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Spanair Calls it Quits


After Qatar Airways backed out of the Spanair deal, there was just no more money, so the owner of Spanair pulled the plug. (Spanair was owned by a consortium of investors.)

Spanair grounded all its flights and officially shut down on January 27, 2012. 20,000 were stranded by the sudden action. Spanair has filed for bankruptcy. 2,000 employees in the hub and 1,200 ground staff are now unemployed.

Spain may fine Spanair 9 million euros for not providing notice they were shutting down. On the company website there is an apologetic note saying all flights after Jan 28, 2012 are cancelled, and there are explanations how tickets may be refunded. A few alternative carriers are listed. The Spanair ticket desk has closed for the last time.

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    Dassault’s Enhanced Vision System (EVS) Receives FAA Certification for the Falcon 7X

    SAINT-CLOUD, France, February 11, 2011 — Dassault Falcon has received operational certification from the FAA for the Falcon 7X Enhanced Vision System (EVS). This follows certification received from EASA in July, 2010.

    Dassault’s EVS provides an image on the Head-Up Display (HUD) and flight deck displays that enables the pilots to see the terrain and airport environment in low visibility situations such as in fog, haze, snow or at night. It incorporates LCD HUD technology and offers a high quality, brighter video presentation with a unique two-mode setting that optimizes the video for either an approach configuration (to enhance approach and runway lights), or a general purpose configuration. It also takes advantage of special IR video processing developed specifically to minimize visual artifacts and distortion.

    “Incorporating technology that enhances safety and situational awareness is a prime goal in the continuing development of all our programs,” said John Rosanvallon, President and CEO of Dassault Falcon. “This additional certification is further affirmation that we are achieving this goal. Our fully integrated EVS offers advanced features not available on any other system, and has already generated a great deal of interest among the Falcon family,” Rosanvallon added. EVS significantly improves situational awareness, not only during take-off, approach and landing, but also during ground maneuvering.

    In addition to enhanced situational awareness, the Falcon 7X EVS system provides operational credit towards reduced minima in low visibility landing conditions from the published IFR minima down to a minimum of 100 feet above the threshold elevation. This provides minima equivalent to Cat II minimums even on Cat I standard instrument approaches and on non-precision approaches.
    A one day pilot training course, consisting of ground instruction and full flight simulator training (including at least six approaches) is required for operators using EVS.

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    United and Continental Offer Rebooking Options to Customers Affected by Winter Weather

    CUSTOMERS TRAVELING TO IMPACTED CITIES MAY RESCHEDULE WITHOUT PENALTY on united.com OR continental.com
    CHICAGO, Jan. 10, 2011

    United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) today announced travel options for United and Continental customers whose flight plans may be affected by severe winter weather forecast for the U.S. Northeast region and Chicago. Weather conditions are expected to lead to the delay or cancellation of certain flights at Continental’s New York hub at Newark Liberty International Airport for travel from Jan. 11 through Jan. 13 and United’s hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport for travel on Jan. 11. Operations at other airports throughout the Northeast may also be affected.

    The travel waiver for the Southeast region continues for customers traveling through Jan. 11.

    Change Flights for No Fee at united.com or continental.com

    Customers scheduled on flights to, from or through the impacted areas may reschedule their itinerary with a one-time date or time change, and the change fees will be waived. If a flight has been canceled, a refund in the original form of payment may be requested. Complete details and eligible travel dates are available at united.com and continental.com.

    The fastest and most convenient way to change travel plans is via united.com or continental.com, and customers should continue to manage their reservations on the respective company’s website from which their ticket was purchased. Customers may also book a new reservation, change an existing reservation or check flight status by calling United Reservations at 800-UNITED-1 or Continental Reservations at 800-525-0280 or their travel agent.

    Another excellent way to receive information about flight delays, cancellations and gate changes is with United’s EasyUpdate service or Continental’s TripAlert service, which provide customers notifications via phone, text or e-mail.

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    NTSB ASSISTS GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES IN AVIATION ACCIDENT

    National Transportation Safety Board
    Washington, DC 20594

    September 3, 2010

    The National Transportation Safety Board will dispatch an aviation investigator to assist the government of United Arab Emirates in its investigation of the crash of a United Parcel Service (UPS)-operated cargo plane, a Boeing 747-400.

    On September 3, the aircraft, en route to Cologne, Germany, crashed near the international airport in the emirate of Dubai shortly after takeoff.

    NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman has designated senior air safety investigator Bill English as the U.S. Accredited Representative. His team will include NTSB specialists in
    the areas of human performance, fire, operations, and systems. The team will also include technical advisors from the Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, UPS, GE and
    Independent Pilots Association.

    The investigation is being conducted by the General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates, which will release all information on the progress of the investigation. The agency’s phone number in Abu Dhabi is (971) 2 405-4501/4445 and the agency’s email address is:
    accid@gcaa.ae.

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    OIG: FAA Fulfilled AARA

    ACTION: FAA Fulfilled Most ARRA Requirements in Awarding Airport Grants Federal Aviation Administration Report Number AV-2011-053
    From: JeffreyB.Guzzetti Assistant Inspector General
    for Aviation and Special Program Audits

    February 17, 2011
    JA-10
    Memorandum
    On February 17, 2009, the President signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA),1 designating $1.1 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to invest in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) projects. These funds were intended for airport projects that could achieve several key goals, including investing in transportation infrastructure to provide long-term economic benefits, create jobs, and promote economic recovery. ARRA established tight timeframes for distributing and expending funds and emphasized preference for projects that could be completed in 2 years.

    In August 2009, we issued an advisory to the Office of the Secretary outlining our concerns with FAA’s process for awarding ARRA grants.2 We questioned the economic merit of some lower scoring projects and highlighted several ARRA recipients with grant management problems identified in prior single audit reports.3 Based on these preliminary findings, we initiated this audit to determine the extent to which FAA’s process for awarding ARRA grants complied with ARRA requirements and other associated guidance.4 We conducted this audit from September 2009 through December 2010 in accordance with government

    American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. No. 111–5 (2009). OIG Advisory Number AA-2009-003, “FAA’s Process for Awarding ARRA Airport Improvement Program Grants,” August 6, 2009. OIG reports are available on our website: www.oig.dot.gov. Single audit is a mechanism relied upon by Executive Branch agencies to oversee financial compliance and grant 4 assurances. For the purpose of this report, we define “requirements” as a collective term to refer to ARRA statutory requirements, Presidential direction, and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and FAA guidance related to ARRA implementation.

    Read the entire PDF here

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    American Airlines in Distribution Agreement With Priceline.com

    FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan. 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — American Airlines said today that it has entered into an agreement with priceline.com to utilize American’s direct connect technology to access fares as well as customized travel products and services.

    Priceline.com expects to begin issuing American Airlines tickets through the link in the near future. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

    The link is part of a long-term relationship between American Airlines and priceline.com.

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    News You Didn’t Hear in February: Pilots Arm Detaches Leading to Hard Landing

    The carrier is Flybe.

    The aircraft was on a scheduled commercial air transport flight from Birmingham to Belfast
    City, with the commander, in the left flight deck seat, as pilot flying. It was night, and
    although there was no low cloud affecting the airport, the wind at Belfast was a strong
    west?south-westerly, gusting up to 48 kt. Before the approach, the commander checked
    that his prosthetic lower left arm was securely attached to the yoke clamp which he used to
    fly the aircraft, with the latching device in place. But his arm came off, leading to a hard landing.

    Official report:

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