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XL Insurance Continues Regional Build Up of US Aviation Team, Establishing Chicago Underwriting Operations

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2010 XL Insurance, the global insurance operations of XL Group plc today announced the launch of a new regional aviation underwriting group in Chicago with the appointment of Brian J. Ackland to Class Underwriter.

Eric Donofrio, North American Regional Manager for XL Insurance’s Aviation unit, said: “We’re off to a good start in Chicago. Bringing both broker and underwriting experience, Brian is a strong addition to our underwriting team. Now with underwriters in Chicago, New York, and San Francisco, our brokers have more direct access to experienced staff who understands aviation risks and the needs of our clients. We’re looking forward to expanding this team in the very near future to be even more responsive to needs of the aviation industry in the US Midwest.”

Mr. Ackland joins XL Insurance from Aviation Insurance Services (AIS) of Illinois, Inc. In addition to his experience as a broker with AIS, his professional experience includes various underwriting positions with AIG Aviation and United States Aircraft Insurance Group, both in Chicago. A graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Mr. Ackland holds a commercial pilot certificate with multi-engine, instrument and rotorcraft ratings.

XL Insurance’s global Aerospace operations provide a broad spectrum of coverage for US based and international airlines, products manufacturers, general aviation and space risks around the world.

XL Insurance is the global brand used by XL Group plc’s insurance companies and underwriting divisions offering property, casualty, professional and specialty insurance products throughout the world. More information about XL Insurance is available at www.xlinsurance.com. XL Group plc, through its subsidiaries, is a global insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty, and specialty products to industrial, commercial, and professional firms, insurance companies and other enterprises on a worldwide basis. More information about XL Group plc is available at www.xlgroup.com.

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    President of Boeing Korea Announced

    CHICAGO, April 27, 2010 — The Boeing Company today named Pat Gaines as president of Boeing Korea, effective June 4.
    In a move designed to continue the company’s success in Korea, Gaines will succeed Bill Oberlin, who will retire in July after 25 years with Boeing.

    Gaines will lead Boeing’s enterprise-wide business in Korea, while strengthening the company’s local presence and finding new ways to pursue growth and productivity initiatives.

    “Pat’s leadership experience in global business and operations align directly with our ongoing efforts to increase our presence and collaboration with customers, partners, communities and employees in Korea. In this regard he will be able to build on the solid foundation established by the excellent work Bill Oberlin has done in Korea,” said Shep Hill, president of Boeing International and Senior Vice President, Business Development and Strategy.

    Gaines, a 23-year company veteran, joins Boeing Korea following a position in Boeing Commercial Airplanes in Seattle, where he served as vice president of Customer Support for Asia-Pacific. He has extensive experience in global operations and led the efforts that established the joint venture between FlightSafety International and Boeing, now known as Boeing Training and Flight Services.

    Oberlin came to Korea in 2002 as president of Boeing Korea. He joined Boeing in 1985 and was credited with sales of key Boeing products, such as CH-47 Chinook helicopters, F-15Ks and AEW&C Peace Eye aircraft, as well as commercial airplanes and related services to airline customers in Korea.

    Oberlin was recognized in Korea for his contributions to the local business community as chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea (2003-2004 and 2007-2008) and as an executive member of the U.S.-Korea Business Council. He was an active proponent of the Korea-U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows qualified Korean nationals to travel to the U.S. visa free. Oberlin also worked to support the pending Free Trade Agreement between Korea and the U.S. In 2008, he was appointed to serve on the National Competitiveness Improvement Committee under the President of the Republic of Korea.

    “Bill played a significant role in strengthening our presence and stakeholder relationships in the Republic of Korea. His representation of the company has been characterized by outstanding leadership, unquestioned integrity and demonstrated results,” added Hill. “Korea is an important market for Boeing and presents many opportunities for Boeing and Korea to work together in ways to advance our common interests. We have a solid business plan and a long-term view of the market, and we look forward to continuing the legacy of a true partnership between Boeing and our customers and partners in Korea.”

    Gaines served in the U.S. military as an airborne ranger and a warrant officer pilot. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and graduated with honors and a degree in Engineering.

    Boeing shares a successful 50-year relationship with Korea. In 1988, Boeing opened an office in Seoul to work closely with Korean customers and partners. Today, more than 160 Boeing employees work across the country.

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  • Air Line Pilots Association Statement on Continental Airlines Flight 1404

    Release #08.61
    December 22, 2008

    WASHINGTON – The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, issued the following statement regarding the Continental Airlines Flight 1404 accident that took place in Denver on Saturday, December 20, 2008.

    “The thoughts of the Continental pilots and every member of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l, are with the crew, passengers, and all who were affected by the accident that took place in Denver. ALPA is a party to the National Transportation Safety Board investigation and cannot comment on the accident at this time.”

    Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilots union representing 52,500 pilots at 36 airlines in the United States and Canada, including 5,000 Continental Airlines pilots.

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    Severe Winter Weather Continues to Affect United and Continental Flights in the Northeast Region This Week

    CUSTOMERS TRAVELING TO IMPACTED CITIES MAY RESCHEDULE WITHOUT PENALTY ON UNITED.COM OR CONTINENTAL.COM

    CHICAGO, Dec. 27, 2010
    United Continental Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) today extended travel options for United and Continental customers whose flight plans may be affected by severe winter weather in the Northeast region. Weather conditions are making air travel difficult, causing delays and cancellations of flights at Continental’s hub at New York / Newark Liberty International Airport and United’s hub at Washington Dulles. Flights at Newark are expected to resume on Monday afternoon, with a limited schedule. Operations at other airports throughout the Northeast region may also be affected.

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

    Customers scheduled on flights, through Dec. 28, 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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    Aviation Industry: Time for a Black Box Upgrade

    Woodland Hills, CA — (ReleaseWire) — 07/07/2016 –No one is saying that aircraft tracking doesn’t need an overhaul. It does. Examination of plane crash events demands it.

    Aviation experts have been asking for pinger battery improvements since a month after the crash of Air France 447 on 1 June 2009, when the pinger battery ran down in July. Air France 447 was not recovered from the ocean floor until May 2011, nearly two years after it was lost. Debris from the accident was recovered in the interim, but if the pinger had been louder, or the battery designed to last longer, then there’s a good chance that the plane would have been discovered sooner. One of the outcomes of this terrible event was a determination to design a pinger system with longer lasting batteries. EASA amended requirements for flight recorders and underwater locating devices in its 2013-26 amendment(RMT.0400 & RMT.0401 (OPS.090(A) & OPS.090(B)) — 20.12.2013) but implementing these requirements takes a prohibitively long time.

    Aviation experts have been asking for better tracking technology since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia, to Beijing Capital International Airport in China. Because this plane departed from its planned route, finding where it came down has been a unique challenge. Inmarsat’s satellite communications network concluded that the flight continued until at least 08:19 and flew south into the southern Indian Ocean. Triangulation of Inmarsat’s satellite communications has been the only credible source searchers depend on to develop the search area.

    Aviation experts have been suggesting the blackbox be water-activated (or have water-activated duplicates) with flotation of some kind so the blackbox can be found faster. More recently, aviation experts have wondered about EgyptAir Flight 804 which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea on 19 May 2016. It was known fairly precisely where it came down, and yet salvage and rescue units were unable to be on the scene in time to help any survivors—if survivors there had been. We will never know because no one was there. And while tracking the location of the blackbox fell within the thirty day battery limit, if the technology had more power, it could have been located sooner. Finding the wreckage sooner means less money spent on the search, and a shorter time for the families agonizing over their losses.

    So here is what is new: Inmarsat provides SwiftBroadband service for plane’s inflight Wi-Fi on many aircraft. Immarsat is developing a streaming system described as a “blackbox in the cloud.” This streaming system they are working on will allow crucial data to be streamed off a plane on the occasion of specified trigger events like a course deviation or disappearance from radar.

    One only need consider a few factors to realize that a cloud-based system is a crucial development that current technology can easily handle. We need only to look at the cost of the search for a missing plane. According to France and Brazil, those two countries spent more than $40 million over two years to recover the black boxes from Air France Flight 447. Bloomberg reported the recovery cost of Air France 447 was $100 million. According to the South China Post, the cost of the (as yet unfound) MH370 will be as much as ten times more than AF447. Like the expense of MH370’s search, the cost of finding EgyptAir Flight 804 is still ongoing.

    Even when Inmarsat’s streaming system will be available, the aviation industry is going to be resistant, mostly because it is going to be costly. Is this a cost that we must afford? I think it is.

    Let me know your thoughts on this crucial topic at https://twitter.com/GeorgeHatcher

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    FAA Breaks Ground on Air Traffic Control Tower in Frederick, Md. Paid For with Recovery Act Dollars

    For Immediate Release
    October 18, 2010

    WASHINGTON–The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced over $5 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act dollars will be used to build a new air traffic control tower at Frederick Municipal Airport in Frederick, Md.

    "General aviation plays such an important role at all levels of our nation’s economy," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Recovery Act projects are helping upgrade our aviation infrastructure so the system can continue to run safely and efficiently."

    "These Recovery Act dollars will improve the safety and efficiency of Frederick’s airport while providing a boost to Maryland’s economy," said Michael Huerta, deputy administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, at a ground breaking ceremony.

    The $5.3 million Recovery Act project will pay for the construction of an air traffic control tower, access road and other infrastructure at one of Maryland’s largest airports. The Frederick Municipal Airport currently does not have an air traffic control tower.

    Approximately 200 aircraft are based at Frederick Municipal Airport, a reliever airport for Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport. The airport handles more than 135,000 aircraft operations annually.

    The Recovery Act has provided an additional $35 million in upgrades at airport runways and aircraft parking aprons in and around the Washington Metropolitan Area.

    Nationwide, $1.3 billion in Recovery Act money has been made available for both airport improvement projects and air traffic control facility and system upgrades. Because of low construction bids for projects, more Recovery Act dollars were available for additional facilities and equipment and airport projects. These Recovery Act grants have been distributed to airports that serve commercial passengers, cargo and general aviation.

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    FAA Press Release – DOT Celebrates Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Recovery Act Projects

    For Immediate Release
    September 2, 2010

    WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted $15 million in safety upgrades funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that will ensure the continued safe and efficient operation of aircraft at the Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

    “Recovery Act funding made these safety projects possible,” said U.S Deputy Transportation Secretary John Porcari during a press conference at BWI. “Not only are we keeping Marylanders at work, we are also improving airport safety and efficiency.”

    Deputy Secretary Porcari lauded the ongoing safety, environmental, communications, and utility projects at BWI. When completed next year, BWI’s reconstructed aircraft parking apron between Concourses C and D will allow for more efficient operations among larger aircraft and service vehicles. The projects also include a new environmentally friendly deicing fluid collection system and new communications and utility systems.

    “Recovery Act funds are making a difference at our nation’s airports,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “These projects will ensure that BWI continues to meet the safety needs of the airport and traveling public.”

    This $15 million Recovery Act grant is one of the largest awarded by the FAA.

    Without Recovery Act dollars, construction on this critical $41 million project could not have gotten under way. The rest of the project is being funded by the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program funds and BWI Airport.

    The Recovery Act funded an additional $35 million in upgrades at airport runways and aircraft parking aprons in and around the Washington Metropolitan Area.

    Nationwide, $1.3 billion in Recovery Act money has been made available for both airport improvement projects and air traffic control facility and system upgrades. Because of low construction bids for projects, more Recovery Act dollars were available for additional facilities and equipment and airport projects. These Recovery Act grants have been distributed to airports that serve commercial passengers, cargo and general aviation.

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