REGIONAL AVIATION NEWS :: JULY 28, 2008

Horizon Posts Loss
Horizon posted an adjusted pre tax loss of $7.7million in the second quarter compared to a pre-tax loss of $4.6 million least year, largely owing to fuel increases. Fuel masked otherwise encouraging improvements throughout the company, said CEO Jeff Pinneo, who briefed analysts during Alaska Air...

XJT Avoids Mexican Grounding
Mexico’s Communications and Transportation Department threatened to ground all of ExpressJet's Mexican flights operated on behalf of both Delta and Continental, because, according to the Associated Press, it could not provide proof airspace fees had been paid. The department...

Safety Watch – American Eagle Near Midair, ASA Mx Accident
NTSB Investigates AE Flight As the result of a near midair collision involving an American Eagle regional jet, new procedures have been implemented at Chicago O’Hare for arrivals to runway 9R requiring specific coordination between approach control and the tower regarding whether 9R is in use. The...

Sound Bites
Falling Off the Map WSJ: “Fifty-nine airports that had commercial service in 2007 don’t have any today,” says David Castelveter, vice president of communications for the Air Transport Association (ATA). “Another 38 have it, but won’t at some time in 2008.” “If you...

XJT Warned by NASDAQ, Spots Unusual Trading
ExpressJet Holdings, Inc. received notice that it is not in compliance with New York Stock Exchange requirements for a $1.00 average share price for continued listing. The standard requires that the average price per share of common stock be at least $1.00 per share over a 30-day trading period. The...

ASA Inks New FA Contract
Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest, Inc., has reached a final agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) on a three-year contract for the company’s 1,008 flight attendants. In a vote conducted and verified...

ATA Disappointed in House Vote on SPR
"We are disappointed with the outcome of the House vote,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May of the legislature’s rejection of releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). “A staggered release of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would have both short- and...

Reducing the Risk of Jetliner Fuel Tank Explosions
While all new aircraft must have fuel inerting systems, regional aircraft were exempt from retrofitting as part of the final rule issued last week which comes 12 years after TWA Flight 800 exploded off Long Island on July 17, 1996, killing all 230 people aboard the Boeing 747. The new rule issued by the...

Crandall Seeks Special Session of Congress
Former AMR CEO Robert Crandall, in an open letter for which he is seeking more signatories, is calling on President Bush to convene a special session of Congress August 9 to develop a national energy policy. In its first few days, the letter was signed by 130 organizations with Mesa and Midwest joining four...

Alaska Juneau Expands to Lower 48
Alaska Juneau Aeronautics, which owns Wings of Alaska, launched a new airline last month connecting Seattle’s Boeing Field with Portland. SeaPort Airlines provides 90-minute service between the two fields, realizing something that Horizon Founder Milt Koult, a former Boeing employee, was never able to...

Raytheon to Lead New Aircraft Study
Raytheon Company will lead a team of air transportation experts from industry and academia to study the impact of new classes of aircraft on the next generation air transportation system, or NextGen, including very light jets, super heavy transports, un-crewed aircraft systems and supersonic transports. The...

Farnborough Watch – Sukhoi, P&W, BRSA, ATR/MAS
Sukhoi Pegs Success Over the next 20 years, Sukhoi expects to capture 15 to 17 percent global market share for the 50- to 120-seat aircraft, for which it is offering its Superjet 100. It has upped its sales expectations from 800 aircraft prior to taking on Alenia Aeronautica as a partner to 1040 in the next...