Briefings ...
acana — Air Charter Assn. of North America, based in Boston, reports that members now have the ability to utilize Wyvern/PASS, an automated vendor management tool that enables members to verify that each flight conforms to the relevant legal requirements, including the issue of operational control.
alaska airlines — urges the Juneau (AK) Airport Board of Directors to delay airport terminal expansion, saying that the associated increase in airline tenant fees will be unsustainable for the carrier.
american airlines — is discontinuing service to Oakland Int’l Airport, effective Sept. 3.
american jets — and sister company American Aviation Management Solutions complete a new 30,000-sq. ft. office/hangar/maintenance facility at Ft. Pierce, FL. Firms offer aircraft management, charter, and air ambulance at the Saint Lucie County Int’l Airport.
aopa — Air Safety Foundation Board of Visitors welcomes its new chairman, Russell W. Meyer, Jr., chairman emeritus of Cessna Aircraft.
arinc — of Annapolis, MD reaches agreement with the Vancouver Int’l Airport Authority (YVRAA) to a new 5-year contract for advanced passenger check-in technology and related IT systems.
• ARINC also upgrades its ARINC DirectSM in-flight communications product for business aircraft operators, enabling operators to track their actual satellite communications charges in near real-time — either during a flight or immediately afterwards. The new capability is available immediately to all ARINC Direct customers and is accessible through the ARINC Direct web-based Customer Interface; www.arinc.com.
aviation development corp. — of Denver completes construction of a hangar development at Chino (CA) Airport; the 6.5-acre site features 41 executive and corporate hangars totaling 147,000 square feet, ranging in size from 50x50 feet up to 80x80 feet.
beyond & above — a corporate flight attendant training company, launches a new training facility at Executive Airport in Fort Lauderdale, offering students hands-on training on board an actual corporate jet; www.beyondandabove.net.
chandler-gilbert community college — breaks ground on a $4.2 million, 22,000-sq. ft. hangar at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport to support the college’s aviation maintenance program.
chantilly air — a charter operator and aircraft services company headquartered in Mannassas, VA, receives initial approval from TSA to conduct flights at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
citiarts — a nationally-known public art and urban planning consulting firm based in Baltimore, Charlotte, and Atlanta, is selected by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to provide arts and archives planning services for Reagan National and Dulles Int’l.
city of phoenix — is sued by the family of a New York woman who died at Phoenix Sky Harbor Int’l while in police custody last year. The death was ruled an accident.
• City officials also seek to change 37-year-old rules that cap building heights near PHX.
dayjet — of Boca Raton, FL scales back growth plans and lays off employees in all areas of its operations, citing weak capital markets. DayJet, which utilizes Eclipse 500 very light jets, has a fleet of 28 aircraft serving 11 Dayports.
eclipse aviation — manufacturer of the Eclipse 500 very light jet, receives permission from the U.S. Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security to export the VLJ and its components to Russia. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Export and Import Controls Bureau also grants a permit to Pratt & Whitney Canada and Eclipse to export the PW610F engine to Russia. The goal is to establish an assembly facility in Ulyanovsk, Russia.
edmonton airports — finalizes a new financing arrangement with Alberta Capital Finance Authority (ACFA) to fund a $1.1 billion capital program at Edmonton Int’l Airport.
FAA — Office of Airports recent appointments:
• Michael J. O’Donnell, A.A.E., currently the executive director of the South Carolina Division of Aeronautics, will become the Director of Airports safety and standards, succeeding Dave Bennett.
• Randy Fiertz is now the Director of the Office of Airport Compliance and Field Operations in the Office of Airports. He is presently Senior FAA Rep for South Asia.
• Frank SanMartin is named the manager of the Airports Financial Assistance Division.
gama — General Aviation Manufacturers Assn. reports first quarter billings were up 16.1 percent to $5.3 billion, an all-time high for the first quarter, while total shipments were down by 7.5 percent. Piston-powered airplane shipments totaled 399 units, a 28 percent decrease. Business jet shipments totaled 297 units in the first quarter, a 40.8 percent increase over the 211 units delivered in the first quarter of 2007.
gate gourmet — based in Zurich agrees to purchase airline catering units in five cities from Air Berlin and SCK Sky Catering Kitchen GmbH.
global aviation services — at Houston George Bush Intercontinental is named a Twin Commander service center.
hawker beechcraft corp. — receives European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certification for the Hawker 750; aircraft has also received type certifications in India, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia.
• OEM reports it has bolstered the company’s backlog to a record $6.8 billion.
• Hawker Beechcraft also launches the Beechcraft Premier II light business jet, featuring a twin turbofan, swept wing, and state-of-the-art all-composite fuselage.
hmshost — based in Bethesda, MD, enters into a memorandum of understanding with the Dept. of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency to enhance business opportunities for Minority Business Enterprises in airports.
houston airport system — and its affiliate HAS Development Corp. enter into a partnership with the Texas Engineering Extension Service, a member of the Texas A&M University System, to establish an aircraft rescue & firefighting training facility at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).
huntsville int’l airport — and Memphis-based AirHost, Inc. open a new airport concessions area, adding Gevalia Coffee, McAlister’s Deli, Breyer’s Ice Cream, Arrezzio® pizza, and upscale pub — part of a $65 million expansion and renovation project at the Port of Huntsville.
jet aviation — based in Geneva signs a memorandum of understanding with Airod, a Malaysian aerospace maintenance/repair/overhaul firm, to jointly provide FBO, line maintenance, and AOG services at Kuala Lumpur’s Subang Airport in August.
jacksonville int’l — opens one side of its state-of-the-art Concourse A and continues reconstruction of the original terminal. By November, both sides of Concourse A will be operational, and the west side of Concourse C will open. The concourses, which cost some $170 million, contain a total of 20 gates.
jetblue — suspends plans to start serving LAX, citing the price of jet fuel.
jfk in’tl airport — institutes the Resiliency Edge, a training program designed to give workers tools to relieve pressures on themselves as they solve problems for travelers; developed by the Human Resiliency Institute at Fordham University.
king aerospace — Commer-cial Corp. of Ardmore, OK is approved for a General Authority of Civil Aviation Authorization/Repair Station Certificate. GACA manages and operates all international and domestic airports and aircraft in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
L.A. CITY COUNCIL — upholds the award of a $41.5 million contract to Fentress Architects to design the new Midfield Concourse and several new gates at the Tom Bradley Int’l Terminal at LAX. Council expresses its support of Gina Marie Lindsey, executive director of LAX, who had been under scrutiny for the handling of contracts. A subsequent audit cleared Lindsey.
lambert-st. louis int’l — unveils a $16 million restaurant makeover plan, part of a seven-year, 11-month contract extension with HMSHost, which will introduce eight new food concepts with an emphasis on adding popular St. Louis food brands including Mosaic, Fitz’s and Imo’s Pizza. Deal requires city council approval.
MACQUARIE GROUP — headquartered in Australia, reportedly offers to pay Austin, TX $500 million to lease Austin-Bergstrom Int’l Airport via a privatization initiative under consideration.
md helicopters, inc. — and the City of Mesa (AZ) reach agreement on lease rates for the remaining term of the leases, which run to 2013 and onward to 2033 if all options are exercised, in a move intended to keep MDH at Mesa.
mesa air group — of Phoenix serves notice with U.S. DOT of its intent to discontinue scheduled subsidized Essential Air Service to Kingman, Prescott, and Phoenix, effective, August 4, 2008.
miami int’l airport — seeks an additional $43.5 million for its North Terminal project to finish the baggage handling system, and another $20.8 million for an automated people mover. The projects had been expected to be completed in 2004.
mooney airplane co. — of Kerrville, TX is certified by FAA for use of WAAS-aided navigation and Safe-Taxi™ on the Acclaim Type S, Ovation 3, and Ovation2 GX.
• Mooney also names Air Touring Ltd., a subsidiary of Air Touring Group plc, as its exclusive sales representative for the U.K. and Ireland.
oceanside (CA) municipal — begins negotiations with Airport Property Ventures for private airport management. APV, formed by a partnership that includes two former LAX executive directors, John Driscoll and Lydia Kennard, proposes a 50-year lease and commits to spend $21 million to improve the airport and to pay more than $11 million in rent over the next 25 years.
oshkosh corp. — receives a contract from Denver Int’l Airport for 24 HT-Series™ snow tractor vehicles in a deal valued at $7 million.
portland (or) int’l — opens new dining options from HMSHost Corp.: Rogue Ales Public House, an award-winning regional brewery, and Rose’s Restaurant and Bakery, an established Portland landmark.
rapid city (IA) regional — completes the preliminary design phase of an estimated $4 million concourse expansion to create additional space for security screenings and holding areas.
reveal imaging technologies — of Bedford, MA reports that TSA has certified its new CT-80DR explosives detection system, Reveal CT-80DR, a dual-row EDS that has the ability to scan checked baggage at a rate of up to 226 bags per hour.
sacramento int’l — seeking to launch a major airport overhaul this summer, receives a mass airline protest over the size and cost of the expansion. Some 11 airlines, including Southwest, the dominant carrier, have sent letters expressing concerns about the $1.27 billion project.
san francisco int’l — is renovating its old international terminal and expects to be handling domestic passengers by the end of 2010. Renovation costing some $383 million is planned, along with a new control tower.
satsair — an on-demand air taxi provider based in Greenville, SC, reports more than 60 percent growth in the number of flights in 2007 — more than 16,000 flights.
space coast aviation services — at Titusville (FL) Airport and FlyItalia announce that the first Italian-built MD3 Rider, an advanced S-LSA (factory-built Light Sport Aircraft) is now being imported into the U.S.
state of maryland — enters a deal with airlines that use Baltimore-Washington Int’l Thurgood Marshall Airport not to collect $32.2 million of $57.3 million in terminal rents and other fees it undercharged them over the past four years. The Maryland Aviation Administration plans to recover only $25 million of uncollected fees over the next five years.
threshhold aviation — at Chino (CA) Airport completes renovations to its FBO which features a 136,000-sq. ft. hangar complex; part of the expansion plans include a separate sales, service, and installation center for the re-engined Citation-II’s with Clifford Development Group.
u.s. dot — proposes to auction some takeoff and landing rights at JFK and Newark Int’l Airports to boost competition, a plan opposed by airlines. Proposal is similar to one previously announced for LaGuardia. DOT is capping the number of flights at peak times at Newark and JFK to reduce congestion. Caps are already in place at LaGuardia.
wichita world trade council — presents Mid-Continent Instruments with the 2008 International Business Excellence Award, which recognizes companies whose global successes contribute to increasing international business in the greater Wichita area.
woodland aviation, inc. — of Watts/Woodland (CA) Airport is approved as a Cessna Service Station for all Cessna single-engine piston aircraft, and a service center for Diamond Aircraft.
xojet, inc. — based in San Carlos, CA and backed by buyout firm TPG, seeks $2.5 billion in new financing to expand its jet fleet. It also plans to launch an international expansion in partnership with Tasameem, the real-estate arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
