Embraer Delivers New Jets to India

Embraer announced the delivery of three specially configured Legacy Executive aircraft to the government of India, which has ordered a total of five of this same model aircraft.   

The ERJ 135 jet, a member of the ERJ 145 family, has more than 900 aircraft in operation with over seven million hours flown.  The Legacy is in service in 15 countries throughout the world.

The aircraft is perceived to be changing the expectations of what a business jet should be, with affordability, size, speed and economy advantages.  It flies up to 16 passengers in three distinct seating areas.  It has a full-size galley, full-breadth lavatory, and an entertainment system with DVD players and satellite telecommunications.  The Legacy's High Speed Data (HSD) and Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) capability allows passengers to browse the internet, access e-mail and transfer files. 

The aircraft cruises at a speed up to Mach .80, enabling non-stop flight from New York to London and from London to Moscow. 

AirTran Expands Network in Key Markets

AirTran Airways has announced it will expand its network in key markets with seven new daily nonstop flights from Chicago to Boston and Minneapolis-St Paul. 

AirTran, one of the U.S.'s largest low-fare airlines, employees 6,700 crew members and operates over 500 daily flights to 49 destinations.  The airline's hub is at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where it is the second largest carrier.  AirTran recently added the fuel-efficient Boeing aircraft to create America's youngest all-Boeing fleet.

Opportunities for Pilots in China

A new bilateral aviation safety agreement with the U.S. will help China confront a range of growing pains caused by its rapidly growing airline industry. To support China's development of aviation expertise, the FAA will soon open an office in China.

China's airline industry has 840 commercial transport category aircraft and is expected to add another 680 by 2010.  Top Chinese aviation officials said through September of this year, flights are up 11%, passenger traffic 12% and cargo 8%, compared to 2004. China's aviation system is forecast to grow to be the second largest in the world after the U.S.

Current training rates for pilots is not adequate, and new channels need to be found to boost numbers, said Yang Yuanyauan, a top Chinese aviation official.  China will need 6,000 - 10,000 more pilots by 2010, he said. 

Expansion of Frankfurt Airport

For you pilots who are also aviation history buffs, a page in history has now been closed with the closure of Rhein-Main airbase in Germany.  However, this will make way for an ambitious expansion plan at Frankfurt Airport. The base was American's main military gateway to Europe for 60 years.

Rhein-Main was the home base of the Graf Zeppelin airship in 1909 and the ill-fated Hindenburg.  Rhein-Main was used by the Luftwaffe during WWII for testing its Messerschmitt jet aircraft; The airfield was bombed repeatedly by Allied forces in 1945 and then occupied by the U.S. Air Force.  Rhein-Main was also crucial for the Berlin Airlift operation during the post-war period when the city became an enclave within Communist East Germany. 

Political changes and the end of the Cold War signaled the start of negotiations on handing back the airfield to civilian use.  Significant expansion will begin in 2007, and it is expected that by 2015 Frankfurt have have capacity to handle 25 million passengers each year, which may surpass Munich as Germany's busiest airport.  Nearly four billion Euro has been earmarked for this expansion, which makes it the largest investment program in Germany. 

Expansion of Frankfurt Airport

For you pilots who are also aviation history buffs, a page in history has now been closed with the closure of Rhein-Main airbase in Germany.  However, this will make way for an ambitious expansion plan at Frankfurt Airport. The base was American's main military gateway to Europe for 60 years.

Rhein-Main was the home base of the Graf Zeppelin airship in 1909 and the ill-fated Hindenburg.  Rhein-Main was used by the Luftwaffe during WWII for testing its Messerschmitt jet aircraft; The airfield was bombed repeatedly by Allied forces in 1945 and then occupied by the U.S. Air Force.  Rhein-Main was also crucial for the Berlin Airlift operation during the post-war period when the city became an enclave within Communist East Germany. 

Political changes and the end of the Cold War signaled the start of negotiations on handing back the airfield to civilian use.  Significant expansion will begin in 2007, and it is expected that by 2015 Frankfurt have have capacity to handle 25 million passengers each year, which may surpass Munich as Germany's busiest airport.  Nearly four billion Euro has been earmarked for this expansion, which makes it the largest investment program in Germany. 

British-American Airline Link

British Airways has indicated it would like to revive cooperation talks with American Airlines.  BA and American are marketing partners in the One World Alliance.  A proposed code-sharing agreement between AA and BA fell through in 2001 over concerns by the U.S. government about market dominance on transatlantic routes. The two airlines account for more than half of flights between Healthrow and U.S. gateway airports. 

American Airlines has carried over 74 million passengers so far this year, compared with BA's 19 million.  American's parent company, however, has posted a lost of US$761 (or 432 pounds sterling), compared to BA's last year operating profit of 530 million pounds sterling.   

EU Air Safety Blacklist Proposal

For pilots in training -- or those seeking employment at airlines in Europe -- this new proposal on air safety is of interest.  The European Parliament has just approved the first step towards openly blacklisting airlines that do not meet international aircraft safety standards.  They plan to compile and publish a list of operating bans or air traffic restrictions and to "name and shame" the carriers throughout the EU.

Some countries already have their own blacklists, but these lists are not typically publically available -- nor shared with other EU countries. 

Last year Flash Airlines, one of whose aircraft crashed in 2004 in Egypt, was on such a blacklist in Switzerland for failing a safety test, but this blacklisting was not known to the 133 passengers aboard the jet. 

The proposals now going through the EU Parliament would give both potential airline employees, as well as air travelers, easy access to information on the safety of the airlines they  are considering flying -- either as a passenger or as a pilot.