The Airline Industry Reports Zero Traffic Growth in August

eTravel Blackboard -

The travel retail community is asking the somewhat premature question as to the timing of a possible demand upturn in airline industry traffic growth.

Another question being asked which presents no immediate answer is when the downward slope in demand will level off.

The latest data received by the aviation industry gives no help whatsoever in answering the latter question which makes the future of the airline sector all the more difficult to forecast.

A key indicator in reporting airline demand each month is the comparison of the actuals for that month with the most recent forecast.

Actual data for August is slowly massing with just 212 airports having so far declared. These airports which are predominantly European reveal a zero percentage pax increase on last year.

The comparison indicator is a latest August forecast of 2.4% for those specific airports which account for almost a third of the expected traffic.

Neither is there comfort to be found in the fact that the zero percentage recorded for August was down on the 0.3% for July, especially when it is recalled that generally the better performing airports declare earliest in the month and as the week count rises, the numbers fade. More > >

NBAA’s Small Aircraft Exemption Extended by FAA

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved NBAA’s request to extend Exemption 7897, more commonly known as NBAA’s Small Aircraft Exemption, which relates to aircraft maintenance and inspection programs. The current Exemption Extension, 7897B, will expire on September 30, at which point Exemption 7897C will become valid for the next two-year period, expiring on September 30, 2010. NBAA’s Small Aircraft Exemption holds NBAA Members operating small aircraft exempt from 14 CFR 91.409(e) and 91.501(a), permitting NBAA Members to operate small civil airplanes and helicopters of U.S. registry in accordance with rules 14 CFR 91.503 through 91.535, and to select an inspection program as described in 14 CFR 91.409(f). This exemption is subject to conditions and limitations.

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FAA rule aims to choke likelihood of fuel-tank explosions

SAE -

SAE International is providing expertise to the U.S. FAA and to the aerospace industry at large regarding fuel-tank inerting, which is mandated for certain aircraft under a long-in-the-making agency rule published in the July 21 Federal Register.

In addition to having recently released AIR1903, which is a history of fuel-tank inerting systems, SAE’s AE-5 Committee is working on a new aerospace recommended practice (ARP) “to define the requirements for a fuel-tank-inerting system that could be used by the FAA as guidance on how to design and qualify [such a] system,” said Committee Chairman Sanford Fleishman.

AE-5, the lead SAE committee on fuel-tank safety, has created a working group to develop the inerting ARP, with support from SAE’s AC-9 Committee. The two committees will hold a joint meeting next spring in Dallas, according to Fleishman. FAA technical specialists are among the members of AE-5, which is focused on the development of standards in the areas of fuel, oil, and oxidizer systems, including inerting technology. The committee is composed largely of representatives from various companies’ engineering organizations. Boeing and Airbus, whose airplanes are affected by the rule, are represented.

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FAA Announces Results of Compliance Audits, Updates Safety Commitments

AMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors found an overall compliance rate of 98 percent in more than 5,600 audits of Airworthiness Directives (ADs) at U.S. air carriers, Acting Administrator Robert A. Sturgell announced today. In the remaining 2 percent of the audits, the carriers resolved the issues of noncompliance before the airplanes flew again.

“This audit gives us confidence that, overall, the system is safe and in almost every instance the airlines are complying with our safety directives,” Sturgell said.

“Even with this tremendous level of safety and compliance, we have work to do,” Sturgell added. “We’re focusing on the language of our directives to make sure they are clear, concise and unambiguous, and we’re working with industry to approve work in progress before the compliance date.”

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DOT Puts Drug And Alcohol Program Changes On Hold

NATA – The FAA requires mandatory drug and alcohol testing programs for a variety of aviation businesses, including on-demand air charter operators, maintenance repair stations servicing air carriers, certain sightseeing operations and others. Recently, regulations prescribing how those tests are conducted were revised by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

DOT Part 40 regulations dictate many of the procedural requirements for mandatory drug and alcohol testing programs across all modes of transportation.

NATA recently reported on several changes slated to take effect on August 25, 2008. Most of those pending changes are now in effect; however, the DOT has decided to delay implementation of one aspect of the new requirements.

Specifically, the requirement to conduct return-to-duty (RTD) and follow-up (FU) testing under direct observation has been postponed until November 1, 2008. This delay is accompanied by an additional opportunity for interested persons to submit comments on this requirement. Comments on this provision are required by September 25, 2005.