Airlines Racing to Connect with In-flight Wi-Fi Service
from the Chicago Tribune
Seven dollars for a pillow and blanket on JetBlue Airways; 25 dollars to book a flight by phone or in person with Delta Air Lines; 25 dollars to send an unaccompanied minor on Southwest Airlines; airlines are requiring fees of all kinds, and now comes a charge that the airlines hope won't make you cringe: an in-flight wireless Internet connection fee. More

Air Brawl Grounds Hockey Teams
from The Wall Street Journal
The National Hockey League regular season has yet to begin, but elbows are flying in an aviation scrap between the U.S. and Canada that threatens to disrupt air-charter arrangements made by many NHL teams. Air Canada sued U.S. Transportation Sec. Ray LaHood, seeking to block his enforcement of an Aug. 11 Transportation Department order that Air Canada to cancel its season-long sports charter contracts. More

TSA Issues Rule to Achieve 9/11 Act Air Cargo Screening Mandate
from Reuters
The Transportation Security Administration announced an Interim Final Rule implementing the Certified Cargo Screening Program - a system TSA will use to fulfill the air cargo security requirements of the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 that mandates screening of 50 percent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft by February 2009 and 100 percent by August 2010. More

USAF Worries About Refueler Repair Costs
from Aviation Week
The mother of the last KC-135 pilot has probably not yet been born. So says former Air Mobility Command Chief Gen. Duncan McNabb, who led the U.S. command that oversees the airlift, refueling tanker and aeromedical evacuation aircraft from 2005-07. He now heads the Transportation Command, which includes ground cargo and sealift. More

Korte Wins $51.3Million in Army Contracts
from St. Louis Business Journal
The Korte Co. recently won two Army contracts worth a total of $51.3 million, the Pentagon said. The first contract, worth $40.1 million, is to build a 164,704-square-foot aircraft hangar at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., by 2011. More

UPS Embroiled in Contract Talks with 1,200 Air Maintenance Workers
from Logistics Management
UPS, the world's largest transportation company and operator of the world’s 12th-largest fleet of aircraft, is negotiating a new labor contract with its 1,200 aircraft mechanics who maintain UPS’s fleet of 262 planes. Recently those workers represented by Teamsters Local 2727 in Louisville voted overwhelmingly approved a strike authorization vote by a 90 percent margin to help jump-start those negotiations that began three years ago. More

Lean Event Speeds Mechanics’ Logon
from Tinker Take Off
A team from the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group recently used Lean principles to streamline what was becoming a cumbersome task for Tinker maintenance workers, and they ended up increasing worker satisfaction and possibly saving the Air Force significant amounts of money. More

Charter Crashes Expose Oversight Failures
from USA Today
At least six recent fatal crashes of charter jets and small airliners have exposed failures in the Federal Aviation Administration's oversight of for-hire air carriers, according to accident files and investigators. In nearly every case, the failures were discovered by the National Transportation Safety Board and not the FAA. More

Airport Gets $4 Million Grant for Security
from Panama City News Herald
Passengers will see a smoother baggage process at the new Panama City-Bay County International Airport thanks to a $4,054,600 grant, airport officials said. "This will allow us to have the latest, state-of-the-art equipment," said airport executive director Randy Curtis. More

Upcoming Meetings

September 23, 2009 – Board of Directors
October 7 & 8, 2009 - Safety/Security Councils
October 23, 2009 - Maintenance Council (Las Vegas, Nevada)
November 18, 2009 - Board of Directors
December 23, 2009 - Operations Council
December 9 & 10, 2009 - Safety/Security Council