Three Commercial Carriers Eye Local Service
from The Burlington Hawk Eye
Three commercial carriers are vying to provide air service to the Southeast Iowa Regional Airport in Burlington, with one proposing to provide air service to Chicago. Mary Beaird, airport director, said the two-year Essential Air Service contract with Wyoming-based Great Lakes Aviation expires at the end of September. More

In the Air, Wi-Fi Gets a Ho-Hum Reception
from The Wall Street Journal
More than 500 airliners are flying around the U.S. with wireless Internet access up and running, but airlines are finding that the technology that they hope will bring new revenues may be more like in-flight meals: People gobbled up food when it was free, but they find it a lot less appetizing when they have to pay. More

Airline Competition has Become an International Team Game
from The Star-Ledger via NJ.com
Continental Airlines was deep in merger talks with United Airlines in April 2008 as soaring fuel costs seemed to threaten their survival. A linkup of the two carriers would have allowed them to combine networks and consolidate airport operations, trim flights and staff and gain pricing power with suppliers and consumers. It would have put them in better position to compete with the soon-to-be-merged Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines. More

NASA Awards Aircraft Maintenance Contract
from United Press International
NASA says it has awarded a contract to the Computer Sciences Corp. of Fort Worth, Texas, to maintain aircraft used for astronaut training and flight research. The $163 million contract continues services provided by the company under a previous contract that expires soon, the space agency said. The work includes flight line, intermediate and depot level maintenance, repairs, modifications and engineering support. More

ACB Maintainers Keep Apaches in Air
from DVIDS
AH-64D Apache attack helicopter pilots are usually the ones that get all the glory in an attack aviation unit. But, behind the curtains are the maintainers that make flying the aircraft possible. Long hours are spent doing preventive maintenance, finding small problems before they become major issues that could cause harm to the pilot and damage to the airframe. More

Aircraft Maintenance Takes Off at Glamorgan University in England
from Wales Online
An airplane will soon be coming in to land at a Welsh university's new hangar as part of a £1.5m investment. The University of Glamorgan is to get its very own aircraft hangar, along with a full-size plane, under new plans for its Faculty of Advanced Technology to establish an Aircraft Maintenance Training Center. More

NHL Asking Phoenix Coyotes Bankruptcy Judge to Stop Luxury Jets
from The Examiner
The National Hockey League is asking the judge handling the bankruptcy proceedings for the Phoenix Coyotes to stop the financially ailing team from using a luxurious charter service to travel to games and force them to use US Airways flights instead. More

Castor Pushes for Direct Flights from Tampa to Cuba
from Times Latin America via The St. Petersburg Times
A sharp increase in travel to Cuba in recent months is prompting Tampa politicians and airport officials to press the Obama administration to allow direct flights between the communist-ruled island and Tampa. Currently, only Miami, New York and Los Angeles are authorized to handle direct flights. Several cities — including Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston and Key West — have expressed interest lately. More

LAX Freight Reaches 2009 High
from The Journal of Commerce
Los Angeles International Airport saw its strongest sign yet that the decline in trans-Pacific shipping has bottomed out as the airport reported its slimmest drop in air freight tonnage in a year in July. Freight was off 9.9 percent compared to July 2008, which was the last time the key gateway for Asia-Pacific air cargo saw air freight decline at less than a double-digit rate. More