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Press Release – FAA Proposes $140,000 Civil Penalty Against K-Mart, Inc.

For Immediate Release
November 19, 2010

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $140,000 civil penalty against K-Mart, Inc., of Royal Oak, Mich., for allegedly violating Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations.

The FAA alleges K-Mart offered two packages to UPS for transportation by air from Caguas, Puerto Rico to its returned goods center in McDonough, Ga. The first shipment, Sept. 21, 2009, contained 15 three-ounce containers of nail color, which is classified as paint, a flammable liquid. The second shipment, Oct. 26, 2009, contained 18 five-ounce containers of aerosol sun block, a flammable gas. Neither shipment was declared to contain hazardous materials.

K-Mart allegedly offered the shipments for transportation by air when they were not packaged, marked, classed, described, labeled or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. UPS employees at the Louisville sort center discovered both packages leaking.

K-Mart, Inc., has 30 days from receipt of the FAA’s civil penalty letter to respond to the agency.

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    TAT Technologies Wholly Owned Subsidiary, Piedmont Aviation Component Services Has signed a Five Year APU maintenance Agreement with Austrian Airlines

    February 3, 2011 — TAT Technologies Ltd. a leading provider of services and products to the commercial and military aerospace and ground defense industries, today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Piedmont Aviation Component Services (“Piedmont”), has signed a five year APU (Auxiliary Power Unit – a small gas turbine engine) maintenance Agreement with Austrian Airlines (“Austrian”) covering Austrian Boeing 767 fleet GTCP331-200 APU. The maintenance agreement for the GTCP-331-200 model is in addition to an existing contract between Austrian and Piedmont for the CRJ200 fleet GTCP36-150RJ APU.

    Mr. Burkard Wigger, Vice President Technical Operations at Austrian Airlines said: “With Piedmont Aviation Component Services, we have found a professional partner who is very committed to our inquiries and comes up with tailored solutions that fit our demands. Piedmont offers expert knowledge in APU maintenance and has already proved to deliver reliable and satisfying services in our cooperation.”
    TAT’s President and CEO, Dr. Shmuel Fledel, commented on the new agreement: “We are proud of the solid relationship between Austrian and Piedmont. For the last 4 years we have been successful with the current 36-150RJ APU contract and the addition of the 331-200 APU model demonstrates the high level of confidence and cooperation between the two companies. The new APU agreement reinforces TAT’s leading position in the APU maintenance industry.”

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    Letter to Chairmen Oberstar and Costello and Ranking Members Mica and Petri Regarding FAA’s Efforts to Implement RTCA Task Force Recommendations for NextGen

    Summary

    On December 21, we (DOT OIG) issued a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Aviation Subcommittee regarding FAA’s efforts to implement the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen). Last September, a RTCA task force recommended mid-term actions for advancing NextGen. The task force findings and recommendations are consistent with our work, covering areas such as maximizing the use of equipment already on aircraft and new procedures, enhancing information sharing among FAA and airspace users, and reducing delays. We are reporting our results thus far with respect to (1) FAA’s progress in responding to the task force report, (2) potential barriers to implementing the task force recommendations and realizing benefits, and (3) ongoing problems with a key modernization effort that could materially affect the pace of NextGen. In summary, FAA is incorporating RTCA’s recommendations in its NextGen plans but has not specified how it will execute key initiatives for addressing delays in major metropolitan areas. For example, FAA is still working to establish definitive milestones to integrate new airspace designs and procedures at metroplex locations. FAA also has yet to establish a mechanism for integrating metroplex initiatives with programs to better manage airport surface operations. At the same time, FAA faces several organizational, policy, logistical, and training challenges that could impede NextGen implementation in the midterm; these include working across diverse agency lines of business and establishing policies on data sharing. FAA must also resolve implementation problems with critical modernization projects, such as En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM)–a $2.1 billion NextGen tool for processing flight data–which has experienced software problems and delays at key sites.

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    Delta Air Lines Supports Saudi Arabian Airlines’ Application to Join SkyTeam

    Jan 10, 2011

    ATLANTA, Jan. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) today issued the following statement in support of Saudi Arabian Airlines’ decision to join the SkyTeam global airline alliance in 2012.

    “Saudi Arabian’s growing hub in Riyadh and extensive network throughout the Middle East will bring Delta customers greater access to destinations across one of the world’s most important economic regions,” said Charlie Pappas, Delta’s vice president – Alliances. “We are honored that Saudi Arabian has chosen to link its future growth and success with Delta and our SkyTeam partners, while bringing our alliance greater access to destinations across the Middle East.”

    Saudi Arabian has a broad Middle Eastern and international network that will add 35 new destinations to the SkyTeam alliance network including Alexandria, Islamabad and Colombo. Delta customers can connect onto Saudi Arabian flights at Delta and SkyTeam hubs, including New York-JFK, Paris Charles de Gaulle and Milan.

    Saudi Arabia is one of the Middle East’s leading economies and one of the world’s largest oil producers. SkyTeam is actively working to grow its presence in the region, with Saudi Arabian Airlines becoming the first Middle Eastern airline to announce its intention to join SkyTeam.

    In 2010, the SkyTeam Alliance saw considerable growth in its tenth anniversary year. Vietnam Airlines and TAROM joined the alliance in June, while China Eastern Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, China Airlines, Garuda Indonesia and Aerolineas Argentinas are each slated to join by 2012.

    More information on Saudi Arabian Airlines and SkyTeam is available in the SkyTeam news release.

    Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 357 destinations in 67 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs more than 75,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline’s service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, the world’s largest airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than $2 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.

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  • ICAO Press Release

    FUTURE DIRECTION OF INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION TO BE SHAPED AT UPCOMING ICAO ASSEMBLY

    The future growth of the global economy depends upon a robust air transport sector. At the 37th triennial Session of its Assembly, the 190 Member States of ICAO will focus on policies and regulations that will deliver on systematic and consistent improvements to the level of safety, security and environmental sustainability of the sector in the years to come.

    Ministers and high-level officials from a number of Member States and representatives from some 30 international organizations, representing all aspects of international civil aviation will participate.

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    SECURITY

    The attempted bombing of a commercial airliner on 25 December 2009 intensified efforts to protect commercial aircraft and air transport facilities from terrorist attacks. The ICAO Assembly will evaluate a range of proposals to deal with new and emerging threats to the security of flights, as well as persons on the ground, while accelerating the flow of passengers at airports. It is also expected to adopt a comprehensive security policy to further tighten the global security net.

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    IATA Press Release: Global Safety Information Exchange Launched

    Montreal – The International Air Transport Association (IATA), along with three governmental aviation safety organizations, today signed an agreement to launch the Global Safety Information Exchange. Creating a comprehensive global information exchange to improve safety is the most ambitious private/public safety partnership in aviation history.

    IATA, together with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the US Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Commission of the European Union (EC), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create the framework and path forward to launch the Global Safety Information Exchange. The MOU signing took place following the opening session of the ICAO Assembly and was signed by IATA Director General Giovanni Bisignani, ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin, US DOT Secretary Ray LaHood, and EU Vice President Siim Kallas.

    “Air is the safest way to travel. We achieved this level of safety precisely because governments and industry have cooperated transparently to identify risks and implement solutions. Today’s agreement takes the long history of cooperation to a new level by tearing down silos around the data that we have and sharpening our focus on the greatest risks to aviation safety,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

    “We have a long history of working together with governments using global standards to lower the accident rate. In 1945, there were 9 million passengers and 247 fatalities. In 2009, 2.3 billion people flew with 685 fatalities. Every fatality is a human tragedy and reminds us that we must do better. Today’s agreement signals a new era of multilateral cooperation between industry and government to make the skies safer,” said Bisignani.

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    The 2009 global accident rate, measured in hull losses per million flights of Western-built jet aircraft, was 0.71. Through the first six months of 2010, the accident rate was 0.64. Compared to 10 years ago, the accident rate has been cut 36% from the 1.11 rate recorded in 2000.

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    AOPA Press Release: Withdrawal of Erroll Southers


    Statement by AOPA President Craig L. Fuller On the Withdrawal of Erroll Southers to Head TSA

    Chris Dancy
    “The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association continues to support commonsense enhancements to general aviation security that have real and positive effects on national security while imposing the least possible burden on general aviation pilots. The Association has a strong working relationship with the Transportation Security Administration at the operational level, and looks forward to developing a similar relationship with the new Administrator once that person is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate.”

    – AOPA –
    The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is the world’s largest aviation association, representing two out of every three pilots in the United States.

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