Twenty Member States* of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) from North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America unanimously adopted at a conference in Caracas (Venezuela) a comprehensive strategy aimed at improving passenger and cargo security throughout the hemisphere, as part of a common effort to counter threats to civil aviation worldwide (avstop.com) More...
On Tuesday President Barack Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (H.R. 658) which will modernize the nation's aviation system. The law will provide $63.4 billion in FAA funding over four years, including about $11 billion toward the modernization air traffic control system. This bill will allow the FAA to rebuild its air traffic control (avstop.com) More...
Airbus has begun a detailed review of why its design and engineering system allowed a manufacturing flaw to creep into the system that has led to an excessive structural strain being placed on some wing rib-feet causing cracks in the component. (www.aviationweek.com) More...
Airbus is bringing to market the A330 passenger to freighter program with ST Aerospace, with the aircraft to enter service in 2016. Both the A330-300 (to come first) and -200 (due a year later) will be part of the P2F program which also includes EADS’ EFW unit. ST Aerospace will have the development lead, with EFW performing the modification and marketing. (www.aviationweek.com) More...
Lockheed Martin has unveiled the F-16V, a new variant and upgrade package that includes datalinks allowing the aircraft to operate alongside the F-35 and F-22. In a separate development, Lockheed Martin is developing new variants of the C-130, including the XJ. (www.aviationweek.com) More...
Commonly known as “drones”, unmanned aerial vehicles have been around for a while and have proven to be very useful in military operations. Starting with the Vietnam War, drones have been proliferating at an astonishing rate. (waynefarley.com) More...
Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, won the Gold Award in the African Airline of the Year 2011/12 Award organized by the African Aviation News Portal. (ethiopiaforums.com) More...
Not to mention the $100 per flight "fee" (fees = taxes). We have airlines removing pilowing, blankets, magazines, even counting the number of peanuts in bags. All in the name of saving money, now we get to pay the national debt. (www.ainonline.com) More...
The union says 97 per cent of the 3,000 Air Canada pilots it represents have voted in favour of a strike if necessary to press their contract demands. (www.cbc.ca) More...
A Dallas woman says TSA agents repeatedly asked her to step back into a body scanning machine at DFW International Airport. “I feel like I was totally exposed,” said Ellen Terrell, who is a wife and mother. “They wanted a nice good look.” When Ellen Terrell and her husband, Charlie, flew out of DFW Airport several months ago, Terrell says she was surprised by a question a female TSA agent asked her. “She says to me, ‘Do you play tennis?’ And I said, ‘Why?’ She said, ‘You just have such a cute… (dfw.cbslocal.com) More...
The nation's largest airlines had one of their best years for getting passengers to their destinations on time in 2011, despite unexpected snowstorms and Tropical Storm Irene, the U.S. Department of Transportation reported Tuesday. (travel.usatoday.com) More...
According to the Broward County Sheriff's Department, a man stole a Rolex watch valued at $6,500 from another passenger at the security checkpoint of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. The event was captured on TSA video surveillance.... (www.thefloridanewsjournal.com) More...
The Garmin G5000H glass cockpit for twin-turbine, medium-lift helicopters was announced at Heli-Expo in Dallas Feb. 12. It combines widescreen displays with voice command, 3-D spatial audio that helps a pilot differentiate among several communication sources, and touchscreen technology. (www.aopa.org) More...
A close aide to Democratic Republic of Congo President Joseph Kabila was among five people killed on Sunday when a small plane crashed in the country's east, the government confirmed on Monday. (nycaviation.com) More...
Hired two years ago as a copilot for SkyKing, a small operation with 10 jets, Crowley made his first flight as captain on Jan. 28 from West Palm Beach to Worcester, Mass. His parents rode along. (www.sun-sentinel.com) More...
In the winter of 1962, the nation needed a hero. Americans had yet to recover from the Soviet Union’s launching of the first spacecraft, Sputnik, in October 1957 — a rude jolt to our confidence as world leaders in all things technological. The space race was on. Soon after he took office in 1961, President John F. Kennedy had thrown down the challenge to send men to the Moon by the end of the decade. But the Russians still set the pace, boastfully. They launched a dog into orbit, then the first… (www.nytimes.com) More...
Arguably the most impressive new design on display at Dubai is Adcom Systems’ latest unmanned air vehicle, the United 40. Based in Abu Dhabi, the company has forged a reputation for taking innovative approaches to UAV and aerial target design, and the United 40 does not disappoint due to its tandem-wing layout and dramatic S-shaped fuselage. (www.ainonline.com) More...
Chicago-based Boeing Co. said on Tuesday it signed its largest ever commercial airplane order with Indonesia's Lion Air in a deal worth $22.4 billion. Boeing said Lion Air, Indonesia's largest carrier by passenger volume, has ordered 230 airplanes, including 201 737 MAXs and 29 next-generation 737-900 ERs. Lion Air will also acquire purchase rights for an additional 150 airplanes, Boeing said. The announcement was made in a statement at the Singapore airshow. In November, Lion Air announced the… (www.chicagotribune.com) More...
CHICAGO (APOnline) – Boeing said on Monday that repairs are needed in the tail sections of some of its new 787s, although it said there's no immediate safety concern. (travel.usatoday.com) More...
Boeing is exploring an ultra long-range replacement of the 777-200LR, conceptually dubbed the 777-8LX. Likely to be the last of three members of a conceptual 777X family, the -8LX could potentially have a service entry in the 2020s, providing a mission range of 17,550km (9,480nm), which is 85nm longer than the 17,395km (9,395nm) offered by the 777-200LR. (www.flightglobal.com) More...
This must be something new because the planes never moved across the screen before. No I haven't been hitting the sauce, yet! lol But I sat down to check activity at KMSP and I'm watching the plane icons moving in almost real time. Did I miss an story about Flightaware updating its software? either way I think it's really cool. Nice job Flightaware! :) (flightaware.com) More...
Boeing expects to begin major assembly work on the first 787-9 and complete most of the detailed design of the aircraft in the fourth quarter as it moves to achieve first flight in mid-2013. (www.aviationweek.com) More...
PEOPLExpress will be the name of a Virginia-based start-up carrier that hopes to begin flying passengers as early as this summer. If successful, that would resurrect the brand of one of the first U.S. low-cost carriers to emerge following deregulation. The original PEOPLExpress flew from 1981 through 1987, when it was acquired by Continental Airlines. (travel.usatoday.com) More...
A new airline will be unveiled later today, organizers of the venture say. For now, The Associated Press reports the "new airline will be headquartered at Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport in southeastern Virginia. Airport officials have scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to reveal which airline it is. Officials have said the airline will initially offer service to the East Coast." (travel.usatoday.com) More...
Sen. Charles Schumer Sunday said he will introduce legislation this week that will require the Transportation Security Administration to put passenger advocates in every major airport after three elderly women, including one from Long Beach, were strip-searched by screeners. "Passengers who feel their rights are about to be violated have nowhere to turn," said Schumer, who will introduce the Restoring Integrity and Good Heartedness in Traveler Screening Act this week. "The RIGHTS… (www.newsday.com) More...
Boeing said late Sunday that the final phase of wind tunnel testing on the new 737 MAX will begin next week, as carriers eagerly await the first aircraft shipments of its newest fuel-efficient jet. (www.foxbusiness.com) More...
If you’ve ever peeked into the cockpit while boarding a commercial flight, you might not have realized that the pilots are in the midst of one of their highest times of workload. Many tasks must be accomplished prior to pushing back from the gate, and it takes a great deal of coordination between the pilots, flight attendants, airline operations, and ATC to prepare for flight. In this article, I’ll walk through a typical sequence of events that leads up to your departure. While you’re sitting at… (flightaware.com) More...
Promoted with a fair degree of showmanship, Bell Helicopter has unveiled the first public view of what they call the world’s first “super-medium” helicopter, the Bell 525 Relentless, early on the opening day of the 2012 Heli-Expo in Dallas, Texas. (www.aero-news.net) More...
U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten has ordered Delta Air Lines to pay plaintiffs’ legal fees in an evidence gathering proceedings after it was discovered Delta Air Lines withheld 60,000 documents in a lawsuit (Delta/AirTran Baggage Fee Antitrust Litigation, 1:09-md-02089, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia) which alleges Delta Air (avstop.com) More...
ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. (ACE) reported full year and fourth quarter results for 2011 and announced its intention to seek shareholder approval for its winding-up, the distribution of its remaining net assets and ultimately its dissolution in the future. ACE Aviation Holdings Inc. is a Canadian holding company that provides commercial airline service (avstop.com) More...
MegaDo, an event sponsored by American Airlines and its Oneworld alliance partners to give the hardiest of fliers insight on everything from why flights are canceled to a ride down a plane's emergency exit chute. (travel.usatoday.com) More...
Once largely reserved for military use in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, drones will soon be widely available for sale in the U.S.—leaving the federal government to figure out how to deal with the prospect of a multitude of radio-controlled aircraft whizzing through cities, hovering over backyards, and possibly crashing into airplanes and buildings. Some drones are maneuvered with a simple hand-held remote. The most sophisticated models, now used by the military for high-altitude surveillance… (www.businessweek.com) More...
An unidentified airline has signed a firm order for six CRJ1000 NextGen regional jets and has taken options on another 18, Bombardier announced Friday. The order is valued at approximately $297 million and could increase to approximately $1.32 billion if all 18 options are exercised, Bombardier said. (atwonline.com) More...
In a dramatic show of dry ice and pumping music, Bell Helicopter unveiled its much-anticipated 525 Relentless super medium transport here at Heli Expo 2012. The largest heliocpter ever developed by Bell, the 525 is aimed primarily at long range missions such as the offshore oil support market. It resembles a larger stretch of the Bell 429, and weighs in at more than 19,000lb. (www.aviationweek.com) More...
