The FAA is working to create two permanent areas of Arctic airspace for research and commercial flights by unmanned aircraft, as directed by Congress in February in the agency’s reauthorization bill. “We have to create a type of airspace that does not fit any existing mold,” says Jim Williams, head of the FAA’s new unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) integration office.
An arbitrator’s decision late last month on a pilots union contract is giving Air Canada a lot more flexibility in how to manage its fleet, with potential consequences for decisions on shifting and ordering narrowbody aircraft and getting rid of Embraer aircraft or other regional jets. The arbitrator, compelled to select either management’s proposal or the union’s, selected management’s. One result of that decision, Air Canada executives say, is that it gives them more freedom on deciding the structure of the fleet.
The Delta Air Lines subsidiary that provides ground-handling services for regional carriers will shut down by year-end, falling victim to changes in the regional airline business and a competitor that outbid it for providing services to its parent company. The competitor is another Delta subsidiary.
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators believe the breakdown of a General Electric GEnx-1B engine on a taxiing Boeing 787 July 28 stemmed from the failure of a fan mid-shaft.
After a two-year process, Aeronautical Engineers Inc. expects to receive an FAA supplemental type certificate in early October for Boeing MD-80 passenger-to-freight conversions. The Miami-based conversion company plans to make its test flight the first week in September but already has 15 MD-80 conversion orders on backlog, says Robert Convey, VP-sales and marketing.
Scandinavian Airlines’ downhill slide is continuing and the airline is responding with more staff cuts. CEO Rickard Gustafson said on Wednesday that “delivering productivity gains and cost savings will create redundancies that must be taken out.” The airline is in the process of eliminating about 300 administrative positions, adding to thousands of jobs cut in the past several years. SAS has not made a profit since 2007. Richardson did not specify how many additional positions will be taken out.
AMR Corp.’s bankruptcy process became more complicated Aug. 8, when the pilots union rejected management’s “last, best and final offer,” while maintenance and other workers represented by the Transport Workers Union (TWU) ratified the contract.
Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, China’s second-busiest, has begun work on an expansion program that will more than double its designed capacity and strengthen its bid to be the leader among five airports in the Pearl River Delta. Start of the work follows confirmation by the national government last month that Guangzhou will serve as one of China’s three main international aviation gateways, even though the great majority of southern China’s intercontinental passengers connect at Hong Kong International Airport.
The FAA expects to publish minimum performance specifications for the tools airports use to prevent vehicle incursions on runways in the fall. An agency draft advisory circular (AC) outlines the standards that runway incursion warnings system (RIWS) equipment must meet. Airports install the equipment, which alerts drivers traversing the airfield, in ground vehicles, such as fire and catering trucks.
A new memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. and the Dominican Republic would give each country access to the other’s passenger and crewmember information before a flight departs. The agreement, signed Aug. 7 by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Dominican Republic Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso, aims to strengthen aviation security between the two countries.
All but four of Air New Zealand’s 18 Beechcraft 1900D turboprops remain grounded as the carrier seeks advice from the manufacturer about hairline cracks in the tail sections of the aircraft. The cracks were first discovered near the top of the vertical stabilizer in one 1900D on Aug. 7 during routine maintenance. The remainder of the fleet was grounded for inspection. The hairline cracking was found “to varying degrees” in 14 aircraft, an airline spokeswoman tells Aviation Week.
Air Berlin has drawn down almost the entire credit facility only six months after new shareholder Etihad Airways provided the financing. The financially struggling German carrier stated that it had used a €169.2 million ($209.1 million) Etihad loan by June 30. In December 2011, Air Berlin announced that it would have access to a total of $255 million in financing from Etihad over a five-year term. At last December’s exchange rate, that was equivalent to $196 million.
FAA could seek a record $162.4 million in civil penalties from AMR Corp., according to filings at the bankruptcy court overseeing AMR’s Chapter 11 case. Both the FAA and AMR say the amount of the claims could change and reflect ongoing enforcement cases the FAA has against both American Airlines and its subsidiary, American Eagle. FAA filed the claims with the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of New York in advance of the July 12 deadline, but the documents came to light only this week. Details of the claims remain confidential, however.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers: Bogota - Medellin - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Top Carriers: Bogota - Medellin - August 15-21, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Seats Daily Each Way
Delta Air Lines, which agreed in July to sublease 88 Boeing 717s from Southwest Airlines, also agreed to lease most of those aircraft from Boeing Capital for an additional seven years after the current leases expire, Boeing Capital disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Of the 88 717s, 78 are on operating leases with Boeing Capital and two are currently classified as capital leases, Southwest says in a separate SEC filing.
Financial markets began buzzing today when International Airlines Group (IAG) CEO Willie Walsh once again hinted that his group might consider a small stake in American Airlines. Walsh told the International Aviation Club of Washington last month that if U.S. laws on ownership and control were relaxed and AMR Corp. was receptive, IAG would consider investing in the company, as reported on AWIN July 18. (Aviation Daily, July 18).
Air New Zealand temporarily grounded its fleet of Beech 1900D turboprops for inspections on Aug. 7 after a hairline crack was found in the tail of an aircraft. The crack was discovered near the top of the vertical stabilizer of one 1900D during routine maintenance. The carrier decided to inspect all 18 aircraft, and of the first four examined, “three have been found to be affected.”
Passenger airlines are taking steps–including a risk-analysis—to meet the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA’s) Dec. 3 deadline for 100% cargo security screening. The mandate will require the carriers to apply TSA screening regulations for inbound cargo leaving countries with national security programs that do not have the agency’s approval, says Keith May, director of ramp, cargo and operations compliance for American Airlines.
How AMR Corp.’s American Airlines’ pilots will vote on management’s “last, best and final offer” remains unclear, even though voting ends Aug. 8. When the Allied Pilots Association (APA) leadership approved management’s offer and sent it to members in June, conventional wisdom held that membership would approve the deal. But sources close to the proceedings say some factions of the pilots union could vote to reject the contract.
