A U.S. District Court judge in Denver will not expedite the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' lawsuit challenging the legal legitimacy of a Frontier Airlines cost-cutting agreement with its pilots, rejecting the claims by Frontier and parent company Republic Airways that a failure to resolve the case by Sept. 12 could put critical financing for the imperiled low-cost carrier in jeopardy.
The New Orleans Aviation Board is undertaking an in-depth analysis of how it should build a world-class airport. Mayor Mitch Landrieu charged the board to determine whether the city should build a new terminal on the north side of the airport property or to expand the current airport complex to the adjacent area west of the terminal. “We know we have a long way to go to achieve the world-class airport that this city deserves,” the mayor wrote in a letter to the board.
The U.S. Transportation Department has fined Ethiopian Airlines $50,000 for failing to accurately convey the price of its fares on its website for flights originating in the U.S. According to the DOT, in early 2011 one of two search options did not provide additional taxes and fees until the final step in the booking system, and that the initial price failed to include “a significant fuel surcharge imposed by the carrier.” Under new rules being enforced by the regulator from Jan. 24, all government taxes and fees must be included in every advertised fare.
High sales taxes in India on air tickets are negatively affecting the country’s civil aviation industry, warn aviation experts. “While taxes provide a tangible short-term revenue boost to the government coffers, increased taxes in the long term can be outweighed by the cost to the underlying economy,” aviation finance expert Charles Tyler says.
The aerospace industry will be asked shortly for ideas on how $510 million in federal dollars should be spent over the next three years to build an aviation and marine biofuels supply chain in the U.S. It also will be asked how much money it is willing to put into what the government intends to be a public/private partnership.
Airline services at Trinidad & Togbago’s Piarco International Airport are being cancelled between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. to comply with a “limited state of emergency” imposed by the country’s government Aug. 22. The measure, which affects flights by local carrier Caribbean Airlines as well as foreign operators including American Airlines and Copa Airlines, was initiated after a spate of killings across the island state resulted in the deaths of some 11 people in a 48-hour period.
In a major act of relief for struggling Air India, state-run oil marketing companies agreed to extend the airline’s credit limit by two to three months for the purchase of jet fuel, instead of requiring daily payments. “Instead of cash-and-carry, Air India will from now on make payments on the basis of this credit limit of two to three months. So, the tension of making daily payments is now over,” says Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi. Air India has been paying 165 million rupees ($3.6 million) a day for fuel.
Management at Thai carrier Nok Air are buying a 25% stake in the airline, further strengthening their control over the business and making it harder for Thai Airways International to do likewise. A spokesman for Nok says the airline’s CEO, Patee Sarasin, has formed Nok Air Management Co. (NAMC) along with four other senior Nok Air executives and each has an equal share in NAMC.
The leadership of the union for AirTran Airways pilots rejected a tentative agreement with the Southwest pilots union on how to integrate their work group seniority lists, which will send the unions back to the bargaining table—or, perhaps, to binding arbitration.
Vaughn College, Queens, N.Y., has announced the appointment of Ken Kaplan to head its newly created Aviation Outreach Initiative, designed to enhance learning opportunities through the acquisition of global and strategic aviation partnerships.
Boeing has received joint FAA and European EASA certification for the 747-8F, clearing the way for first deliveries to begin in early September to launch customer Cargolux. The flight test effort involved five aircraft, more than 1,200 flights and 3,400 hr. since the first flight on Feb. 8, 2010. Certification was only achieved after overcoming unexpected aerodynamic and structural interaction issues with the aircraft’s revised wing and flight control surfaces, as well as some delays to the Honeywell-developed flight management computer (FMC).
Airlines operating smaller commercial aircraft must incorporate new operational procedures or install ice-detection equipment on their aircraft under a new FAA rule. Slated for publication in the Aug. 22 Federal Register, the rule applies to Part 121 operators of aircraft that weigh less than 60,000 lb. maximum takeoff weight (MTOW).
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 23-24—NATA & Conklin & de Decker Commercial Operators Tax Seminar, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., 800-808-6282, www.nata.aero/taxseminar Aug. 24-26—EBAA Safety Management System Workshop, Park Inn Zurich Airport, Switzerland, www.ebaa.org Aug. 26-28—Tannkosh Fly In 2011, Tannheim Airfield, Germany, www.tannkosh.com
Efforts to bring more heliports to Boston may move ahead following the results of a survey carried out by the New England Helicopter Council (NEHC). And in New York, local operators are eyeing the situation at West 30th Street, where the heliport is in play as the Hudson River Park Trust asserts its claim to the land for park purposes.
General Electric’s first performance improvement package (PIP) upgrade for the Boeing 787’s GEnx-1B engine has been certificated by the FAA. The approval comes as Boeing makes final preparations for the start of functionality and reliability (F&R), as well as ETOPS tests with the baseline Block 4 version of the GE-powered 787 in late August.
A suit challenging the FAA’s privatization of air traffic control towers, filed 17 years ago, has been settled with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth District in Cincinnati affirming a lower court’s ruling to dismiss the case.
Filipino carrier Cebu Pacific Air appears to be focusing on international expansion in an effort to tie up certain routes before new competitors have a chance to move in. Cebu faces new competition from Filipino carrier Seair, which has partnered with Singapore’s Tiger Airways. Also in this year’s fourth quarter, AirAsia Philippines aims to start flying.
The White House Office of Management and Budget is telling federal agencies to craft fiscal 2013 budget proposals at both 5% and 10% below 2011 enacted discretionary appropriations—unless the White House already has told them otherwise. “By providing budgets pegged to these two scenarios, you will provide the president with the information to make the tough choices necessary to meet the hard spending targets in place and the needs of the nation,” OMB Director Jacob Lew said in an Aug. 17 memo.
With a state unemployment rate of 9.2% and concern running deep about where Boeing might put jobs for its 737 re-engining program, it is no wonder that Sen. Patty Murray spent part of Congress’ August recess visiting five of the small aerospace suppliers scattered across her state of Washington. The senior Democrat was there to give a boost to the federal-state Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship Committee that is using veteran factory workers as mentors to develop a new generation of skilled manufacturing workers.
