The Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) union plans to change its name, but not its acronym. Union members voted to adopt a new name - Professional Aviation Safety Specialists. The union says the new name will emphasize its role in aviation safety.
The Allied Pilots Association has almost finished presenting its revised contract proposal to American, and the two sides are about to take a two-week break, so the airline can consider it. APA negotiators last week told their airline counterparts that the union has only the scope section and a few minor items left to present, according to a negotiations update from American. The scope proposal is expected to be offered very soon.
Alitalia expects to receive non-binding offers from parties wanting to buy the carrier on Dec. 6. Management says it will then announce who has responded and invite one to enter formal price discussions. Industry officials say it's unlikely a final agreement will be in place this year. Consortia involving AirOne, Lufthansa and Air France-KLM are in the running.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which has been collecting cards of interest from United's mechanics around the country for a representation election, will reveal its plans regarding those efforts today at 1 p.m. CST in Chicago. The IBT recently asked the carrier not to spin off certain assets, including its maintenance division, and says it has not had a response.
The International Aviation Club's holiday reception will take place on Thursday, Dec. 13, at the Canadian Embassy, 501 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. Reservations must be made by mail or messenger and should arrive no later than 12 noon, Dec. 7. More information is available at www.iacwashington.org
All Nippon Airways is expected to start planning its Boeing 787 flight training syllabus in detail with the manufacturer in March 2008, with the formal flight training effort starting in November next year. The move comes as assembly of the fatigue test airframe begins at Boeing's Everett, Wash., plant., and is seen as further strong evidence of the program's continuing recovery.
Congressional staffers are working on another extension for FAA's authorizing legislation, and this time they are considering adding as much as four to six months. The FAA reauthorization bill remains stalled in the Senate for the near future. Because the previous legislation expired Sept. 30, Congress approved an extension through Dec. 14. Now, staffers and lawmakers in both chambers are negotiating a new extension. Industry sources say several options are on the table, some extending up to six months.
Scientists at the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are testing terahertz radiation technology - T-rays - as a possible tool in airport security checkpoint screening. T-rays bridge the gap on the range of frequencies between microwaves and infrared on the electromagnetic spectrum, according to Ulrich Welp, a researcher at Argonne's Materials Science Division. "We have a long history here of doing millimeter and sub-millimeter applications," he said. "We're now working on chemical recognition and trace detection with T-rays."
The Airport Consultants Council (ACC) has chosen James Bennett, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), to receive its 2007 Aviation Award of Excellence.
Boeing says final definition of the "double-stretch" 787-10 derivative will not begin for "at least another six months to a year," giving the company time to evaluate the baseline performance of the 787-8 as a true starting point before making critical configuration decisions.
Analysts for Deutsche Bank are bullish on the price for European Unit Allowances - the currency in Europe's Emissions Trading Scheme - over the prospect of airlines entering the buying market.
Safety management systems (SMS) represent the best method to achieve further gains in international aviation safety, FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell said yesterday. While accident rates are dropping both worldwide and in the U.S., improvement is still needed, Sturgell said during FAA's annual International Safety Forum in Chantilly, Va. "When it comes to risks, the low-hanging fruit is long gone...SMS uses hard data to point us in the direction we need to go," said Sturgell.
Lynx Aviation is hopeful it will be receiving its FAA certificate within the next few weeks -- it asked the U.S. Transportation Dept. to reinstate the waiver that allowed it to market and sell tickets ahead of winning authority from the FAA.
American's decision to divest its Eagle regional affiliate sends a positive signal, but may not provide much long-term financial boost, analysts believe.
IATA issued new predictions yesterday that the world's airlines may need as many as 17,000 new pilots per year to keep pace with growth and the number of pilots hitting retirement age. IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said that if industry and governments do not work together to change training and qualification practices, there could be a severe pilot shortage. He added that raising the retirement age from 60 to 65 will help, but it will not be enough.
Kingfisher Airlines Chairman Vijay Mallya, having inspected the New York Kennedy and New York Newark airports last week, decided on flying from India to JFK Terminal 4 in August 2008, The DAILY has learned. Accenture is working on the merger of Air Deccan and Kingfisher that will permit the carrier to fly abroad. India requires its carriers to have a five-year operational history a fulfilling and meeting a minimum fleet requirement before flying abroad, requirements that Kingfisher wouldn't have met on its own (DAILY, Nov. 8).
Aeromexico subsidiary Aerolitoral plans to begin using its wet-leased Embraer 190 in the Mexico City-Houston market and accordingly wants the U.S. Transportation Dept. to amend its exemptions and code-share authority so that it can use the larger aircraft in its U.S.-Mexico operations.
Some regional airlines believe a pilot shortage in the U.S. could be greatly eased by passage of the FAA reauthorization bill now on hold, which contains language raising the retirement age of pilots from 60 to 65. One regional executive says passage will give regionals some breathing room, and without it "we'll be struggling. There are a lot of retirements coming up."
