Category Archives: aviation

PBGC Says American Airlines Workers Should Worry About Pensions and Medical Care – So Should Taxpayers

Posted on 30 January 2012 by Ken Zino

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation has called out what it says is misleading statements to American Airlines employees by its management about their pension plans under a bankruptcy reorganization. “American Airlines is telling their workers and retirees not to worry, … Continue reading →

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Tougher DOT Airline Regulations Take Effect This Week

Posted on 23 January 2012 by Ken Zino

In addition, airlines will be required to promptly notify passengers of flight delays of over 30 minutes, as well as flight cancellations and diversions, and they will generally be prohibited from increasing the price of passengers’ ticket after it is bought. Continue reading →

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Beware of Super Bowl Air Travel Ticket Scams DOT Warns

Posted on 20 January 2012 by Ken Zino

DOT’s rules state that if a tour was described as including a game ticket and you do not receive one, you are entitled to a full refund of the entire package price upon your return. Continue reading →

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FAA Clears Santa Claus One for Christmas Eve Flight

Posted on 24 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Santa Claus has been flying accident-free for centuries, and FAA safety inspectors have cleared Santa Claus One–the world’s only known reindeer-powered aircraft–to deliver presents to children around the world this year. Continue reading →

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FAA Finally Alters Pilot Fatigue Rules after Colgan Air Deaths

Posted on 21 December 2011 by Ken Zino

The Federal Aviation Administration today announced a final rule that changes commercial passenger airline pilot scheduling two years after the crash of Colgan Air flight 3407 killed 50 people where pilot fatigue and pilot distraction were responsible. Continue reading →

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News Bits – Carbon Fiber, Chinese Leaf, Rolls-Royce, Thailand Floods and Impending Goodyear Airline Tire Shortage?

Posted on 12 December 2011 by Ken Zino

General Motors and Teijin Limited, Japanese company with roots as a textile maker will co-develop advanced carbon fiber composite technologies for potential high-volume use globally in GM cars, trucks and crossovers.

Nissan Motor and Dongfeng Motor delivered 15 Nissan Leaf EVs to the Guangzhou Municipal Government in China.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has announced that it will enter the South American market for the first time in the company’s history.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company says that as a result of the Thailand flooding commercial airlines are facing a potential global shortage of bias aviation tires

Continue reading →

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FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt Resigns Because of DWI

Posted on 6 December 2011 by Ken Zino

Randy Babbitt, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration – FAA – resigned today because he was arrested over the weekend for driving while intoxicated. Babbitt, 65, took over the job as a political appointee under the Obama Administration in 2009 Continue reading →

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American Airlines Files for Bankruptcy – Pensions Threatened?

Posted on 29 November 2011 by Ken Zino

American Airlines has four traditional pension plans that cover almost 130,000 participants. As of today, the plans collectively had only about $8.3 billion in assets to cover about $18.5 billion in benefits, according to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. If American Airlines were to end their plans, the agency would be responsible for paying about $17 billion in benefits; about $1 billion in benefits would be lost. Continue reading →

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American Fined $900,000 for Tarmac Delays at O’Hare Airport

Posted on 14 November 2011 by Ken Zino

Between May 2010 and April 2011, the first 12 months after the three-hour limit was in effect, the larger U.S. airlines required to file tarmac delays reported 20 tarmac delays of more than three hours, none of which was more than four hours long. In contrast, during the 12 months before the rule took effect, these carriers had 693 tarmac delays of more than three hours, and 105 of the delays were longer than four hours, according to DOT. Anti-government regulation fanatics should note that this is a clear case of effective regulation. Continue reading →

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Biofuels Now in Commercial Use at United and Alaska Airlines

Posted on 8 November 2011 by Ken Zino

The use of aviation biofuels looks promising since it was pushed forward by the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative (CAAFI) established by the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been working to find sustainable fuels for airlines since 2006. As always the issues remain cost, and potential negative effects on global food supply. Continue reading →

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Aircraft Laser Strikes Growing so FAA Launches Website

Posted on 27 October 2011 by Ken Zino

The FAA says that portable laser pointing devices are less expensive, more powerful, and more readily available than ever. People seem unable to resist the very dangerous temptation to shine them at aircraft. It is mute on the possibility of domestic terrorism occurring. Continue reading →

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DOT Fines Orbitz for Violating Price Advertising Rules

Posted on 17 October 2011 by Ken Zino

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined the online ticket agent Orbitz $60,000 for violating federal aviation laws and the Department’s rules prohibiting deceptive price advertising in air travel. Continue reading →

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FAA Announces More Commercial Spaceport Taxpayer Grants

Posted on 26 August 2011 by Ken Zino

In 2009, U.S. commercial space transportation and the services and industries it enables accounted for more than $208 billion in economic activity. More than one million people were employed as a result. Continue reading →

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Blue Angels Mustang to be Auctioned at EAA Oshkosh

Posted on 15 July 2011 by Ken Zino

The Blue Angels Mustang pays tribute to 100 years of naval aviation, which will be celebrated all week at AirVenture 2011, arguably the biggest gathering of aviation enthusiasts in the world. Continue reading →

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EPA Tightens Airplane Emissions Rules as U.S. Carriers Sue EU

Posted on 7 July 2011 by Ken Zino

The new EPA standards, lacking a CO2 component that automakers are subject to via fuel economy rules, were either previously adopted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), or agreed on at ICAO’s Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) in 2010.

Critics say American airlines have a long history of actively seeking to disrupt all measures to cut climate changing emissions. The legal case is another cynical attempt to derail a modest and cost effective climate initiative. Continue reading →

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