To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 17-19—Air Medical Transport Conference, St. Louis, Mo. Oct. 17-20—Lockheed Martin Corp.’s 2011 Hercules Operators Conference, Renaissance Waverly Hotel, Atlanta, www.lockheedmartinpackers.com Oct. 18-23—Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition, Seoul Airport, www.seoulairshow.com Oct. 19-20—Heli Power 2011, Five at Farnborough, England, www.shephard.co.uk
A three-level, concrete rental car facility being built on 1.2 million sq. ft. at Nashville International Airport will set a new standard for rental car facilities when it opens Nov. 1. The structure will be able to house 2,400 rental cars from 10 rental car companies and offer a covered entry plaza that also provides access to the main terminal. Covered walkways occupy 21,000 sq. ft. of space, and movement is eased by escalators, elevators and moving walkways. In addition, the facility is equipped with car wash bays and fueling stations.
Airbus engineers have further improved the anticipated performance of the A380 high-gross weight configuration, adding two metric tons to the planned upgrade. The changes Airbus is making available to customers starting in 2013 will boost the aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight to 575 metric tons from 569 metric tons. Earlier this year, the company was still projecting the performance improvement would be 573 metric tons.
A recent surge in senior pilot retirements has forced American Airlines to close its San Francisco (SFO) pilot base and reassign the mostly Boeing 767 crews to other parts of its network. Recent speculation about American’s future, fueled by spurious reports of a pending bankruptcy, has precipitated retirements among America’s more senior pilots, who use the company’s share price to calculate part of their pensions. Many of these pilots fly 767s and are being replaced by Boeing 757 pilots. The two aircraft have a common pilot type rating.
United Airlines on March 1 will end its code-share with Thai Airways International, some 14 and a half years after the two carriers first swapped codes, citing low demand for seats on its Star Alliance partner.
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) Oct. 20-21—MRO IT Conference and Showcase, Chicago Oct. 24-26—A&D Programs, Phoenix Nov. 2-3—Engine MRO Forum, Istanbul Nov. 7—China Business Aviation Forum, Beijing Nov. 8-10—MRO Asia, Beijing Nov. 30-Dec. 1—Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference, New York
U.S. regional Atlantic Southeast Airlines, under fire for its effort to rebrand as SureJet, has now opted to call itself ExpressJet Airlines, the airline acquired at the end of 2010 that should be fully merged with its Atlanta-based parent before the year-end. “With regards to naming the new combined company, we sought suggestions and feedback from our entire workforce of 10,000 team members through internal name suggestion and selection processes that gave every team member a voice in the decision,” says ASA President and Chief Operating Officer Brad Holt.
International cargo shipments are growing at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport and are expected to continue at a strong pace as the Houston Airport System has welcomed two new cargo operators and new services. Qatar Airways Cargo will begin twice-weekly flights in November, connecting Houston, Luxembourg and Doha, Qatar. Lufthansa Cargo made its debut this year at Houston and in June launched a secondly weekly flight to and from Frankfurt.
Another production delay apparently has hit Boeing’s troubled 787 program, and at least one customer, United Continental Holdings, is paring back its delivery schedule for 2012 to account for the issue.
Bombardier Aerospace, which already has facilities in Mexico and Northern Ireland, may be looking to expand even farther from its home base in Quebec. "We are evaluating a low-cost footprint in North Africa to serve that region," says Guy Hachey, president of Bombardier Aerospace.
Australian regulators have given tentative approval to a partnership between Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines, which is the last major piece of the Australian carrier’s “virtual network” strategy.
Ecuadorian carrier TAME has taken delivery of the first ATR 42-500 to operate in the South American nation. The aircraft is one of three ordered by the airline at the 2010 Paris air show in a deal valued at $54 million in the country. “The ATR 42-500s are optimally suited for the type of public service routes we want to develop in Ecuador, as they provide the lowest operating and maintenance costs, and feature optimal performance in hot-and-high environments and short runways,” says TAME CEO General Gustavo Cuesta.
A trio of lawmakers wants to rein in reimbursements for payment of government-hired private contractors who can charge nearly $700,000 for the salaries of their top five employees, a figure that has nearly doubled since 1998. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y) are asking the deficit-reduction-seeking super committee to limit those top five salaries to $200,000, a proposal supported by President Obama, as a way to save up to $3 billion over 10 years.
U.S. government agencies have authorized $37.36 million in grants in recent months for Denver International Airport. Denver has received $22.19 million in FAA grants for airfield maintenance, including $11.6 million to rehabilitate Runway 8/26 and $8.7 million to repair Runway 16L/34R. About $15 million in federal funds came from the Transportation Security Administration and is earmarked for the baggage screening system.
The Japanese low-cost carrier being set up by Jetstar and Japan Airlines is continuing to check off important launch requirements, including the naming of a CEO.
The travel and hopsitality industries may be seeing a resurgence, data from the U.S. Travel Association show. The group said the industry generated $99.5 billion in the year to August, up 13% compared with the same period in 2010. U.S. Travel counts airline and cruise ship tickets, hotel, attractions and some restaurants in its figures.
With an FAA-proposed pilot fatigue/crew rest rule stuck since August at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, missing the congressional mandate of Aug. 1 for implementation, Transportation Department Secretary Ray LaHood told Aviation Week yesterday he was heading to OMB at 5:30 p.m. with hopes of solving the problem. He also told a National Press Club audience yesterday that a rule must incorporate not just fatigue but also other safety issues such as training, and “shortly we will be announcing what that is.”
Qantas says industrial action by its unions have hurt maintenance operations so much that it is taking the extreme step of grounding five aircraft and cutting flights.
