2009 Safety Report to the Membership (2/9/2010)
February 8th, 2010
DOT OFFICE OF DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY AND COMPLIANCE NOTICE
February 8th, 2010
Airline Industry News
February 6th, 2010
Major snowstorm heads for the mid-Atlantic region AP
A storm expected to dump up to 2 feet of snow in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, including Washington, D.C., was already pelting the Southeast with heavy rain Thursday. Virginia’s General Assembly canceled Friday’s floor sessions and committee meetings, the first time anyone could remember that the threat of snow had sent the whole legislature home. Officials urged people to stock up on supplies Thursday night and warned of a tough evening commute Friday. Those who can should work from home, said Joan Morris, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Transportation.
Southwest: Record revenue possible in 2010 AP
Last year Southwest Airlines’ revenue shrank for the first time ever. Now the CEO says it could rebound with record revenue in 2010. Southwest reported Thursday that January traffic rose 7.1% from a year ago, and CEO Gary Kelly said the nation’s biggest discount airline had strong bookings for February and March. If that trend holds, Southwest should finish 2010 with revenue much higher than last year. Kelly told an investors conference in New York “it can even surpass the revenues we had in 2008.” Southwest sales peaked in 2008 at $11.02 billion. Six straight years of rising revenue ended in 2009 with a 6% drop in sales.
British Airways posts surprise quarterly profit The New York Times
A massive cost-cutting campaign at British Airways helped to lift the struggling carrier to its first quarterly operating profit in more than a year. But the airline said Friday that it still expected to record an annual loss amid a broad industry slump. The British flag carrier said it had eked out an operating profit of £25 million, or $39 million, in the three months to Dec. 31, despite a 12.9 percent drop in revenue. But that was not enough to overcome what has been a disastrous year for the airline, which is struggling to adjust to massive declines in revenue from its first- and business-class service - the mainstay of British Airways’ business.
U.S. airline outlook Centre For Asia Pacific Aviation… (GOOD Read)
A simple question on the lessons learned from the downturn, posed during last week’s Continental analyst call, resulted in the clearest indication yet of the structural changes now under way at US carriers. They go far beyond capacity, revealing the task ahead for legacy airlines. It also reveals the implications for manufacturers, regionals and organised labor, as low cost airlines also restrain expansion.
Crowded skies squeeze Asia’s budget carriers Reuters
Asian airlines, particularly budget carriers, may be taking off on a high-risk strategy — ordering hundreds of aircraft to offer new routes and more flights, just as growth in low-cost travel is seen slowing. Over the next five years, budget carriers from Malaysia’s AirAsia to Singapore’s Tiger Airways will take delivery of over 500 planes, meaning a capacity increase of 15 percent a year — double what some observers are forecasting.
EU ‘wise men’ chief wants more rail, less road EurActiv
Rail is the perfect answer to respond to the challenge of greening passenger and freight transport, said Felipe González, chairman of the reflection group on the future of Europe beyond 2020. “We cannot avoid going back to the concept of railways. In the past, railways were a response to industrialisation and changing times, and will be so again in the future. I don’t want to shock anyone, but the comparison can be used,” said González as he collected a European Railway Award this week for his contribution to modernising the Spanish transport system.
World’s largest data collector teams up with word’s largest data collector Schneier on Security
Does anyone think this is a good idea? Under an agreement that is still being finalized, the National Security Agency would help Google analyze a major corporate espionage attack that the firm said originated in China and targeted its computer networks, according to cybersecurity experts familiar with the matter. The objective is to better defend Google — and its users — from future attack.
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February 4, 2010
Our view on aviation: Does airline cost-cutting endanger passenger safety? USATODAY .. (OPINION)
Fliers love the low fares that have come since deregulation, so they’ve learned to live with many of the indignities associated with airlines’ efforts to make money (or at least lose less): crowded flights, cramped legroom, ever-rising luggage fees and ever-shrinking bags of peanuts. But what passengers should never have to put up with is cost-cutting that compromises safety. Lately, troubling signs have emerged that some airlines are shaving costs in ways that are largely invisible to passengers but potentially dangerous to them. These include repeatedly flying aircraft with repair problems that should keep the planes on the ground, and putting regional aircraft in the hands of exhausted, poorly trained, low-paid pilots.
Deadly accidents: 2009 was the worst year ever* for aircraft insurers WSJ
Last year, airlines had a fatal accident rate of only one per 1.5 million flights-the safest ever according to Ascend, a London-based aviation consultancy. By that measure, flying was twice as safe as it was in the 1990s, the firm says. But it was also a deadly year for airline accidents. The number of passengers and crew killed in airline accidents increased significantly in 2009 to 732, up from 567 in 2008, according to Ascend. That’s still an improvement over the average of the past decade of 794 per year.
BA Openskies “gearing up for growth” Business Traveller
BA’s Openskies subsidiary is preparing to announce a new route “in the very near future”, according to managing director Dale Moss. The transatlantic carrier launched in June 2008 with flights from Paris to New York, and integrated french airline L’Avion into its offering later that year when BA bought the all-business class carrier for a reported £54 million. But 2009 was a difficult year for BA Openskies, with expansion plans postponed and its service between Amsterdam and New York suspended in August.
Why a six-hour flight now takes seven WSJ
Your airline seat may not have much padding, but the airline’s schedule sure does. Delta Air Lines Flight 715 from New York to Los Angeles now takes more than seven hours to fly across the country, according to the airline’s March schedule. That’s an hour longer than the same flight in the same type of aircraft took in 1996. A Phoenix-Las Vegas flight at Southwest Airlines that used to be scheduled at 60 minutes now gets 80 minutes. What was once a two-hour American Airlines trip from Chicago to Newark, N.J., now is two-and-a-half hours, according to the airline’s schedule.
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February 3, 2010
Panel cites preflight crew errors in crash near Buffalo The New York Times
Even before the plane took off, a critical error had been made. Because the captain and first officer of the Colgan Air turboprop had entered contradictory information into cockpit computer systems, a false alarm was later triggered, startling the captain into yanking a control the wrong way and leading to a crash outside Buffalo that killed 50 people last Feb. 12. That was among the findings of the National Transportation Safety Board, which concluded Tuesday that the main cause of the crash of Continental Connection Flight 3407, operated by Colgan, was the captain’s “inappropriate response” to the warning system activation.
Lahood raps USA Today’s maintenance investigation AVweb
Department of Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood came out swinging Tuesday against a USA Today report that alleged that 65,000 airline flights over the last six years occurred in aircraft that were not properly maintained. The newspaper said the findings surfaced after a six-month investigation into maintenance practices by the airlines and oversight by the FAA found both lacking. On his blog, Lahood said FAA inspectors are constantly monitoring maintenance and the recent airline safety record is evidence of that.
American’s managers may fill in if flight attendants strike Dallas Morning News
American Airlines Inc. has told the Federal Aviation Administration that it may train management employees to replace flight attendants in case of a strike. American said Tuesday that such contingency planning is normal in the airline industry during contract talks. “We are committed to the mediation process, and our top objective remains reaching an agreement with the APFA [Association of Professional Flight Attendants] on a contract for our flight attendants,” American spokeswoman Missy Latham said.
Continental Airlines’ yields and traffic levels improve Centre For Asia Pacific Aviation
Continental reported an encouraging set of traffic results for January, with the smallest yield contraction in over 12 months, record load factors and improved traffic results. During Jan-2010, consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) is estimated to have decreased between 1.0% and 2.0%, while mainline PRASM is estimated to have decreased between 2.5% and 3.5%. However, Jan-2009 PRASM was already falling (by around 5%). For Dec-2009, Continental Airlines confirmed that consolidated passenger RASM decreased by 4.1%, within the carrier’s expectations of a 3.5% to 4.5% reduction, while mainline passenger RASM decreased by 4.8%, on the lower end of the carrier’s estimates of a 4.5% to 5.5% reduction.
Global air industry sees recovery Reuters
The global economy may be climbing out of recession but the air transport industry does not expect any significant pick up in orders this year, executives said on Wednesday. “Cautious optimism” is the dominant phrase at the Singapore Airshow this week, the first major industry event of the year after a wretched 2009, when aircraft orders at both Boeing and Airbus were the worst in 15 years. Amid a dearth of orders at the air show, both manufacturers said demand was likely to remain more or less flat in 2010. But there were some spots of good news elsewhere. Brazil’s Embraer said it hoped to better the 2009 sales of 30 jets, but would fall short of the 100 sold in 2008.
Rift opens between TIA’s executive director and a new board member St. Petersburg Times
Is the job of Tampa International Airport’s executive director in jeopardy? That’s the talk in political circles after a rare spate of criticism leveled at Louis Miller from some of his bosses on the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board. The tone changed after Gov. Charlie Crist replaced two Miller allies last July. Steven G. Burton, a Tampa lawyer and Republican fundraiser, began peppering Miller with questions about how the airport runs soon after joining the board. He publicly clashed with Miller at the last two monthly board meetings.
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NASA’s Shuttle and Rocket Launch Schedule
A variety of vehicles, launch sites on both U.S. coasts, shifting dates and times… the NASA Launch Schedule is easy to decipher by checking out our Launch Schedule 101 that explains how it all works!
Updated — Jan. 29, 2010 - 1:49 p.m. EST
Legend: + Targeted For | * No Earlier Than (Tentative) | ** To Be Determined
2010 Launches
Date: Feb. 7
Mission: STS-130
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 4:39 a.m. EST
Landing: Feb. 19 - 11:14 p.m. EST
Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver the final connecting node, Tranquility Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the International Space Station.
Date: Feb. 9
Mission: Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO)
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Atlas V
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 41
Launch Time: 10:30 - 11:30 a.m. EST
Description: The first Space Weather Research Network mission in the Living With a Star, or LWS Program of NASA.
Date: March 1
Mission: GOES-P
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta IV
Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station - Launch Complex 37
Launch Time: 6:19 - 7:19 p.m. EST
Description: GOES-P is the latest in a series of meteorological satellites designed to watch for storm development and weather conditions on Earth.
Date: March 18 +
Mission: STS-131
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 1:34 p.m. EDT
Description: Space shuttle Discovery will carry a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the International Space Station.
Date: May 14 +
Mission: STS-132
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Atlantis
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 2:28 p.m. EDT
Description: Space shuttle Atlantis mission will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module.
Date: July 29 +
Mission: STS-134
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Endeavour
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 7:51 a.m. EDT
STS-134 Description: Space shuttle Endeavour will deliver an EXPRESS Logistics Carrier-3 (ELC-3) and an Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station.
Date: Sept. 16 +
Mission: STS-133
Launch Vehicle: Space Shuttle Discovery
Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center - Launch Pad 39A
Launch Time: 11:57 a.m. EDT
STS-133 Description: Space shuttle Discovery will deliver the Express Logistics Carrier 4 (ELC4), a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MLPM) and critical spare components to the International Space Station.
Date: Nov. 22 *
Mission: Glory
Launch Vehicle: Orbital Sciences Taurus Rocket
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - Launch Pad SLC 576-E
Description: The Glory Mission will help increase our understanding of the Earth’s energy balance by collecting data on the properties of aerosols and black carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere and how the Sun’s irradiance affects the Earth’s climate.
Date: **
Mission: Aquarius
Launch Vehicle: United Launch Alliance Delta II 7320
Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base - SLC 2
Description: The Aquarius mission will provide the first-ever global maps of salt concentrations in the ocean surface needed to understand heat transport and storage in the ocean.
Teamsters News
February 3rd, 2010
Airline Industry News (1/27)
January 27th, 2010
Bankrupt JAL taps new managers The Straits Times
Japan Airlines on Wednesday named two new top executives to help oversee a painful overhaul at the carrier, which filed for bankruptcy protection last week with massive debts. JAL, which is slashing more than 15,600 jobs, chose Masaru Onishi, 54, to become its president and chief operating officer, a company statement said. Onishi joined JAL in 1978 and served as the president of Japan Air Commuter, a small subsidiary that handles regional flights. JAL tapped as executive vice president Hisao Taguchi, 54, who was in charge of operations in the southern Kyushu region.
Head’s up: JetBlue disruption this weekend WSJ
JetBlue Airways is switching computer systems this weekend, and that means disruption for both travelers and ticket buyers. If you are traveling on JetBlue on Jan. 29, 30 or 31, the airline is already advising customers to show up at airports early - two hours for domestic flights; three hours for international trips. And if you shop for tickets or want to change a reservation, forget about it at least from noon EST Friday through Saturday afternoon. The airline will be closed for sales, unless you physically go to an airport. No reservations can be made or changed on the phone or online for perhaps 24 hours while the airline moves from a Navitaire Inc. computer system to Sabre Holdings Corp.
Feds show renewed vigor in going after bad behavior by airlines St. Petersburgh Times
Travelers fighting an airline over some injustice may find a new partner riding shotgun: Uncle Sam. Often dismissed as a toothless watchdog by aviation consumer advocates, the Department of Transportation has shown renewed vigor in its role policing bad behavior by air carriers. The DOT turned heads last year by aggressively investigating the stranding of 47 Continental Express passengers for six hours on the tarmac of the Rochester, Minn., airport after midnight
