On-time performance and baggage handling at its Philadelphia hub appear to be the linchpins in US Airways’ strategy to become a more efficient and reliable airline. Executives said in Tempe, Ariz., that the carrier’s mantra this year will be reliability, convenience and appearance. They said that focusing heavily on improving operations at Philadelphia will be the key.
FAA needs to improve its risk-based oversight system for foreign suppliers of aircraft components to prevent substandard parts from making their way into aircraft built in the U.S., DOT’s Inspector General found in a report published on Friday.
Despite what many consider the airline’s struggles to merge with America West, US Airways remains a strong advocate for industry consolidation as long as capacity is rationalized and the costs of attaining the deal are reasonable. Chairman and CEO Doug Parker, speaking to reporters at the airline’s Media Day, said, “Consolidation for consolidation’s is not necessarily a good thing,” and he stressed that such a move should result in efficiencies and capacity rationalization that create value for all parties involved.
Pilots will need to switch to a plastic pilot certificate by March 31, 2010, under a new FAA rule, AOPA says. FAA believes the plastic certificates will be more counterfeit-resistant than paper certificates. AOPA supports the move to plastic certificates, which was first proposed in 2005. Those with non-pilot certificates, such as ground instructors, flight engineers and mechanics, will have until March 31, 2013, to change to the plastic certificate.
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Continental is scheduled to launch 12 new domestic and one international routes from Cleveland this year. This week, it begins service from Cleveland to Greensboro, N.C.; Omaha, Neb.; and Savannah, Ga. Other new destinations will include Paris, France; Birmingham, Ala.; Charleston, S.C.; Green Bay, Wis.; Tulsa, Okla.; Little Rock, Ark.; Memphis, Tenn.; Lansing, Mich.; Des Moines, Iowa, and Kalamazoo, Mich.
The Pentagon’s decision late Friday to pick a Northrop Grumman/EADS team to supply the next-generation refueling aircraft to the U.S. Air Force represents a huge win for Airbus and the A330, the aircraft the winning bid is based on. It also forces the European aircraft builder to make good its commitment to shift assembly of the tankers and all A330-200F cargo aircraft to Mobile, Ala.
The outlook for Asia/Pacific carriers this year is still healthy, with January demand still growing strongly, the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines says. “There is some uncertainty about the potential impact of slower economic growth, but for now we remain cautiously optimistic” about 2008 traffic, AAPA Director General Andrew Herdman said. He noted that 2008 has started “on a positive note with continued steady growth” in international passenger and cargo traffic.
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Bombardier’s final sales tallies reflect a bumper fiscal year, with deliveries up 10% and orders almost doubling, compared with the previous year. For the year ending Jan. 31, Bombardier achieved 698 orders, up from 326 in the 2006/2007 fiscal year. Deliveries increased from 326 to 361. The company singled out the business aircraft segment in particular as having a record year.
Acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell stresses that new runway status lights being installed at Los Angeles Airport are “stop-gap measures” to reduce incursions. What LAX really needs is an improved airport layout, Sturgell says. “The city needs to do on the north airfield what it’s doing on the south side ... that’s how you drive down incursions.”
30 Years Ago March 3, 1978 — BCAL, responding to a CAB order, said it would “ignore” any order from the U.S. to discontinue services at Houston, and said Delta’s new Atlanta-London service “may be jeopardized.” CAB said BCAL’s Houston-London service could be discontinued in retaliation for the U.K. rejecting Braniff’s low fares for DFW-London. 20 Years Ago
US Airways Chairman and CEO Doug Parker said Delta and Northwest were not making “a fair request” of their pilots in asking them to quickly work out their seniority issues and turn around a deal that will move talks forward. “We know full well that asking pilots to resolve seniority integration takes an extremely long time.
Boeing reported a strong week for orders, with 59 aircraft booked during the seven days through Feb. 26 — including 30 anonymous 737 orders. The latest total also includes 19 737s and six 777s for Continental, four 737s for RAK Airways. These orders boost the net order total for 2008 to 189. Of the total, 75 orders are from unidentified customers. 737s dominate other aircraft classes with 132 orders, 48 of which are anonymous. The 787 has 40 orders, the 777 16, and there is a single 747 order.
JAL intends to increase its reliance on small and medium-sized aircraft in the next three years, which the carrier believes will make its operations more efficient as it prepares for major capacity expansion at Tokyo airports.
Spirit yesterday added Columbia, S.C. to its network, and expanded its summer schedule with three new routes to Florida airports. Columbia service will begin May 22 with flights to Fort Lauderdale. In addition, Spirit will boost Myrtle Beach service with a new route to Orlando, beginning June 12. This will be Spirit’s sixth Myrtle Beach route. Spirit is also adding twice-daily flights between Islip, N.Y. and Ft. Lauderdale, beginning May 1.
The heads of Airports Council International-Europe and the European Travel Retail Council (ETRC) are calling on eligible countries to apply European Commission regulations call for more harmonization in the handling of liquids.
India, Asia’s third-largest economy, is showing signs of growth in business aviation. Hawker Beechcraft Corp. and India’s Interglobe General Aviation have opened the first authorized service center for Hawker Beechcraft in India at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. HBC has a 56% market share of all turbine aircraft in India and Hawker in the past few years received 23 orders from India, Jim Schuster, chairman and CEO, said. Of the roughly 122 turbine-powered aircraft in India, 73 are Hawker Beechcraft products.
Airbus is expected to unveil details of new-style assembly procedures for the upcoming A330-200 Freighter at an initial technical coordination meeting set to take place next week in Bremen, Germany.
Boeing yesterday said it completed a series of important tests on a composite barrel section as part of the 787’s certification process. The tests — which began late last year and were finished this week — “couldn’t have gone any better,” Boeing said. Some tests on barrel sections will continue, but they are considered optional for “additional learning.” More static testing will be done on a complete aircraft fuselage.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) says it would oppose a merger between United and Continental if the deal does not benefit workers. The IBT represents 3,800 mechanics at Continental. United has 9,300 mechanics represented by another union, but the IBT has petitioned to hold a representation election there. The union says it wants United’s Human Resources Dept.
Copa and SkyTeam partner KLM are seeking code-share authority for San Juan, Puerto Rico, services. Specifically, Copa would carry KLM’s code on its flights between San Juan and Panama City. KLM will hold out single-carrier service between San Juan and the Netherlands but will not sell single-carrier service between San Juan and Panama City. Copa, meanwhile, will hold out service between San Juan and the Netherlands via Panama City, since KLM will carry the code on its flights from Panama City to the Netherlands [DOT-OST-2008-0070].
