Southwest Airlines is sending some mixed signals on the near-term fate of the Boeing 717 fleet it acquired with its purchase of AirTran Airways, but the long-term future does not seem to be in doubt: Southwest still plans to get rid of them, and an Aviation Week review of the aircraft’s performance on AirTran routes may explain why.
Engine manufacturer General Electric has joined an Australian consortium established to develop and commercialize aviation biofuel derived from native eucalyptus trees. The consortium includes Virgin Australia, Canadian biofuels company Dynamotive Energy Systems, its Australian licensee Renewable Oil Corp., and the national Future Farm Industries Co-operative Research Center.
The Air Transport Association has named Christine Burgeson senior VP-global government affairs. A former lobbyist for the George W. Bush administration and Citigroup, she rounds out ATA's new leadership. ATA President Nick Calio called Burgeson "a critical addition" to the association's government affairs and policy teams. As ATA pushes for a "national airline policy," Calio notes Burgeson is well liked by both Republicans and Democrats.
A House panel wants to provide $12.6 billion for the FAA in fiscal 2012, increasing the agency’s budget by $233 million over fiscal 2011 and fully funding the Next Generation air traffic modernization system. And although it is a $485 million cut relative to what President Obama had proposed in February, legislation drafted by the House Appropriations transportation and housing and urban development subcommittee, any kind of increase from fiscal 2011 seems remarkable in an environment where deficit reduction has become the focus of Capitol Hill.
By Capt. Lee Moak, President, Air Line Pilots Association International With only days to go before the latest FAA reauthorization extension expires, the U.S. Congress owes it to passengers, cargo shippers, airline pilots and other aviation industry workers to act immediately to grant the FAA the resources to safeguard our skies. A long-term budget reauthorization—not a 22nd short-term extension—is the answer to keeping air transportation safe in this country.
Transportation within Miami International Airport will take a major step forward today as the Miami-Dade Aviation Department hosts an inaugural demonstration of its 1.25-mi. automated people mover system. The MIA Mover will open to the public on Friday, connecting passengers from the airport with the Miami Rental Car Center and the future Miami Intermodal Center.
Faced with by far the weakest expected profitability of the three big European network carriers, Air France-KLM is preparing a large restructuring program to cut annual costs by up to €800 million ($1.13 billion) CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon presented some basic plans to union representatives earlier this week, but details have yet to be confirmed. Unions are concerned that up to 10,000 jobs could be cut, causing serious reductions in parts of the network.
Following successful tests in Malaysia of its Secure Freight pilot program, IATA is ready to expand participation in the program, which aims to set global security standards for the supply chain from shipper to consignee. It has received confirmation from Chile, Egypt, Kenya and Mexico that they are ready to "embrace" it, and the UAE also has shown interest, IATA says.
BMI is making a foray into the burgeoning Indian aviation market by launching a direct flight between London and the northern Indian town of Amritsar, beginning Oct. 14. The airline will operate the Airbus A330-200 in the market, offering initially three flights a week, says Vikas Mathur, the company’s sales manager for India. “Traditionally, Punjab and the United Kingdom share deep and strong business and social relations. We are glad to offer customers from Amritsar the most convenient and shortest route to travel to London,” Mathur says.
The FAA has approved modifications to a $1.16 billion, three-part plan for terminal construction and runway expansion at Broward County’s Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Demolition of properties to extend the South Runway (9R-27L) to 8,000 ft. and widen it to 150 ft. is scheduled later this year or early 2012.
Dublin Aerospace plans to announce a multi-million maintenance contract this week and expects to sign two to three more large contracts soon. The privately held, two-year-old company, which provides narrowbody base maintenance, landing gear overhaul, auxiliary power unit (APU) maintenance and technical training, plans to triple its turnover this year, compared with 2010, says Frank Furke, head of sales.
Republic Airways is negotiating with Embraer to delay the delivery of six E-190s that it was scheduled to begin receiving this quarter for operations at its Frontier Airlines low-cost carrier subsidiary. The U.S. carrier already had touched on the possibility in a recent court filing, in which it said the uncertainty created by an International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) lawsuit against Republic and Frontier might jeapardize Republic's ability to finance the aircraft.
Following through on previously announced plans for the potential spinoff of AMR Corp’s American Eagle regional airline subsidiary, mainline carrier American Airlines signed an agreement Aug. 31 to acquire all of Eagle’s jet aircraft for “fair market value” by Oct. 15. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Sept. 2, AMR said American signed an agreement Aug. 31 to buy American Eagle’s 47 CRJ-700 and 216 Embraer 135, 140 and 145 aircraft and took its first delivery on Aug. 31.
Eurocontrol is taking the final regulatory steps toward becoming the network manager for the European air traffic management system, a role that will be crucial to the success of the Single European Sky (SES) effort. The agency says it is seeking the formal approval of its member states to accept the nomination as network manager. It has recently received the formal nominating letter from the European Commission.
The Asia-Pacific area accounts for half of ATR’s sales, and the success it has achieved in this region partly explains why the aircraft maker is ramping up production. “If we talk about orders since the beginning of the program, Asia-Pacific represents 30% of our sales, and some 50% since 2005,” says an ATR spokesman in the aircraft maker’s Toulouse headquarters. “Asia-Pacific has 28% of the total ATRs flying today,” he adds.
Garuda Indonesia has recruited 23 local Indonesian pilots, a move that is part of efforts to appease the Garuda pilots union, which recently threatened to go on strike over Garuda’s use of foreign pilots. The Indonesian national carrier says the 23 new pilots all are recent graduates of the Bali International Flight Academy. It says the graduates will undergo type-rating training, after which they will have the necessary skills to operate the carrier’s new aircraft. Garuda has been replacing Boeing 737-400s with 737-800s.
The U.S. Transportation Department’s Aviation Consumer Protection and Enforcement Office may be on track for a record-setting year—at least for this century—in the number of fines levied against airlines and other air travel sellers. Through August, the office has issued 44 consent orders, which is the process used for imposing the fines. That compares with 24 for the same time period in 2010, 20 in 2009, 10 in 2008 and 16 in 2007, an Aviation Week review of the records shows.
Bangkok Airways has dropped its order for four Airbus A350-800s, increasing Airbus cancellations for the year to 144 units. The original equipment manufacturer booked 234 new orders last month. The Bangkok Airways move brings to 29 the number of A350 cancellations Airbus has suffered year-to-date, leaving the combined order book for the type at 131 -800s, 361 -900s and 75 -1000s. For the year, however, the net order intake for the type is negative, with 19 fewer aircraft booked than added to the backlog.
An Australian labor court has rejected a long-running challenge by Qantas pilots against the carrier’s use of a New Zealand-based subsidiary. Fair Work Australia dismissed the Australian and International Pilots Association’s application to allow it to represent pilots employed by Jetconnect. Jetconnect is a Qantas Group subsidiary that operates New Zealand-based Boeing 737s between New Zealand and Australia.
A Senate panel passed a homeland security spending bill Tuesday that provides $7.9 billion for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), an increase from fiscal 2011 fueled in part by a $1.50 increase in passenger-paid security user fees.
