FlightSafety International , Flushing, N.Y., promoted Mitch Alexander to manager, from assistant manager, of the Daleville, Ala., Learning Center. He succeeds Ralph Hicks, who has retired.
Ecuador’s state-owned airline TAME has started the search for a new CEO after Director General Gustavo Cuesta was ousted following a boardroom clash last week. According to industry sources, Cuesta left after failing to reach an agreement with a government-appointed committee that is overseeing the airline’s turnaround. The committee demanded significant staff cuts that Cuesta refused to accept, the sources say.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, operated by a municipal government and the world’s single busiest commercial airfield, is also the most fiscally efficient, says a Canadian university aviation think tank.
Australia’s Skywest Airlines has taken delivery of its first ATR 72-500, which, in addition to further deliveries, it plans to operate on behalf of Virgin Australia. Skywest is scheduled to take delivery of three more ATR 72-500s this year and four ATR 72-600s in 2012. They will all fly in the new Virgin Australia livery.
A delay in setting a fuel-efficiency measurement for aircraft CO2 emissions opens the door for environmental groups to push for stricter standards. An ICAO working group sent rival metric proposals to a steering group that meets in September, and is now targeting 2015 instead of 2013 as the date for completing a standard.
India’s federal government on Aug. 12 replaced the head of Air India and said it will complete the financial restructuring plan of the ailing carrier in about three months.
Boeing is looking at expansive and more modest changes to the 777 widebody to keep the product viable, but a strategy decision is not likely soon, says Air Lease Corp. Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy. Boeing is already in talks with potential customers about the so-called 777X, says Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh.
Brazil’s GOL Linhas Inteligentes is attempting to generate RL650 million (US$403 million) in savings to mitigate the effects of an increasing competitive domestic market that caused second-quarter sales to decline from the same time last year and pushed the company’s operating performance into the red.
Standard & Poor's recent downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt will not have a direct effect on airport revenue bonds in the near term, but some of the ancillary and trickle-down effects could spell trouble for airports down the road, bond analysts say.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Aug. 16-18—Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems North America 2011, Washington Convention Center, 703-845-9671 ext. 213, www.symposium.auvsi.org/auvsi11/public/enter.aspx Aug. 16-21—MAKS 2011 International Aviation and Space Salon, Aviasalon JSC, Flight Research Institute, Moscow, +7 (495) 787-66-51, www.aviasalon.com
Air Berlin says it is implementing comprehensive measures to improve its financial standing after reporting a widened loss for the second quarter. The company stated that it will reduce frequencies and suspend some routes for a capacity cut of more than 1 million seats in the second half of the year. Air Berlin admitted, however, that the measures’ effects may not come quickly enough to avoid an operating loss in fiscal 2011.
The U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) tentatively approved a certificate for Carlsbad, Calif.-based startup California Pacific Airlines, which also is preparing to take the next steps in its financing and FAA certification efforts.
Aeromexico and Delta will either expand the Mexican carrier's current maintenance facility or build a structure for their new joint-venture MRO facility in Mexico. The deal includes a $65 million investment by Delta in the Mexican carrier. Tony Charaf, president of Delta TechOps, expects the joint venture to be fully operational by the third quarter 2013 and to launch MRO services with narrowbodies. Once narrowbody operations are stabilized, he expects to add widebody capabilities.
You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.aviationweek.com/conferences or contact: Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) Sept. 12—A&D Finance Europe, London Sept. 14-15—Airlines, MRO, Aircraft & Engine Lessors: “The Tricky Triangle,” Dublin Sept. 26—Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Zurich Sept. 27-29—MRO Europe 2011, Madrid Sept. 28—MRO Military Europe, Madrid Oct. 20-21—MRO IT, Chicago
The FAA type certification review board is expected to convene next week to discuss the Boeing 787, given the widebody aircraft is due to complete its test certification activity this weekend, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Jim Albaugh says. The goal is to obtain the type certificate this month. The move comes as the FAA meets this week to discuss the 747-8 freighter, which has already completed certification flight trials, Albaugh tells Jefferies Global Industrial and A&D Conference.
An AMR Corp. plan to spin off American Eagle would give the regional carrier some advantages as an independent, financially viable operator. But Eagle still would face a myriad of challenges on labor costs, maintenance and financing of new aircraft.
