Sky Talk

Bomber of the future

In an earlier post we linked to Aviation Week writer Bill Sweetman's discussions of the Air Force's manned bomber plans. The magazine had earlier written about the Boeing-Lockheed Martin teaming arrangement, which the Star-Telegram reported.

Here's a concept drawing of what a Boeing-Lockheed Martin next generation bomber might look like. Not your father's B-52, or even the much ballyhooed FB-22. Anybody else notice the resemblance to the B-2, or the Boeing and Northrop Grumman UCAS (unmanned combat aerial system) demonstrator aircraft?

Somewhere in the great beyond Jack Northrop, father of the flying wing concept, must be smiling as his concepts gain ground. Here is an excellent report on Northrop's XB-35 and XB-49 flying wing development efforts.

In an earlier post on Aviation Week's Ares blog, Sweetman suggested that someone - apparently Northrop Grumman - may already be working on a black, or heavily classified next generation bomber prototype.

- Bob Cox

AA proposes change in pilot retirement plan

American Airlines has proposed a change in a part of its pension plan for pilots - the so-called "B Plan," which is a defined-contribution benefit that pays out upon retirement. That means that the airline puts money into the plan (annual contributions of 11 percent of eligible compensation) and pilots get paid depending on how the plan performs. It's currently managed by American Beacon, the airline's investment subsidiary.

According to the pilots' union, American has offered to replace the B Plan with a 401(k). The airline would continue to fund it at the same level as the pension benefit.

It's important to note that the B Plan is seperate from the A Plan, which is the traditional defined-benfit pilot pension. To our knowledge, American hasn't proposed any changes to the A Plan.

The union says that they're studying the proposal, and aren't comment at the moment.

- Trebor

Help wanted: More low-cost flights to Monterrey

Fresh from a big marketing blitz in Mexico, Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert told a group of reporters at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport this afternoon that Mexican officials would like to see more flights between North Texas and Monterrey, Mexico.

Mexican officials asked D/FW Airport executives to "put a full court press on additional service," Leppert said.

Mexico is D/FW's largest international destination, with 16 cities in Mexico that are tied to North Texas through nonstop service.

But it's not the quantity of flights to Mexico, it's the availability of low fares to Monterrey, a city in northeast Mexico not far from the Texas border.

American Airlines and its regional affiliate American Eagle operate a total of five daily flights to Monterrey.

Mexican citizens "like to come here, but they consider it too expensive," said Enrique Hubbard Urrea, the consul general to Mexico in Dallas. "And they are going to other cities in Texas because they find the flights that are cheaper. This is the message that the authorities of the airport got, and this is what they will have to work very hard at. It’s not easy, but it’s someting that has to be addressed."

Urrea added that there are a number of low-fare airlines in Mexico that could do the job as well as the regional affiliates for larger airlines Mexicana or AeroMexico.

Both airlines pulled out of D/FW completely in early 2006, before Mexicana returned half a year later.

-David

CEO: Southwest ready for merger mania

Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly told Wall Street today that his carrier is ready for the much-anticipated consolidation of the airline industry. Southwest will benefit, he said, whether it simply sits on the sidelines and lets competitors shrink through mergers, or jumps into the fray with its own acquisitions.

"Consolidation provides an opportunity regardless of what we do," he said. That could include buying another airline, even if it has airplanes other than the Boeing 737s that Southwest exclusively flies.

"If there's an opportunity to acquire another carrier that doesn't have 737s, we have plans in mind how we can deal with that," he said. He'd prefer to stick with the 737, he added, but "it wouldn't be a deal-killer."

- Trebor

Big AA pilot meeting tomorrow, beer served

The Allied Pilots Association has scheduled meetings Friday for all of its chapters nationwide. The meetings "will feature a special national leadership presentation detailing where we are and the path ahead," according to the union's latest hotline.

Union spokesman Karl Schricker told me the meetings will be a cross between a state of the union-type presentation and a rally to get pilots energized about the campaign to win a new contract with American Airlines. There will also be Q&A opportunities with union leaders.

The D/FW meeting will begin at 10 a.m. at the Big Buck Brewery in Grapevine, and is expected to run until about 3 p.m. "Lunch and beer will be served," according to the union. The press, unfortunately, won't be allowed in. (They probably realize we'd drink all the beer.) But we'll talk to officials afterwards about what happened, and update the site with any news.

- Trebor

Go ahead, vent, and see if you're heard

Well, maybe complaining about airport security on a blog will make a difference.

The Transportation Security Administration has recently launched its "Evolution of Security" blog. Click on it here.

-David

AA flight makes emergency landing in Palm Beach

The Associated Press is reporting the emergency landing of an American Airlines flight at Palm Beach International Airport. The plane was enroute from San Juan, Puerto Rico to Philadelphia:

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Smoke filled the cockpit of an American Airlines flight from Puerto Rico on Wednesday, forcing an emergency landing, an airport official said.

Seven people — the pilot, co-pilot, three flight attendants and two passengers — were taken to a hospital, but none of the injuries was life-threatening, The Palm Beach Post reported.

A windshield was also broken, but the reason was unclear.

The plane had left San Juan for Philadelphia and landed safely at Palm Beach International Airport, said Casandra Davis, an airport spokeswoman.

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating.

- Trebor

"No encore" of strong 2007 airline growth

The International Air Transport Association reported that global airline traffic grew 7.4 percent last year, which was a key component of the industry's $5.6 billion annual profit.

But Giovanni Bisignani, the group's CEO, warned that the good times have likely come to an end:

"We can say clearly that 2007 was the best in recent memory. We can state equally clearly that there will be no encore performance in 2008. Oil prices are higher than ever. Economic uncertainty accompanying the US credit crunch is broadening. And the slower growth for passenger demand in December sets the trend for the coming months. In a tough business environment the mantra remains the same: efficiency everywhere is everything."

- Trebor

NMB rejects AA pilots request for mediation

The National Mediation Board has rejected the Allied Pilots Association's request for mediation in the union's labor talks with American Airlines management.

Here's a press release the union just released:

Fort Worth, Texas (January 30, 2008)—The Allied Pilots Association (APA), collective bargaining agent for the 12,000 pilots of American Airlines (NYSE: AMR), received written notice from the National Mediation Board (NMB) today that it had received the union’s request for federal mediation services.

The NMB informed APA that it has not yet docketed the case or assigned a mediator.

American Airlines management initiated negotiations with APA more than 18 months ago by triggering the “early-opener” provision in the pilots’ contract, but has not provided any comprehensive proposals to the union throughout the talks.

“We are disappointed that the NMB has not assigned a federal mediator to our negotiations,” said APA President Captain Lloyd Hill. “We have spent the past year and a half in negotiations and have been unable to resolve any contractual issues with management, despite APA’s best efforts to do so.”

Hill noted that APA presented management with a comprehensive set of contractual proposals late last year. Management then requested a recess in the negotiations of several weeks to study APA’s proposals. Since the parties’ return to the bargaining table weeks ago, Hill described management as being more interested in delaying the bargaining process than in moving forward.

“APA plans to continue negotiating with management in an effort to move beyond the current stalemate,” Hill said. “If that proves unsuccessful during the next few bargaining sessions, we hope that the NMB will immediately docket our case and proffer mediation services.

“We respect the NMB’s view, as stated in its response to APA, that ‘mediation is most productive when the parties have narrowed the issues in direct negotiations.’ However, it appears our negotiations are not following a typical pattern, considering the fact that management has been unresponsive throughout 18 months of bargaining—a process that they chose to initiate,” he said.

- Trebor

"Risqué" airline ad criticized

European budget carrier Ryanair has been told to stop running an ad in the United Kingdom that British authorities said was irresponsible and links teenage girls with promiscious behavior.

Judge for yourself, but frankly to us the model doesn't look that different from a 1970s-era Southwest Airlines flight attendant.

- Trebor