The Seattle Times has compared how Boeing’s latest offer to the Machinists union to the one workers rejected August 28.
The union made gains on outsourcing, health care and pension. Missing from the latest offer is a company incentive pay plan.
The chart compares general wages, wages for recent and new hires, pensions, bonuses, incentive pay plans, medical plans and outsourcing language.
Caffe Moderne owner Janet Rine is on a “Quest.”
She is working hard to expand the Old Town restaurant to include a separate room for special events. The highlight of the room is an Art Deco-style mural painted by local artist Steve Murillo, called “The Quest.” Rine’s goal, after the bills are paid, is eventually to use income from the room to buy a Beech Staggerwing like the one depicted in the mural. “I want that Staggerwing,” Rine said. In fact, she is calling the entire room the Quest Space. “This has been a quest for me to be able to afford an airplane.” The Staggerwing is one of eight airplanes depicted in the mural.
The room should be open in a couple of weeks.
At the India Aviation 2008 exhibition and conference in Hyderabad, India, Boeing’s vice president of commercial airplane sales said that India will need 1,001 new commercial airplanes worth about $105 billion over the next two decades. That’s according to Boeing’s 2008 Market Outlook.
“The long-term fundamentals of growth that drive commercial aviation in India remain strong, despite the near-term challenges that face the country,” said Boeing’s Dinesh Keskar in a statement.
Wichita Mid-Continent Airport offers travelers free Wi-fi connectivity. Go Wichita. That’s not the case everywhere. While at the the Atlanta airport recently, I discovered the charge for Wi-fi services there was $7.95. My flight was leaving soon, so thought I’d read instead of checking e-mail.
This morning, I ran across a blog with a list of airports that offer free Wi-fi connectivity. The list is long.
Thought I’d share.
The new Wichita Aero Club now under formation may be a revival of an organization by the same name, said Dave Franson of Franson Consulting and an organizer of the club. According to documents filed with the State, a group of that name was chartered in 1915. The former group sponsored a ballooning event nearly a century ago, but Franson said no other references to the club could be found.
Today’s Wichita Aero Club is a way for people interested or involved in the aviation industry to network and discuss major industry issues and promote education. The group will host monthly luncheons, sponsor fund-raising events and recognize prominent aviators with an annual trophy at an awards gala.
Aerial refueling bids from Northrop Grumman and Boeing were both “technically outstanding” but Boeing’s bid came in almost $3 billion more, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer told the Washington Post.
John Young, the undersecretary for acquisition, said the tanker proposal from Northrop Grumman and partner European Aeronautic Defence & Space, the first 68 tankers would have cost $12.5 billion, compared to $15.4 billion under Boeing’s bid.
Northrop also promised earlier delivery and that its aircraft “provided more tanker capability and offload rate,” Young told the Washington Post.
With flooding in west Wichita, Bombardier Learjet closed one of its production buildings this morning as a precaution. But the company is open for business, a Bombardier official said. It’s allowing employees to leave if they need to check on their homes, cars or personal property because of the high waters.
Maybe, they’ll begin production of an Ark out there today.
As Houston braces for Hurricane Ike’s arrival, Continental Airlines has canceled flights from Wichita to Houston after 8 a.m. Friday until Sunday morning. At the same time, Wichita is expecting rain and potential flooding from Ike.
If you’re a Continental ticket holder needing to rebook a flight, be sure to call the airline’s reservations line at (800) 523-3273. You also can go to the counter at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.
Hurricanes and floods? What’s next, locusts?
An interesting thing happened on the picket line at Boeing Wichita this week.
One of the strikers I interviewed about the work stoppage talked for a while on his views and gave me his name. Nothing unusual there. But it turns out, he didn’t give me his name at all. He gave me the name of a Boeing supervisor. Imagine the supervisor’s surprise to see his name in the paper with comments that didn’t come from him. The Eagle ran a correction today.
It seems, though, that I’m not alone. The same thing happened to one of the TV stations over the weekend, a Boeing spokesman told me. Like me, the striker gave the TV reporter the name of his supervisor instead of his own. Come on. A little honesty, folks. It’s important for the public to hear from the union why they’re out there walking the picket lines. Strikers complain that the public sees them only as greedy Boeing workers. They can’t counter that if they don’t say why they’re walking the line. As in most things, the actions of a few give everyone a black eye.
It’s been 40 years since Cessna Aircraft began producing the Cessna 177 Cardinal. Cardinal owners and operators from around the country will be in Wichita later this month to tour Cessna’s plants in Wichita and Independence and take part in a 40th birthday party.
Cessna built nearly 4,300 of the light, high-wing aircraft before stopping production in 1978.
The event, sponsored by the Cardinal Flyers organization, will be held at the Wichita Hilton at Wichita Mid-Continent Airport Sept. 24 to Sept. 28
The inventory of Safewing Aviation in Kansas City, Mo., will be on the auction block next week.
Don Doroty, who is owner of the air cargo and charter service, plans to liquidate his business, including 10 aircraft, equipment and parts at the auction, which begins at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The aircraft for sale include seven Piper Lances, two Piper Aztecs and one 25C Learjet.
The auction will be held at the Downtown Kansas City Airport.
If you’re in the market for an airline, the Austrian government wants to sell its share of Austrian Airlines, according to a report by Aviation International News. The government is advertising in the financial press offering its 42.75 percent share of the carrier.
There’s some conditions to the sale, AIN said. A buyer must agree to keep Vienna as a hub, to keep the name Austrian Airlines and to leave 25 percent of the total stock capital in Austrian hands, the report said.
The airline lost nearly $74 million in the first half of the year and expects another loss of $103 million to $133 million in the second half.
The majority of board members reportedly prefer a partnership with German airline Lufthansa. Other potential partners include Air France-KLM, Aeroflot and Turkish Airlines, the report said.