Briefings ...
american and delta—will begin direct air service into the Santa Fe Municipal Airport starting in late 2007.
atlantic aviation—opens its new Business Aviation Center at Pittsburgh International Airport, featuring a 30,000 sq. ft. hangar and a 7,250 sq. ft. Flex-Office/Charter Terminal.
cutter aviation—based in Phoenix, opens its new multi-million dollar corporate hangar development at PHX. FBO encompasses 50,500 square feet in three units. Cutter has operations at eight airports in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas.
chicago/rockford int’l airport—reports it didn’t subsidize United Airlines’ route from Rockford to Denver in July, the first time the route made more money than the airline was guaranteed. In the route’s first year of service, the airport paid United $2.3 million in subsidies. In the five months since, the airport paid about $360,000.
chevron global aviation— awards ServiceElements a long-term commitment to provide service strategy and culture enhancement workshops and seminars for employees of Chevron and Texaco branded fixed based operators (FBOs).
creative host services— and Piedmont-Triad International Airport celebrate the grand opening of the airport’s multimillion dollar food court featuring national brands, including the first introduction of the Dunkin Donuts brand.
dayjet corp.—of Delray Beach, FL announces that it has closed debt facilities totaling $140 million for the acquisition of its fleet of Eclipse 500™ very light jets (VLJs). DayJet has raised more than $200 million to date.
denton (tx) airport—officially opens a new parallel taxiway, at a cost of approximately $3.4 million.
denver int’l airport—proposes a $31 million plan to ramp up snow removal at DIA and keep runways open during storms like last winter’s, which shut down operations for 45 hours. Plan calls for adding more equipment and operators, using snow melters on main ramp areas, and narrowing the priority surface areas, which include runways, high speed taxiways and connectors.
dfw int’l airport—announces Cathay Pacific Cargo will add three additional weekly frequencies, bringing its freighter service to daily.
dhs—Department of Homeland Security is changing the way aviation security is handled, to allow it to take over the role of checking passenger information from airlines. DHS will assume responsibility from airlines for matching watch lists against passenger lists. DHS sources say the airlines have not been doing the job consistently or effectively.
dubae aerospace enterprise—a global aerospace manufacturing and services corporation, announces the acquisition of aviation service providers Standard Aero and Landmark Aviation from The Carlyle Group. DAE will merge the companies as a business enterprise within its DAE Engineering subsidiary. Transaction is valued at $1.9 billion. As part of the acquisition, DAE will divest the Landmark Aviation Airport Services business, which includes 33 fixed base operations.
eaa—Experimental Aircraft Assn. reports numbers from this year’s Air Venture: 560,000 attendees; more than 10,000 aircraft; 2,647 showplanes: 784 exhibitors.
FAA—Federal Aviation Administration issues a notice (Docket FAA-2006-25755) proposing to modify the existing order that temporarily limits flights at New York’s LaGuardia Airport, pending issuance of a final regulation to manage congestion at the airport. FAA is seeking comments by September 6.
- FAA gives a $585,000 grant to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a Bay Area (CA) regional government agency, to study ways to avoid airport gridlock at regional airports.
- FAA is modifying the Washington, D.C. Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) with a new, circular 30-nautical mile radius restricted area, effective August 30. New ADIZ will free 33 airports and helipads from the confines of the existing ADIZ.
- Agency reportedly will soon issue an Airworthiness Directive that requires turbine wheel inspection on Kelly Aerospace turbochargers installed on Cirrus SR22 aircraft.
fentress bradburn architects ltd.—abbreviates its name to Fentress Architects; www.fentressarchitects.com.
GAMA—General Aviation Manufac-turers Association reports that in the first half of 2007, shipments of general aviation airplanes totaled 1,883 units, a 1.7 percent increase over the previous year; industry billings rose 11.7 percent to $9.8 billion. Shipments of piston-engine powered airplanes through the second quarter of 2007 were down slightly at 1,226 units, a 4.2 percent decrease. Turboprop shipments rose 15.2 percent, from 158 units to 182 units. Business jets grew by 14.7 percent, with 475 units.
gao—Government Accountability Office releases a report examining future capital needs at airports and whether or not funding will be available to meet those needs. GAO found that capital needs will exceed available funds by at least $1 billion annually through 2011; www.gao.gov.
GENERAL MITCHELL INT’L AIRPORT—in Milwaukee opens its $18 million addition to Concourse C. The 61,100 square-foot expansion adds eight new gates and a variety of passenger amenities.
hawker beechcraft corp.—receives certification authority for the Beechcraft Premier IA from Transport Canada.
heli-support—a helicopter maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility based in Ft. Collins, CO is awarded full factory approval for overhaul and repair of the Turbomeca Arriel 1, without limitations.
jacobs engineering group, inc.—announces its Jacobs Consultancy Inc. subsidiary has acquired John F. Brown Company (JFB), a Cincinnati-based management consulting firm. Founded in 1973, JFB will become part of the Aviation Management Consulting division of Jacobs Consultancy.
jacksonville aviation authority—is selected as one of 25 airports by FAA to participate in a six-month initiative, the FAA’s Safety Management System (SMS) Pilot Program. The participating airports will submit their SMS plans and recommendations to the FAA in six months. The FAA will then take the best elements of the plans and create a comprehensive national SMS Program.
jet aviation—opens a new aircraft management and charter support services sales office in its FBO facilities at the St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, IL.
kansas city int’l airport —reports it has added more new routes (16) than any other airport in the United States from August 2006 to August 2007.
- Kansas City Aviation Department and Dallas-based Trammell Crow Company unveil the master plan for the KCI Intermodal Business Centre, an 800-acre multi-use development located on the southeast corner of the airfield at Kansas City Int’l Airport.
Kentucky judicial ruling—declares that the Blue Grass Airport in Lexington could not be held legally responsible for the August 2006 crash of a Comair aircraft. Comair’s case against the airport’s control tower, which is run by FAA, is still pending. Kentucky’s constitution protects counties from being sued without a waiver from the General Assembly, a step not taken in the Comair case.
laguardia airport’s— Central Terminal Building welcomes Airport Wireless, Bijoux Terner, Borders, and The Body Shop to its award-winning retail program.
miami executive aviation—breaks ground on a new hanger encompassing 70,000 square feet at the Opa Locka Executive airport.
million air—fixed based operator franchisee based in Cincinnati opens its seventh location at Charleston, SC (CHS).
new richmond regional airport—in western Wisconsin opens a 5,500-ft. runway and a new 18,000-sq. ft. FBO building; project includes additional ramp space, a full-length parallel taxiway with taxiway lighting, and additional hangar pads. New FBO facility, home to Strand Air Services, Inc. and a Life Link III Air Ambulance base, includes a 12,000- sq. ft. hangar.
nut tree airport— at Vacaville, CA evicts Blue Ridge Aeronautics, a fixed-base operator, which it claims owes more than $53,000 in back rent.
pelco—a leading security firm, will be acquired by Schneider Electric of France.
premier jet—of Carlsbad, CA announces the launch of its new private air charter services out of company headquarters at McClellan-Palomar Airport.
san diego county regional airport authority—studies a cross-utilization initiative involving the Tijuana airport, which abuts the U.S. border.
sln aviation service center—at Salina (KS) Airport prepares to finance a new modern hangar complex to include a 69,000 sq. ft. hangar and office complex. The new facility will be available for occupancy in June 2008.
sporty’s—founder Hal Shevers is highest bidder when the first Cirrus Light Sport Aircraft is auctioned at EAA’s annual Gathering of Eagles fundraising dinner on July 26. Shevers’ winning bid of $170,000 will benefit EAA’s Young Eagles program and youth initiatives.
tsa—Transportation Security Admin-istration implements new screening procedures, beginning August 4: 1) TSA will no longer enforce the lighter ban; however, torch lighters remain a safety issue and thus prohibited in the sterile areas; 2) video game consoles must be removed from carry-on luggage; 3) TSA will implement new liquid container screening procedures to take place on the back end of the screening checkpoint; 4) TSA document checkers will be using magnifying glasses and fluorescent lighting on identification to ensure the ID is valid; and 5) military personnel in uniform will not be subject to random screening.
U.S. airlines—and aviation-related companies sue the CIA and the FBI to force terrorism investigators to tell whether the aviation industry was to blame for the Sept. 11 attacks. The two lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Manhattan seek court orders for depositions as the aviation entities build their defenses against lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages for injuries, fatalities, property damage, and business losses related to Sept. 11, 2001.
U.S. House homeland security committee— clears H.R.1413 that establishes pilot programs at several airports to physically screen all workers who have access to secure and sterile areas.
virgin america— of Burlingame, CA begins service from San Francisco International Airport to JFK Int’l Airport and LAX.
williams gateway airport— in Mesa, AZ looks at changing its name to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport.
yingling aviation—based at Wichita’s Mid-Continent Airport, will add 9,000 square feet of hangar/office space to make room for McCauley propeller overhaul and service.
