The White House last week said it will nominate Simon Gros as the Transportation Dept.'s assistant secretary for government affairs, which would elevate him from the deputy assistant secretary role. Gros would replace Shane Karr, who stepped down earlier this year. Gros has previously been DOT's deputy chief of staff.
British Airways next year plans to roll out a new first-class product. The goal is to restore the difference between its premium class, which has been eroded somewhat since BA started fielding a new business class last year. The design of the new first-class offering is already complete, with focus now shifting to implementation.
JAL International is offering an early retirement package to flight attendants as part of a wider effort to trim personnel costs. The carrier's offer is available to attendants who have more than 15 years' seniority, and are over 50 years old if they are non-management and over 54 if they are in management positions. This means about 900 staff would be eligible, with a retirement date of March 31, 2008.
Congress puts the Transportation Security Administration under the microscope this week. First, the Senate Commerce Committee examines TSA progress in effecting security measures mandated by legislation passed this year to implement the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission -- including 100% screening of cargo on passenger aircraft. The same day, TSA Administrator Kip Hawley testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee on advances in aviation security. Both hearings are scheduled for tomorrow.
Los Alamos National Laboratory is adapting magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a tool to detect explosives in liquids and gels at airport security checkpoints. Scientists testing functional brain imaging discovered that MRI has the ability to discriminate chemical environments, making it conducive to use in an airport setting. A prototype for testing will be ready by August 2008.
The International Air Transport Association has issued standards for the use of cell phones and PDAs to display airline boarding passes, a service that a few airlines are already offering. Boarding passes sent to passengers' mobile devices could be displayed and scanned at the airport, using bar codes. Soon IATA will develop standardized processes and guidelines to aid the global introduction of check-in via mobile device. IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani described this as "an important step in getting rid of paper" from the ticketing process.
SkyWest struck deals with current partners Delta and United that should trigger incremental growth for the company with the swap of 23 30-seat Embraer Brasilia 120 turboprops for larger regional jets. The carrier plans to start talks with airframers Bombardier and Embraer for 22 additional aircraft, with 18 of those planes flying as United Express. SkyWest currently operates only Bombardier regional jets.
Concerned by the shrinking number of recent engineering graduates starting careers in aerospace, the Royal Aeronautical Society is ramping up a campaign to make aviation "cool" to young people, says President David Marshall. The society has held one aviation education day for primary school students and plans to step up its efforts to educate very young children -- and their teachers and parents -- about the possibilities of careers in aerospace engineering.
Comair Air Line Pilots Association union leaders tell members that as President Don Bornhorst takes the helm at Delta Connection, they hope both Bornhorst and Delta will want to "improve Comair's position in both the Delta structure and in the airline industry." Former Delta executive John Selvaggio is taking over as president of Comair (DAILY, Oct. 10).
Named VP-Finance, Controller and Principal Accounting Officer Ray Druseikis to assume on an interim basis the role of CFO, treasurer and secretary in the wake of Gary Qualmann's resignation.
Brazilian carrier TAM and United last week filed a code-share application with regulators in the U.S. and Brazil. This follows a memorandum of understanding they signed in May. The code share will let TAM sell tickets on United flights from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo to Chicago and Washington. TAM passengers can then connect to United's domestic network. United will put its code on TAM flights from Miami and New York to Sao Paulo and Manaus, and on TAM's domestic network from there.
FAA Acting Administrator Robert Sturgell is now working from former Administrator Marion Blakey's office, sources say. Until recently, he occupied the deputy administrator's office, which was his role before becoming acting administrator last month. Sturgell is believed to be one of the leading contenders to be nominated by the White House as Blakey's replacement. Ruth Leverenz, the assistant administrator for region and center operations, has shifted into the deputy's office.
Frankfurt Airport welcomed more than 5 million passengers in September 2007, up 0.9% year over year. It was the first time Frankfurt exceeded the 5 million passenger mark in a September. Intercontinental traffic drove growth for the airport, up 2.3% in September. Destinations in the United States, the Caribbean and South America grew at rates of 4.1%, 2.4%, and 7.1 %, respectively. Middle East traffic was up 6.9 %.
ExpressJet is asking the U.S. Transportation Dept. to keep August 2007 T-100 data for its independent branded flying operation under wraps until the agency decides whether it will reconsider last month's decision denying confidential treatment of T-100 data for April-July (DAILY, Sept. 12). If DOT decides to grant the petition, ExpressJet would like the T-100 data for its branded flying to be withheld from public disclosure until May 30. It does not want confidential treatment of data related to its Continental Express, Delta Connection and charter flying.
Mexico's three airport management groups all recorded double-digit traffic gains last month, powered by a strong domestic market that continues to grow on the wings of low-cost carriers and other startups.
The number of international travelers visiting the U.S. in July grew 9% from the same month last year to 5.3 million, reports the U.S. Commerce Dept.'s Office of Travel and Tourism Industries. Spending by those visitors during the month, meanwhile, increased 12% to $10.2 billion. Year-to-date spending is up 10% to $68 billion.
