Regional Airlines: Safety a Matter for All of Us
from The Salt Lake Tribune
Besieged by safety questions after a recent fatal crash in New York, regional airlines meeting in Salt Lake City this week emerged Wednesday with talking points that emphasized any problems they might have are industry wide and not exclusive to smaller carriers. The mantra that airlines of all sizes have the same safety standards and face the same issues was repeated in speeches, at a panel discussion and to the news media at the annual meeting of the Regional Airline Association, which is gathering at the Salt Palace Convention Center. More

Airlines Are Hiring Mechanics Who Can't Speak English, Read Manuals
from Fox News
Aircraft repair requires even experienced mechanics to frequently consult manuals that are written in English and leave a detailed record of what repairs they have made, according to WFAA-TV. Still, hundreds of mechanics working in the more than 236 FAA-certified aircraft repair stations in Texas were not familiar enough with the English language to even read the manuals that coincide with the kinds of planes they were expected to fix, WFAA reported. More

Taiwan CAA Asks Airlines to Follow Standard Procedures Against H1N1 Flu
from Taiwan News
The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) has notified all air carriers to follow standard preventive procedures at local airports in light of the country's first confirmed case of influenza A (H1N1), an official said Wednesday. According to the standard operation procedure, airlines are responsible for checking passengers before boarding to make sure that they do not have fevers, CAA Director-General Lee Long-wen said. More

AirTran Says all Planes Will Have Wi-Fi by Mid-summer
from The Dallas Morning News
Now that airlines are getting serious about providing Internet access via Wi-Fi aboard airplanes, they're also in a race to get it first. AirTran announced it will have Wi-Fi broadband access on its entire fleet of 136 airplanes by mid-summer, using the Gogo system offered by Aircell. More

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Sets Sights on Cuba
from Las Vegas Sun
People who know anything about Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air know it is an airline that marches to a different beat. So why should anybody be surprised that Allegiant’s newest destinations will be places where few Americans have ever been? More

China Raises Jet Fuel Prices by 11 Percent
from China Knowledge
The Chinese government on Wednesday raised domestic jet fuel prices by about 11 percent, tracking the rising trend on the global market, the Shanghai Securities News reported. The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) raised fuel prices to RMB 4,450 a ton from the previous RMB 3,990 a ton, which is likely to cause the three major domestic airlines to have to spend an additional RMB 2 billion on fuel in 2009. More

Airline Industry Changes Raise Safety Issues
from The Associated Press
Revelations last week about pilot pay and working conditions at the regional airline involved in an air crash that killed 50 in upstate New York have raised broader concerns that long-term structural changes in the aviation industry may be undermining safety. Members of Congress said they were stunned to learn how little the pilots of Continental Connection Flight 3407 were paid, that they may have tried to snatch sleep in an airport crew lounge against company policy, and that the first officer was living with her parents near Seattle and commuting cross country to work in New Jersey. More

TIMELINE: Indonesian Air Disasters
from Reuters
An Indonesian military transport plane carrying more than 100 people crashed and burst into flames in East Java this week, killing at least 97 people, a disaster official said. Indonesia has a poor record of air safety and maintenance and has suffered a string of accidents in recent years affecting both commercial and military aircraft. More