US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the agency is "thoroughly investigating" an incident that occurred shortly after 12 a.m. Wednesday at Washington National Airport in which two aircraft, a United Airlines A320 and a American Airlines Boeing 737, were unable to make contact with a non-responsive DCA tower and landed with assistance from a regional ATC center.
Southwest Airlines said the carrier’s 170 material specialists (formerly known as stock clerks), represented by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, ratified a new five-year contract through Aug. 16, 2013. The current contract became amendable on Aug. 16, 2008 ( ATW Daily News, Feb. 16). One year ago, SWA and IBT agreed to seek assistance from the National Mediation Board.
Technology solutions provider Mercator on Wednesday announced plans to develop an ICAO-compliant next-generation safety data management system for the airline industry and said that Emirates Airline will be the pilot customer. The system will be designed to integrate risk management across all areas of a business, and is intended to result in higher performance and reduced cost, said Mercator, which is also a unit of the Emirates Group.
Service disruptions, long lines at check-in and baggage issues remain the top three areas of customer dissatisfaction with air travel but existing and emerging technology hold the potential to greatly alleviate these concerns, according to a new report from Amadeus. The report also cites passenger frustration with security checkpoints.
[REVISED] The UK government decided not to replace the country’s current Air Passenger Duty with a “per plane duty,” and it froze the APD at current levels, delaying the planned increase for a year.
Rolls-Royce announced yesterday that it has won a $200m order from Turkish Airlines for Trent 700 engines to power three Airbus A330 freighter aircraft. The contract includes a TotalCare® long-term service agreement.
An Antonov 12 cargo plane operated by Trans Air Congo was destroyed Monday after crashing in the final stages of an approach at Pointe Noire Airport, Congo. According to Ascend, the plane came down in a residential area, killing at least 14 people. However, media reports have placed the death toll as high as 19. Q8’s Antonov 12BP TN-AGK (msn 402006 built 1963) was operating a cargo flight from Brazzaville. Q8 is on the list of airlines banned within the EU.
United Continental Holdings said Tuesday that subsidiary Continental Airlines has signed a letter of intent with LiveTV to offer inflight Wi-Fi via Ka-band beginning next year. It plans to offer the service on more than 200 Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft operating domestically and equipped with DirecTV satellite-television. Passengers will have access to onboard connectivity and more than 95 channels of live television, UCH said.
Boeing and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne announced the creation of the Sustainable Biomass Consortium, a “research initiative focused on increasing collaboration between voluntary standards and regulatory requirements for biomass used to create jet fuel and bioenergy for other sectors.” The consortium also will “seek to lower overall sustainability certification costs,” Boeing said.
Travelclick acquires Rubicon Air Astana, Amadeus reach agreement on GDS terms Aer Lingus, Brussels Airlines weigh migration to new PSSs Air China selects Datalex to power online reservations Amadeus makes moves in online, GDS rail distribution In Focus: New site aims to inspire -- and to boost travel agencies World news briefing
Kayak, the travel meta search company, is moving closer to becoming an online travel agency through a new deal with Travelocity. Under the agreement, Travelocity Partner Network will power Kayak's new hotel booking engine. The deal will for the first time enable bookings on the Kayak site, which previously referred all transactional activity to is partner supplier sites. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
News from Travel Technology Update: Kayak, the travel meta search company, is moving closer to becoming an online travel agency through a new deal with Travelocity. Under the agreement, Travelocity Partner Network will power Kayak's new hotel booking engine. The deal will for the first time enable bookings on the Kayak site, which previously referred all transactional activity to is partner supplier sites. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Oxford Aviation Academy was selected by easyJet as its training partner in a new Multi Crew Pilot’s License program. During the program, 30 easyJet-mentored Cadet Pilots will be trained by both the OAA and easyJet training teams, preparing them to qualify for the issue of a new MPL under the approval of the UK CAA.
SR Technics won a contract from GECAS to perform C checks this year at its main base in Zurich. The number of C checks completed at SR Technics’ Zurich facility rose 36% year-over-year to 49 in 2010 versus 36 in 2009, it said. A J Walter Aviation has announced a 10-year power-by-the-hour component support contract from Germania, covering the carrier's fleet of Boeing 737NG and Airbus A320-family aircraft.
Boeing's 747-8 Intercontinental achieved first flight Sunday, taking off from Paine Field in Everett and landing 4 hr. 25 min. later at Boeing Field in Seattle.
A group representing China's largest airlines sent a formal notice to the EU expressing strong opposition to non-member-state airlines' inclusion in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme from 2012.
Dubai-based international private jet company Ocean Sky, has said choosing the right local operator for an evacuation flight will be important if civil unrest spreads further across the Middle East.
United Continental Holdings said Friday that United Airlines’ technicians, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, have reached a tentative labor contract.
The merger of LAN Airlines and TAM under LATAM Airlines Group, which had seemingly been headed for a smooth conclusion this year, hit a possible roadblock last week when Chilean antitrust tribunal TDLC announced it would investigate the proposed combination. A Chilean consumer group filed a petition against the merger with TDLC that the carriers had pushed the panel to reject.
IATA warned there will be "a major slowdown" in the Japanese air transport market in the near-term that could impact a number of key markets worldwide. "Japan is an important link in global air transport," IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement Friday. "The $62.5 billion Japanese aviation market represents 6.5% of worldwide scheduled traffic and 10% of the industry's revenues."
IATA warned there will be "a major slowdown" in the Japanese air transport market in the near-term that could impact a number of key markets worldwide.
Thales won a contract from Belaeronavigatsia to supply three radar stations for Grodno, Mogilev and Minsk airports in Belarus. Two sets of co-mounted STAR 2000 primary radars and RSM 970 S secondary radars will be deployed at the GNA and MSQ, Thales said. One additional RSM 970 S secondary radar will be located at MVQ.
MTU Maintenance Hannover was selected by Russian carrier NordStar to maintain its CFM56-7B engines under a five-year contract. It is the German MRO provider's first CFM56 customer from Russia, it said. Turkish Technic has a five-year landing gear maintenance services agreement with SunExpress covering the carrier's Boeing 737-800s.
Southwest Airlines said it will seek assistance from the National Mediation Board as it negotiates with its 185 dispatchers, represented by Transport Workers Union 550.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA said it won a major arbitration ruling Thursday on behalf of former Midwest Airlines flight attendants who were laid off after Republic Airways purchased the airline and “staffed the same flights with non-Midwest flight attendants, who were often compensated up to 70% less” ( ATW Daily News, Oct. 6, 2009).
