Category: Other

Alaska Airlines’ 900 Airbus and Boeing aircraft technicians, who are represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA), have ratified a Transition Agreement and an Integrated Seniority List.   This ratification vote will combine the Boeing and Airbus technicians into a single group, a crucial step in the Alaska Airlines-Virgin America merger. The agreement includes wage increases, retirement enhancements, and job protections, among other improvements.

Landing gear manufacturer Héroux-Devtek has released that the unionized employees at its Longueuil, Québec, facility have voted in favour of the early renewal of a three-year collective agreement, which now extends through April 30, 2023. The renewal concerns approximately 210 employees who are members of Unifor, Local Section 1956. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with our employees that will allow our teams to fully dedicate time and resources to delivering the record backlog of our Longueuil facility. This also demonstrates the dedication of our personnel to meeting customers’ expectations.  Our employees are the main force of our Read more

Domestic travelers are feeling the pinch in Indonesia, the world’s fifth-largest domestic aviation market. Over the last year, despite government intervention to cap prices, the cost of airfares has virtually doubled on many domestic routes. The situation has been exacerbated by the fact that the country’s two principal airlines, Lion Air and Garuda, hold a 47% and 48% share of the Indonesian market, respectively, operating a virtual duopoly, with Air Indonesia only holding a 2.4% share of the market. Garuda also took over operational control of Sriwijaya Air last November. According to Reuters news agency, since the cap on pricing, Read more

CAE is expanding its training capability in Europe with a new flight training location based in Oslo, Norway. “This expansion of our global training network will support the impressive pilot demand of airlines and operators based in the region – we estimate that there will be a need for more than 90,000 new professional pilots in Europe, Middle East, and Africa over the next decade,’’ said Nick Leontidis, CAE’s Group President, Civil Aviation Training Solutions. With this expansion, CAE will now be delivering pilot creation programs at CAE Oslo, adding to its existing cadet training capability in Brussels, Belgium; Madrid, Read more

With the first Qantas Group Pilot Academy due to become operational this September at Toowoomba, Southern Queensland, Australia, Qantas Group has announced that a second pilot training academy is to be built at Mackay, Queensland. The location was chosen primarily for its high proportion of clear-weather days, access to uncongested airspace, good support infrastructure and its appealing location to attract both students and training staff. This now draws to a conclusion the choice for the two pilot academies from an initial list of 60 potential sites. The creation of the two academies is part of Qantas Group’s strategy to create Read more

Mitsubishi Corporation (MC), Narita International Airport Corporation (NAA), Japan Airport Terminal Co., (JATCO), and JALUX Inc. (JALUX) have established a joint venture with the Government of Mongolia: New Ulaanbaatar International Airport (NUBIA). NUBIA has entered into a 15-year concession agreement with the National Development Agency of Mongolia concerning the operation of the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport, which is expected to open in the first half of 2020 upon completion of pre-operation work and relocation from the existing airport. Demand for air transport in Mongolia is rising, with Ulaanbaatar, its capital and thus most important political, economic and commercial hub, at Read more

From airport checkpoints to counter terrorism to future medical imaging devices, the use of x-ray 3D imaging is the cornerstone of many of the applications that are critical to security and medical markets.  Notably, airport checkpoint technology is facing an immediate challenge, with global passenger numbers on track to double by 2030 (source: IATA). The evolving technology requirement for checkpoints is to process far more passengers per hour than the current industry average of 200. Faster screening with improved threat detection are the holy grail. Similarly, compact and agile systems with 3D imaging are major technology advancements the medical market can Read more

With the World Trade Organization (WTU) finding that both Boeing and Airbus received billions in subsidies, it will now be ruling on the latest sanction requests from the U.S., either over the summer or into September. In April, President Trump proposed a list of tariffs on European products totaling US$21 billion and which included Roquefort cheese, wine, champagne, olive oil and seafood such as oysters. Now, an additional 89 items worth US$4bn have been added to the list including olives, Italian and Dutch cheese, Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey, pasta, coffee and ham, as well as certain copper products and Read more