FAA officials estimate that they will select six sites for integrating unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into the national airspace by December. Since early May, the agency has been accepting public comments that will help it shape the test sites. The comment period runs through May 8, officials said in a web-based conference April 10.
Houston Mayor Annise Parker says she will decide by the end of April whether to support a Southwest Airlines proposal that would result in international service out of Hobby Airport, after seeking more input from airlines, unions and local businesses and residents. But Southwest will enter the battle with a potentially critical advantage: the support of Houston's aviation director.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Frankfurt, April 8-14, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Frankfurt, April 8-14, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Departures Airport Share ASMs (mil) Airport Share Seats /Dept.
Despite growing fleets in Asia Pacific, China and India, the MRO markets in North America and Western Europe continue to be the world's largest in the world.
Spurred by reports that LightSquared is considering bankruptcy, two lawmakers are hoping the government can recover the cost of testing the company’s proposed 4G communications network for interference with GPS.
Click here to view the pdf Top Carriers - Paris DeGaulle, April 8-14, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Top Carriers - Paris DeGaulle, April 8-14, 2012, Ranked By Scheduled Outbound ASMs Airport ASMs Airport Seats
Silver Airways says it is just weeks away from concluding a deal with United Airlines to replace Colgan Air as a feeder on at least five routes into the mainline carrier’s Washington Dulles International Airport hub. This assertion, contained in Silver’s latest application for Colgan’s Essential Air Service (EAS) rights to three airports in West Virginia, comes as the airport authorities for Altoona and Johnstown, Pa., question the regional carrier’s application to replace Colgan there.
Garuda Indonesia plans to turn options on aircraft into firm orders, so it can achieve its target of having 194 aircraft in 2015. The airline today has 92 aircraft and aims to have 194 in 2015, says Garuda President Director Emirsyah Satar, adding that this target is achievable because 50 of the additional 102 aircraft will be for Citilink, Garuda’s low-cost carrier. Citilink already has ordered 25 Airbus A320s with options for 25 more, and Satar says these options will be turned into firm orders.
The CSeries family of medium-range airliners may end up meeting the same fate as the short-lived Boeing 717. So says Bryan Bedford, the CEO and chairman of Republic Airways Holdings, the CSeries’ largest customer. Bedford’s remarks seem rather curious, particularly since one would expect him to be touting the aircraft. Republic placed a firm order in February 2010 for 40 CS300s for delivery starting in 2015. The U.S. group said the aircraft would be assigned to its carrier Frontier Airlines.
Boeing and Embraer are extending their cooperation in aviation with a new umbrella agreement which focuses on features for commercial aircraft “that enhance safety and efficiency.” Specifics are yet to be worked out, but Boeing President and GEO Jim Albaugh tells Aviation Week the two airframers will work in areas of intellectual property (IP), manufacturing and airframe efficiency that the two companies can share on future programs.
Garuda Indonesia is considering adding turboprops to its fleet, a move that would enable it to penetrate markets in the more remote parts of Indonesia. President Director Emirsyah Satar says it would be worthwhile to operate turboprops in eastern Indonesia, including West Papua and Kalimantan. Satar previously said Garuda was open to partnering with a turboprop operator, but now states, “We would be operating it [the service]. The only question is whether it would be under the Garuda brand or whether we would create a new brand.”
The U.S. Transportation Department does not seem very receptive to Sen. Charles Schumer’s push to require airlines to disclose fees for carry-on bags alongside Internet fare quotes. The New York Democrat wrote Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week asking the DOT to put the requirement in new regulations. But in response, the DOT notes in a statement that it already has addressed baggage fee disclosure, including in the new passenger rights rules it published last April.
The expansion of Safran’s nacelle and thrust reverser repair services in the U.S. supports an emerging trend in the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) market: the growing presence of original equipment manufacturers through key partnerships.
US Airways Chief Operating Officer Robert Isom says the airline will “continue to be as aggressive as we always have” when it comes to supporting industry consolidation and notes that if a merger with American Airlines will “be good for our stakeholders; we’d be interested.”
Three provisions contained in Chile’s antitrust regulator’s approval of Lan Airlines’ merger with Grupo TAM will remain after an appeal by the two carriers was dismissed. LAN’s merger with TAM takes another step toward completion with the Chilean Supreme Court’s decision to approve the deal, but with all 14 of the conditions stipulated last year by the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia’s (TDLC’s). LAN and TAM have already said they would proceed with their consolidation and had accounted for the financial implication should their appeal fail.
Boeing made the correct decision to outfit its 737 jet with new engines rather than hold off and bring an all-new narrowbody to market, says the CEO of the airframer’s top U.S. customer. “We need improvements now, and I just feel like there’s too much risk waiting,” Southwest Airlines’ Gary Kelly said during an address to Aviation Week’s MRO Americas conference in Dallas. “I’m not an advocate for anything other than the 737 MAX or the [Airbus] A320NEO.”
