BRIEFINGS ...
aai acquisition, inc. — based in Englewood, CO and formed to develop and produce the A700 very light jet, begins offering engineering and manufacturing services to companies and organizations seeking composite design and technology expertise. Owned by Industrial Investors Group (www.industrial-investors.com), AAIA is an aircraft design and manufacturing firm based at Centennial Airport.
air med int’l — of Birmingham, AL wins its second consecutive Air Ambulance of the Year Award at the 16th annual Int’l Travel Insurance Journal Awards Ceremony in Budapest; www.airmed.com.
airtran airways — begins daily nonstop roundtrip flights between Harrisburg Int’l Airport and Orlando Int’l Airport. The flights will be operated with Boeing 717 aircraft.
aopa air safety foundation — of Frederick, MD launches its newest online course, Weather Wise: Precipitation and Icing, the fourth in an ongoing series of online courses intended to help pilots better understand the environment they fly in; series is partially funded by NOAA’s National Weather Service, Mark Jon Bluth, and the Slick Family Foundation; www.aopa.org.
avcard — and World Fuel Services begin to implement a comprehensive contract fuel program at Signature Flight Support’s U.S. domestic locations, providing fuel discounts with increasing savings for larger uplifts. AVCARD will facilitate the transaction processing for both companies.
aviation tutorials co., llc — of Franklin, WI releases Weather Statement Groundschool 3.0, an interactive course on METARs, TAFs, and Pilot Reports, available on CD-ROM or immediate download; available for $59 at www.avtutorials.com.
cessna aircraft co. — a Textron Inc. company based in Wichita, achieves type certification for the Citation Mustang from Transport Canada and the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau. The current fleet of Citation Mustangs totals 130, has accumulated more than 19,000 flight hours, with the high-time aircraft logging more than 500 hours. The Mustang is now certified in 51 countries.
charles b. wheeler downtown airport — in Kansas City reports reopening its 5,050-ft. runway 3/21, following a new asphalt overlay and electrical improvements. In 2005, the airport initiated a $70-million capital program to improve the facility; the department has initiated a $22 million construction project on the west side of the field to allow faster access to Runway 1/19 and parallel ramp space for new T-hangars and box hangars.
city of hondo (tx) — enters a long-term lease and economic development agreement with Wright Flyers Aviation, Inc., of San Antonio, Texas to open a state-of-the-art international flight training academy at the Hondo Municipal Airport.
clark county (ne) commission — passes a resolution in response to several fatal crashes at the North Las Vegas airport this year, and seeks to specify what kinds of planes can fly to and from each airport within Clark County, including McCarran Int’l Airport.
dayjet corp. — based in Boca Raton, FL files for Chapter 7 liquidation on Nov. 14, with more than $23 million in liabilities and just $17 million in assets when it filed in federal court in Delaware. DayJet had cited failure to obtain capital as the main reason it stopped flying.
delta airlines — will begin nonstop service between Lubbock and its Memphis hub, as well as starting similar service to McAllen, TX, starting April 6. Delta says it plans to make use of merger partner Northwest Airlines/Airlink’s 50-seat regional jets.
denver int’l airport — is expanding its selection of 148 concessions with an array of new offerings on Concourses B and C. New outlets include a Massage, Inc.; Bella; Brookstone; Caribou Coffee; Jamba Juice; Johnston & Murphy; and Mile High Harley-Davidson.
epa — Environmental Protection Agency issues changes to the Spill Prevention, Control and Countermeasure (SPCC) final rule that was issued in December 2006, including an extension of the compliance date for affected entities (those newer facilities built after August 16, 2002) from July 1, 2009, to November 20, 2009. EPA says “new amendments to the SPCC rule will clarify regulatory requirements, tailor requirements to particular industry sectors, and streamline certain requirements for facility owners or operators subject to the rule.” EPA provides a new definition of “facility” that may allow separate “facilities” at a location and could possibly require leased operations and tenant operations to prepare their own SPCC Plan as a separate facility, according to NATA. Agency also provides a detailed definition of loading/unloading racks that will allow many airports to utilize simpler general secondary containment rules for their loading/unloading operations at their tank farms; www.epa.gov.
hagerstown (md) regional airport — inaugurates air service by Allegiant Air to Orlando Sanford Int’l Airport.
harlingen’s valley int’l airport — reopens its U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility.
hartsfield-jackson atlanta int’l airport — opens the first of more than 70 new stores as it revitalizes its retail program, including the Atlanta Magazine’s HOME store, based on southern culture and traditions, with cookware, home décor, and furnishings, and offering to deliver customers’ purchases via the U.S. Postal Service.
hawker beechcraft corp. — of Wichita is awarded a contract by the U.S. Air Force with an estimated value of $171 million for 23 extended-range special mission Beechcraft King Air 350ER turboprops. Deliveries are planned for 2009. HBC chairman/CEO Jim Schuster notifies the HBC board of his plan to retire. Hawker Beechcraft opens its newest international sales office in Vienna, Austria.
horry county (nc) council — approves a $130 million passenger terminal expansion at Myrtle Beach Int’l Airport, expanding from seven to 12 gates without using local property taxes or increasing fees for airlines and contingent upon obtaining money from the state and federal governments and approval from the Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board.
horseshoe bay (tx) resort airport — and Jet Center is now accessible for flyers to arrive and depart at night, following installation of high intensity runway lighting, precision approach lighting, runway end identifier lights, lighted distance remaining signs, and taxiway markers.
iata — International Air Transport Association challenges Europe to deliver a Single European Sky (SES) by 2012. IATA says that failure to implement an effective SES resulted in 21 million minutes of delays and 468 million kilometers of unnecessary flight, wasting 16 million tonnes of CO2.
kansas city aviation dept. — announces that on March 2 Delta will inaugurate nonstop service to New York LaGuardia with two daily flights and will add one flight to Delta’s growing JFK hub on April 3. Flights will be operated by Delta Connection partner Comair, using Canadair Regional Jet 900s.
kelowna (hi) int’l airport — extends its runway to 8,900 feet, enabling the airport to accommodate larger aircraft that can provide direct service into Europe. Project was completed on time and on budget at a cost of $8 million.
l.f. wade int’l airport — in Bermuda completes an airport-wide installation of Quantum Aviation Solutions’ BagScan baggage reconciliation solution, providing baggage reconciliation for nine commercial airlines; www.quantum.aero.
labelmaster — makes available the newly released Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, 2009-2010 edition, published by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), outlining requirements for hazmat employees; www.labelmaster.com.
langham airport logistics llc — an Indianapolis-based subsidiary of Langham Logistics, is awarded an exclusive multi-year contract to provide logistics support services for the new Indianapolis Int’l Airport terminal including all concessionaires, the Indianapolis Airport Authority, and select airlines. LAL will manage the new airport’s warehouse facility with responsibility for shipment planning and scheduling, product receiving and distribution, and overall dock master requirements for 21 concessionaires.
lns alliance aviation — completes the transfer of ownership to the Lancaster (PA) Airport Authority; as of September, LNS Alliance Aviation has been overseen by the airport director.
los angeles — city and airport officials unveil architectural vision design concepts for the west side of the Tom Bradley Int’l Terminal and a new midfield concourse at Los Angeles Int’l Airport (LAX). The new midfield concourse could accommodate the Airbus A-380 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. By 2012, LAX is expected to serve more A-380 flights than any other airport in North America.
orlando sanford int’l airport — begins a six-month construction project on the airport’s 9,600 foot primary runway, including pavement overlay of runway 9L-24R, at a cost of
$8.16 million.
port authority of ny & nj — Board of Commissioners approves nearly $60 million in investments that will plan for the modernization of a 45-year-old passenger terminal at LaGuardia Airport and create more efficient aircraft operations to reduce delays at Newark Liberty Int’l Airport:
Board advances the second phase of a study to modernize and redevelop LaGuardia Airport’s Central Terminal Building, which handles about half of the airport’s 24 million annual passengers. The $40 million study is expected to be completed in 2010.
An additional $19.75 million is approved for navigational aids improvements at Newark to enable more arrivals in inclement weather.
powder puff pilot — of Aurora, CO introduces pilot gear for feminine flyers via wholesale and retail channels. Powder Puff Pilot is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Aero LLC; www.PowderPuffPilot.com or 877-843-1007.
preferred jet center — and the Cobb County/McCollum Airport near Atlanta report the opening of a new 6,305x100-ft. concrete runway on December 1, 2008.
qref media — of Frisco, TX announces a new line of quick reference checklists for GPS and avionics systems, including Garmin, Lowrance, Bendix/King, Honeywell, L3, Magellan, Avidyne, Eagle, Hummingbird, Cirrus, and Diamond Aircraft. New releases are added regularly; from $19.95 to $49.95; www.qref.com
schubach aviation — a San Diego-based on-demand air charter service operating a fleet of 21 aircraft, introduces the Schubach “Jet Card”, a new premiere membership program. Membership benefits include five percent savings on all Schubach flights and a risk-free refundable balance. Based at Palomar Airport in Carlsbad, the company recently announced its second location with the purchase of Jim’s Air by Landmark Aviation, whereby Schubach Aviation took over the hangar space previously occupied by Jim’s Air.
servicetec airport services int’l — of Reston, VA is selected by the Port of Oakland to support Oakland Int’l Airport’s Information Technology Common Use Terminal Equipment and related infrastructure services.
ssp canada — the Canadian division of Lansdowne, Va-based SSP, an operator of food and beverage brands in travel locations worldwide, wins a seven-year contract for three quick-service restaurants and an eight-year contract for a casual dining restaurant at Vancouver Int’l Airport (YVR). Contracts are expected to generate some US$60 million in revenue and create more than 100 full-time jobs. Construction at YVR begins in early 2009.
tiaca — The Int’l Air Cargo Assn. calls for the liberalization of air cargo and express delivery services for unfettered market access, and says bilateral negotiations should be unrestricted as to the ability of air carriers to move air cargo in any international market between two points anywhere in the world. TIACA says its aim is for the establishment of a multi-lateral group of countries permitting fifth, sixth, and seventh freedom rights.
TSA — Transportation Security Administration names Miami Int’l Airport the agency’s Airport of the Year during its 7th annual national honorary awards ceremony. Award recognizes the airport that continuously implements the highest quality of airport security while maintaining exceptional courtesy and attentiveness to all passengers and customers. MIA recently added an in-line baggage system and new checkpoints in the South Terminal and at Concourses C-D.
• TSA also announces a heavier focus on stricter security for international inbound air cargo as it moves to implement 100 percent piece level screening of cargo transported on passenger aircraft in the U.S., according to Edward J. Kelly, General Manager Cargo/TSA, speaking at the TIACA Air Cargo Forum & Exposition in Kuala Lumpur. TSA’s first milestone of 50 percent piece level screening for cargo carried on passenger aircraft comes into force in February and rises to 100 percent in August 2010.
uno chicago grill — enters the ‘fast casual’ arena with the launch of Uno Dué Go™, debuting with two franchise units at Dallas/Fort Worth Int’l Airport.
ups canada — announces it is building a 150,000-square-foot distribution facility at Calgary Int’l Airport. The $26 million facility will offer state-of-the-art technology to facilitate import, export and Canadian domestic shipments while allowing UPS to double its package processing capability over time.
