Briefs

Pinnacle Airlines [PNCL]CEO Philip Trenary has been appointed to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Management Advisory Council. In addition to Trenary, Charles Bolden Jr., senior vice president of Trans Tech, and Russell Meyer Jr., chairman of Cessna Aircraft, were appointed to the council by Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. The three will join six others on the committee, which meets quarterly to provide the FAA advice on policies, budgets and regulations.
Mesa Air Group's [MESA] board recently authorized the repurchase of up to 2 million Mesa shares because the board believes the current market price does not reflect the long-term value of the company. The company recently completed the purchase of 2 million shares that was first authorized in 2002.
More then 710 pilots were hired in September, according to AIR Inc. More than 7,472 pilots have been hired through September. If the hiring pace continues, the industry could hire about 10,000 pilots - more than double the 4,743 hired last year. The regional carriers and low-fare carriers hired 494 pilots in September.

Aviation Today