Category Archives: Uncategorized

Machinists release details of contract offer to Learjet workers

Oct. 2, 20091:06 p.m.

Machinists union members at Bombardier Learjet vote Saturday on whether to accept the company’s offer of a new three-year contract.

The current contract expires Monday. The union represents about 900 hourly employees at in Wichita.

Union negotiators are unanimously recommending acceptance.

The offer includes wage increases of 2 percent the first year and 3 percent in each of the next two years. It includes a $6 increase in pension benefits to $50 a month for each year worked. On health care premiums, the company continues to pay 85 percent of the cost in the first two years. That declines to 80 percent in the third year, although a new health care plan put into place retains the 85/15 percent split.

The offer also increases the number of weeks of severance pay if an employee is laid off because of subcontracting and it extends recall rights.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Bombardier Learjet, Uncategorized, unions | Comments (2)

Machinists, Bombardier Learjet in last week of negotiations

Sept. 29, 200911:27 a.m.

The Machinists union and Bombardier Learjet are back at the negotiating table today. Hourly workers who are members of Local Lodge 639 will be able to vote from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday  at the Machinists District Lodge #70 at 3830 S. Meridian.

Health care and job security are two top issues.

“It’s too early to tell,” how the talks will go this week, said Machinists spokesman Bob Wood.

Stay tuned for updates on the talks this week.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized, aircraft manufacturers, unions | Comments (0)

Spirit AeroSystems’ engineering union posts contract offer on website

Sept. 29, 200911:11 a.m.

Spirit AeroSystems engineers are tentatively set to vote on the company’s offer Oct. 8. The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace has posted the complete offer on its Web site www.speea.org.

SPEEA and Spirit reached a tentative agreement on a contract on Friday. Members rejected the first two offers. In the last round of voting, they also approved a strike authorization. SPEEA represents more than 770 engineers at Spirit.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (0)

NBAA CEO: Negative image of business jets biggest concern

Sept. 23, 20093:42 p.m.

bolenWICHITA — Business aviation faces a host of challenges, but the one that worries Ed Bolen the most is the negative image surrounding business aviation, the National Business Aviation Association CEO said over coffee before speaking at today’s Wichita Aero Club luncheon.

“Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that business aviation has been under attack,” Bolen said at the luncheon.

The airlines want to shift funding of the nation’s airports and the air traffic control system from passenger taxes and fuel taxes to a system of user fees. The airlines portray the general aviation industry as frivolous, Bolen said.

When a misperception persists about the importance of business aviation, it’s difficult to successfully work on other issues the industry faces, Bolen said.

“We’ve got to make sure our lawmakers and policymakers think business aviation is essential,” he said. “We’ve got to get the image right in order to succeed in everything else.”

Other key issues facing business aviation are user fees, a large aircraft security program and environmental laws and regulations, he said.

Improving the public’s image is a focus of NBAA and other industry trade groups. Business aviation is vital to the nation’s economy and its transportation system and economy, he said.

Business aviation means jobs, serves small communities that have little or no commercial airline service, improves productivity for companies that use them and is important in humanitarian efforts, Bolen said.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized, associations, aviation industry | Comments (0)

Engineers present counteroffer to Spirit AeroSystems

Sept. 22, 20096:01 p.m.

Negotiations between Spirit AeroSystems and its engineering union will resume at 9 a.m Wednesday.

Spirit and the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace met with a federal mediator Tuesday after members rejected the company’s contract offer earlier this month.

SPEEA presented the company Tuesday with a counteroffer to the one members rejected.  Spirit officials are expected to offer a counter proposal back during Wednesday’s talks, said SPEEA Midwest director Bob Brewer.

Also on Tuesday, the union handed out fliers and information about the negotiations at Spirit facilities in Wichita, Tulsa and Prestwick, Scotland, and at Onex Corp. headquarters in Toronto, Canada.

The flyer’s message was “Onex and Spirit, you can do better. Let’s sit down and talk,” Brewer said.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Aviation trade groups blast USA Today article on small airports

Sept. 17, 20094:55 p.m.

Aviation trade groups have their ire up with a USA Today story entitled “Feds keep little-used airports in business” and a NBC “Today” show companion story that ran on MSNBC cable news.

The trade groups call the story “biased and distorted,” “devoid of journalistic balance” and one that took “a gratuitous and uninformed slap at general aviation.”

The story focuses on spending at general aviation airports, saying that airline ticket tax income fund airports around the country, some of which are little used. In an accounting, USA said it found that Congress has directed $15 billion over 28 years to general aviation airports, “which typically are tucked on country roads and industrial byways.”

What the story doesn’t point out, however, is that general aviation operators contribute to the same trust fund through fuel taxes or that the also fund also pays for the air traffic control system, a system that primarily benefits the airlines, said the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association.

Community airports serve a vital role for towns with little or no airline service, said the National Business Aviation Association. They provide lifelines for small to midsize businesses, schools, universities and other organizations. They stimulate economic development and are essential for air transportation for the postal service, firefighting, disaster relief, medical evacuations, law enforcement, homeland security, patient and organ transports and other services.

“Congress has long recognized that the upkeep of a national system of airports is an established national priority,” NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said in a letter to the editor of USA Today.

AOPA also says that :

In 2007, a fairly typical year for Airport Improvement Program funding:

* The FAA distributed $3.34 billion in funds to 2,610 airports.

* Of that, 341 primary airports — airports with more than 100,000 boardings each year — received $2.1 billion of the funds. That’s an average of $6.17 million per airport.

* Overall, the 389 airline airports shared $2.2 billion, averaging $5.5 million per airport. By comparison, 1,121 general aviation that year shared $832 million, averaging $742,000 each.

* Another $310 million was distributed through state block grant programs.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized, airports, associations | Comments (4)

FAA/AOPA to hold pilot safety seminar tonight

Sept. 14, 20092:53 p.m.

WICHITA– The Federal Aviation Administration and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association are sponsoring a safety seminar tonight entitled , “What Went Wrong?” covering the causes of aircraft accidents.

The seminar will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Yingling Aircraft’s Maintenance Hangar at 2010 Airport Road.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized, aviation industry, pilots | Comments (0)

In a memo, Boeing’s Albaugh says priority is to win tanker contest

Sept. 9, 20093:44 p.m.

Boeing’s new head of its commercial aircraft division, Jim Albaugh, sent a note to employees today.

In it, Albaugh describes his priorities as three-fold: delivering on the 787 and the 747-8 programs and winning the aerial refueling tanker competition being conducted by the U.S. Air Force. Boeing is locked in competition with Northrop Grumman for a bid to replace the Air Force’s aging tankers.

On the tanker program, Boeing has the opportunity to capture orders for upward for 400 airplanes and their long-term support, he wrote. “This is the kind of franchise program that comes along only once every several decades, and Boeing is uniquely qualified to win it.”

The 787 and 747-8 are both “game changers and will give our customers the kind of efficiency necessary where cost and environmental considerations are so important,” he said in the note.

Although he’s met face to face with only a few of Boeing’s 787 customers, it’s clear that the late delivery of the 787 and 747-8 have affected customers, he said. But, Albaugh said, “they continue to be great partners who want to continue to work with us.”

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Boeing, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Boeing’s commercial aircraft president Scott Carson to retire

Aug. 31, 20095:10 p.m.

Boeing announced the retirement of Scott Carson, president and CEO of its commercial aircraft division. Jim Albaugh, head of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems, will assume the role.

Carson sent a memo to employees today announcing his decision. The test is below:

An incredible journey

Today I am announcing my retirement from Boeing, effective at the end of the year. For me this is the end of a journey that began nearly 41 years ago when I joined Boeing for the first time. It has been an incredible journey. I have seen many changes but the constant throughout has been the amazing people of Boeing who believe so deeply in what we do, and are so proud of the products and services we provide our customers.

My decision is tied to many factors, but perhaps the most important reason for me was resetting the schedule on the 787. With this baseline in place the new leader will have a clear path forward. Tomorrow Jim Albaugh will assume the reins here at Commercial Airplanes. I have worked with Jim over the past 12 years and know him to be a strong and focused leader. Between now and the end of the year, I will help Jim as needed in the transition and assist on special projects for the company.

It has been my honor and privilege to work with each and every one of you over the past three years in my present capacity, and before that in the Sales organization. Throughout my career I have treasured the rewarding experience of working with and serving our customers around the world. It has been one of the great highlights of my years with Boeing, and one that I will always remember.

Despite the current challenges facing our global economy and the industry, I remain confident in the future. I also know that you will give Jim the same outstanding support and world-class effort that you have demonstrated to me over the past three years. I wish you every success and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the journey we have taken together.

Sincerely,

Scott Carson

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Boeing, Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Hesston College offers Air Traffic Control training

Aug. 13, 200911:36 a.m.

If you have aspirations of becoming an air traffic controller, you may want to check out Hesston College’s new course.

The college’s aviation department is offering a  course  this semester called Air Traffic Basics I.  The aim is to help meet a growing need for air traffic controller specialists as current controllers reach mandatory retirement at 56 years of age, the college says.  ( Wait a minute!  You mean I could retire at 56? Had I only known!)

The course is the first of four to be offered at Hesston College to prepare students to take the Federal Aviation Administration’s Air Traffic selection and training evaluations, or ATSAT. The program is limited to people who are 28 years old and younger, since students must enter the FAA program before their 31st birthday. (I’m too old!)

Students in the program will also earn their private pilots license in addition to taking air traffic control classes. After the courses, students must take the ATSAT in order to be admitted into the FAA’s program in Oklahoma City as a trainee.

By Molly McMillin | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (0)