Fast-lane Airport Security Program Shuts Down
from The Boston Globe
The Clear Registered Traveler Program, which promised to speed fliers through airport security lines, has been shuttered. Users of the Clear system got high-tech ID cards to verify their fingerprints or iris patterns at designated security kiosks. Clear faced criticism because the Transportation Security Administration decided registered travelers had to go through the same security screening as everyone else, though their lines were shorter. More

India Asks Struggling National Carrier to Cut Costs
from AFP
India recently asked its loss-making national carrier to cut costs and warned that the government would recruit new directors for the board of Air India to help its revival. The comments came after a newspaper reported that the state-run airline was planning to seek a 150-billion-rupee ($3 billion) bailout package to cope with its cash crunch. More

What Captain Sullenberger Meant to Say (But Was Too Polite to Do So): A Guest Post
from The New York Times
Captain Sullenberger has been a class act all the way. He's not been petty, pious, or egotistical. He is, however, much like most of the captains the author knows and, more broadly, most of the pilots he knows. Why? He doesn't need to be otherwise. When someone has accomplished what he and the scores of men and women like him have accomplished, why do they need to boast? More

Republic Air Holdings Swallows Frontier, Midwest in Frank Lorenzo-style Buying Spree
from Examiner
It seems Republic Air Holdings has been spending much of this week shelling out cash for airlines devastated by the economy and Southwest Airlines. Earlier this week, the parent company of three airlines that provide regional feed for the nation's larger airlines announced it was taking a majority equity role in the restructuring of Denver-based Frontier Airlines. Following the next day, it announced it was making an outright purchase of beleaguered Milwaukee-based Midwest Airlines. More

U.S.-Kyrgyz Deal Allows Shipment of Military Cargo: U.S. Official
from AFP
A new agreement that allows the United States to retain a key airbase in Kyrgyzstan will still let it ship military cargo as it did before, a senior U.S. official told AFP. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, said that despite reports to the contrary, the U.S. airbase at Manas would continue to be used to send military cargo to Afghanistan. More

International Air Freight Dives 17.4 Percent
from The Journal of Commerce
International air freight traffic declined 17.4 percent in May, compared with a year ago, after a 21.7 percent year-on-year decline in April, the International Air Transport Association said. The increase in May shipments still left the market "far from full health," IATA cautioned. More

Air Freight Profits Still Being Hit as Volumes Stabilize
from The Wall Street Journal
The International Air Transport Association IATA said that air freight has stabilized after hitting a low point in December, but profitability may deteriorate further as revenues continue to fall. The association, which counts most of the world's major airlines as members, said it was concerned about the recent rise in the oil price and yields are still falling because airlines haven't cut enough capacity. More

China, Taiwan Working on Regular Flights
from The China Post
Mainland Chinese authorities are liaising with the Taiwanese government and airlines to work out the implementation of planned cross-strait regular commercial flights, scheduled to commence later this summer. More

Boeing Pitches Tankers Based on 777 Airframes
from Aero News Network
After successfully protesting the award of a contract for aerial refueling tankers based on an Airbus platform to Northrop Grumman, Boeing is proposing a tanker design using either its 767 or 777 airframes when bids are re-opened next week. More