestration” could take as much as 8.5% out of federal agencies’ budgets. The U.S. airport industry is concerned that the CBP may reduce staffing levels at immigration checkpoints, increasing passenger wait times at international airports (Aviation Daily, Aug. 7).
