ASTAR

The air cargo carrier received the FAA Diamond Award for Excellence in Maintenance for the Miami-based carrier's participation in the Aviation Maintenance Technicial training program. Granted the FAA's highest honor, ASTAR had 78 percent participation in the program, exceeding the minimum standard of 25 percent of a maintenance location's mechanics to participate. The FAA also recognized individual ASTAR employees in the maintenance and support departments with awards based on their levels of training. Headquartered in Miami, ASTAR has a hub in Wilmington, OH and operates 44 aircraft in the U.S.

Comair

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certified Comair to become a Part 145 repair station affording the ability to perform third-party maintenance work on 50- to 70-seat Bombardier (BBD) regional jets.

As part of its strategy to diversify its revenues, the company expands its services to other airlines, having been a repair facility for its own aircraft since 1980. In addition, its hopes to provide is airport customer service operations to other airlines.

The certification covers its Cincinnati facility although Comair is seeking such certification for Orlando as well. Comair is one of nine CRJ heavy maintenance service providers with one of the largest CRJ fleets in the U.S.

Horizon

Alaska and Horizon introduced a Spanish-language web site including more than 3,000 pages of content. The site uses translation technology from MotionPoint which automatically translates content from the carriers' English-language site. The transition of the current web site took 90 days but new content will be automatically translated before being loaded on both sites. By early 2007, the airlines will have Spanish options for airport check-in kiosks and planes, and, in mid-2007, expects to more than double the number of Spanish-speaking reservationists at call centers. It will also replace in-flight interpreters with bilingual flight attendants on flights serving non- resort destinations in Mexico, offer Spanish content in its in-flight magazine and make Spanish-language announcements on flights to and from the Los Angeles basin.

Midwest Airlines

A new five-year postal contract was awarded to Midwest Airlines for express, first class and priority mail. The new agreement includes stringent on-time delivery requirements and performance standards, implemented by the U.S. Postal Service three years ago. A contract also went to SkyWay Airlines, Midwest's subsidiary, operating as Midwest Connect. Midwest was the only regional among the seven airlines awarded new contracts.

Shuttle America

Republic Holdings' (RJET) Shuttle America subsidiary obtained its registration with the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) program for flight operations standards and recommended practices. An audit under IOSA is based on internationally recognized operational standards and assesses the operational management and control systems of an airline. An airline that has been audited to full conformity with IOSA standards makes a clear positive statement about the integrity of its operations and its ability to manage risks. The Federal Aviation Administration approved the IATA Operational Safety Audit Program in 2004, permitting U.S. carriers to use the program's accredited audit organizations to comply with the U.S. audit requirement. In February, 2005, United Airlines PROS (Partners in Resources for Operational Safety) conducted an operational review of Shuttle America using IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) standards.