Controllers at New Delhi's Indira Ghandi Airport have begun operational use of a new airport surface monitoring system installed by Sensis Corp. The Surface Movement Guidance and Control System (A-SMGCS) gives better situational awareness and conflict alerts, integrating a range of surveillance sources such as multilateration, radar and automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B). The New Delhi system provides taxi route conformance monitoring, and controllers are alerted when an aircraft deviates from its assigned taxi route.
The new Panama City Bay County Airport will cost more than $300 million to build, according to new estimates, and is scheduled to be completed in the second half of 2009. The new facility moved one step closer to reality last week after FAA approved a plan by the county to relocate the facility (DAILY, Sept. 18). In its record of decision, FAA found that the new proposal met all applicable environmental and safety guidelines.
The number of persons killed in all U.S. aviation accidents in 2005 dropped to 616 from 652 in 2004, according to preliminary National Transportation Safety Board statistics. Airline fatalities increased from 14 to 22, while air taxi deaths dropped sharply from 64 in 2004 to 18 last year. General aviation fatalities in 2005 rose slightly to 562 from 558.
The National Aeronautic Association named former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta as the winner of the 2006 Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. The trophy, presented annually by the NAA, is awarded "to a living American for significant public service of enduring value to aviation in the United States." Mineta will be presented the trophy at a banquet on Dec. 15, hosted by the Aero Club of Washington.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air next month plan to introduce a new cargo management system that aims to sharply cut costs by simplifying reservations, document handling and accounting for customers and employees.
Gol last week opened its new maintenance center at Tancredo Neves International Airport in Confins, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, which means the airline is transferring maintenance from third-party contractors to its in-house facility. Gol expects to save $2 million in maintenance costs annually. The base opening also lays the groundwork for Gol to supply its own third-party maintenance work. The maintenance center has two hangars, one that can hold two aircraft, the second designed for a single plane. -LR
LAN Airlines recently reported an 11.6% jump in traffic in August, but the increase was outpaced by a 12.3% capacity increase, leading to a slip in load factor.
All Nippon Airways will carry Continental's code on the Chicago-Tokyo route as part of mail code sharing the carriers plan to launch on Oct. 29. ANA also carried Continental's code on flights from Honolulu, Los Angeles and New York Kennedy to Tokyo [OST-2002-12869].
Dallas Love Field recently introduced the first fully interoperable communications service that allows police, fire, federal agencies, private industry and airport staff to communicate with each other over their existing networks and equipment during an emergency.
FAA added to the list of portable oxygen concentrators that can be used in flight: AirSep Corp.'s FreeStyle, SeQual Technologies' Eclipse and Respironics Inc.'s EverGo.
Brazilian airline regulator ANAC recently suspended the redistribution of routes that previously belonged to Varig. Local reports say the move followed a ruling by federal bankruptcy judge Paulo Roberto Fragoso, one of the magistrates supervising Varig's overall restructuring, which fined ANAC $470,000 for not complying with previous rulings against redistribution of Varig routes and airport slots to other airlines.
Lufthansa Cargo and Frankfurt airport operator Fraport yesterday said they will form a strategic partnership with the goal of developing Frankfurt into Europe's primary air cargo hub.
Chicago Midway Airport would be leased to a private contractor by the end of 2007 if its application for an FAA pilot program is approved. The Chicago Dept. of Aviation recently filed an application for FAA's Airport Privatization Pilot Program created under the federal agency's 1996 reauthorization act. Congress established the pilot to explore privatization as a means of generating access to sources of private capital for airport improvement and development.
The average 7.9% domestic operating profit margin posted by U.S. airlines in the second quarter was the highest recorded since the second quarter of 2000, reports the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
American and its pilots union are scheduled to start negotiations tomorrow for a new contract by trading opening positions, although few details beyond general principles are likely to emerge at this early stage. The Allied Pilots Association told members that its opener will be "fairly general in nature." The proposal will "refrain from citing specific targets for items such as improved compensation." The union said this approach will give it more latitude in achieving its goals.
Republic Airways Holdings, in partnership with the Greensboro Piedmont Triad Airport, will host a series of recruiting sessions in the city as part of its previously announced plans to grow its flight attendant work force by more than 300.
Air Wisconsin's new chief executive plans to immediately start looking for new business from those major carriers who plan to award new flying during the coming months. CEO Jim Rankin, on the job about six weeks, told The DAILY that the carrier is "actively" looking at a number of requests for proposals as well as eying ways to grow its ground-handling business. Rankin joined Air Wisconsin after serving as CEO of Midwest subsidiary Skyway Airlines.
Boeing may have to build a few more Large Cargo Freighters than it planned if the manufacturer decides to boost the production rate of the 787 line, says Commercial Airplanes VP-Marketing Randy Baseler. Boeing currently intends to build three LCFs, which are converted 747s used to transport 787 sections. The first LCF flew from Taiwan to Seattle on Saturday to complete its flight test program.
The U.S. Transportation Dept. doesn't plan to issue a final rule concerning the use of medical oxygen and portable respiration assistive devices until spring 2007, department representatives told Canadian Transport Agency officials recently.
Airport Strategy and Marketing (ASM) and Sabre Airline Solutions yesterday formed a new marketing partnership to boost their work in the airport consulting and route development. ASM and Sabre agreed to an "extensive marketing relationship, working together in order to jointly increase their respective consulting businesses in the fields of route development for airports, as well as more general commercial and operations related airport consulting," the companies said.
