For the first time, the government levied a fine against the airlines for stranding passengers on an airport tarmac, according to the Associated Press.
Three airlines were fined a precedent-setting $175,000 for stranding passengers on a plane for six hours overnight at Rochester, Minn. on Aug. 8.
An Airbus A330 tanker for the first time refueled two fighter jets simultaneously during a flight test sortie.
The tanker, using its left and right under-wing pods, transferred more than 25,000 pounds of fuel to two NATO F/A-18 fighters, according to EADS, the parent company of Airbus.
The refueling was done by the Royal Australian Air Force.
The Australian tanker is nearly identical in configuration, EADs said, to the Northrop Grumman KC-45 Airbus tanker being offered to the U.S. Air Force to replace aerial refuelers. The tanker uses a mix of boom and pod refueling technologies.
The first of five tankers to go to Australia will be delivered in mid 2010, EADS said. Twenty-eight A330 tankers have been ordered to date.
President Barack Obama and Congress are looking for ways to accelerate job growth and civil and travel associations have a suggestion: Fund the Next Generation Air Traffic Systems, commonly called NextGen.
The funding would finance switching the U.S. air traffic control system from ground-based radar to a satellite-based infrastructure. The change would create thousands of jobs for engineers, software developers and other high-tech workers, the groups say. Pilots, maintenance facilities and travel and tourism companies also would benefit from the change, they say.
The organizations sent a letter to House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and Ranking Member John Mica (R-Fla.). It was signed by 19 associations, according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.
Besides job creation and boosting general aviation, the change would improve aviation safety, reduce delays and cut carbon emissions. It also would help keep the U.S. as a world leader in aviation, they say.
The European Union, Australia and Canada are surpassing the U.S. in implementing NextGen.
“Other countries like China and India will look to either the U.S. or Europe for leadership as they develop their air traffic control systems,” the letter said. “If the U.S does not demonstrate leadership in deploying these technologies, opportunities for U.S. manufacturers and workers will be lost.”
U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt is asking for a Congressional investigation of whether reports are valid that the U.S. and Brazil are negotiating an agreement for the U.S. to buy at least 100 Super Tucano aircraft built by Brazil’s Embraer for use as mission, light attack and armed reconnaissance (LAAR) aircraft.
Earlier this year, the Air Force initiated a formal analysis of alternatives that may be able to perform LAAR missions. An agreement to buy light attack aircraft from a foreign country before the review is complete would “undermine the integrity and value of this effort.”
It also wouldn’t give Wichita’s Hawker Beechcraft a chance to compete for the contract with its AT-6B, an aircraft the government has invested substantially in for its development, Tiahrt said. The AT-6B would compete with Embraer’s Super Tucano.
Tiahrt said he’s concerned that this type of agreement would demean the integrity of the federal acquisition process and result in the loss of thousands of U.S. jobs.
He’s asking House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), and Ranking Member Buck McKeon (R-Calif.) asking the committee to investigate the reports.
Air travel is challenging any time of the year. But holiday travel is especially stressful.
Financially troubled carriers have cut flights, and planes will be full.
“The system is constricted considerably over the last couple of years, and we just don’t have that many seats for people to buy anymore,” said Dean Headley, co-author of the annual Airline Quality Rating at Wichita State University.
The good news is that with fewer flights, the industry’s operating record is improving. But it’s bad news if the weather or other issues delay or cancel a flight, Headley said. You may have a tough time finding a seat on another flight.
“There just isn’t any slack in the system,” he said.
On-time performance of the airlines last year was worse in December than September, October and November, when it was around 80 to 85 percent. In December, that fell to 65 percent.
Headley expects the same thing to happen this year.
I took a vacation day Friday because the weather was perfect. I’ve been waiting for a beautiful day to finally fly solo on my first cross country flight, a key milestone on the way to earning a private pilot’s license.
From the Augusta airport, I planned out my route from the Augusta to Salina to Hutchinson and back home — about 160 miles in all. The requirements say you have to fly at least 150 miles and land at three airports.
My flight instructor checked my trip planning and other key items and sent me on my way with these words of encouragement: “Call me the minute you land or from the crash site.” It lightened a tense moment.
I didn’t get lost or nervous talking to air traffic controllers. And I wasn’t overwhelmed flying into the Salina airport — which was busy with larger and faster military aircraft — in my tiny, slow Piper Tri-Pacer.
Once back at the Augusta airport, I called my instructor. “Hello Dave? I think I’m in Liberal.” He laughed.
The Daily Beast looks at delays, accidents, security lines, and tarmac nightmares in its ranking of the nation’s best and worst airports. What’s the best? George Bush International Airport in Houston. Check out the rest here.
Allegiant Air begins its twice-a-week service from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport to the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport today. It will have flights from Wichita on Mondays and Fridays.
Allegiant is offering fares from Wichita to the destination as low as $59.99 one way (not including taxes.)
Including the Wichita service, Allegiant now serves 20 cities from the Phoenix-Mesa airport. That’s given the Arizona airport quite a boon.
In 2007, the airport served just 37,000 passengers, said Milt Fort, director of marketing for the Mesa Convention and Visitors Bureau. This year, that number will be in excess of 700,000.
“That’s a huge economic impact for us,” Fort said.
No kidding!
Fort is in Wichita for Allegiant’s inaugural flight today. On Thursday, he was meeting with Wichita airport and convention and visitor bureau officials to discuss how to promote the two cities.
The Mesa-Phoenix area is a popular place for “snowbirds” looking to get out of the winter cold, he said. People also come for the outdoor activities.
But residents in his area also want to visit the Midwest, he said. That’s according to a survey of airport passengers there.
Fort has been on the road a lot lately himself. In the past nine weeks, he’s traveled to 18 of the 20 cities Allegiant serves from his hometown. He plans to visit the last two cities the week after Thanksgiving.
Allegiant also operates nonstop flights from Wichita to Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Today’s equipment glitch at the Federal Aviation Administration, which disrupted a number of air traffic management services, was not the result of a cyber attack, the FAA said.
A router problem, which occurred early this morning, lasted for four hours. The failure was attributed to a software configuration problem within the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure, or FTI, in Salt Lake City, the agency said. The National Airspace Data Interchange Network, which processes flight planning, was affected because it relies on the FTI services.
A team of technical and safety experts is investigating the outage.
What do you think?
I received an e-mail today from someone in the aviation industry who is critical of President Obama who, on his trip to China this week, pledged support of China’s regional jet, which is in the works.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Obama said that he would push for closer technical collaboration and eventual U.S. safety approval for China’s ARJ21 commuter jet.
“This is just great,” said a reader in his e-mail to me today. “Something is badly and horrible wrong with these actions – destroy your own great USA aviation industry and build the foreign competitions industry – SAD.”
What do you think? Send me your comments.
