Airlines Worldwide Expand with New Routes

JetBlue adds new service from Boston to San Diego and Aruba. This brings to 27 the number of nonstop destinations by JetBlue from Boston's Logan Airport. JetBlue is Logan Airport's fastest growing airline.

Southwest Airlines announced the addition of six new flights to Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, Tampa Bay, Albuquerque, Norfolk, New Orleans, Seattle and Orlando.

Ryanair announces four new routes from its bases in Frankfurt and Marseille. The airline has also added additional flights on routes from Stansted, Barcelona, Liverpool, Pisa and East Midlands.

And though not technically a route expansion, UPS and Shanghai Airport Authority have signed an agreement to construct the UPS International Air Hub at Pudong International Airport in Shanghai.  The US Department of Transportation Secretary, Mary Peters, along with the Vice Mayor of Shanghai, presided over the signing.

Are US Airlines Hiring Pilots?

Is thre a pilot shortage in the US?  Are US airlines hiring now?  You betcha they are! Listen to these statistics. US national airlines, defined as those with from $100 million  to more than $1 billion in annual revenues, are the LEADERS in airline pilot hiring during the last 12 months. They listed 235 new hires for the month of September 2006 alone, with a total for the past 12 months of 2,351.  These include such airlines as Air Wisconsin, American Eagle, ASA, ExpressJet, Frontier, Horizon, Mesa, Pinnacle, Republic Airways and SkyWest. What are called the "majors," or "legacy" airlines recorded a year-to-date new hire list of 1,692 pilots.   

Regional Horizons magazine quoted RAA President Kit Darby as saying numerous factors contribute to this pilot shortage, such as the huge international demand for US pilots -- China has indicated they need some 40,000 experienced English speaking pilots to serve for 4-5 years to launch their upgraded domestic and international air service.  A second reason for the pilot shortage is the low volume of military pilots to draw from. This has created the demand for more cilvilian pilots. For more information on how you can become one of these pilots -- and enjoy an exciting, well-paying and satisfying career, call Phoenix East Aviation at 1-800-868-4359 or 1-386-258-0703. Ask to talk to an Admissions Officer about your future in aviation.

Aircraft Orders Strong for Embraer

Strong orders for the Embaer's 170 and 190 regional jet family mean the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer has sold all production slots for this year -- anad also for most of next year!

Embraer is trying to increase production. It currently produces 14 aircraft per month.  Only about 15% of the production slots available for 2008 remain uncommitted, according to Embraer CEO Frederico Curado.

The company also expects to be able to sell a number of its 170/190 aircraft to China airlines. The EMB-145 is currently being built in China as part of a Harbin-Embraer joint venture.

Women Pilots In World War II

World War II was very beneficial for women who wished to be involved in aviation. As World War II continued, women found it easier to participate in many aspects of flight and aviation in general. They became test pilots, ferry pilots, flight controllers, pilot training instructors, mechanics, and aircraft production line workers. At the beginning of 1943, over 31% of the aviation work force in the US was female. 

The US Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) Civil Pilot Training Program  taught many women to fly during WWII.  More than 900 women achieved their pilot's licenses by 1941. Forty-three of them served as flight instructors.

The Women's Auxiliary Ferry Squadron (WAFS), which was founded by Nancy Harkness Love, along with the Women's Flying Training Detachment (WFTD), founded by the famous Jacqueline Cochran, were merged by President Roosevelt and became the Women's Air Force Service Pilots, also known as WASP. This organization was an important part of military aviation. Unfortunately, since these women were civilian employees of the military, they were not recongized as military personnel, until 1977 when the US Senate passed a resolution, and it was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter.

The years since WWII have seen the barriers erased for female pilots. Flying records continued to be broken. In 1953 Jacqueline Cochran went on become the first woman pilot to break the sound barrier, with Chuck Yeager acting as her chase pilot. And Marion Hart flew the Atlantic Ocean in 1954 at the age of 62.

Female Pilots Have a Great History

So you want to be a pilot, and you are a woman. Today about 7% of airline pilots worldwide are female.  If you are a well-trained pilot and meet the requirements of the airline, you could find yourself with a fabulous career.

Women also fly in the military and in space, in helicopters and in corporate jets. They do cropdusting, hauling freight, patrolling oil pipelines, and teaching students to fly.

And it's nothing new. Women have made significant contributions to flight ever since the beginning of aviation. Blanche Scott was the first woman pilot, in 1910, just seven years after the Wright brothers first 12 second flight. And a year later, Harriet Quimby became the first licensed pilot. In 1912, she was also the first woman to fly across the English Channel.

Louise Thaden set the women's endurance record with a flight of 22 hours, 3 minutes, from Oakland, California. It was a short-lived record, though: Elinor Smith broke Louise's record a month later with 26 hours, 21 minutes.

Other historical firsts for female pilots: First woman of Chinese ancestry to fly was Katherine Cheung in Los Angelese in 1931. Anne Morrow Lindbergh, the wife of Charles Lindbergh, was the first woman glider pilot. Phoebe Fairgrave Omelie was the first woman transport pilot. Considered to be one of America's top woman pilots in the 1920's and 1930's, she developed a program for training female flight instructors and was appointed as Special Asisstant for Air Intelligence of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (which was the forerunner organization to NASA).

in 1921 Bessie Coleman was the first African-American female pilot. She moved to France to learn to fly at the famous Ecole d'Aviation de Frerer Caudron. She then returned to the US and enjoyed a barnstorming career until 1926. The first African-American commercial pilot was Willa Brown from Chicago, Illinois. She taught aviation and founded more than one flight schools. In 1939 Willa formed the National Airmen's Association of America to get blacks into the US Army as aviation cadets.  Willa also achieved many other "firsts" in aviation history.

By 1930 there were 200 women pilots, by 1935 there were approximately 800 licensed female pilots. A major breakthrough in women's aviation history was allowing women to fly air races against men. In 1936 Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes won the important Bendix Trophy Race. 

The Joy of Flying ...Can You Relate to This?

"I can't remember the time when airplanes were not a part of my life and can't remember ever wanting anything so much as to fly one. Once I had started, I had to keep flying. But it was not until I was seventeen that I finally got into an airplane. At that time I felt I had come to the place where I belonged in the world. The air to me was what being on the groundwas to other people. When I felt nervous, it pulled me together. Things could get too much for me on the ground; they never got that way in the air. Flying came into my mind like fresh air into smoked-up lungs, was food in my hungry mouth and strength in my weak arms. I felt that way the first time I got into airplane. I wasn't nervous when I first soloed. There was excitement in me, but it was the nice kind you get when you're going home after a long, long unhappy time away."

                                              --Major Don S. Gentile, USAAF                               

Airlines Purchasing Airlines as Industry Grows Rapidly

The intrigue continues as airlines and investments groups continue to seek airlines to acquire to capitalize on the industry's growth.  With all this intrigue, maybe Hollywood should base a movie on this. Lots of intrigue and wheeling and dealing!

Texas Pacific Group (TPG) is looking at acquiring Iberia, Spain's biggest airline, and the future of BMI (formerly British Midland) is another issue, as both BA and Virgin Atlantic are showing an interest in this regional airline.

Aeroflot has indicated an interest in acquiring Alitalia, in what looks to be a similar arrangement to the recent takeover of Malev Hungarian Airlines by AirBridge, a Russian investment group. Their bid competes with a consortium that includes Texas Pacific. Alitalia officials hope the sale can be completed by June. And while Lufthansa is just keeping a close eye on the Alitalia bids at this time, it could be tempted to enter the race if Air France-KLM gets into the bidding, since Lufthansa would not like to see its biggest European rival grow larger. 

And Air Berlin, a low-fare, leisure carrier, is said to be interested in buying Condor Airlines, according to Aviation Week magazine. Air Berlin recently purchased LTU, thereby emerging as a strong player in the important intra-European business markets, as well as the leisure market. The carrier just last year gained access to the busy domestic network by buying DBA.

Boeing Exceeds 500 Orders for New B-787 Aircraft from Airlines Worldwide

Boeing just announced it now has orders for more than 500 of the new 787 aircraft. At the same time Japan Airlines (JAL) confirmed that it planned to increase its order for the 787 -- adding another five aircraft. It had initially ordered 30. JAL plans to phase out its enormous 747 fleet and replace those aircraft with 787 and 777.

Boeing indicated it had not expected to pass the 500-order mark so quickly.  The company claims the 787 has become the "fastest-selling commercial airplane in history." It currently has orders for 514 aircraft, from 43 different customers. The 787 is, for all practical purposes, sold out through 2013, based on manufacturing schedules.

Boeing also said other airlines had indicated interest in purchasing the 787; the company expects their orders for this aircraft to continue to be strong, perhaps necessitating ramping up production.

Boeing has scheduled the 787 rollout for July of this year, with the first flight planned for August at this point.

Do you think you might be interested in flying this aircraft? Contact Phoenix East Aviation about starting flight training now -- you could be one of the fortunate pilots who will be flying this magnificent new aircraft.