FAA adjusted its timeline for gearing up aspects of its Operational Evolution Plan (OEP), but the agency's 10-year technology and procedures modification plan remains on track, anticipating an upswing in demand and corresponding traffic growth, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said last week. While schedule changes are based on both ATC needs in the post-Sept. 11 environment and industry requirements, the goal of increasing capacity by 30% remains unchanged, FAA affirmed.
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system was invented in the U.S. but the smaller, faster-moving Australian air traffic system will be the first to use it, according to Thales ATM. The company said it signed a major contract with Airservices Australia for the implementation of ADS-B system, which will give Australia the "first system worldwide to provide an integrated operational upgrade of an air traffic control system with ADS-B."
Contracts covering more than 76,000 IAM aerospace workers will expire this year in 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Major agreements are expiring with Boeing in Puget Sound, Wichita and Portland, Wash., and with Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, Palmdale, Marietta and Cape Canaveral. "Job security continues to be the overriding issue," says IAM VP Bob Thayer.
American CEO Donald Carty over the weekend denied that American had conducted racial profiling in refusing to allow an armed secret service agent of Arab decent on board a flight out of Baltimore Washington International Airport to Dallas on Christmas Day. The pilot alleged the agent improperly filled out his pre-flight forms and became hostile when denied boarding while the company tried to verify his story that he was a Special Agent (DAILY, Jan. 7).
Contracts covering more than 76,000 IAM aerospace workers will expire this year in 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Major agreements are expiring with Boeing in Puget Sound, Wichita and Portland, Wash., and with Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, Palmdale, Marietta and Cape Canaveral. "Job security continues to be the overriding issue," says IAM VP Bob Thayer.
American and British Airways, which seek to concentrate their market power with a strategy aimed at business traffic and toward containing capacity, "dominate markets between major U.S. cities and London," especially at London Heathrow, the General Accounting Office stated in a report on the proposed alliance. A full review of the competitive landscape is important, GAO said, with AA/BA's impact to be determined on "whether other airlines can enter these markets under an open-skies agreement."
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system was invented in the U.S. but the smaller, faster-moving Australian air traffic system will be the first to use it, according to Thales ATM. The company said it signed a major contract with Airservices Australia for the implementation of ADS-B system, which will give Australia the "first system worldwide to provide an integrated operational upgrade of an air traffic control system with ADS-B."
EasyJet is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over an order for up to 75 aircraft, the company said yesterday. EasyJet plans to boost its fleet to more than 100 by 2007, an annual growth of about 25%. The order would be the largest ever placed by a European no-frills carrier and would bolster EasyJet's position as one of the two leading carriers in the segment. The airline operates a 27-aircraft fleet of Boeing 737s and has 23 more 737-700s on order for delivery until May 2004.
No one should be fooled by the U.S. major airlines. While all carriers are facing the worst times they have seen in a decade and thousands of hard-working people have lost their jobs in the past three months as a result, there is little doubt that a handful of top airline executives are plotting their next acquisition. Whether they are mergers of equals or acquisitions of weaker airlines, the industry's leaders will make some shrewd business deals this year that will eventually lead to a dramatic restructuring.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic November 2001 Revenue Ton Miles (000) November November % 2001 2000 Change Domestic Freight 847,096 866,106 (2.2) Mail 69,713 182,327 (61.8) Total 916,809 1,048,433 (12.6) International
General Aviation Manufacturers Association and other GA groups, responding yesterday to the flight of a light aircraft into a Tampa building by a 15-year-old boy, said the incident "underscores the need for continued vigilance at the nation's airports." GAMA President Ed Bolen said the GA groups after the events of Sept. 11 developed a list of security recommendations and sent it to DOT and FAA Dec. 12. The recommendations covered security measures for aircraft, passengers, pilots and airports.
EasyJet is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over an order for up to 75 aircraft, the company said yesterday. EasyJet plans to boost its fleet to more than 100 by 2007, an annual growth of about 25%. The order would be the largest ever placed by a European no-frills carrier and would bolster EasyJet's position as one of the two leading carriers in the segment. The airline operates a 27-aircraft fleet of Boeing 737s and has 23 more 737-700s on order for delivery until May 2004.
Machinists yesterday filed suit to block the Presidential Emergency Board from holding its first meeting tomorrow on resolving the union's dispute with United Airlines. The Machinists sought a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to set aside the presidential order establishing the PEB and charged that the National Mediation Board failed to perform "basic statutory requirements" before recommending the president appoint the PEB.
The year 2001 was notable for the progress made by industry and government in the widespread sharing of safety information, including an FAA decision in October to protect information collected under airline Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA) programs and the recently concluded meeting of the Global Aviation Information Network (GAIN), at which several advances were announced.
Mesa Air last week reached an agreement with lessors to finance up to 20 64-seat CRJ-700s and 84-seat CRJ 900s scheduled for delivery beginning this spring. Mesa has orders for 40 CRJ-700 and 900 aircraft, which will be operated on behalf of America West.
FAA said that it has refined the Nexcom ground system acquisition strategy and will conduct one-on-one discussions of the changes Jan. 22-25. The discussions are aimed at providing potential offerors with an updated program strategy for a rapid development effort and a subsequent full-scale development program. Companies that want to participate should be limited to prime contractors and their teams "who have demonstrated capabilities to perform all tasks" required by the program, FAA said. It asked the companies to forward their requests by Jan. 15.
Mainline carrier losses in 2001 were the regional airline industry's gains, with majors turning over significant numbers of available seat miles (ASMs) to regional partners, according to statistics from BACK Aviation Solutions. BACK examined nonstop routes operated by six majors in January 2001 and included markets where both mainline and regionals provided service or where mainline provided service in January. 2001 and only regionals were providing service in January 2002. It also looked at routes where mainline jet service has been reduced or disappeared
Boeing has delivered the last of 30 717s to American. TWA had placed an order for 50 and optioned another 50, 15 of which had been delivered when TWA declared bankruptcy. The new company, TWA Airlines LLC, then took 15 more. No more deliveries are scheduled to American, Boeing said. American has parked 12 717s as part of its 20% capacity reduction. The airline is negotiating with Boeing on its overall fleet strategy, including the prospects for its 18 operational 717s and any future deliveries.
An airport advisory group in South Carolina is considering plans to close down two general aviation airports, consolidating them into a new facility. An airport advisory committee for Horry County has called on Delta Airport Consulting to conduct an FAA-funded study of the county's airports as part of long-range aviation planning, and is considering Delta's plan to replace two airports.
