Thursday, July 14, 2016

Air Museum brings home last surviving Cabinaire plane built in Saginaw, Michigan -Kathryn's Report



SAGINAW TWP, MI — The Saginaw Valley Air Museum (SVAM) is bringing back the last surviving Cabinaire, N17W, back to its Saginaw birthplace Thursday, July 14, for a month-long display.

The Cabinaire will be the centerpiece for the museum's annual Antique Aircraft Fly-In Saturday, Aug. 13. The event will include other antique and classic aircraft on display as well as exhibits from the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center, antique autos, radio control aircraft displays. Military equipment and vehicles will also be included.

The Cabinaire was originally scheduled for just a two-week display, but the stay was extended earlier this week.

"We're happy to get it extra early to just get it here in case there's a mechanical problem or they have a breakdown on the way," said Dan Kenny, former museum president. "Not everyone can make it that particular weekend and they might want to see it, so we're gonna try to work it out that way."

The museum will host an open house to view the plane on Sunday, Aug. 14.

According to a press release, Paramount Aircraft Corp. was formed in 1928 in Saginaw. A small, cabin biplane called the Cabinaire was designed by aviator Walter Carr. Eight of the aircraft were built at the old Saginaw Municipal Airport hangar, now known as Harry Browne Airport. The Cabinaire is usually displayed at the Golden Wings Museum in Minnesota.

All funds collected during this event will be used to support the Saginaw Valley Air Museum.

The fly-in starts at 7 a.m. with a pancake breakfast that costs $8 for adults; children seven and under are free. Slo' Bones BBQ Smokehaus will be available from 11:30 am until the event closes at 4 p.m. Admission for the Fly-In is free.

In addition to the exhibits and displays, there will be children's activities and a custom military dog tag machine. The "I Support the 1% Food Pantry" for veterans will also be present to accept donations.

Source:  http://www.mlive.com

Federal Aviation Administration's Newark, New Jersey, action to cost United Airlines $412M -Kathryn's Report



United Airlines has calculated the cost of losing its iron grip on valuable takeoff and landing time slots at Newark Liberty International Airport at $412 million, or $278 million after taxes, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The airline warned investors late Tuesday that it expects to record the special charge in the second quarter. The write-down is attributed to the Federal Aviation Administration's decision earlier this year to lift slot restrictions and invite new competition at Newark, where fares are among the nation's highest. United controls 902 slots at Newark, or 73 percent of the total.

Shares of Chicago-based United declined 30 cents Wednesday to $45.86. The stock is down 20 percent year to date.

The FAA's action "impaired the entire value of its Newark slots because the slots will no longer be the mechanism that governs takeoff and landing rights," United said in the filing, which also said the company would report its fiscal first-quarter earnings next Wednesday.

"What they are saying is Newark is not quite the fortress hub it once was, in terms of profitability," said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at Airline Weekly, an online trade publication. When the slot restrictions imposed eight years ago to ease airspace congestion are lifted on Oct. 30, United will still be, by far, the airport's dominant carrier, but it will have less ability to "hoard" or "squat on" unused slots and prevent competitors from using them, Kaplan said.

Slot restrictions, a rarity among U.S. airports, tend to be exploited by airlines that dominate those airports where they apply, because it's hard, if not impossible, for competitors to gain access to those airports.

"It will still be a successful hub [for United]," Kaplan said of Newark. But to keep up with its main rivals Delta and American, "they really need to run up the score there," he said. The oil industry slump has taken a toll on demand for business travel at United's Houston hub, which, like the one in Newark, was acquired with the 2010 Continental Airlines merger.

The FAA, which has been reviewing airlines' fall scheduling plans at Newark, has said it generally approves flights that were operated by a particular carrier in the previous year. Otherwise, airlines, including new entrants, have more freedom this year to grab runway access at Newark, if they can arrange to acquire arrival and departure gates. "It's more of a voluntary process," said United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy.

The FAA announced April 1 that it would open Newark up this fall to more flights and more competition because the airport's flight delays had declined. Around the same time, United dropped a plan to acquire 24 more slots at Newark from Delta, and the U.S. Department of Justice ended its related antitrust lawsuit against United and Delta, which sought to block the deal. The lawsuit said the company didn't use as many as 82 of its slots in the course of a day. In a court document, United's lawyers had strongly denied DOJ's accusations that the airline "exercised monopoly control" to "extract a Newark premium" from travelers.

JetBlue Airways Corp. said in April it would take advantage of the upcoming relaxation of flight restrictions and would shift six year-around Florida flights to Newark from La Guardia this fall.

Las Vegas-based discount carrier Allegiant Air said last month that it will start flying a total of two flights a day in mid-November from Newark with non-daily, non-stop service to Savannah, Ga.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Asheville, N.C., and Cincinnati. Allegiant will be competing with United flights on each of those routes.

An April analysis by The Record of average ticket prices on 30 popular domestic destinations found that the fares charged by United on flights out of Newark were about 15 percent higher than those charged by other carriers at Newark and at the other airports in the New York City area. On three routes, linking Newark with Detroit, Chicago O'Hare and Jacksonville, Fla., the premium exceeded 30 percent.

Original article can be found here: http://www.northjersey.com

Allegiant Airlines cancels pair of flights Routes between Toledo, Sanford, Florida, will not be rescheduled -Kathryn's Report

Allegiant Airlines has canceled a pair of flights between Toledo and Sanford, Fla., Friday, neither of which will be rescheduled.

Hillary Grey, the airline’s director of corporate communications, said the cancellations were caused by “a lack of aircraft availability” caused by a backlog of unscheduled delays or maintenance issues. The airline determined it would be better to cancel the flights now to give passengers two days’ notice, she said.

“We really sincerely apologize and thank them for their patience,” Ms. Grey said of the passengers. “Hopefully, with a little extra notice, it will allow people to make alternative plans.”

Because the flights are not being rescheduled, those with tickets on the cancelled flights were given the option to travel on different flights through nearby airports, receive credit toward additional travel, or get refunds. Each one will also be given a $150 voucher.

Allegiant has canceled several other flights during the next few days, including a Friday round trip between Sanford and Little Rock and Sanford-based flights on Sunday serving Chattanooga, Tenn., and Greensboro, N.C.

Although the Toledo flights’ cancellation marked the second consecutive week that Allegiant’s Friday flights from and to Sanford were scratched, Joe Rotterdam, manager of airport operations and airline affairs for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority, said he does not perceive a long-term problem.

“Allegiant’s been a great partner with us,” Mr. Rotterdam said. “I don’t view this as a developing trend in our service.”

Allegiant hauled the majority of passengers at Toledo Express Airport last year, with flights to three Florida destinations, and added service between Toledo and Myrtle Beach, S.C., last month.

The airline’s maintenance and operating procedures have been reviewed by the Federal Aviation Administration under a program Ms. Grey described as routine but which unions representing its employees have said is unusual.

Elizabeth Isham Cory, a regional FAA spokesman, said today that review is “still open.”

Original article can be found here: http://www.toledoblade.com