Regularly scheduled cross-Taiwan Strait flights are slated to be launched the first week in September, but Taiwan is keeping it a low-key affair amid the somber mood that has prevailed islandwide in the wake of the Typhoon Morakot disaster.
"There will be no celebrations to mark the launch of the service, which will increase the number of direct cross-strait flights from 108 to 270 per week, " the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.
CAA officials noted that the government and Taiwanese air carriers had already celebrated a few months ago the expansion of a special direct charter flight service that was launched to accommodate cross-strait travel during three major national festivals.
In early September, a total of 44 round-trip direct flights across the strait will be available, the CAA said, adding that nine of them will be between Taiwan and Shanghai.
The first China-bound regular flight from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will be a Uni Airways flight, departing at 7:30 a.m. and arriving in Qingdao around 10 a.m.
The first China-bound regular flight from Taipei's Songshan Airport will be a Trans Asia Airways flight, also departing at 7:30 a.m., but arriving in Shanghai around 8:55 a.m., according to the CAA.
The first regular flight from China to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport will be a China Eastern flight, departing from Ningbo at 9 a.m. and arriving at 10:25 a.m.
The first regular flight from China to Songshan Airport will be a Shanghai Airlines flight, departing from Shanghai's Hongqiao International Airport at 9: 20 a.m. and arriving at 11 a.m., according to the CAA.
With the launch of the regularly scheduled cross-strait flights, the number of mainland China destinations has also been increased from 21 to 27.
Addressing widespread public complaints about high ticket prices, CAA officials said they had urged the air carriers to make some price adjustments. Unconfirmed reports stated that the CAA and the Taiwanese carriers have reached a decision that ticket prices for regular cross-strait flights will be cut by about 15 percent.
Taiwan and China reached an agreement in April, in their third round of negotiations, to increase the number of cross-strait flights from 108 to 270 per week.
Direct air links between Taiwan and China were opened in July last year.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Monthly Archive for August, 2009
Though he has climbed aboard small planes thousands of times, forestry worker Bob Pomponio always feared he was sitting on a flying gas tank that might one day cause trouble.
"Fire is the nature of the beast," Pomponio sighed matter-of-factly as he recalled the worst-case scenario that erupted around him last summer. "It's not a happy thought."
Last August, the Pacific Coastal Grumman Goose carrying Pomponio, 55, colleague Lorne Clowers and five others crashed and burst into flames about 10 minutes after takeoff from Port Hardy, B.C., a tiny community near the northern tip of Vancouver Island.
With his bare hands, Pomponio beat out the fire that threatened to consume Clowers before dragging his fellow traveller to safety. All five others aboard the plane died in the inferno.
"Adrenalin is an amazing body function," he said, thinking back. "I wouldn't be here without it."
What Pomponio didn't know at the time was that three years earlier, the Transportation Safety Board had released a study into the fires that follow plane crashes and made recommendations that could have prevented the one that nearly killed him.
The board, which investigates air, marine and rail accidents and makes recommendations for improved safety, does its job well, say survivors, the families of victims and a former judge who presided over the inquiry into one of Canada's worst-ever domestic plane crashes.
But the TSB's reports are too often ignored by Transport Canada, the federal department in charge of regulating those industries, those same people have told The Canadian Press.
They say they fear the department is too easily swayed by transportation companies reluctant to spend money to upgrade safety.
Instead, some recommendations sit gathering dust, and critics say lives are needlessly lost in the meantime.
Former Alberta judge Virgil Moshansky, who conducted an inquiry into an 1989 Air Ontario crash that killed 24 people in Dryden, Ont., agreed the aviation industry is a powerful lobby group.
"They exert extreme pressure on the government not to do anything to allow Transport (Canada) to regulate certain areas which would cost them money," Moshansky said. "It's always the bottom line."
The board's report on the cause of the fire on Pomponio's plane hasn't been released yet. But earlier investigations suggest lives could have been saved had the federal transportation department implemented fire safety rules governing planes the same way it has for automobiles and helicopters.
Fiery small-plane crashes have taken the lives of at least two dozen people in Canada since the safety board concluded four years ago that design improvements in new aircraft and retrofits in old aircraft could significantly increase the chance of surviving any fire that broke out after a crash.
It's not the first time Transport Canada has opted not to follow the safety board's advice.
In 1994, the board urged that float plane passengers be required to wear flotation devices on takeoff and landing. Since then, at least 45 people have died after their float planes crashed into the water.
It's impossible to say if some of them might have survived had they been wearing life jackets, but those left behind say they might at least have been given a better chance.
Brad McNulty, a spokesman for Transport Canada, acknowledged that recommendations to avoid post-crash fires have not been implemented. That's because "the issue does not pose an immediate threat to safety," he said.
Safety board data spanning a 25-year period shows that fires occur in about four per cent of crashes involving small aircraft, but account for 22 per cent of the deaths and 11 per cent of serious injuries.
"A fire resulting from otherwise survivable accidents puts the small-aircraft occupants at unnecessarily high risk of fire-related injury and fatality," the report said.
Kirsten Stevens said she's convinced that her husband Dave would be alive had Transport Canada acted on two major safety reviews and numerous TSB investigations into float plane crashes.
After her husband's death in a float plane crash in 2005, Stevens started reading the numerous reports recommending passengers wear life-jackets during takeoff and landing.
Dave Stevens was wearing the float jacket that his wife bought him when he managed to get out of the wreck. A coroner's report says he had a head injury and hypothermia, but concluded he died by drowning.
Five months after the accident, when the plane was pulled from the water near Quadra Island, between central Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland, Kirsten realized the other four people on board also managed to get out of the plane, but weren't wearing float jackets.
"That was when I really came out of shock, because I suddenly realized that he hadn't been out there by himself."
Kirsten, whose children were aged 11, four and two months when their father died, said she believes if everyone on board had been wearing life-jackets, they might have been able to band together, call for help and keep each other alive.
"But with only one little red guy floating in the middle of the water, instead of a big plane of five people yelling all together," she said, "he just didn't get found."
"He was out there with his friends and must have watched them go down one by one and sink in the water," she continued, her voice cracking. "They must have been hanging on to him."
That crash, along with several other similar incidents involving float planes across Canada, has set off yet another review.
Like previous safety board reports, the latest review recommended life vests be worn during takeoff and landing, enhanced flight crew training on getting out of submerged planes, and guidance about the accessibility of exits and how to unlock doors.
Transport Canada has consistently rejected the recommendation that life vests be required.
Mark Clitsom, director of the TSB air investigation branch, said the board often does reports when there's a common theme, such as float plane crashes and post-crash fires.
The safety board is assessing the response from Transport Canada and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to the report about post-crash fires, he said. "Basically their response was, they don't think the problem is as big as we think it is."
Clitsom acknowledged the department has a larger mandate than the safety board. The TSB only has to think about safety, while Transport Canada must consider the practicality of enacting new rules industry-wide.
"Our job is a watchdog, to identify safety deficiencies and to make recommendations," he said. "That's what we do. We keep telling them and telling them and telling them." Change often takes time, he added.
Transport Canada, meanwhile, reviews and takes seriously every recommendation made by the board, said McNulty. "Some of the board's recommendations are not exclusive to Transport Canada's jurisdiction and require co-operative harmonization efforts with aviation authorities around the world."
That's part of the reason why the response to the safety board's report on the 1998 Swissair crash near Peggy's Cove, N.S., remained in the board's "unsatisfactory" file for years.
While the insulation that caused the in-flight fire on the plane was ordered removed from aircraft, the board felt there might be other, equally flammable insulation materials in play and wanted those removed too.
It took nearly a decade for the TSB to be satisfied.
Kirsten Stevens said she believes some in the air-taxi industry are resisting the need for changes, protesting the expense and arguing that forcing passengers to wear life-jackets could be unduly alarmist. The life-jacket recommendation would be "such a simple solution," she added.
Chris Day, a spokesman for Federal Transport Minister John Baird, said there are several reasons why the recommendations on life-jackets haven't been implemented.
"The use of a life-preserver on each flight could result in the occasional inadvertent inflation of a life-preserver within an aircraft, renderering it unserviceable," he said.
"Another reason cited was pilferage, (which) could leave ... the next passenger on the next flight without a life-preserver available."
Pomponio, who is still suffering the psychological and physical effects of the crash, said he wants planes to have better emergency locator transmitters that can survive fire and water.
He said had it not been for his own cellphone, which he used to send text messages to rescuers to guide them to the site of the crash, they might never have been found.
"My battery was dying. That day would have been my last hurrah," Pomponio said. "Things worked out well that day for me. But they didn't work out well for my friends."
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. has increased the prize in the Igor I. Sikorsky Human-Powered Helicopter Competition more than ten-fold. Sikorsky previously had originally pledged $20,000 in prize money for whomever could win the competition by achieving the engineering feat of building the first human-powered helicopter, but has just raised the prize pledge to a quarter-million dollars.
The competition, created by the American Helicopter Society International, challenges engineers to develop a human-powered helicopter that can reach an altitude of at least 10 feet during a hover lasting 60 seconds. No one has accomplished this feat yet. The official world record is held by Professor Akira Naito of Nihon University in Japan, with an altitude of 0.2 meters and flight duration of 19.46 seconds. Sikorsky Aircraft informed AHS International at its annual forum in May that the company would increase its pledged contribution, which AHS would award to the competition winner.
"Igor Sikorsky, founder of Sikorsky Aircraft, believed that individuals provide the spark that moves mankind ahead. This competition continues his legacy by inspiring ingenuity in the next generation of engineers who will design our industry's future," said Mark Miller, Vice President of Research and Engineering at Sikorsky Aircraft. "Our company is built on innovation. We believe strongly in the power of challenge."
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
IS-BAO, the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations, has received been received official recognition as an industry standard for business aircraft operations in Europe. The approval, announced last week, by the European Union's standard body, should facilitate recognition of IS-BAO in the upcoming EASA Implementing Rules.
IS-BAO was developed and is overseen by the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) in Montreal, Canada.
According to IBAC and the European Business Aviation Assn., business aircraft operators should be able to use IS-BAO registration in their declaration to EU civil aviation authorities as the means they use to meet the regulatory requirements. It is also anticipated that national regulatory authorities will take into account IS-BAO registration in their regulatory oversight of business aviation operators engaged in commercial operations.
Brian Humphries, EBAA President and CEO, said, "The ISBAO was developed as a professional safety code of practice for business aviation operators and we encourage those operators to move forward with IS-BAO implementation so that they will be ready for the upcoming EASA Implementing Rules".
Because a Safety Management System (SMS) will be required of all commercial operations and operators of complex motor-powered aircraft engaged in noncommercial operations within the EU, the IS-BAO includes an SMS Toolkit that can be used by operators to develop their own SMS.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
NationAir Aviation Insurance announced last week that it has promoted two employees to newly-created positions within the organization.
Karen Caudle assumes the role of COPA Program Manager, responsible for servicing Cirrus Aircraft business, along with NationAir’s Light Aircraft Branch Manager, Dave McCoy. NationAir is the number one broker for Cirrus aircraft owners and the preferred aviation insurance broker for the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association (COPA).
Caudle brought more than 28 years of aviation insurance experience when she joined the NationAir team in 2000 as an Account Executive. Her background includes roles as an underwriter for National Aviation Underwriters, Eastern Aviation and Marine Underwriters, and U.S. Specialty Insurance Company. She also worked in aviation claims with Universal Loss Management Services.
Caudle is an active member of Women in Aviation International, the St. Louis Chapter of Women with Wings, the Cirrus Owners and Pilots Association, and the Experimental Aircraft Association.
Jenny Estes assumes the role of Van’s Program Manager, responsible for servicing Van’s Aircraft business, together with Dave McCoy. Estes joined NationAir in 2000 as an Account Processor and rapidly worked her way to the role of Account Executive, exclusively handling NationAir’s Van’s clients since late 2005.
Estes has successfully managed a variety of Van’s risks, and she participates on various forums for Van’s Aircraft. Her unique, in-depth knowledge of the insurance markets for Van’s make her a one-of-a-kind in the insurance marketplace.
“We’re delighted to further enhance our service to COPA members and Van’s enthusiasts with the creation of these new positions,” said Jeffrey Bauer, NationAir president. “Karen and Jenny bring in-depth knowledge and passion to their roles that makes them uniquely qualified to meet the needs of NationAir’s clients.”
“Once again, NationAir has leveraged the best talent and invested in the necessary resources to provide leadership in a key sector of the aviation insurance business,” said McCoy. “Jenny and Karen are professionals who personify our customer service commitment to the light aircraft market.”
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Four hundred and nine days ago, Sally's health insurance company told her they would not cover her air ambulance flight to be evaluated for a liver transplant. Last week, after four appeals and countless hours of work by Angel MedFlight's patient advocates, that decision was reversed. The insurance company will now pay the full amount of the services provided by Angel MedFlight.
In December, 2008, Sally, was suffering from end stage liver failure. Her doctors told her she needed to receive a liver transplant evaluation in order to get on the transplant list. Travel by ground ambulance or a commercial flight were not an option for Sally due to her condition. Nevertheless, her health insurer refused to approve the flight on the grounds that it was "not medically necessary."
At that point, she was faced with two options: (1) giving up the chance of a transplant, or (2) taking the time to try and raise thousands of dollars for the flight. Sally may have had options but, sadly, Sally did not have extra time. That is when Angel MedFlight stepped in, reviewed her insurance policy, and conducted the flight.
"When health insurance companies deny authorization every air ambulance company runs for the hills," said Jeremy Freer, Angel MedFlight CEO. "If they cannot get paid in advance, either from insurance or from the patient's family, they will not conduct the flight. That's one of the big differences that sets apart Angel MedFlight. We will provide the care needed by the patient, when no one else will."
After conducting the flight, Angel MedFlight's legal team, led by attorney Kelly LoCascio, Esq., went to bat for Sally. The claim was governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 or ERISA, a federal law governing most health insurance policies that even most lawyers do not understand.
"Unfortunately, health insurance companies frequently deny coverage for health benefits when they should be paid," said LoCascio. "They deny claims knowing the patient will not understand the intricacies of ERISA law, are too involved with their health, or just get tired of the fight which forces the patient to miss crucial appeal deadlines, and do not have the resources to hire a lawyer. We take on the battle so our patients don't have to. In Sally's case, the system worked, Angel MedFlight performed the service, the insurer denied benefits, and after much exhaustive efforts Angel MedFlight ensured that BlueCross BlueShield carried out their obligations."
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Embraer has suspended operations at its Executive Jet Services facility at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., a temporary shutdown company officials say is a result of the economic downturn.
"Due to the crisis, we saw that initially we were not going to have as many planes flying in that region as we expected, so there was no sense to keep that center open," says Edson Carlos Mallaco, Embraer VP customer support and services-Executive Jets. "Our plan is to reopen that center as soon as we start delivering planes to the northeast region of the United States," he adds. "We don't have a date for that yet, but probably by sometime next year we should reopen it."
The center was closed in late spring.
The 47,700-sq.-ft. center opened in October 2008, one of three new Embraer-owned executive jet centers in the U.S. dedicated to full-service support of the company's growing number of executive jet customers. U.S. operators already fly the Legacy 600, and Embraer has begun delivering its new entry-level Phenom 100 to customers, to be followed by the Phenom 300 and the Legacy 450 and 500.
The facilities at Bradley, costing an estimated $10 million, consist of a hangar, workshops and office space. The center is part of a $100-million-plus investment in infrastructure and organization by Embraer to support its executive jet customers, including a network of 45 owned and authorized centers around the world.
Besides Bradley, Embraer has company owned executive jet centers at Ft. Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida, and Phoenix Gateway Airport, in Mesa, Ariz.
Until it reopens Bradley, Mallaco notes there are several Legacy authorized service centers in the northeast and Phenom authorized centers so far in Montreal, Canada; Greenville, S.C.; and the midwest.
The Windsor Locks center was set to employ about 60 mechanics and administrative personnel over the next five years, and some initial employees already were hired. Mallaco says a few employees were moved to other facilities, but some were laid off; they will get preference for rehiring when the facility is reopened.
"It was an unfortunate situation, but for us, the facility was not really needed due to the reduction of deliveries there," Mallaco says. "And, of course, on the other side is a cost savings benefit to us."
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
www.azureair.net We worked with the team at Azure Air on this piece which focuses on the Lear 31 that's available for Jet Charter. We liked it ...
Jet Aviation is planning in the second quarter of 2010 to open a line maintenance operation at its facility in Sorocaba, Brazil to serve Gulfstream operators.
The General Dynamics-owned company says it hopes to expand the offering at later date to include other aircraft models and capabilities including heavy maintenance and inspection. Jet Aviation a already provides aircraft charter and management service from this facility, 130km (70nm) east of São Paulo.
Meanwhile, the Zurich, Switzerland-headquartered company has expanded its line maintenance offering at its Dubai base to include the Gulfstream G350/G450, Embraer 135/145, Hawker 750, 800 series and 900XP business jets.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
The FAA is seeking industry comment by September 4 on draft AC 150/5220-xx, which addresses automatic foreign object debris (FOD) detection and alerting systems evaluated by the FAA Technical Center and the University of Illinois Center of Excellence in Airport Technology. FOD systems use radar, cameras, lasers and other techniques to spot small but hazardous objects often missed by traditional runway patrol vehicles.
Three of the systems tested scan the runway continuously from fixed, unmanned locations, while a fourth is vehicle mounted. Boeing estimates that FOD damage costs operators billions annually worldwide, and therefore the systems will qualify for Airport Improvement Program funding covering purchase, installation and integration into airport safety management programs.
Airports are now awaiting FAA guidance on incorporating FOD management procedures into those programs, to update information last published in 1996.
“These new automatic detection systems show how technology has advanced,” one operator told AIN. “Now, we urgently need updated guidance to maximize their benefits within our individual safety programs.”
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.