Industry News

Feb. 15, 2008

Briefings ...

2008 Emergency Response guidebook — is the first release of the ERG since 2004, containing new information for first responders in the event of an incident involving hazardous materials; visit www.labelmaster.com/ERG or call 1-800-621-5808.

AAAE — American Assn. of Airport Executives’ president Chip Barclay calls on Congress to approve lapsed contract authority for airport construction grants as part of any future economic stimulus package. Barclay notes that Congress has already approved more than $3.5 billion in funding for the federal Airport Improvement Program as part of the FY2008 omnibus spending package, but a failure to provide contract authority for AIP prevents FAA from releasing the funds to airports.

ACI-NA — Airports Council Inter-national-North America joins with U.S. Commercial Aviation Partnership (USCAP) partners, including TSA, AAAE and ATA, to consider research and analysis efforts for 2008. Issues USCAP will be looking at include implementation of the cargo-screening mandate by Congress, issues surrounding consideration of a secondary commercial airliner flight deck barrier and current impacts on air travel demand due to the security “hassle factor” and security events.

  • ACI-NA airport members and other industry stakeholders develop operational recommendations to care for passengers who are stranded on airplanes or at airports due to air space congestion or flight delays. At a Passenger Care During Irregular Operations meeting, participants committed to ensuring that passengers stranded on airlines or at airports are supplied with information and amenities that will help address their unique needs and make their waiting period more comfortable. Participants outlined a passenger care checklist that will be made available to the soon-to-be-formed DOT Contingency Plan Task Force, the goal of which is to create model plans to assist airports and airlines coordinate more effectively during irregular operations.

American airlines — and members of the Transport Workers Union Local 530 (TWU) at the American aircraft overhaul base in Kansas City, MO, achieve their “Breakthrough Goal” by generating $152.5 million in value creation — a combination of productivity improvements, cost reductions, and new revenue.

AOPA Air Safety Found-ation — releases the 2007 Joseph T. Nall Report, an analysis of general aviation accidents from the previous year. The report shows that GA accidents are continuing on a downward trend. The number of accidents per 100,000 flight hours decreased from 7.19 in 1997 to an all-time low of 6.32 in 2006, while the fatal accident rate dropped 7.4 percent during the same timeframe.

The report reveals that the long-term trend for weather-related accidents is increasing. Visual flight rules (VFR) flight into instrument conditions continues to account for the majority of fatal weather accidents in single-engine aircraft. Another trend is a decrease in maneuvering flight accidents, down from 33.1 percent of fatal accidents in 2005 to 25 percent in 2006. However, fatal descent and approach accidents increased from 10.3 percent to 19 percent. The Nall Report is available at aopa.org/asf/publications/07nall.pdf.

Autogrill group, inc. — parent company of HMSHost Corporation and U.S. subsidiary of Autogrill S.p.A., agrees to acquire CBR Incorporated, a specialty retail concessions company operating at U.S. airports.

Banyan Air Service — completes a major avionics modification on a Boeing 747SP. The work was performed in Europe over an eight week span. The installation consisted of the Rockwell/Collins Tailwind 550 Airborne TV system, an upgrade to the existing Rockwell/Collins SAT906 SATCOM system for dual channel Swift 64 High Speed Data, and the new Airshow 4000.

British Airways — creates a subsidiary airline, OpenSkies, to fly daily between New York and either Brussels or Paris starting June, subject to regulatory approval.

castle airport (CA) — plans to have its new passenger terminal up and running by June.

Clear — will operate the registered traveler program at Oakland International Airport, beginning in April.

Denver Int’l Airport — parking grows by 1,800 spaces with the opening of a new garage module at the southwest corner of Jeppesen Terminal. Construction of the $47.5 million garage began in May 2006. The daily rate for parking in the new garage will be $18, the same as in all other DIA garages.

  • DIA also seeks city council approval of contracts with Western Industrial Contractors Inc. and February Enterprises Inc. for demolition of much of its original baggage-handling system. Each company would be offered a contract for up to $9 million.

DFW Int’l Airport — debuts its multimillion dollar global marketing campaign in Seoul, South Korea. DFW teams with the Dallas and Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureaus in the ‘Visit DFW’ campaign to promote the airport. Concurrently, Korean Air announces it will add a fourth weekly flight from Seoul to DFW this year.

EAA Aviation Center — brings together kids and pilots for the annual International Young Eagles Day, during which some 9,000 youngsters are expected to be given introductory flights. Flights are provided by volunteer EAA-member pilots in aircraft ranging from the newest airplanes to vintage biplanes. More than 40,000 pilots have volunteered to support the program, including current program chairman Harrison Ford.

Eclipse Aviation — and Hampson Aerospace, Inc., reach a full and final settlement of all claims and disputes, resulting in the dismissal, with prejudice, of the complaints previously filed in litigation and arbitration between the parties. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

  • Eclipse Aviation also reports that FAA has awarded its training provider, Higher Power Aviation of Irving, TX, authorization to conduct Eclipse 500 Type Training under HPA’s Part 142 Training Certificate. The authorization increases Eclipse’s training capacity and enables the company to type rate customers entirely in its certified Level D Full Motion simulator. Milestone marks FAA’s final approval of Eclipse Aviation’s training program.

Edmonton Int’l Airport — cites a record-breaking 6.1 million passengers flying to and from Edmonton International Airport (EIA) in 2007, an increase of 16.3 percent over 2006. This is the second year in a row that EIA has led all major Canadian airports in passenger growth.

FIRST AVIATION SERVICES — opens a 225,000-sq. ft., $60 million fixed base operation at Teterboro (NJ) Airport including a wide spectrum of jet services and a hub for NetJets’ national leasing operations. Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based Gaddis Wind Associates designed the state-of-the-art facility; site includes a 300,000-gallon fuel farm.

franklin and wilson airport concessions — is shut down by the Georgia Department of Revenue for failure to pay $176,000 in state sales tax and penalties. Three stores owned by David Franklin and partner Rob Wilson at Hartsfield-Jackson Int’l Airport were secured, and the state has accused Franklin’s business of collecting four cents of sales taxes from customers for every dollar spent but not turning over the money to the state.

Hawker Beechcraft corp. — adds U.K.-based FR Aviation to its worldwide network of authorized service centers to support its Beechcraft line of aircraft. Based at Bournemouth Int’l Airport, FR Aviation’s main facility is strategically located to service Beechcraft customers across Europe, alongside existing service centers.

Hillsboro Aviation, Inc. — places more than $3.7 million in orders for the new Cessna 400 aircraft, the model previously produced by the Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing Company of Bend, OR. In December 2007, Columbia was acquired by the Cessna Aircraft Company, and the two aircraft produced by Columbia were re-designated as the Cessna 350 and 400 models. Hillsboro Aviation will be offering these aircraft for resale in its Cessna sales territory of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

HMShost — opens The NASCAR Shop at Charlotte Douglas Int’l Airport (CLT), the first NASCAR-branded retail store in an airport; developed by HMSHost.

hudson group — signs a definitive agreement with global private equity firm Advent International, based in Boston, making Advent the majority owner. The transaction is subject to certain approvals and customary closing conditions.; terms were not disclosed.

IDS — announces the purchase of Integrated Deicing Services, LLC, which includes five existing operations in the U.S. IDS plans to expand in both domestic and international markets.

Kansas city Int’l Airport — generates 60,787 full-time equivalent jobs with a total direct payroll of $1.5 billion and contributed $5.5 billion to the area economy in the year 2006, according to a recent study by Chicago-based airport consulting firm Unison Maximus. The Kansas City Aviation Department commissioned the study.

landmark aviation/standard aero — implements a national toll-free number for its Mobile Service Team (MST) network of MRO field-service engineers who offer on-site consultation, line, and on-wing troubleshooting and repair services for business aircraft operators; 1-877-GO-MST-99.

Logan Int’l Airport — frees up two international gates by reconfiguring of Northwest Airlines’ and AirTran Airways’ operations, allowing the airport to alleviate congestion on heavy travel days and possibly accommodate new international service. There are no immediate takers for the two Terminal E gates, which Northwest currently uses for domestic flights.

National Transportation safety board — dispatches a team of investigators to assist the government of the United Kingdom in its investigation of an accident in which a Boeing 777-300 landed short of runway 27 Left at Heathrow International Airport in London, England.

Nat’l Transportation Safety Board — issues a Safety Alert to suggest ways for general aviation pilots to avoid controlled flight into terrain accidents during night visual conditions. The Safety Alert cites six accidents NTSB investigated in a recent three-year period in which aircraft collided with terrain while either climbing shortly after takeoff or descending on approach. NTSB says that increased altitude and position awareness and better preflight planning may have prevented the accidents; www.ntsb.gov/alerts/SA_013.pdf.

Nat’l Treasury Employees union — announces the chartering of a new chapter of TSA employees at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Int’l Airport and introduces a five-point representation plan for TSA employees nationwide. NTEU is positioned with local staff attorneys to represent TSA employees on workplace issues.

Neubert Aero Corp. — gets FAA approval for NAC Dynamic Friction Decelerometer™.

Northwest airlines — enters into formal merger discussions with Delta Air Lines and could look for another partner if Delta tries to merge with United Airlines.

Philadelphia marketplace food & shops — at Philadelphia Int’l Airport will open three new Chickie’s & Pete’s® locations, along with two new Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen locations.

Safegate — earns its largest U.S. contract for Safedock docking guidance systems at DFW Int’l Airport. Some 82 of the 92 systems will be installed on gates used by American Airlines.

san Antonio — was overcharged $255,000 for a project that’s part of the San Antonio Int’l Airport expansion and should tighten oversight of the $635 million project, an auditor says. The city audit found Jerdon Enterprises overcharged the city for utility work and finished two days late, which subjects the company to an additional $6,000 penalty. The alleged overcharges included work that wasn’t completed and labor costs that weren’t supported by time sheets.

Singapore Airlines Cargo — signs a three-year agreement with ASIG® to provide cargo ramp handling and cargo transportation service at Los Angeles Int’l Airport. ASIG will service an average of 11 weekly flights.

Skytanking — is awarded the Southwest Airlines into-plane fueling contract at Raleigh-Durham Int’l Airport.

Southern skyways — announces seasonal non-stop jet service between Akron-Canton (OH) Airport and Myrtle Beach, SC. from May 22, 2008 though Labor Day.

SunBorne Companies — completes a long-term land lease with the Arapahoe County (CO) Public Airport Authority for an additional 69 acres of land at Centennial Airport.

Swift aviation group — enters into an agreement with CG Aviation Enterprises to serve as its exclusive sales agent for the acquisition of managed aircraft contracts and aircraft sales and acquisitions.

Taos (NM) Regional Air-port’s — lack of FAR Part 139 certification thwarts a plan by New Mexico Airlines to offer commercial service using Cessna Caravans, says FAA. The carrier sought to begin air service early this year.

Travel hospitality services — a subsidy of Delaware North Companies, will expand the food and retail options at the Detroit Metropolitan Airport’s new North Terminal. Under an expanded contract, Travel Hospitality Services will open three new restaurants and a travel convenience store in the new terminal by year’s end. Among the new restaurants will be a second location of hometown favorite Hockeytown Café and national chains Le Petit Bistro and TGI Fridays.

TSA — Transportation Security Administration launches the secure fixed base operator program at Signature Flight Support locations in Anchorage and Shannon, Ireland. The voluntary proof-of-concept program allows fixed base operators to check passenger and crew identification against official flight manifests for general aviation aircraft inbound to the U.S. TSA also will check identification against electronic advance passenger information system (eAPIS) filings for operators (i.e. Part 135) required to utilize this system. The FBO will only transmit the results of this check and not include any passenger biographical information. The program seeks to determine if advanced screening of GA aircraft inbound to the U.S. would provide additional security, while maintaining operational flexibility; http://web.nbaa.org/public/ops/security/sfbo.pdf.

  • TSA also unveils VIPR — Visible Intermodal Prevention Response teams — to further evaluate general aviation facilities and other transport modes for potential threats. Prior to a VIPR deployment, TSA will coordinate with the GA operations/facility and its security force, both in advance of and during the operation to ensure effective planning and execution. GA airports can expect to see VIPR teams perform various deterrence and detection operations, including reviewing security procedures at the airport and providing an increased presence to assist in security activities.

United Airlines — cuts its domestic flight schedule, notably at Chicago’s O’Hare Int’l Airport, further threatening service to smaller communities.

Wayne County Airport Authority — launches a wide-ranging investigation of contractors awarded work through the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program at Detroit Metro Airport, according to a statement. The probe, which includes primary contractors, began after authority members learned of irregularities in the utilization of a DBE subcontractor on a project at the airport. The authority did not identify which project or which contractor.

Webster City (IA) Airport — seeks a request for proposals for an airport manager/fixed based operator to manage the municipal airport. Proposals due March 14; contact (515) 832-9151 or www.webstercity.com.

Yingling Aviation — of Wichita will be one of three domestic reassembly sites for Cessna’s new light sport aircraft, the SkyCatcher, which will be produced in Shenyang, China. The firm is expanding its facilities at Mid-Continent Airport, and making some modifications that are designed specifically for the SkyCatcher. First flight of the prototype Model 162 is set for the first half of 2008 and deliveries are expected to begin in 2009. Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, plans to produce up to 700 units a year.