Transportation Security Administration passenger screeners will operate out of the Downtown Manhattan Heliport at Wall Street, the agency announced; it is the first time the TSA has assigned screeners and equipment to a heliport. "These dedicated resources will ensure that passengers and baggage entering Manhattan's airspace on commercial helicopter flights to New York-area airports have satisfied TSA's stringent screening requirements," said Douglas Hofsass, the TSA's federal security director at LaGuardia Airport.
The development of high-speed trains in Europe could reduce air traffic growth by about 80,000 flights -- or 1% of the flight total -- in the next seven years, Eurocontrol forecasts. Spain and Italy will see the most reduction, followed by France. The Madrid-Barcelona route will face the strongest competition from rail services.
Airports that opt out of using Transportation Security Administration screeners would be given priority for discretionary grants by the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) under a proposal being floated by Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.), chairman of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee.
UPS returned to the U.S. Transportation Dept. two of its Hong Kong fifth-freedom frequencies -- one Macapagal (formerly Clark AB), Philippines, frequency operated via Singapore and one Singapore frequency. The cargo company now holds 18 Hong Kong fifth-freedom frequencies [OST-2005-21316].
GOL priced its perpetual bond offering at US$200 million with a rate of 8.75%. The notes are senior unsecured debts that have no fixed maturity date but will be callable after five years. GOL plans to use the proceeds from the offering to complement financial support it is receiving from the U.S. Exim Bank for aircraft financing (DAILY, March 21).
The U.S. Transportation Dept. terminated a tentative order that would have ended Jackson, Tenn., Essential Air Service subsidy eligibility after review of new data showed that efforts by the community to gain control over the $200-per-passenger subsidy cap (DAILY, Feb. 23) have been successful. In terminating the order, DOT was quick to note, however, that the per-passenger subsidy was higher than the $200 cap for the entire calendar year 2005.
Delta will soon unveil details of a new senior management reorganization, following the announcement this week that Paul Matsen, executive VP-marketing, will leave the airline after less than two years in the position.
From the Publisher: Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine on April 7 will hold its 49th annual Laureate Awards, honoring the accomplishments of individuals and teams in aviation, aerospace and defense at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles Airport. For more information, visit http://www.aviationnow.com/conferences/laumain.htm.
Ryanair plans to launch six new flights from Pisa in September and five new services from its Shannon base in October. The additions at Pisa will boost the number of daily flights from that base to 17. Daily flights to Valencia and Trapani and three weekly flights to Oslo and Friedrichshafen start Sept. 14, followed by four weekly flights to Doncaster and Karlsruhe Baden on Sept. 15.
The European Aviation Safety Agency and the U.S. FAA approved of the Airbus A380 evacuation test, Airbus said this week. The aircraft will be certified to a maximum of 853 passengers, following the successful evacuation of 873 people on board in 79 seconds. To pass the test, all test passengers were supposed to have been out of the aircraft after 90 seconds. "We have passed a major milestone on the road to certification," Airbus Chief Operating Officer and A380 program head Charles Champion, said. -JF
Chile is the first country that will require IATA's audits as a condition of its airline certification process. The country plans to make the change to include IATA's Operational Safety Audit in carrier certification within a year. About 150 carriers are going through the IOSA process, with 98 of those airlines completing the audits and taking a place on the IOSA list. All IATA carriers must complete audits by yearend 2007 as a condition of membership.
European flight numbers are forecast to grow 26% by 2012, and aviation policy makers need to prepare for changing growth patterns, Eurocontrol says. Average annual growth will be about 3.3% in the next seven years, with more than 11.4 million flights in 2012, Eurocontrol's latest medium-term forecast says. Growth will not be uniform across Europe, however, with Romania, Ukraine and Armenia expected to see expansion of more than 50% within seven years, and others, such as Switzerland and Norway, seeing 20% growth.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority signed a deal to take over operation of the Washington Dulles toll road and use the funds to pay for a $4 billion project to extend the Metrorail subway system out to the airport. MWAA will take all operational responsibility of the toll road, including rate setting, and assume all outstanding debt. The authority will oversee a two-phased plan to build a 23.1 mile extension of Metrorail to Washington Dulles and beyond.
U.S. airlines under pressure to accommodate customers traveling to Venezuela during the Easter holiday received a reprieve when the country's civil aviation institute (INAC) extended a deadline to ban their flights until April 25. Originally, civil aviation authorities in Venezuela set a March 1 deadline for the ban, citing limitations its airlines faced in serving the U.S. (DAILY, March 17). That date was pushed to March 30, and as that deadline approached, INAC opted to move it back to next month.
Spanish investment company Ferrovial has effectively neutralized a potential rival bidder for British airport operator BAA, with Ferrovial yesterday naming Australia's Macquarie as a "financial co-adviser" on the bid.
Finnair yesterday signed a contract with Airbus for nine A350-900 orders, to be delivered beginning in 2012, and also took options for four more A350s. The A350 order was first announced by Finnair late last year (DAILY, Dec. 8). The aircraft will be powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1700 engines and will seat 314 passengers in a two-class configuration. This brings the A350's firm order and commitment total to 182 aircraft from 14 customers, including 100 firm orders.
The National Transportation Safety Board late yesterday issued four urgent recommendations targeted to Bombardier CRJ-200s after seven fires were reported onboard the planes. Six of the fires occurred during the past six months. The fires stem from surface material on switching devices for electrical power pushed from electrical generators mounted on the aircraft's engines. Four fires resulted in the temporary loss of all Electronic Flight Information System (EFIS) displays, increasing pilot workload during an emergency situation, NTSB said.
Bombardier reversed steep losses for its fiscal year, but the company couldn't prevent a drop in revenues after a slide in regional aircraft deliveries and slower business in the U.K and Germany caused revenues to slide. Profits for the fiscal year ending in January 2006 reached $249 million, compared with a loss of $85 million the previous year. Bombardier made $86 million in the fourth quarter, up from $56 million a year earlier.
North American Airlines this week took delivery of its fourth Boeing 767-300ER, which it plans to use for scheduled service between the U.S. and West Africa. The aircraft was acquired under a five-year lease from ILFC, and another 767 is scheduled for delivery in December. North American, a subsidiary of World Air Holdings, now has a fleet of nine aircraft. The company says it is the only airline offering nonstop service between the U.S. and West Africa. North American also has extensive charter operations for military and commercial customers. -AS
