US FAA said
it received a score of 91 out of 100 in a
new ICAO audit conducted under the Universal
Safety Oversight Audit Program. It said average
score is 56. Aug 26, 2008
Agents
can
Agents can
create customized land packages, combining
tours, hotels and transfers, for independent
travel clients headed to China, India, Thailand
and other destinations in Asia. Travel Bound has
approximately 2,000 hotels in China and more
than 3,500 throughout Asia. Commission on all
components starts at 10 percent. Aug 26,
2008
American
Eagle Airlines, Embraer
The US
Transportation Security Administration may levy
civil penalties against American Eagle Airlines
after one of its inspectors was able to gain
access to the interior of seven out of nine
Embraer ERJ-145s at Chicago O'Hare International
airport on August 19. American Eagle says it is
concerned about the "unorthodox inspection
techniques" used at roughly 05:30 on
ÃÖugust 19. An airline employee noticed a
man hoisting himself up to the jet bridge close
to an ERJ-145 using the pitot tube on the side
of the aircraft near the closed and locked
cockpit door for leverage. The TSA agent
admitted to using the same procedure on a total
of nine aircraft, all of which the airline
pulled out of service. Subsequent inspections
revealed no damage. Aug 26, 2008
Boeing
Boeing has been
weighing its response to the A350 for some time
while balancing the need to wait for hard
performance numbers from the 787 structural test
program. The flight test program should be
underway in early November. Qantas Group has
ordered 65 of the smaller 787s. The A350 series
has emerged in the past year as a potent
competitor to both the 230/280-seat 787 and the
777, although delivery of the largest model, the
-1000, will not begin until 2015. The 777-300ER
and A350-1000 each burn approximately 20% less
fuel per passenger than a 747-400. Aug 28,
2008
Boeing has
downplayed that threat, saying talks have
been productive. A strike by the IAM could
cost the company USD$3 billion a month in lost
revenue if plane orders are not filled. Boeing's
commercial planes unit took in USD$8.6 billion
in revenue last quarter, or about USD$2.9
billion per month. A strike also could further
delay Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, which is key
to the company's financial future. In this round
of negotiations, Boeing has taken the unusual
step of presenting its proposals on its web site
directly to the workers, a move that circumvents
the IAM. Typically, the union would present the
offers to its members. Aug 27, 2008
Boeing on
Tuesday offered its largest union wage
increases amounting to 9 percent over three
years, which it hopes will prevent a strike that
could cost USD$3 billion a month. However, the
union later rebuffed the offer. Boeing's
proposal was the first full counterproposal to
cross the negotiating table since Saturday, when
the International Association of Machinists
(IAM) rejected Boeing's previous offer as
"insulting" and issued its own proposal. The IAM
responded by saying it will work through the
night and present a counterproposal to Boeing on
Wednesday. Aug 27, 2008
Boeing said
its latest offer to its lagest union boosts
the basic pension benefit to USD$78 per
month for each year of credited service. The
revised offer is Boeing's second, but the
company has said it would make its last and best
offer in time for the US Labor Day holiday this
weekend. The IAM's 27,000 members were set to
vote on the contract on September 3, when the
current 36 month deal expires. Without a new
deal, the IAM could vote to strike as early as
September 4. Boeing has downplayed that threat,
saying talks have been productive. Aug 27,
2008
Boeing
spokesman Tim Healy said the company would
end negotiations after it makes its last
proposal, which could come on Thursday or
Friday. IAM members were set to vote on the
contract on September 3, when the current three
year deal expires. Without a new pact, the IAM
could vote to strike as early as September 4.
Union members held a rally on Wednesday at a
Boeing plant in Everett, Washington. At least a
thousand workers walked outside at lunch time
and chanted "Strike! Strike! Strike!" before
returning to work. The workers carried signs and
wore T-shirts with slogans like "I'll strike if
I have to" and "Share the profit$." Aug 27,
2008
Boeing's
largest union said it was preparing to issue
a contract proposal on Wednesday, as
negotiations ground on ahead of a threatened
strike that could cost the company USD$3 billion
a month. The union, which represents 27,000
Boeing employees, said an offer from the plane
maker on Tuesday featured some "deal breakers."
The IAM rejected the company's previous
proposal, calling it "insulting." Boeing's offer
on Tuesday included wage increases amounting to
9 percent over three years. The deal also would
boost the pension benefit to USD$78 per month
for each year of service. The company said it
was awaiting a counter-proposal and that it
would put forward its own final offer in time
for the US Labor Day holiday weekend. Aug 27,
2008
Boeing's
largest union said the most serious points
of contention include Boeing's proposals to
stop offering early-retirement medical coverage
for future hires. The company abandoned an
earlier effort to put new workers into a
defined-contribution retirement plan rather than
the traditional Boeing pension fund. Industry
watchers say that, given the company's turbulent
history with its workers, a strike is likely.
The IAM has gone on strike against Boeing three
times in the last 20 years. Its members went on
strike for 48 days in 1989; 69 days in 1995; and
28 days in 2005. Also, in 2002, the union
rejected Boeing's final offer, but by less than
the necessary two-thirds needed for a strike,
which meant the contract was accepted by
default. Aug 27, 2008
Bombardier
Bombardier is
maintaining its prediction that the CRJ1000 will
make its first flight by summer's end. The
flight test program is expected to take about
590 flight hours up to basic certification, plus
about 150 flight hours to support
entry-into-service of the 100-seat aircraft. The
prototype CRJ1000 was created through the
stretch of the CRJ900 test aircraft. Bombardier
has 39 firm orders from four customers for the
100-seat aircraft. Aug 27, 2008
A series of
incidents involving de-icing fluid ingress into
the cockpit of Bombardier CRJ700 and CRJ900
aircraft has prompted the US FAA to propose a
new airworthiness directive (AD) for the types.
The agency's notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM), which will affect about 254 units,
follows Transport Canada's 8 May AD, which was
issued following several incidents of shorting
and sparks. The FAA explains that de-icing fluid
can enter between the windshields and side
windows, leading to possible damage to the
electrical components and wires as it comes into
contact with cockpit floodlight electrical
connections. Additionally, de-icing fluid in
contact with cockpit floodlight electrical
connections can result in possible arcing and
fire. Aug 26, 2008
Eclipse
Aviation
Eclipse Aviation
says it "welcomes" a US Federal Aviation
Administration independent investigation into
the Eclipse 500's airworthiness certification, a
process the company says was "one of the most
rigorous" in the agency's 50-year history. The
FAA has revealed that it launched a 30-day
special certification review of the twin very
light jet on August 11, headed by former Boeing
safety executive Jerry Mack. The team, including
seven FAA independent experts specializing in
flight testing, avionics and certification, will
investigate issues that include whether ongoing
service difficulty reports dealing with aircraft
trim, flaps, screen blanking and stall speeds
were not adequately addressed during
certification. Aug 28, 2008
Elbit
Systems
Elbit Systems is
developing eye-tracking technologies in a bid to
enhance the field of view of a combat pilot's
helmet-mounted display systems. According to
Elbit a typical helmet FOV is from 20-40¬°
and this limits its ability to target weapons if
the opposing aircraft is outside that range,
although still visible to the pilot. Elbit's
solution is to integrate a tracking device into
future helmet-mounted systems that directs
infrared light to the pilot's eye to track it.
The system then detects where the eye is looking
by processing the reflection of this light,
expanding its targeting field of view by at
least 15%, says Elbit. Aug 27, 2008
Gulfstream
Gulfstream is
close to starting production of the first G650
only six months after launching the new
ultra-long-range, ultra-large-cabin business
jet. President Joe Lombardo says production of
the first prototype G650 will begin by the end
of September at a new dedicated facility at
Gulfstream's Savannah headquarters. Gulfstream
launched the program in March, but Lombardo says
work on the first aircraft needs to begin this
year to meet the 2009 first flight, 2011
certification and 2012 entry-into-service
targets. "There's a lot we need to do by 2012,"
Lombardo says. The G650 will be manufactured in
a similar set-up as the G450 and G550, with the
green aircraft being assembled in Savannah.
Lombardo says G650s will be completed at
Gulfstream's facilities in Appleton, Wisconsin,
Brunswick, Georgia and Long Beach, California,
as well as at Savannah, where the first aircraft
will be completed. Aug 29, 2008
ans to develop
new flightdeck technology over the next couple
of years that builds on its newly certificated
Enhanced Vision System II and incorporates new
equivalent visual operations (EVO) standards.
EVS II, which was certificated by the US Federal
Aviation Administration in December, secured
approval in August from the European Aviation
Safety Agency authorizing installation in
European-registered aircraft and allowing all
EVS equipped Gulfstreams to continue approaches
down to 100ft (30m). Gulfstream director of
advanced cockpit programs Mike Mena reveals that
the manufacturer is already working on new
technology that will combine EVS with synthetic
vision and allow Gulfstream pilots to land
anywhere under any conditions. Aug 29,
2008
Hawker
Beechcraft
Hawker
Beechcraft reaches a deal with striking
machinists. A full weekend of negotiations
between Hawker Beechcraft management and the
union representing its machinists has resulted
in a deal that could end their strike and
restart production. Aug 29, 2008
Hawker
Beechcraft has agreed to enter a fresh round of
negotiations with the union, representing 4,300
machinists who have been on strike since August
4, bringing production to a virtual standstill.
"At the request of the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Services, Hawker Beechcraft and the
Machinists Union have agreed to meet to explore
options concerning the strike and negotiations,"
says the manufacturer. The company has proposed
a 4% wage increase in each of the next three
years, which it says is the "best package
offered in the past 20 years". Bob Wood, who
speaks for union members at the main Wichita
plant and a smaller facility in Salina, Kansas,
says: "The healthcare is very substandard and
it's very expensive for our members." Aug 26,
2008
Southwest
Airlines
Southwest
Airlines met in April with FAA officials as part
of an informal review of the fine proposed in
March for the alleged maintenance shortcomings.
Southwest has said it did not compromise flight
safety, and the FAA said there were no safety
incidents related to the missed inspections. The
case was triggered by whistle-blower complaints
to Congress, which put pressure on the FAA to
step up safety oversight of the industry. Aug
27, 2008
Southwest
Airlines said on Wednesday it will not comply
with a US Federal Aviation Administration
deadline of August 29 to pay a record USD$10.2
million fine for alleged safety violations. The
FAA said earlier this year that Southwest
continued to fly uninspected aircraft even after
the carrier notified the agency that it had
missed a mandatory deadline to complete the
work. The agency has said it would turn the
matter over to the Justice Department if the
fine were not paid by August 29. It is common
for airlines to appeal fines, and in many cases
the penalty is reduced. Asked if the FAA still
plans to turn the matter over to the Justice
Department, an FAA spokesman said: "I really
can't speculate on whether that's the course of
action we would take." Aug 27, 2008
