TRB study says arff proposal to cost $4 billion
A report released by the Transportation Research Board (TRB) shows that it would cost airports almost $4 billion in the first year to comply with proposed National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) airport rescue and firefighting (ARFF) standards, bolstering the contention of airport executives and the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) that Congressional action to adopt those standards would have a severe impact on airports and jeopardize service to small communities without improving aviation safety
The TRB report says that the proposed NFPA standards would require airports to build almost 600 additional ARFF facilities and purchase more than 1,000 additional ARFF vehicles at a cost of almost $2.9 billion. Airports also would be required to hire more than 11,000 additional firefighters, resulting in additional operating expenses of almost $1 billion per year. Comments AAAE president Chip Barclay, “Airports would have no choice but to pass the additional operating costs on to the airlines at a time when large and small airports are doing everything they can to keep their costs low.”
REPUBLIC TO BUY OUT fRONTIER, MIDWEST
Republic Airways Holdings based in Indianapolis announced in June it will buy Midwest Airlines, following an announcement two days prior that it will purchase Denver-based Frontier Airlines out of bankruptcy. Republic is buying the airline from majority owner TPG Capital, and reportedly will replace all of Midwest’s Boeing 717s with Embraer 190s. Republic operates a regional airline as well as Chautauqua Airlines and Shuttle America.
Frontier filed for bankruptcy in April, and Republic plans to buy the airline for $108.8 million and fund its reorganization.
Briefings ...
alaska airlines — relocates from Terminal B to Terminal A at Boston Logan Int’l Airport.
• Alaska Airlines also announces it will inaugurate daily service between San Jose, CA, and Austin, TX, starting Sept. 2, 2009. Earlier this year, Alaska announced plans to link Seattle and Austin with a daily roundtrip flight starting Aug. 3, 2009.
amsafe, inc. — a provider of highly engineered restraint systems based in Phoenix, reports that the AmSafe Seatbelt Airbag is now installed on more than 9,000 commercial and general aviation aircraft around the world. The AmSafe Seatbelt Airbag is a self-contained, modular restraint designed to protect occupants from serious head-impact injury and enhance one’s ability to exit an aircraft following a survivable accident; www.amsafe.com.
ata — Air Transport Association of America applauds the ASTM Int’l Aviation Fuels Subcommittee for passing a new specification that will enable the use of synthetic fuels in aviation. This step by ASTM, a standards development organization, is seen as a watershed event and sets the stage for the blended fuel to receive full ASTM approval by the fall of this year.
cessna aircraft co. — a Textron Inc. company, announces that Egypt’s Smart Aviation will take delivery this year of the first two Citation Sovereigns certified for medical evacuation (medevac) with a dual-patient system from LifePort. The two medevac Sovereigns are part of a six-aircraft order from Smart.
clark pacific — of West Sacremento tops off the new 3,350-space parking structure and Quick Turn Around facility for Mineta San José Int’l Airport (SJC). The $271 million seven-deck structure will house and support the airport’s rental car companies and provide public parking. Opening is planned for July.
clear — the registered traveler program operated by Verified Identity Pass Inc. shuts down after the company is “unable to negotiate an agreement with its senior creditor to continue operations,” says the company. Clear began in 2005 with the potential to make airport security quicker and easier for frequent travelers. For an annual fee, Clear would collect information and perform a government security check. Once cleared, the traveler, in theory, would have privileges at Transportation Security Administration checkpoints. It was originally envisioned as a “trusted traveler” program. Clear was the largest of the registered traveler programs, with some 165,000 members, but not the only vendor. FLO Corp. is the second largest in the U.S.
cirrus design — former CEO Alan Klapmeier reportedly will make a bid to acquire the rights to manufacture and sell the Vision SF 50 single-engine jet, under the auspices of a new company.
corgan associates, inc. — a U.S.-based architectural firm focused on design, is selected by the Texas Society of Architects in its 2009 Design Award competition for its role in the development of the International Terminal D at DFW Int’l Airport. Corgan served as the Architect of Record and Design.
DHS — Dept. of Homeland Security Inspector General reports that the national security threat posed by general aviation is “limited and mostly hypothetical.” The I.G. notes TSA has tailored its security strategy to the range of airfield environments and classes of aircraft and operators, rather than introducing overly broad regulations that are costly to implement. The agency also analyzes credible intelligence information to prioritize existing threats and identify practical, targeted measures to reduce risks in the aviation sector. “The current status of [general aviation] operations does not present a serious homeland security vulnerability requiring TSA to increase regulatory oversight of the industry,” the I.G. concludes.
executive travel magazine — names Denver Int’l Airport as winner of its 2009 Leading Edge Award in the category of “Best Domestic Airport”. It was DIA’s second-straight win.
faa — reports that updated noise exposure maps submitted by the City of San Antonio for San Antonio Int’l Airport meet applicable federal requirements. The update was needed to ensure that the airport continues to receive federal funding for its sound insulation program. The previous noise exposure maps were approved in 2002.
frasca int’l — of Urbana, IL and Era Training Center of Lake Charles, LA enter into an agreement for Frasca to design and build a Sikorsky S76 C++ Level 6 Helicopter Flight Simulator Training Device (FSTD).
frontier airlines — pulls out of the Grand Junction (CO) market, leaving United as the only airline offering flights between Denver and Grand Junction.
grand canyon national park airport — reportedly could be closed due to a dispute in the Arizona legislature over budgets. In a letter to the FAA Western-Pacific Regional Administrator, AZ DOT Aeronautics Division director Barklay Dick cautions that if negotiations between the Arizona legislature and the Governor do not result in an approved budget for the fiscal year beginning on July 1, the state may cease many of its services, including the operation of the Grand Canyon National Park Airport.
general electric — unveils the fastest selling large jet engine in GE history – the GEnx – and its strategic agreement with Mubadala Development Company, GE (NYSE: GE) and joint ventures, CFM* and Engine Alliance+, and inks more than $8 billion in orders at the Paris Air Show. GE and its joint ventures report 17 deals and partnerships during a four-day span, totaling more than $8 billion. Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, selects the GEnx-1B engine to power its new fleet of 35 Boeing 787-9 aircraft and ten GE90-115B-powered Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.
gulfstream aerospace — furloughs some 2,200 employees, for up to five weeks, who are involved in the manufacture of four of its large-cabin aircraft in Savannah. The new Gulfstream G650 program was not affected. Some 1,500 of those furloughed are involved in the initial phase manufacture of the G350, G450, G500, or G550 business jets. The company reduces its expected production of large-cabin aircraft from 94 to 73 for 2009.
hds retail north america — opens the newly renovated Stars of San Antonio concept at San Antonio Int’l Airport.
iata — International Air Transport Association reports that international scheduled traffic results for May show passenger demand declining 9.3 percent compared to the same month in 2008 while freight demand was down by 17.4 percent. International passenger load factors stood at 71.2 percent, down from 74.5 percent recorded in May 2008.
los angeles — Board of Airport Commissioners approves an agreement to purchase a 20-acre parcel just east of Terminal 1 at Los Angeles Int’l Airport (LAX) for $125 million. The owners currently lease the property to a private parking lot operator who operates the property under the name Park One. Airport officials plan to have the private operator continue to operate the parking lot pursuant to the lease and receive lease revenues. The sellers of the property are West Century, L.L.C.; AMB Park One at LAX, L.L.C; and AMB Property L.P.
lynx air int’l — is forced to move out of the international terminal at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood Int’l Airport over repeatedly paying its bills late, and will likely relocate to the private side of the airport. The company owes the airport $33,000.
massport — approves an operating budget for FY2010 of $364 million, a $13 million decline from the $377 million budget approved in June 2008. The FY10 budget lowers the level of Massport spending on operations by $17 million, on top of the $13 million cut from last year’s budget.
metropolitan nashville
airport authority — Board of Commissioners approves a construction project to repair Nashville Int’l Airport’s entire 91-acre concrete terminal apron. Stimulus money will account for 100 percent funding of the $4.2 million project, which will create an estimated 116 jobs.
miami int’l airport — welcomes the inaugural flight by Air Europa from Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, the beginning of the only non-stop air service from Tenerife to a U.S. city. Air Europa will operate service from Tenerife to Miami once a week on Saturdays. The new service marks MIA’s ninth European non-stop passenger destination.
nata — National Air Transportation Assn. launches “PLST Online” — the Professional Line Service Training Online — for member companies; www.nata.aero.
north texas regional airport — in Denison gets a visit from Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) for the awarding of $6.8 million worth of federal stimulus money for improvements to the airport.
northern nevada aviation — is awarded the Cessna Platinum Award for exceptional performance in the Cessna Pilot Center (CPC) network.
phoenix aviation department’s — Residential Sound Mitigation Services (RSMS) is selected to receive a 2009 Arizona Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award. Each year the Arizona Preservation Foundation and the State Historic Preservation Office/Arizona State Parks recognize ten organizations or individuals that demonstrate outstanding achievements in preserving Arizona’s prehistoric and historic resources. RSMS’ submittal focused on the sound mitigation efforts of the program as a whole and for the treatments completed at six historic houses enrolled in the final phase of the program, including Centennial House, which is on the Tempe Historic Property Register and is designated as the oldest remaining brick residential building within city limits.
platinum jet management — co-founder Andre Budhan pleads guilty to fraud charges for flying more than 100 charters without the proper certification — the result of a PJM accident in 2005 in which a Challenger went off the runway at Teterboro Airport. Five others charged in the alleged scheme have all pleaded not guilty and a trial is set for next January. The indictment alleges that Platinum routinely overfueled aircraft at Teterboro and other locations where fuel was less expensive.
port columbus (OH) int’l airport — and Rickenbacker Int’l Airport both report a decline in activity for the month of May. Port Columbus had an 11.5 percent drop in passengers compared to the previous year. A total of 525,612 passengers traveled through Port Columbus in May as compared to 594,247 in May 2008. Year-to-date 2,443,873 passengers have used Port Columbus, down 19.2 percent from 2008. Port Columbus provides 155 daily departures to 33 airports.
porter airlines — begins service Sept. 14 between Boston Logan and Toronto City Centre Airport, utilizing Bombardier Q400 aircraft.
qantas — plans to increase its A380 services between Los Angeles and Sydney and London and Sydney (via Singapore) on August 6, 2009. By November, Qantas will operate daily A380 services between L.A. and Sydney and will increase L.A. to Melbourne services from two to three A380 flights per week.
• Qantas also plans to further expand its North American and European networks via codeshares with oneworld partner airlines American Airlines and Iberia.
raleigh-durham airport authority — receives a $2.5 million grant offer from the NC DOT to partially fund the replacement of more than 2,000 runway and taxiway lights with energy efficient light emitting diode (LED) fixtures. The grant follows an announcement by DOT and FAA that RDU would receive $4.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to fund the lighting project.
• RDU is awarded the Airport Innovation Award by the Airport Minority Advisory Council for its small and emerging business assistance program, which offers small businesses in the airport’s concession program access to financial resources.
rolls-royce — receives type certification for the new BR725 engine that will power the first flight of the Gulfstream G650 business jet later this year. Type certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is for thrust ratings of 16,100lbf (71.6 kN). Since first engine run in April 2008, the BR725 has completed all major development testing while accumulating some 1,100 running hours and 3,500 engine cycles.
spirit airlines — launches non-stop service between Ft. Lauderdale and Santiago, Dominican Republic. The carrier now offers service to 24 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
westfield concession management — developer and manager of American Airlines’ concession program at JFK Int’l Airport’s Terminal 8, brings a taste of New York’s historic steakhouse, Bobby Van’s, to the newly renovated terminal.
wichita state university’s — National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR), which previously investigated aircraft from Cessna 402s to a B-52 bomber to an F-16 fighter, enters a new contract with the U.S. Air Force to include KC-135 tankers. Through a six-year program, NIAR will investigate three KC-135s using structural teardown examination methods to assess the current damage state of the USAF’s 40- to 50-year old tanker fleet and to assess the viability of the fleet to the anticipated retirement date of 2040.
wilson air center — at Memphis hosts the 13th annual Pilatus Owners and Pilots Assn. Convention, attracting some 35 aircraft for a weekend of classes, education, demonstrations, and static displays.
worldwide airports lawyers assn. — a non-profit group which seeks to improve the mutual cooperation and assistance among worldwide airports legal departments, aeronautical authorities, law firms, and other sectors of the aeronautic industry, offers updated information at www.worldairportslawyers.org.
FAA Seeks Part 161 Comments
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published a notice in the Federal Register on June 22, opening a 30-day comment period on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority’s FAR Part 161 study and application to implement a nighttime curfew at Bob Hope Airport.
The notice documents options to submit comment [federal docket number FAA-2009-0546], and reiterates the 180-day review period underway during which FAA will either approve or disapprove the airport’s curfew application by November 1, 2009; notice is available at www.bobhopeairport.com.
The Bob Hope Airport curfew application is the first Part 161 Study seeking a restriction on operations by Stage 3 aircraft. The study proposes to implement a mandatory curfew on virtually all aircraft operations at Bob Hope Airport between the hours of 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
JIA Arts Recognized
Americans for the Arts, a national arts organization, selects Jacksonville International Airport’s ‘Gotta Go’ as one of the top public arts projects in the U.S. for 2008 at its recent annual conference in Seattle. Artist Gordon Huether of Napa, CA, was commissioned by the airport’s Arts Commission to produce Gotta Go for the recently completed Concourses A and C.
“Through the use of monumental imagery and utilizing the kinetic, color shifting properties of dichroic acrylic, we’ve created Gotta Go, an art piece full of constant discovery for travelers who use Jacksonville International Airport on a regular basis,” says Huether. “This installation enhances Jacksonville’s reputation as a city where culture and the arts are vibrant and alive, where people Gotta Go.”
Currently, there are eleven pieces of large-scale permanent art throughout JIA and two have been recognized; The River in 2006 by artist Peter Hite and now Gotta Go by Gordon Huether.
In addition to the permanent art collection, the JIA Arts Commission also operates art kiosks and an art gallery in the main terminal.
