Airline Division Week In Review - May 31, 2014

Airline Industry News 

Governmental and Regulatory

The House Homeland Security subcommittee on transportation heard from airport officials and law enforcement on ways to bolster security measures.  

The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared Boeing's 787 Dreamliner to fly up to 5 1/2 hours away from the nearest airport, enabling airlines to put 787s on more-direct routes, cutting fuel consumption.  

Whether the pilots who died in a UPS crash last August Alabama were too tired or overloaded by automated cockpit information is at the heart of differing accounts filed this week with the National Transportation Safety Board. 

In the 23 years Rep. James P. Moran has been in Congress, he’s seen his Northern Virginia district morph into a megalopolis of broad boulevards, bustling developments and skyscrapers. Now he’s fearful that a federal agency wants to put a cap on this burgeoning skyline to help airlines and airports make more money.

Airlines, Industry and Labor

United Continental plans to restructure its Pacific network of flights, as well as tweaking flight schedules at airports in Denver and Houston, to improve revenue.  

United Parcel Service (UPS) has opened a much larger processing facility at its Taipei air cargo hub located at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE).  

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane has issued his formal order that rejected most of American Airlines’ request to be allowed to quit paying for health and life insurance benefits to its retirees. 

Despite a wider loss than expected in the first quarter by United Airlines due to extreme winter weather, analysts say the carrier's fundamentals are solid. Aviation consultant Mike Boyd said the carrier's "market planning seems sound and their fleet plan is solid." Meanwhile, analyst Hunter Keay said he is "increasingly optimistic that the current management team can turn things around."           

United Continental has reached a tentative agreement with two unions that represent flight dispatchers. The tentative agreement covers 330 flight dispatchers from United Airlines and Continental Airlines. The two carriers merged in 2010.