REGIONAL AVIATION NEWS :: FEBRUARY 25, 2008

Sleeping go! Pilots Suspended
Two pilots commanding a go! Airlines Honolulu to Hilo flight, who are said to have fallen asleep during a February 13 flight, have been suspended by Mesa Air Group. The incident is now under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration, according to press reports. Mesa’s pilots union...

Pinnacle Net Halved in 2007
Regardless of a NW/DL merger, Pinnacle retains its long-term contracts, which continues Northwest flying through 2017. In addition, the airline is optimistic about the Memphis hub. “The reason we think Memphis will be secure is most of the focus has assumed it is the same hub it was before the regional...

Comair Ruling Threatens Safety Program
Comair is weighing its legal options after a second federal judge ordered Comair to turn over safety reports and safety violations reported to the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) related to four wrong-runway incidents as part of the lawsuits over Flight 5191 that crashed in Kentucky in 2006. Related...

Embraer Forecasts Asia-Pacific to Grow 5.3, Recounts Sales
Embraer's current forecast indicates that the aircraft demand in the Asia-Pacific region will be 25 percent higher than the previous estimates. The Asia-Pacific region and China will represent 17 percent of worldwide aircraft deliveries over the next 20 years. Asia-Pacific will grow at an annual rate of 5.3...

CRJ 900 Possibility for go! as Losses Triple
Mesa is resurrecting earlier plans to put Bombardier CRJ 900s into its go! operation, according to reports in the Honolulu Star Bulletin, which quoted the company’s SEC filing as saying that go!’s losses tripled in its first fiscal quarter. CEO Jonathan Ornstein has repeatedly said that its...

Pilots Charge Skyway Denied Equal Severance
The Skyway pilots union, a unit of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int'l. (ALPA), reported Skyway management has refused to offer Skyway pilots severance packages. Skyway, dba Midwest Connect, announced in January that it will cease its flight operations in April, effectively terminating more than 190 pilot...

Singapore Watch
Regional manufacturers toted up more sales during last week’s Singapore Air Show including aircraft placements by both ATR and Embraer, all of which continued the trend toward larger regional aircraft. In addition, Saab reported that the market was tightening for turbo-prop availability. Regional...

BSRA Places More Jetstreams, Avros
Building on its success in the first half of 2007 when it placed 19 Jetstream 32s with 10 customers, BAE Systems Regional Aircraft placed a further 16 aircraft in the second half of the year with four operators. This means that at the end of 2007, all but one Jetstream 32 in the Asset Management portfolio...

Regional Aircraft ADs – Q400, ATR,
FAA Publishes Two ADs on Q400 After it received reports of cracking in the barrel nuts at the four primary front spar wing-to-fuselage attachment joints of the Bombardier Q400, the Federal Aviation Administration issued an AD to detect and correct cracking of the barrel nuts, which could result in reduced...

Accident Briefs – ATR, LCC/RJET and CRJ 100
ATR 42 CFIT in Venezuela An ATR 42-300 (YV-1449) serial number 028 with three crew and 43 passengers on board, operated by Venezualan airline Santa Barbara, crashed into the side of a mountain approximately 30 minutes after take off on a Merida-Caracas route, killing all on board. The one-hour-and 45-minute...

Quick Takes – United Express, Jazz, XJT, Rusline, AE
United Airlines Names New Express Chief Cynthia Szadokierski, a 23-year United veteran, was named vice president operational services, United Express and Ted, last week succeeding Alexandria P. Marren who was named vice president of Onboard Service. Szadokierski, most recently was vice president of Airport...