THE PORT AUTHORITY OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY REQUEST FOR INFORMATION RELATED TO POTENTIAL ALTERNATIVES TO DESIGN, CONSTRUCT, OPERATE, MAINTAIN AND FINANCE ELEMENTS OF THE LAGUARDIA AIRPORT CENTRAL TERMINAL BUILDING REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is seeking to identify firms interested in responding to a Request for Information (RFI) related to the future LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal Building Redevelopment Project.
AMR Corp.’s court-protected reorganization continues apace with the retirement of six ATR turboprops in the coming weeks and 15 more by the end of January. The aircraft, like all 36 ATR 72s operated by regional affiliate Executive Airlines, are leased and the first six that are being returned at the beginning of 2012 are already parked.
The European Commission should expect continued resistance to its emissions trading system (ETS) despite yesterday’s rejection of Airlines for America’s (A4A’s) legal challenge by the European Court of Justice.
Lion Air intends to establish an airframe heavy maintenance facility on Batam, an Indonesian island near Singapore, after plans to build on Sulawesi Island collapsed when negotiations with the operator of Manado International Airport failed. “The Batam authority has been quite helpful,” says Rusdi Kirana, Lion Air’s president director and co-founder.
Tanzanian regional operator Precision Air Services has ordered four ATR 42-600s and a single ATR 72-600 to add to its fleet of five ATR 72-500s, two ATR 42-500s and two ATR 42-300s. The 50-seat ATR 42s are scheduled for delivery from late 2012 while the larger turboprop will join the fleet in 2014.
Libyan carriers Afriqyah Airways and Libyan Airlines have both contracted Air France-KLM’s maintenance arm to repair aircraft damaged at Tripoli International Airport during the recent conflict in the country.
Recently renationalized Air Baltic plans to continue its strategy of building a hub at Riga for Scandinavian and Eastern European traffic, and also plans to begin renewing its fleet next year.
The FAA’s long-awaited crew rest requirements for U.S. pilots exempts cargo carriers, largely removes potentially expensive schedule reliability requirements for passenger carriers, tweaks the maximum duty-day and flight hours and provides a bit more scheduling flexibility. The final rule also gives airlines two years to comply and, as stated in a proposed rule issued in September 2010, allows carriers to develop an alternative with their own adoption of a Fatigue Risk Management System.
The Spirit Airlines carry-on fee that generated denunciations from consumers and members of Congress did not drive away passengers and by many measures appears to have been a success for the South Florida-based low-cost carrier, an ancillary revenue consultancy declares in a report released this week. Spirit’s fee, which applies to bags that do not fit under the seat, ranges from $30 to $45 depending on when the fee is paid, with the highest charge levied for bags that customers take to the gate.
U.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) this week seized on a statement by House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to press for a quick resolution to the stalemate over the FAA reauthorization bill. On Dec. 19, Boehner called on the Senate to appoint a House-Senate conference committee to come to an agreement on a long-term extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits—rather than passing a two-month extension that the Senate has already approved.
A U.S. Court of Appeals decision upholding the National Mediation Board’s (NMB) new union representation election rules for airlines provides more ammunition for members of Congress who argue there is no legitimate basis for Republicans to keep holding up a long-term FAA reauthorization bill over the issue. A dissenting opinion to the decision provides some support to the Republican position, but in a narrower way.
The omnibus spending bill passed this month by the U.S. Congress includes provisions that would reform the process of getting a U.S. visa, changes the U.S. travel industry long has pursued. The spending bill calls for more consular officers to speed visa processing at consulates, particularly in China, Brazil and India.
Namibia’s has declared operational what is believed to be the world’s largest air traffic management (ATM) surveillance system based on wide-area multilateration (WAM) technology. The system, built and installed by ATM company ERA, has been certified according to International Civil Aviation Organization standards and commissioned. A network of sensors provides surveillance for ATM purposes across Namibian airspace, and will allow reduced separation standards. ERA formerly was a subsidiary of U.S. company SRA, but was recently sold to Czech-based Omnipol.
U.S. carriers’ fuel consumption through October of this year shows that capacity on international routes is expanding even as domestic networks contract. An Oliver Wyman/PlaneStats.com analysis of fuel consumption between November of last year and October 2011 shows that systemwide, fuel consumption rose to 1.34 billion gallons of fuel in October, which is essentially flat from the year before (Aviation Daily, Dec. 19). However, fuel consumption on international routes rose 7%.
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) ruling on a case brought by U.S. carriers against the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) is expected to mirror the judge advocate’s decision earlier this year, and environmental groups already are claiming victory.
Boeing has put “weight on wheels” at its second 787 final assembly line in North Charleston, S.C., a milestone signifying that the factory’s first airplane has rolled forward–rather than being lifted–to its next assembly point. The milestone was reached on Dec. 18, two years after Boeing broke ground on the 1.2 million-sq.-ft. site, which was built as an alternate to its main 787 factory in Everett, Wash. The first aircraft to flow through the factory is Line Number 46 for Air India. Delivery is set for the first half of 2012.
Boeing has named a long-time senior executive, Joe Ozimek, to head the 737 MAX “Tiger” team for technical and product marketing. Ozimek has been managing director, airplane programs and valuations for Boeing Capital Corp. since 2002. That job entails providing, arranging, structuring and facilitating aircraft financing. He has been responsible for a fleet of 275 airplanes valued at $4.3 billion. The job made him a natural fit as a board member of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT). He is currently ISTAT’s president.
India appointed Ajit Singh its new civil aviation minister as the country’s troubled aviation sector prepares to enter 2012 under the weight of mounting debt and losses. The 72-year-old from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh will be the third person to hold the portfolio in less than a year. He succeeds Vayalar Ravi, who had taken over the Civil Aviation Ministry from Praful Patel, who had held the post for six years.
Iceland’s air traffic management provider Isavia plans to install a satellite-based surveillance network that is expected to be operational in the summer traffic season.
Aircraft operators in Australia have two years to equip aircraft for satellite-based surveillance if they want to operate in upper airspace. Significant numbers of operators have yet to upgrade the necessary avionics.
