To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Oct. 3-7—International Aeronautical Congress 2011, Cape Town (South Africa) International Convention Center, +27 (21) 460-9357, www.iac2011.com Oct. 6-9—Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine Annual Scientific Meeting, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Newcastle, Australia, www.asam2011.org.au
Airbus has closed a deal to purchase Danish aircraft parts supplier Satair. Airbus controls 96.7% of Satair’s shares and paid DKK580 ($106) per share in its cash offer. “The acquisition of Satair will help Airbus to strengthen its service business, which is a key element of the EADS Vision 2020. Consistent with this strategy, this acquisition facilitates the growth of Airbus’s Material Management division and is an opportunity to develop new services through the combined entity in both the civil and governmental markets,“ Airbus said.
Final briefs in a legal challenge to some of the U.S. Transportation Department’s new passenger rights rules will not be due until after the department begins implementing the rules, under a schedule released by the court. The release of the briefing schedule by the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington follows its rejection of a request by Allegiant Air, Spirit Airlines and Southwest Airlines for the court to prevent the Transportation Department (DOT) from implementing the rules pending the outcome of the case (Aviation Daily, Sept. 27).
Marshall Larsen may soon find himself running an aerospace empire. Larsen is the chairman, president and CEO of Goodrich, which has agreed to be acquired by United Technologies Corp. (UTC) in an $18.4 billion deal. When the transaction was unveiled on Sept. 22, UTC said Larsen would run a new operation that was widely assumed to include Goodrich and UTC’s Hamilton Sundstrand, a leading supplier of aircraft control systems.
Airbus is looking to avoid some of the issues it has had on A380 health monitoring messages as it develops the A350 twin widebody. With the A380, there have been complaints that too many fault messages have added to, rather than reduced, the maintenance burden for operators. But on the A350, that should not be the case. “We will have roughly 30% fewer messages compared with the A380,” Marc Virilli, senior director for Airbus, said at Aviation Week’s MRO Europe conference.
Production of aviation biofuels from grasses, crop residues and forest resources is the focus of $136 million in research and development grants awarded to five projects by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Funded under the USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, the university-led, five-year projects aim to develop regional, renewable-energy supply chains, creating rural jobs while commercializing the production of sustainable biofuels.
Some 200 flights were reportedly canceled after a power failure caused by a broken transponder forced Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport to cancel all services late Sept. 29. Services resumed early Sept. 30.
As expected, Chilean operator PAL Airlines has asked the country’s antitrust court to reject LAN Airlines' request for a reassessment of the fare structure used in the court’s ruling on LAN’s merger with TAM. LAN is seeking a revision, arguing that the data used overestimate domestic revenues (Aviation Daily, Sept. 30), which in turn led to the court’s demand for fare caps if the airlines proceed with the creation of Latam Airlines.
British low-cost carrier Flybe, one of Europe's largest regional airlines, is predicting more regional carrier consolidation in Europe. Chairman Jim French says the idea makes business sense because of the efficiencies gained from size and scale through mergers. He also notes that Flybe's contract flying is growing, and he sees more opportunities in franchising.
An independent study to evaluate the potential damage to intra-European airlines under proposed European Commission (EC) slot rules has been commissioned by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the European Regions Airline Association (ERA). The two organizations say the study is needed as the EC moves ahead with plans to amend the current slot allocation regulation.
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. 12-13—Fifth Edition of Lean Six Sigma for MRO Forum, San Francisco 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. 16-17—Lean Six Sigma for MRO Europe, Amsterdam
The authority that runs Detroit Metropolitan and Willow Run airports says it will “significantly realign its business operations and aggressively pursue new revenue sources,” so it will not have to raise fees on airlines.
Click here to view the pdf Summary of Network Carriers Systemwide Expense Indicators, First Quarter 2011, (Dollar Amounts in Thousands) Aircraft Property & Air
The U.S. Travel Association and the Air Transport Association are against the Obama administration's proposal to increase the aviation passenger security fee to a minimum of $5, but for a significantly different reason. ATA is categorically against the proposal, arguing that aviation shoulders an unfair share of the Transportation Security Administration's costs. U.S. Travel, on the other hand, opposes only the fact that some of the proceeds may go to the general fund. If the fees are earmarked solely for security costs, U.S.
FAA, airline and aerospace officials and executives will be on hand today through Wednesday at the The Air Traffic Control Association's 56th Annual Conference and Exposition at the Gaylord National Resort at the National Harbor in Maryland.
Gategroup , Zurich, named Kristin Brown general counsel, replacing Senior VP and General Counsel Hooman Yazhari, who has accepted a position outside the company.
Leaders from European airlines and other industry stakeholders are meeting in London to discuss a range of issues, including how best to persuade the European Union to back off its plan to extend the EU’s emissions trading system (ETS) to airlines in January. Although the law underpinning the ETS’s coverage of airlines cannot be changed before the year-end, the European Commission could agree to set aside enforcement pending a resolution of some of the controversial issues, notes one industry official closely tracking the discussion.
US Airways’ hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) will remain a key part of the carrier’s strategy even if the operator merges with another carrier, says CEO Doug Parker. The airport, which US Airways says is the “fourth-largest single airline hub in terms of departures in the world,” will definitely be part of the network if US Airways remains a stand-alone airline, while Parker notes that “I can’t imagine merging and not having a CLT hub. It’s a core part of our operation and anyone’s operation that would be combined because it does that well.”
In mid-October, nearly 4,000 FAA workers will receive back pay for wages lost during the late-July partial shutdown of the agency, according to a New Jersey congressman. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-N.J.), who represents the district in which nearly 650 workers from the FAA Technical Center in Egg Harbor Township were furloughed, had promised the workers that receiving back pay would not be a problem. But lawmakers have not included funding in spending bills considered since the shutdown.
