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).
AerCap says “lease rates are firming” on the A319 and A320 aircraft, which constitute more than half of its owned fleet, and adds that it has already found customers for half of the A320 family aircraft scheduled to come off lease at AerCap in 2013. CEO Aengus Kelly made the comments during the Amsterdam-based company’s second-quarter earnings conference call on Aug. 7 in an attempt to assuage analyst concerns about the two types’ falling lease rates. Kelly says analysts have brought up the subject during the last four quarterly earnings calls.
Copa Holdings is revising its full-year guidance upward, despite a decrease in second-quarter operating income. The Panama-based parent of Copa Airlines reported a 2.7% decrease in year-over-year operating income for the quarter to $72.6 million. Load factors also fell 2.8% to 73.5%. But these numbers were not a concern to CEO Pedro Heilbron, who told analysts Aug. 9 the second quarter is historically Copa’s most challenging period. “We expect improvement through the third and fourth quarters,” he says.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carrier: Mexico City - Monterrey August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carrier: Mexico City - Monterrey August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Sept. 20-21 —Aviation Week MRO IT Conference & Showcase, Hyatt Regency Miami, Miami, Fla. Oct. 9—Aviation Week Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Oct. 9—Aviation Week MRO IT Europe, Amsterdam RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
National Association of Flight Instructors , Allegan, Mich., named Dr. Tim Brady, dean of the College of Aviation at Embry-Riddle's Daytona Beach campus, to the board.
Parts manufacturing and distribution specialist Wencor Group expanded its repair capabilities, purchasing Part 145 repair stations Absolute Aviation Services and Soundair Aviation Services, Wencor reports. Absolute, which also holds a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certificate, specializes in electronics and avionics. Soundair, which also has EASA and Civil Aviation Administration of China approvals, focuses on aircraft interior parts, ranging from cockpit lighting to ovens. Like Wencor, Soundair also develops PMA parts.
Click here to view the pdf NARROWBODY AIRCRAFT IN SERVICE NARROWBODY AIRCRAFT IN SERVICE REGION AverageAge AFRICA 18.9 CARIBBEAN 18.5 SOUTH AMERICA 16.1
Airports Consultants Council , Alexandria, Va., selected Angela Gittens, ACI World director general, as the recipient of its 2012 AC Aviation Award of Excellence.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 13-16—Airports Council International-North America, 2012 Public Safety & Security Fall Conference, Arlington, Va., www.aci-na.org/event/1753 Aug. 16—4th Annual BALA Summit, Business Aviation in Latin America, LABACE, Sao Paulo, Brazil, /www.aeropodium.com/cp/bala.html Aug. 18-22—54th NEC/AAAE Annual Conference, Providence, Rhode Island, www.necconference.org
Click here to view the pdf Fuel Watch: Global Jet Fuel Prices (midpoint) As of August 8, 2012, compared with previous week and previous year cts/gal prev. week prev.
Capt. David Bates, head of the Allied Pilots Association, which represents AMR Corp.’s American Airlines’ pilots, was asked to resign yesterday by the union’s board of directors. Bates’s resignation comes one day after union membership overwhelmingly rejected American’s “last, best and final” contract offer. Union leadership endorsed the deal in late June and as recently as this week, urged membership to vote to accept the deal. The contract offer included a 13.5% equity stake in American after it emerges from bankruptcy.
U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) chief John Pistole says the agency is making progress on risk-based screening at airports to enhance security. Pistole touts the Air Cargo Advance Screening (ACAS) Pilot program, a joint venture with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to address potential cargo security threats (Aviation Daily, Aug. 8).
Europe’s aerospace industry is making progress in developing the time-based flight profiles that will be essential components of the air traffic management system of the future. Long-range ATM plans call for aircraft to fly precise four-dimensional (4D) trajectories, with time being the fourth dimension. Participating in the 4D project are Airbus, Thales, Indra, Honeywell, Eurocontrol and a group of eight ATM providers including Sweden’s LFV and Denmark’s Naviair.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) plans to roll out expedited screening for pilots and flight attendants to 31 airports by Nov. 1 as part of a continued shift toward a risk-based approach to security. The Known Crewmember (KCM) program will help TSA direct resources away from trusted populations that should not require physical screening at airports due to prior background checks and other assessments, says Doug Hofsass, associate administrator for risk-based security.
The FAA has temporarily suspended opposite direction operations at all commercial airports in the wake of a recent incident at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) that brought three airplanes within close flying range.
Bombardier Aerospace commercial deliveries continue to lag, down by almost half so far this year as the company begins testing on the new CSeries line in preparation for first flight this year.
