General Dynamics Corp. is closing a facility servicing business jets at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, and laying off the 73 technicians and mechanics who work there.
The closing, announced to the workers several weeks ago, will take place by early July, said Robert Baugniet, a spokesman for the company’s General Dynamics Aviation Services subsidiary.
Read the full story on Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal
WICHITA, Kan., May 28, 2009 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today its U.S. Citation Service Centers now accept Avfuel Charge Cards and Cessna Contract Fuel Cards from Avfuel Corp., the nation’s leading independent supplier of aviation fuels and services.
“We are very pleased to offer the additional convenience of Avfuel charge cards to thousands of Citation customers using our company service centers in the U.S.,” said Cessna Vice President of Service Facilities Stan Younger. “Avfuel’s cards are designed specifically to meet the needs of aircraft owners and operators and now card holders will be welcomed by our Cessna-owned Citation Service Centers.”
Based in Ann Arbor, Mich., Avfuel Corp. serves the global aviation industry through a network of more than 600 domestic dealers and 700 international locations with Avfuel Contract Fuel. Avfuel is the leading independent supplier of aviation fuel and services to FBOs as well as a diverse market of specialty carriers including airlines, freight companies, military special operations, helicopter users and corporate flight departments.
Cessna’s Citation Service Centers offer comprehensive maintenance services and programs designed to enhance the experience of owning and operating Cessna Citations, the world’s most popular and productive line of business jets. In addition to Avfuel charge cards, the Citation Services Centers accept most major charge cards.
5/28/2009 10:12 a.m.
SEATTLE — Alaska Airlines has received its eighth consecutive Diamond Award for maintenance training excellence from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This is the sixth consecutive year Alaska received the award with the distinction of Special Recognition, an honor given only when all eligible employees participate in the Aviation Maintenance Technician Awards (AMT) program.
The FAA also presented Alaska Airlines with a special award to recognize its six-year record of 100-percent participation in the AMT program.
“This award underscores our commitment to the core values of safety and compliance,” said Fred Mohr, Alaska Airlines’ vice president of maintenance and engineering. “In order to achieve this commitment and be at the top of our game, we make a daily investment in the training and technical excellence of our technicians. I am so proud of everything we do to ensure the safety and compliance of our airline. In my opinion, we have the best technicians in the industry.”
The FAA also honored 736 Alaska Airlines employees with individual AMT Awards. Anchorage, Alaska-based Lead Aircraft Technician Patrick Durbin and Seattle-based Technical Training Instructor Ray Bundrick received the highest honor — the Diamond Award — for completing more than 100 hours of training in 2008.
The Aviation Maintenance Technician Awards program began in 1991. Its purpose is to provide incentives for aviation maintenance technicians to participate actively in initial and recurrent training programs, either on their own or in programs subsidized by their employer.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK), together serve more than 90 cities through an expansive network in Alaska, the Lower 48, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico. For reservations, visit alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit the Alaska Airlines/Horizon Air Newsroom at alaskaair.com/newsroom.
CHICAGO (AP) — United Airlines says it will recall 107 furloughed mechanics.
The nation’s third-largest airline says it needs the line mechanics to help it with repairing cabin items, reducing the number of out-of-service planes, and ensuring the reliability of the fleet.
Chicago-based United says the recalls will begin immediately and will be spread across all its hubs. United, a unit of UAL Corp., has 2,995 mechanics furloughed.
May 24 2009
According to Captain Errol Stewart, chief executive of Caribbean Aviation Training Centre, which trains private and commercial pilots, the availability of main-tenance engineers is one of the biggest challenges for local aviation.
Chang, who is also a shareholder of Kingston-based Surrey Paving, says the shortage of maintenance engineers is a global problem and that in 2008, Jamaica lost the equivalent of 100 years in manpower to recruiters in the sector who came down and took away skilled technicians.
The school, he says, which will cost its students US$17,000 per year for the two-year programme, has been in discussions with the Students’ Loan Bureau, banks and companies abroad regarding loans, jobs and internships.
