Industry News

Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Int’l Airport — comes under fire by county commissioners who question why almost half of the $247 million borrowed for construction remains unspent. County must spend some $112 million by late 2009 and could face IRS charges topping $1 million for changing construction plans, according to reports. Projects to be built with the money: the next phase of realigning airport access roads and adding pedestrian bridges between the parking garages and the terminals.

HAI — Helicopter Association Int’l offers its 2007 Helicopter Annual, a comprehensive reference guide; free download at www.rotor.com/annual.

Int’l Communications Group — of Newport News, VA announces that FAA has granted it Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) to produce and replace satellite communication systems on the Boeing 737-700 aircraft.

Jet Source — a full-service aviation firm at Carlsbad, CA, will build a second facility at Henderson, NV, scheduled to open in 2008, that will consist of two 35,000-sq. ft. hangars and an executive terminal.

Kansas City Aviation Dept. — opens its $90 million KCI Rental Car Facility for business, which consolidates ten rental car agencies into a single facility.

Long Beach (ca) City Council — considers authorizing the city to prepare a final design, along with a financing plan and space allocation details, for the airport terminal improvement project. If approved, a three-month bidding period will follow for a construction company to complete the project by April 2011.

McClellan-Palomar Airport — in Carlsbad, CA will replace various existing facilities with a new terminal in a $24 million facelift. San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approves a plan to use federal grants to combine ten smaller upgrades into a single large project.

Metropolitan Airports Commission — of Minneapolis-St. Paul gives final approval to a $239 million reduction in airport fees for Northwest Airlines in return for the airline keeping its hub and headquarters at MSP. Plan will lower fees for all airlines at MSP from 2006 to 2020; other airlines will pay $40 million less under the new rates.

Oakland Int’l Airport — begins a $300 million upgrade that includes expansion and redesign of the airport’s terminals, roads, and curbside areas.

Orlando Int’l Airport — plans to move ahead with the construction of a transportation hub, the first piece of a long-awaited south terminal complex. The facility, which will include buses, taxis, resort shuttles such as Disney’s Magical Express, and potentially rail, is estimated to cost at least $200 million. In time, the hub may include a hotel and conference center.

Orlando Sanford Int’l Airport — leases 4,020 square feet of industrial space at Airport Commerce Park to Sam’s Graphix, a sign manufacturer. Airport also awards five-year airport rental car concessions to Alamo/National, Hertz, Avis/Budget, Dollar/Thrifty, and Enterprise Leasing.

Raytheon Technical Services, LLC — a subsidiary of Raytheon Co., receives a contract valued up to $16.3 million to provide passenger and baggage screening services at two Florida commercial airports, Key West Int’l Airport and the Florida Keys Marathon Airport, under TSA’s Screening Partnership Program (SPP). Period of performance is four years, four months.

Sacramento Int’l Airport — and Air-Transport IT Services, Inc. (AirIT), a provider of airport/airline technologies, announces that new entrant ExpressJet Airlines will use the AirIT common use passenger processing system, EASE™.

Security Screeners — at Kansas City Int’l Airport vote, by a nearly two-to-one ratio, to join the International Union, Security, Police, Fire, Professionals of America. It was the third vote by the screeners.

SITA — a provider of IT business solutions and communication services, and Servisair, a global operator in aviation ground services, announce a working partnership to provide ground airport services in Europe and North America. 

Skybus Airlines — and Mercury Air Cargo, Inc., a subsidiary of Mercury Air Group Inc., announce a strategic partnership in which Mercury will provide marketing, sales, accounting, and operational oversight for all Skybus flights in the U.S. using the Mercury World Cargo brand.

• Skybus launches its new air carrier service, based in Columbus, OH, on May 22, with service to Burbank, CA; Portsmouth, NH; and Kansas City. Subsequent start-up service is expected for Richmond, VA; Fort Lauderdale; Greensboro/Winston-Salem, NC; and Bellingham, WA. Skybus will fly Airbus A319’s.