Customers encouraged to make changes, check flights at delta.com
Jan 19, 2011

ATLANTA, Jan. 19, 2011 — Delta Air Lines is offering customers whose flight plans may be affected by winter weather across the Northeast tomorrow and Friday the ability to make one-time changes to their travel schedules without fees. Delta’s weather advisory encourages customers to consider postponing or re-routing their travel to avoid possible inconvenience due to expected flight delays.

Customers booked on Delta-ticketed flights to, from or through the following cities may immediately rebook for travel before or after their original travel dates as long as new flights are ticketed and rescheduled with travel beginning by Jan. 24, 2011.

  • Washington, D.C. (Dulles and Reagan National)
  • Baltimore
  • Boston
  • New York (JFK and LaGuardia)
  • Albany, N.Y.
  • Newburgh, N.Y.
  • White Plains, N.Y.
  • Newark, N.J.
  • Philadelphia
  • Allentown, Pa.
  • Harrisburg, Pa.
  • Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pa.
  • Hartford, Conn.
  • Providence, R.I.
  • Bangor, Maine
  • Portland, Maine
  • Manchester, N.H.

Flight delays are possible at these airports as a result of winter weather, and Delta will proactively reduce flight schedules to minimize delays.

Delta encourages customers to make changes and manage their travel at delta.com. All customers traveling in impacted markets should check their flight status at delta.com before arriving at the airport.

Changes to origin or destination may result in a fare increase. Any fare difference between the original ticket and the new ticket will be collected at the time of rebooking. Customers whose flights are cancelled may request refunds.

Delta will continue to monitor the weather and provide the latest updates at delta.com and twitter.com/DeltaNewsroom.

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NTSB OFFERING ROTORCRAFT ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION COURSE AT TRAINING CENTER NEAR WASHINGTON

The National Transportation Safety Board has developed a
five-day course in rotorcraft accident investigation that
will be delivered at its training center near Washington in
August.

The course, which has been in development for more than a
year, was designed to provide investigators from regulatory
authorities, investigative agencies, private industry, and
potential parties to an NTSB investigation, an overview of
the procedures, methods and skills required to perform a
comprehensive rotorcraft accident investigation.

The training will be offered August 16-20, 2010, at the NTSB
Training Center in Ashburn, Virginia.

Examples from recently concluded investigations will be used
to illustrate particular aspects of the investigative
process. Case studies may include midair collisions, in-
flight fires, in-flight break-ups, and weather-related
accidents.

Those interested in learning more should see the complete
description of the training, registration information, and
cost to attend at:
http://www.ntsb.gov/TC/CourseInfo/AS102_2010.htm

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FAA RECALLS

Only 43 US planes are affected by the FAA’s recall of Thales Avionics pitot tubes on some Airbus A330 and A340 jets. Other Airbuses are already using the Goodrich pitot tubes, which have a completely different design.

Both tubes are heated so that they do not freeze over, but the Thales model DOES freeze; and that flaw is considered by many experts to have been at least partially responsible for the Air France flight 447 crash, that resulted in the death of 228 people flying during a storm over the Atlantic.

US Airways and Northwest are both already in the process of replacing the flawed parts.

The FAA (US) gave carriers 120 days to comply; the EASA (European Air Safety) deadline was September 7.

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Boeing and FAA to Team for Cleaner Skies, Quieter Airplanes

WASHINGTON, June 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — The Boeing Company (NYSE: BA) and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration announced today that they will work together to speed the development and application of environmentally progressive technologies for cleaner and quieter jet aircraft.

As part of the FAA’s Continuous Lower Energy, Emissions and Noise (CLEEN) program, Boeing and the FAA each will contribute up to $25 million during the next five years to conduct flight demonstrations of emergent airframe and engine technologies that have the potential of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and community noise.

“By combining our resources and expertise, we believe we can transition promising technologies from development into service more quickly to help reduce the environmental footprint of airplanes,” said Matt Ganz, vice president and general manager of Boeing Research & Technology, which is leading the program at Boeing. “We recognize the importance of protecting our ecosystem and are looking forward to working with the FAA on a variety of innovative solutions to help define the future.”

The technologies being developed under the CLEEN program will be flight tested aboard two demonstration vehicles, a Next-Generation Boeing 737 in 2012, with a second series of test flights aboard a yet-to-be-determined twin-aisle airplane in 2013.

This flight-test program builds on the success of the company’s Quiet Technology Demonstrators, which successfully highlighted a variety of noise reduction technologies during test flights aboard Boeing 777 aircraft from 2001 to 2005.

According to Boeing CLEEN Program Manager Craig Wilsey, the technologies that will be developed and tested during demonstration flights include adaptive wing trailing edges and ceramic matrix composite acoustic engine nozzles.

Adaptive trailing edges pertain to a collection of small controllable devices that are integrated into the aft portion of the wing. Most traditional wings are designed for best performance while at cruise, and have performance compromises during other flight phases. Adaptive trailing edges can help tailor the wing configuration to reduce fuel burn at takeoff, climb and cruise, and to reduce community noise at takeoff and landing.

New-generation engines on commercial airplanes are more efficient, but require materials that are capable of withstanding higher temperatures than previous engines. Ceramic matrix composites offer the potential of better thermal and structural performance, while helping to reduce weight and acoustic footprint.

In addition to Boeing Research & Technology, the company’s advanced central research, technology and innovation organization, Boeing’s CLEEN team is composed of engineers and support staff from Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Boeing Test & Evaluation.

Boeing continues to take aggressive steps to improve the environmental performance of its products including:

Producing the world’s newest commercial airplanes, the 787 Dreamliner and the 747-8, designed to be significantly more fuel-efficient and have lower emissions than earlier generation jetliners.

Pioneering research into sustainable aviation biofuel made from biomass sources that do not compete with food crops or land or water use. Aviation biofuels have lower carbon emissions over their lifecycle and help lessen aviation’s dependence on fossil fuels.

Developing ways to improve the efficiency of the global air traffic control network, which will enable passengers to arrive at their gates sooner and reduce the carbon footprint of commercial air travel.

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Tarmac Delays in August Show Steep Drop

Tuesday, October 12, 2010 – The nation’s largest airlines reported only one flight in August with a tarmac
delay of more than three hours, compared to 66 flights in August 2009, with no
change in the rate of canceled flights, according to the Air Travel Consumer
Report released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT).

Data filed with
the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) showed the only tarmac delay
longer than three hours reported in August by the 18 airlines that file on-time
performance with DOT involved a United Airlines flight departing the San Juan
airport on Aug. 5 that was diverted.  August was the fourth full month of
data since the new aviation consumer rule went into effect on April 29. 
There were only eight total tarmac delays of more than three hours from May
through August this year, compared to 529 during the same four-month period of
2009.  BTS is a part of DOT’s Research and Innovative Technology
Administration (RITA).

The largest
carriers canceled 1.0 percent of their scheduled domestic flights in August,
matching the 1.0 percent cancellation rate of August 2009.  They posted a
1.4 percent cancellation rate in July 2010.

See the DOT press release press release
for Secretary Ray LaHood’s statement.

The new tarmac
delay rule prohibits U.S. airlines operating domestic flights from permitting
an aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours without deplaning
passengers, with exceptions allowed only for safety or security or if air traffic
control advises the pilot in command that returning to the terminal would
disrupt airport operations.  The Department will investigate tarmac delays
that exceed this limit.

The monthly
report also includes data on on-time performance, chronically delayed flights,
flight cancellations and the causes of flight delays filed with the Department by
the reporting carriers.  In addition, it has information on airline
bumping, reports of mishandled baggage filed by consumers with the carriers,
and consumer service, disability and discrimination complaints received by
DOT’s Aviation Consumer Protection Division.  This report also includes
reports of incidents involving pets traveling by air, as required to be filed
by U.S. carriers.

On-time
Performance

The reporting carriers recorded an overall on-time arrival
rate of 81.7 percent in August, up from both the 79.7 percent on-time rate of August
2009 and July 2010’s 76.7 percent. 

Tarmac Delays

In August, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that .0400 percent of their scheduled flights
had tarmac delays of two hours or more, down from .1030 percent in July. 
There was one flight with a tarmac delay of more than three hours in August. 

Chronically Delayed Flights

At the end of August, there were four flights that were
chronically delayed – more than 30 minutes late more than 50 percent of the
time – for three consecutive months.  There were an additional 41 flights
that were chronically delayed for two consecutive months.  There were no
chronically delayed flights for four consecutive months or more.  A list
of flights that were chronically delayed for a single month is available from BTS (www.bts.gov).

Causes of Flight Delays

In August, the carriers filing
on-time performance data reported that 5.07 percent of their flights were
delayed by aviation system delays, compared to 6.21 percent in July; 6.42
percent by late-arriving aircraft, compared to 8.13 percent in July; 5.16 percent
by factors within the airline’s control, such as maintenance or crew problems, compared
to 6.37 percent in July; 0.46 percent by extreme weather, compared to 0.79
percent in July; and 0.04 percent for security reasons, compared to 0.05
percent in July. Weather is a factor in
both the extreme-weather category and the aviation-system category. This
includes delays due to the re-routing of flights by DOT’s Federal Aviation
Administration in consultation with the carriers involved. Weather is also a factor in delays attributed
to late-arriving aircraft, although airlines do not report specific causes in
that category.

Data
collected by BTS also shows the percentage of late flights delayed by weather,
including those reported in either the category of extreme weather or included
in National Aviation System delays. In August, 35.07 percent of late flights
were delayed by weather, down 10.70 percent from August 2009, when 39.27
percent of late flights were delayed by weather, and down 6.75 percent from
July when 37.61 percent of late flights were delayed by weather.

Detailed information on flight
delays and their causes is available on the BTS site on the World Wide Web at http://www.bts.gov.

Mishandled Baggage

The U.S.
carriers reporting flight delays and mishandled baggage data posted a
mishandled baggage rate of 3.50 reports per 1,000 passengers in August, an
improvement over both August 2009’s rate of 4.11 and July 2010’s 3.79 rate.

Incidents Involving
Pets

In August, carriers reported one incident
involving the loss, death or injury of pets while traveling by air, down from
both the three reports filed in August 2009 and eight in July 2010. August’s incident involved the injury of a
pet.

Complaints
About Airline Service

In August, the Department received 1,200
complaints about airline service from consumers, up 34.7 percent from the 891
complaints filed in August 2009 and up 9.7 percent from the 1,094 received in July
2010.

Complaints About Treatment of Disabled
Passengers

The report also
contains a tabulation of complaints filed with DOT in August against airlines
regarding the treatment of passengers with disabilities. The Department received a total of 71
disability-related complaints in August, up from the total of 50 filed in
August 2009 and the 56 complaints received in July 2010.

Complaints
About Discrimination

In
August, the Department received 17 complaints alleging discrimination by
airlines due to factors other than disability – such as race, religion,
national origin or sex – up from the total of 16 recorded in August 2009 and 12
recorded in July 2010.

Consumers may
file their complaints in writing with the Aviation Consumer Protection
Division, U.S. Department of Transportation, C-75, W96-432,


1200 New Jersey Ave. SE,

Washington,

DC

20590;
by voice mail at (202) 366-2220 or by TTY at (202) 366-0511; or on the web at http://airconsumer.dot.gov.

Consumers who
want on-time performance data for specific flights should call their airline’s reservation
number or their travel agent. This
information is available on the computerized reservation systems used by these
agents.

The Air Travel
Consumer Report can be found on DOT’s World Wide Web site at http://airconsumer.dot.gov. It is available in "pdf" and Microsoft Word
format.

Air Travel Consumer Report August 2010
Key On-Time Performance and Flight Cancellation Statistics

Based on Data Filed with the Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the 18 Reporting Carriers

81.7 percent on-time arrivals

Highest On-Time
Arrival Rates

1. Hawaiian
Airlines – 95.6 percent

2. Alaska
Airlines – 88.7 percent

3. Continental
Airlines – 87.1 percent

Lowest On-Time
Arrival Rates

1. Comair
– 76.4 percent

2. JetBlue
Airways – 77.1 percent

3. Delta
Air Lines – 77.4 percent

Flights with Longest Tarmac
Delays

1. United
Airlines flight 700 from San Juan to Washington Dulles, 8/5/10 – delayed
on tarmac 200 minutes

(There was only one flight with a tarmac delay of more than
three hours in August)

Highest Rates of
Canceled Flights

1. Pinnacle
Airlines – 2.5 percent

2. Comair
– 2.1 percent

3. Delta
Air Lines – 1.6 percent

Lowest Rates of Canceled Flights

1. Hawaiian
Airlines – 0.1 percent

2. Frontier
Airlines – 0.1 percent

3. Continental
Airlines – 0.1 percent

SRC: http://www.bts.gov/press_releases/2010/dot186_10/html/dot186_10.html

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American Airlines eyes Boeing Engine Pylons

Cracks in the engine pylons of three American Airlines Boeing 767’s are prompting concerns over the need of more frequent inspections of Boeing 767’s. The FAA says American and Boeing are looking for the cause of the cracking, which was discovered during routine metallurgical tests. Boeing is preparing a service bulletin establishing new guidelines for inspecting this particular part, over and above the every “1500 flights” which stands now. The flight which originally caught American’s attention had developed the cracks during the last 500 flights since its last pylon inspection. Caution about underlying structural issues is being addressed.

The preliminary conclusion is that certain maintenance practices may play in the underlying cause of the cracking. A known issue is that some of the cracks arise from holes used to install bolts, implying that the bolt holes may compromise the structural integrity, or at least affect the pylon’s longevity; and may affect “fail-safe” design.

The FAA has not yet mandated inspection of 767 other jets operated by other carriers, nor have they determined if winglets are a contributing factor.

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Two Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Return to Seattle; Laredo Investigation Continues

Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ — While the investigation into the incident onboard 787 Dreamliner ZA002 continues, Boeing has established a plan to fly two other aircraft, ZA001 and ZA005, back to Seattle from Rapid City, S.D., and Victorville, Calif. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has reviewed and approved the plans.

ZA001 was undergoing refueling in South Dakota when the incident on ZA002 occurred and the company decided to forgo additional flights. ZA005 was on remote deployment for testing in California.

The flights follow a series of inspections on the airplanes’ aft electronics bays. No testing will be performed on the flights.

The team investigating the incident in Laredo has developed a detailed understanding of the ZA002 incident, though more work remains to complete the investigation. In addition to the information already released about the incident, data show that:

  • The total duration of the incident was less than 90 seconds.
  • The fire lasted less than 30 seconds.
  • The airplane concluded the event in a configuration that could have been sustained for the time required to return to an airport suitable for landing from any point in a typical 787 mission profile.  

The team in Texas has completed inspection of ZA002 and has begun to prepare to install a new power panel and new insulation material. The team also is repairing minor structural damage that occurred during the event. This damage will be addressed with standard repair techniques in the airplane structural repair manual. The team is currently evaluating the timeline for completion of the repair work.

The incident on ZA002 demonstrated many aspects of the safety and redundancy in the 787 design, which ensure that if events such as these occur, the airplane can continue safe flight and landing.

No decision has been reached on when flight testing of the 787 will resume. Before that decision can be made, we must complete the investigation and assess whether any design changes are necessary. Until that time, Boeing cannot comment on the potential impact of this incident on the overall program schedule.

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