Delta Air Lines — announces its renovated and expanded domestic hub in Terminal C at New York's LaGuardia Airport will offer five chef-driven restaurants, an expansive food hall, fresh markets, the integration of Apple iPads, pop-up retail stores, and concierge services for frequent fliers on the go.
Jetblue — announces it has reached an agreement with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority to move its operation in San Juan's Luis Munoz Marin Int'l Airport to Terminal A from Terminal C.
Direct Air — owes a total of $8.6 million to its largest creditors, according to court records. The charter air service suspended operations in March, stranding area passengers in Florida. Direct Air's majority owners removed its upper management team and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The airline released a statement saying rising fuel prices and other expenses had left the discount charter service in a "severe operating loss position."
US Airways — adds new service to six communities from Reagan National Airport. Travelers in San Diego, Augusta, Ga., Minneapolis, Fayetteville, Ark., Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto, Ontario will now have direct access and flight options to the capital's downtown airport.
Hawaiian Airlines — is boosting its service between the Bay Area and Maui by 70 percent this summer, adding a total of five new flights to the island. The carrier currently operates four weekly Maui flights from Oakland and three from San Jose. All flights between the Bay Area and Maui are on Boeing 767 aircraft.
FAA's — Metroplex initiative will improve the flow of air traffic into and out of the major airports in Northern California. A Metroplex is a region with multiple airports serving major metropolitan areas where heavy airport activity and environmental constraints combine to hinder the efficient movement of air traffic. Metroplex initiatives are under way or planned in 21 metropolitan areas across the country. The Metroplex initiative is based on satellite navigation, or Performance-Based Navigation (PBN), which is a key component of NextGen.
• FAA issues a single operating certificate to Southwest Airlines and AirTran Airways, marking a key milestone in the integration of the two airlines.
• FAA and the nation's 15,000 air traffic controllers are extending an existing work contract to mid-2016. Controllers will get the same pay raise given to other federal government employees instead of independently negotiating raises.
TSA — launches Pre-Check operations at Reagan Washington National (DCA) and Chicago O'Hare Int'l (ORD) airports. In addition, active duty service members in the U.S. Armed Forces are now eligible to receive the same expedited screening benefits when flying out of DCA as part of TSA Pre-Check.
GO Airport Express — a company provides airport shuttles to and from O'Hare Int'l and Midway airports, announces survey results that state 55 percent of participants eat after going through airport security.
Visiongain — releases a report stating: As demand for air travel continues to grow, governments and aviation enforcement authorities face the need to adopt strict safety measures that will counter terrorist threats before they occur while limiting the inconvenience faced by the passenger. Existing threats, rising passenger numbers, and airport expansion projects mean that the global aviation security market will reach $22.3 billion in 2012, says the report.
GAMA — The board of directors of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) has approved Avfuel, Extant Components Group, ForeFlight and Thrush Aircraft as its newest members, bringing the international trade association’s membership to 77.
NTSB — completes data collection for study on experimental-amateur built aircraft accidents. In addition to using the information gathered during its accident investigations, the NTSB has been working with FAA, the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), and individual owners and builders to evaluate a range of issues unique to this popular segment of general aviation.
Hartsfield — Jackson International Airport - is seeking 1,500 volunteers to try out its new international terminal before the grand opening. The airport plans an operational readiness test of the international terminal on the morning of May 2, two weeks before the terminal is scheduled to open May 16. Plans are to simulate a day of operation and uncover any potential issues that may come up.
Akron — Canton Airport - announces it had the busiest February in history, as passenger traffic surged with a 23 percent increase compared to 2011. It also marks the 11th record-breaking month in a row for the airport. Year to date passenger traffic is up 18 percent compared to the first two months of 2011.
Nevada Airports — are better economic drivers than those in nearly every other state in the country, a report prepared for ACI-NA says. The report says California airports produced the most economic output in 2010, at $158 billion. That state's 29 airports provided 1.4 million jobs with an annual payroll of $47.1 billion. Nevada was ninth on the 50-state list, with economic output of $40.5 billion. The state's five commercial airports provided 313,640 jobs with an annual payroll of $11.8 billion.
Hawker Beechcraft — sees strong future sales in Asia. Hawker Beechcraft saw a 103 percent increase in the number of jets and a 97 percent increase in the number of turboprops it delivered to Asia between 2006-2010 and 2001-2005. Jetnet data shows that HBC accounted for 41 percent of the total number of deliveries in Asia during the past decade.
Cessna — signs agreements with Chinese partners to build business jets in China and explore other aviation opportunities. The Kansas-based company is joining with state-owned Aviation Industry Corp. of China and the municipal government of Chengdu in western China, where the three plan a joint venture to produce midsize Cessna business jets and possibly new models in the future.
