Canada and Mexico Friday announced changes to their bilateral air services agreement that stops short of true open skies but takes the two countries one step closer. The amendments to the existing agreement allow carriers from both countries greater access to passenger and cargo traffic and gives airlines greater pricing flexibility to respond to market conditions, Transport Canada said. More than 840,000 Canadians visit Mexico each year.
FAA is encouraging airports to fill out an online survey reviewing how well the agency is serving facilities receiving Airport Improvement Program grants. The agency, like most companies, is very interested in its customers, said Charles Erhard, FAA manager of the airport compliance division. “For us, this is the airports where we provide grant funding. We want to know how they rate us and how we can do better,” he stated. “FAA grants $3 billion a year in AIP grants to 3,200 airports, and those are our customers.”
FAA is expanding the number of airport terminals that will have live air-traffic displays during the holiday travel season. Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth will now have these systems, in addition to New York Kennedy, Chicago O’Hare, Minneapolis-St. Paul and Washington National. The displays are staffed by FAA employees, and they show passengers monitors with live feeds of air traffic and weather systems.
IATA is launching five projects to increase passenger self-service in all facets of airline and airport operations. The five areas are check-in, baggage processing, documentation checks, irregular operations (including flight delays and cancellations), and boarding. IATA’s objective is to “develop industry-wide processes and standards for self-service worldwide.”
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) APRIL 15-17, 2008 MRO/MRO Military North America, Fort Lauderdale, Fla. SEPT. 12 Management Forums, Green Aviation, Brussels, Belgium OCT. 2-3 Lean/Six Sigma, San Francisco, Calif. OCT. 29 Avionics Outlook, Phoenix, Ariz. NOV. 26-27 BizAv Trends/VLJ West, San Diego, Calif.
Long-standing Pratt & Whitney partner, MTU Aero Engines, is set to become a stakeholder in several new turbofan products being developed by its counterpart. The MTU board has approved the company take a roughly 15% stake in each of three new Pratt engine offerings, aimed at the regional airline and business jet market. The final decision is still contingent on the projects meeting unspecified launch conditions.
Good progress is being made in forming a single massive airspace block for en route traffic over most of central and western Europe, participants say. A feasibility study is expected to be completed next year, and political commitment from the nations involved will be sought within 12 months. This “functional airspace block” – one of several being created through the Single European Sky process – would include Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Luxembourg.
Southwest is protesting plans by Austin-Bergstrom Airport to partner with G.E. Commercial Aviation Services on opening a low-cost terminal in spring 2008.
Pilots, angered by exorbitant executive bonues, strike votes by small carriers and intimidation by management, have joined forces to address their concerns.
Congestion pricing at New York airports could affect the implementation of the U.S.-EU open-skies agreement in March, Jacques Barrot, vice president of the European Commission, wrote to DOT Secretary Mary Peters in a letter obtained by The DAILY. Barrot expressed concern about the effects congestion pricing could have on EU carriers and on “air services between the U.S. and the EU.” The open-skies agreement “should deliver the benefits expected to both sides,” Barrot wrote.
30 Years Ago Dec. 20, 1977 –- British Caledonian will oppose Laker Airways’ request for Los Angeles-London sky train rights. “If Laker wants a scrap, they have got one -- every step of the way, to the highest legal authority in the land, if necessary,” BCAL’s J.M. Ritchie said. 20 Years Ago
The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled acting FAA Administrator Robert Sturgell’s confirmation hearing on Thursday, Dec. 20, according to the committee’s Web site. Sturgell has been acting FAA administrator since Marion Blakey stepped down from the post in September.
Members of the European Parliament last week raised grave concerns about an European Union passenger name record (PNR) data transfer system during a debate to adopt a counter-terrorism proposal. MEPs called into question the profiling and data-mining components inherent in a PNR system, arguing that such a system is “not allowed” at the EU level.
President Bush signed the Fair Treatment for Experienced Pilots Act (H.R.4343) into law on Friday, thus raising the retirement age for commercial pilots from 60 to 65. The bill passed unanimously through both houses of Congress last week. Introduced last Tuesday by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), House Transportation and Infrastructure chairman, the law stripped the pilot retirement age provisions out of the FAA reauthorization bill into a stand-alone bill (DAILY, Dec. 12).
The European Commission will put particular emphasis on trying to make Europe’s air transport sector more efficient, both in the air and on the ground, promises Jacques Barrot, transport commissioner. As part of that drive, Barrot promises “a bold proposal to improve efficiency.” What’s behind that statement is still somewhat murky, but an EC representative suggests a package of initiatives will likely be unveiled mid-year.
Lufthansa’s investment in JetBlue is great timing for the German carrier due to the impending relaxation of transatlantic aviation restrictions, says Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg. New York Kennedy will be the most desirable transatlantic gateway and is likely to see access restrictions soon. The other European giants may well follow Lufthansa’s example, Linenberg says, which “could mean minority investments by the Europeans in U.S. airlines in the not-to-distant future.”
Paraguay and Mexico last week in Asuncion inked a bilateral air transport agreement, a move that should help Paraguay’s efforts to create a regional airline hub. Mexico was represented at the signing by Patricia Espinosa, foreign undersecretary on official visit, and by Paraguay’s foreign minister, Ruben Ramirez.
Chaos appears about to break loose at Alitalia: Unions threatened to strike over Christmas; press reports signal that Chairman Maurizio Prato may quit, and investors are panicking.
Congress has passed another stopgap government funding measure, as lawmakers try this week to thrash out a compromise omnibus spending bill. The latest temporary fix, known as a continuing resolution, maintains most federal operations – except the Defense and Homeland Security departments – at Fiscal 2006 levels through Dec. 21.
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) last week received word from air transport regulator Javier Garcia that most of the technical prerequisites for renewal of its operating license have been met and now only await maintenance reports on the two aircraft that LAB plans to use to resume service The aircraft are now being ferried to LAB’s base in Cochabamba from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and Lima, Peru. The airline may resume service through scheduled or charter flights.
JetBlue will look to pursue cooperation with Lufthansa beyond the strictly financial deal the two announced yesterday when the German airline said it will take a minority stake in the low-cost carrier.
Air India has been invited to join the Star Alliance, as the biggest airline group tries to eradicate its last remaining “white spots” in the world’s big aviation markets. Star Alliance CEOs yesterday unanimously voted in favor of inviting Air India, which expects to join the group in “around 15 months,” Chairman Vasudevan Thulasidas told reporters in Beijing after the Star Chief Executive Board vote.
