Briefings ...
Air charter safety foundation — conducts its new Industry Audit Standard, covering an in-depth Part 135 regulatory review and evaluation of Million Air Dallas’s Safety Management System. Million Air Dallas becomes the first non-beta test operator to gain the ACSF registration.
airmall — at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport signs a lease with retailer Swatch to open a unit on Concourse C in February 2010.
airtran airways — launches nonstop service to Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Int’l Airport (MKE) from Akron-Canton Airport.
• AirTran Airways also announces it will open both a pilot and flight attendant base in Milwaukee to support its increased operations. The flight bases will open in April 2010 and will consist initially of 50 pilots to support Boeing 737 flying and a minimum of 50 flight attendants to support both Boeing 717 and Boeing 737 operations. The payroll for these Milwaukee-based positions is expected to exceed $6.5 million per year.
altair fuels — based in Seattle reports it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with 14 airlines from the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Germany, led by the Air Transport Assn., to negotiate the purchase of up to 750 million gallons of renewable jet fuel and diesel derived from camelina and produced by AltAir Fuels. The renewable fuel, to be produced at a new facility in Anacortes, WA, would replace some 10 percent of fuel consumed annually at Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport, reducing carbon emissions by some 14 billion pounds over 10 years.
american science and engineering, inc. — of Billerica, MA, a supplier of X-ray detection solutions, receives a $39.7 million order for cargo X-ray inspection systems from an unnamed government agency to screen
cargo and vehicles for explosive threats and contraband at strategic border crossings.
argus — of Cincinnati, OH, awards 18 charter operators the Platinum rating during the fourth quarter of 2009. List of Platinum-rated operations is available at www.aviationresearch.com.
asheville regional airport — commemorates inaugural United Airlines service to Chicago’s O’Hare Int’l Airport.
asig — of Orlando begins ground handling operations for Air Canada’s 80-plus weekly flights at Newark Liberty Int’l Airport.
Associated air center — successfully transitions its Designated Alteration Station to Organization Designation Authorization at its Dallas location.
bristow academy — a leading helicopter flight training school with campus facilities in Titusville, New Iberia, LA, Concord, CA, and Gloucester, U.K. will establish a flight training operation at Orlando Sanford Int’l Airport.
cessna aircraft co. — a Textron Inc. company based in Wichita, KS, recognizes four Cessna Pilot Centers as the first schools to gain approval from FAA under FAR Part 141 to use Cessna’s new Sport/Private Pilot Course in their private pilot certificate training programs. The centers: Air Fleet Training Systems Inc., Fairfield, N.J.; Snohomish Flying Service, Snohomish, WA.; Trade Winds Aviation (dba for Skyworks Inc.), San Jose, CA; and Pensacola Aviation Center, Pensacola, FL.
• Cessna also delivers its first Model 162 Skycatcher Light Sport Aircraft during a ceremony at Yingling Aircraft in Wichita. Yingling is one of three U.S. re-assembly facilities for the Skycatcher. Rose Pelton, wife of Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton, received the first Skycatcher.
city of chicago — receives FAA approval to revive privatization plans to privatize Midway Airport.
delta air lines — reports that its wholly owned subsidiary, Delta AirElite, acquires Kinston, NC-based Segrave Aviation in an all-cash transaction.
dhl express — is working with the Clinton County (OH) Port Authority on an agreement to donate the former DHL Air Hub/Wilmington Airpark to the community for redevelopment and future use of the site as an airport/commerce park.
dupage county (IL) circuit court — upholds the City of Chicago’s position regarding acquisition of St. Johannes Cemetery, needed to complete construction on a runway as part of the O’Hare Modernization Program. The Court ruled that the city could proceed with its suit to acquire cemetery property owned by St. John’s United Church of Christ.
EU — European Union Emissions Trading Scheme will commence a cap-and-trade system for aviation CO2 emissions in 2010, with full trading beginning in 2012. By January 2010, all airlines flying in and out of the EU need to begin monitoring CO2 emissions and be ready to have data verified and reported by March 31, 2011.
faa — Federal Aviation Administration accepts a preliminary application from Puerto Rican airport officials to enter Luis Munoz Marin International Airport into the agency’s pilot airport-privatization program. The airport becomes the third in the program, joining Chicago’s Midway Airport and Louis Armstrong Int’l Airport in New Orleans.
faith group llc — a planning, programming, analysis, and design firm based in St. Louis, is selected by the Cheyenne Regional Airport, in partnership with SEH, to develop a Safety Management System Program under the FAA Pilot Program.
flight design usa — adds four flight schools to its roster of Flight Design Pilot Centers (FDPC), which offer Light-Sport Aircraft flight instruction. Flight Design now has a network of 21 pilot centers using Flight Design Light-Sport Aircraft, which the company promotes as the largest such network in America.
great falls (mt) int’l airport — hires ADK Executive Search of Florida to conduct a salary and contract survey of airport director positions nationwide, as it seeks to fill its director position.
gresham, smith and partners — a multi-disciplinary design and consulting firm, completes a new four-level, 4,800-space parking structure at Gerald R. Ford Int’l Airport, for which the firm provided design and construction administration services.
hai — Helicopter Assn. Int’l awards its 2010 Bell Helicopter Lifetime Achievement Award to Tim Wahlberg, Chairman of the Board, Evergreen International Aviation, Inc.; McMinnville, OR.
hawker beechcraft acquisition company, llc — of Wichita, KS reports that revenue for the fourth quarter of 2009 was expected to be approximately $1.1 billion, bringing estimated full-year 2009 revenue to approximately $3.2 billion. Operating income for the fourth quarter of 2009 was expected to be between approximately zero to a loss of $15 million, with full year 2009 operating loss estimated to be between $725 and $740 million.
• Hawker Beechcraft Corp. announces the delivery of four Beechcraft King Air C90GTi turboprops to FAA, which will be used to support the Flight Standards Flight Program.
• Hawker Beechcraft Corporation reports it has received FAA and European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) Type Certifications for the new Beechcraft King Air 350i turboprop.
iapa — Int’l Airline Passengers Assn. endorses the U.S. DOT ruling aimed at helping airline passengers during lengthy ramp delays. The DOT ruling, to take effect 120 days from its publication in the Federal Register on December 21, 2009, provides passenger protections against chronically delayed flights; requires airlines to develop and publish contingency plans for lengthy delays; mandates information on flight delays on airline websites; and limits tarmac delays to three hours for domestic flights before passengers are allowed to deplane.
JAA — announces that it is granted a license by the FAA to operate a commercial, horizontal launch spaceport at Cecil Field. Cecil Field is the first FAA-licensed horizontal launch commercial spaceport in Florida and the 8th horizontal launch commercial spaceport to be licensed in the U.S.
los angeles city council — agrees to return more than $21.2 million to the operator of LAX to settle legal claims that airport funds were misappropriated in violation of federal regulations. The council unanimously approved a plan for the city to repay $18.1 million to Los Angeles World Airports, which had been accused by FAA of improperly diverting the funds to L.A. Inc., the city’s convention and visitors bureau. The other $3.1 million is money the city kept from the sale of land at LAX.
marquis jet — is selected as the exclusive private aviation partner by The Yachts of Seabourn, an exclusive cruise line.
mccarran int’l airport — sees another reduction in US Airways flights, with the carrier cutting its schedule of 64 daily departures down to 36 by February, effectively completing the dismantling of the hub it had here. As recently as November 2005, the Tempe-based airline averaged 140 flights a day.
mesa air group — files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Mesa operates a fleet of 130 aircraft. The regional operator says reorganization will allow it to get rid of excess planes and compete better.
miami int’l airport — will not install slot machines, after state regulators reject the proposal, citing a variety of concerns. The airport was looking to the slots as part of a wide-ranging strategy to find new revenue; MIA’s annual operating cost is some $600 million but will jump to $1.1 billion by 2015.
million air slc — is awarded fueling service contracts with Southwest Airlines, FedEx, Continental Airlines, and DHL at the Salt Lake City Int’l Airport.
nafi — National Association of Flight Instructors develops a briefing paper addressing concerns with the proposal to require an Airline Transport Pilot certificate for any pilot flying in a Part 121 air carrier operation. NAFI says the proposal does not address quality of experience; instead it addresses only a quantity of experience that is not necessarily directly applicable to the type of flight operations that pilots will encounter.
nata — National Air Transportation Assn. announces a call for awards including: the Airport Executive Partnership Award; the Aviation Journalism Award; the Excellence in Pilot Training Award;
the FAA Customer Service Excellence Award, and, the ATP/NATA General Aviation Service Technician Award. Nominations must be received by February 26, 2010; www.nata.aero.
new orleans aviation board — awards two construction projects signaling the kickoff of the Airport’s Capital Improvement Program. The Board awards the $16.8 million expansion of Concourse D to McDonnell Group, LLC of Metairie, LA, adding six airline gates.
new vectors aviation — of Santa Ana, CA announces the launch of its new air taxi service to complement its air charter, aircraft management, and aircraft sales and acquisitions operations.
ntsb — National Transportation Safety Board determines that the captain of Colgan Air flight 3407, which crashed in Buffalo on Feb. 12, 2009, inappropriately responded to the activation of the stick shaker, which led to an aerodynamic stall from which the airplane did not recover. Additional flight crew failures were noted as causal to the accident. As a result of its findings, NTSB is calling on FAA to consider a series of recommendations related to training, fatigue, stalls, and procedures.
oag — reports that global airline capacity for December 2009 showed positive growth compared to December 2008, with 294.8 million seats available, a rise of 4 percent over December 2008.
osi systems inc. — a Hawthorne, CA-based maker of security systems, says its Torrance security division Rapiscan Systems won a contract worth some $35 million from Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, known as GAP. The contract is for the construction and installation of baggage handling security systems at Mexican airports. GAP operates 12 airports in Central and Northern Mexico.
phoenix-mesa gateway airport authority — and Allegiant Air celebrate the arrival of the ceremonial one millionth passenger since the carrier began commercial service there.
piper aircraft — begins offering a Czech-built light sport aircraft, which was previously sold as a SportCruiser by Czech Sport Aircraft. The two companies now have a licensing agreement and Piper says it’s ready to start deliveries in April. There will be three models; the basic PiperSport ($119,900), training-oriented LT ($129,900) and decked out LTD ($139,900).
piper aircraft — of Vero Beach, FL selects Aviall Services, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company, to be its global parts distributor, providing supply chain support for the company’s global dealer network and individual customers.
port columbus (OH) Int’l airport — is granted by FAA $90 million toward the replacement of the south runway to enable greater airport capacity by allowing for an increased number of aircraft operations and creating space for a future second terminal. The pre-design estimate for the south runway replacement project is $160 million; remaining costs will be paid from passenger facility charges.
reno-tahoe int’l airport — adds new food and beverage options with Max’s Eats and LaBrea Bakery.
rolls-royce — receives type certification from FAA for its BR725 engine, which powers the Gulfstream G650 business jet.
senate commerce committee — among others, holds hearings on events related to the December 24 flight into Detroit on which a terrorism attempt was made.
solairus aviation — of San Francisco launches a program to help fund Corporate Angel Network’s (CAN) efforts to provide cancer patients with free flights for treatment aboard corporate aircraft. Solairus will support CAN with a cash contribution equal to 1 percent of the first year’s management fees for each new aircraft management client it signs up in 2010.
southwest airlines — restores nonstop service between the Oakland Int’l Airport and Nashville. It will also add frequency between OAK and the cities of Albuquerque, Denver, and Seattle-Tacoma beginning May 9, 2010.
standardaero — a Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) company, becomes the first authorized independent service center in North America trained to perform wing tank (dry bay) modifications on the Dassault Falcon 50, 900, and 2000 series aircraft.
stewart int’l airport — in Newburgh, NY, according to authorities, see a dozen workers at a warehouse charged with using forged immigration documents to get jobs. State police say the employees of Empire Warehouse Solutions were charged with falsifying business records and offering a false instrument for filing. The company says the workers all passed TSA background checks.
texas aviation services — of Ft. Worth announces the delivery of a multi-purpose configured AS-350B2 to the Arroyo Grande Ranch Company, to be utilized for patrol, search and rescue, domestic and wildlife animal preservation and inter-company support.
the sunborne companies — at Centennial Inter-Port, located at Centennial Airport south of Denver, announces the execution of two leases with Sierra Nevada Corporation totaling 50,000 square feet of office and hangar facilities.
TSA — extends the comment period on its Part 145 Aircraft Repair Station Security Rule by 30 days to until February 19, 2010, to submit comments on the proposed. Rule would establish a new Part 1554 titled “Aircraft Repair Station Security” that would require any repair station, foreign or domestic, certificated under 14 CFR Part 145 to carry out a standard security program (SSP).
• TSA also grants a delay in enforcing the federal Real ID Act until May 10, 2011. The 2005 law was scheduled to take effect on January 1.
united airlines — begins nonstop, twice daily service from Duluth Int’l Airport to Chicago O’Hare.
• United also launches daily nonstop jet service between Louisville and Denver.
university park airport — in State College, PA is constructing the airport’s first Airport Traffic Control Tower, expected for completion in late 2010.
vaisala — headquartered in Finland reports that its AviMet PC-Based Runway Visual Range (RVR) system for air traffic control use in airports is approved by FAA. The primary users of the system are air traffic controllers who access RVR data through an improved display application, also developed by Vaisala; www.vaisala.com.
wayfarer aviation, inc. — of Rye Brook, NY and FlightSafety International announce a maintenance training savings program, setting a specific discount to be applied to the list price for maintenance crew training.
