ICF SH&E , Fairfax, Va., hired the entire 14-person staff of AeroStrategy, including Kevin Michaels, David Stewart and Hal Chrisman, who will join the staff as VPs.
A downturn in express shipping volume, especially from Asia, has prompted FedEx to reduce its full-year profit forecast by about 1.5% and increase FedEx Express’ net average rates by roughly 4%. The company’s outlook reflects a 4% decline in daily package volume for FedEx International Priority services in the three months ended Aug. 31, which pushed operating income for the FedEx Express division down 19% year-over-year to $288 million and its operating margin from 6% to 4.4%.
Suwanee, Ga.-based Vision Airlines lost $5.4 million in the first quarter, according to financial data filed with the U.S. Transportation Department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, while its loss totaled $5.2 million.
Within the next three to six months, Virgin Atlantic plans to begin a trial run of allowing customers to make calls from their mobile phones during flight. The trial will be done on selected Airbus A330-300 aircraft, and phone calls will be allowed only in specific sections.
By Nicholas E. Calio, President and CEO, Air Transport Association The U.S. airlines are very supportive of recent initiatives led by President Obama to eliminate unnecessary, unproductive and costly regulation. The FAA-proposed rule that seeks to change how airlines schedule pilots is a classic and very troubling example of an ill-conceived regulation with a good intent that fails to meet its objective and will result in significant unintended consequences, including job losses.
The turmoil in global markets, along with the European debt crisis, has raised the specter of a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis, which sent cargo and passenger demand off a cliff, but some economists think these fears may be overblown. However, when FedEx released its quarterly earnings last week, it said the U.S. and global economies are expected to grow more slowly than anticipated, suggesting global trade may be slowing (see story below).
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. 26—Aircraft Composite Repair Management Forum, Madrid Sept. 27-29—MRO Europe 2011, Madrid Sept. 28—MRO Military Europe, Madrid 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
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) Sept. 27—International Aviation Club luncheon featuring Nicholas Calio, president and CEO of Air Transport Association, The City Club of Washington, Wash., D.C., 202-508-8937, [email protected] Sept. 27-28—Global Performance-Based Navigation Summit, Bell Harbor International Conference Center, Seattle, www.pbnsummit.org
Air Baltic stresses it will continue operations even though a Latvian court rejected its plan for protection from creditors on Friday. The airline accuses the Latvian government of pursuing secret plans to set up a competing carrier while trying to seal the fate of Air Baltic. The developments are the latest turn in a power struggle that has stretched over several months. The fight involves Air Baltic’s two major shareholders, the government (52%) and Baltic Aviation Systems (BAS), which is in turn partly owned by the airline’s CEO, Berthold Flick.
Albuquerque International Sunport won the Environmental Management Award, and five other airports were recognized by the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) 2011 Environmental Achievement Awards. Albuquerque won for its sustainability management system at Sunport and at the general aviation Double Eagle II reliever airport. The systems' innovation has led the FAA to approve Voluntary Airport Low Emission (VALE) Program grants to reduce pollutants generated by sources at airports.
The Senate Appropriations Committee provided “full funding” for the Next Generation air traffic modernization system, even adding $28.5 million to Lockheed Martin’s troubled En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) program to help get it back on track. But in a report on the fiscal 2012 spending bill passed by committee last week, lawmakers scolded the FAA for its past performance and challenged the agency to improve its program management.
Score one for reality over alarmism. The argument for maintaining the new rules for union-representation elections at U.S. airlines received a major boost—or at least it should have—from a vote in August by JetBlue Airways pilots. Proponents of the new rules, which the National Mediation Board (NMB) implemented last year, should be using the election as Exhibit A in the case against the push by some airlines and Republicans to have Congress overturn the changes.
Tiger Airways has signed an agreement related to its decision to buy one-third of Mandala Airlines. The Singapore low-cost carrier says it has signed a share subscription contract“and finalized "other commercial agreements” in relation to its proposed purchase of a 33% stake in Mandala. “Tiger’s investment in Mandala will be held through wholly owned subsidiary in Singapore, Roar Aviation,” it adds.
Hundreds of United Airlines and Continental Airlines pilots are planning to picket Sept. 27 in New York's financial district, adjacent to the New York Stock Exchange, over the lack of progress on a joint contract with parent company United Continental Holdings. Plans call for the informational picketing to be followed by a rally in Battery Park. Meanwhile, the unions representing Southwest Airlines’ and AirTran Airways’ pilots reached agreement Friday on integrating seniority lists. Ratification is needed by Oct. 1 to avoid binding arbitration.
Global airports will spend more than $1 trillion on capital projects through 2030 to meet rising traffic demand, adding significantly to debt, the regional director for the Airports Council International told a Beijing Global Friend Airports CEO Forum.
Airports Council International-North America is making a serious effort to reach out to airport members and learn their opinions on how best to finance capital needs estimated at $80 billion over five years. The four-month effort will be launched at the October ACI meeting in San Diego and will continue with regional sessions and electronic surveys. ACI-NA President Greg Principato has called Nixon-era airport funding rules shackles that deprive airports from rebuilding.
