Sky Talk

Dueling views on state of F-35 program

The recent dust up over rising costs and lengthening delays in development of the F-35 joint strike fighter, chronicled in a Star-Telegram story, has gotten a lot of attention in the defense press and even the New York Times.

Then on Monday oft-quoted Washington D.C. defense analyst Loren Thompson of the Lexington Institute, a mildly hawkish defense think tank and strongly hawkish advocate for the defense industry, took the press and others to task for making much ado about not much and not appreciating how well run the F-35 program is.

Thompson argues the F-35 is now being targeted by the anti-defense types just like the F-22 before it and there's really nothing much wrong with the way the program is going.

If you don't follow the defense business closely, then you can be excused for believing that the F-35 joint strike fighter is in trouble. The $300 billion program to develop a stealthy, multi-role tactical aircraft for three U.S. military services and at least nine allies has been the focus of negative coverage since approximately April 6, when defense secretary Robert Gates announced the Air Force would buy no more F-22 fighters. Almost overnight, critics who had been assailing the F-22 trained their sights on the F-35 and resumed firing.

The F-35, Thompson says, "isn't really all that troubled, and Pentagon acquisition czar Ashton Carter will see the bureaucratic politics for what they are." He then lists four reasons why the F-35 program "is going to turn out fine" including this gem: "There is no alternative." 

Thompson, by the way, acknowledges that in addition to his think tank duties he is also a consultant to Lockheed, among other contractors.

Now Aviation Week veteran writer Bill Sweetman, no fan of the F-35 program, says Thompson's argument "makes no sense."

The first of four points in the brief is that "there is no alternative" to the JSF. Even if that's true (Boeing would disagree in the case of the Navy, and lots of people in the case of export customers) it does not mean that the program is going well. At best, the trashing of alternatives implies that JSF will be continued no matter what, at any cost and on any timescale. But that's not success:  with flat budgets, such an outcome will gut US and allied air power.

The good doctor's second point is that other programs (like the A400M) are doing worse than the F-35, which is "months behind schedule".

What schedule exactly?

The F-35 is months, in some respects almost a year, behind the schedule established in May 2008, which was a year later than the 2005 schedule, which in turn was 18 months behind the original schedule that was set in 2001. 

It's a good debate. .

- Bob Cox
 

New parking system, video walls coming to D/FW airport

A new parking system and video walls. That is what I learned after sitting through four hours of D/FW airport board meetings.

From my story today in the Star-Telegram and the Dallas Morning News (still getting used to the content-sharing agreement...):

Dallas/Fort Worth Airport is planning to reconstruct its north and south entrances and install an automated parking system that will allow customers to pay for parking in the terminal before exiting the airport.

But the new system and plaza renovations, which will also reduce manned ticket booths by 77 percent, are about three years away.

At board committee meetings Tuesday, airport board members were briefed on plans to update the parking system, which will have more "self-service functionality." The project is expected to take 30 to 36 months, with the plaza reconstructions costing $22 million to $26 million and the new system costing $25 million to $30 million.

Board members also watched a short presentation on video walls that the airport expects to start installing next month. There will be six video walls, at C19, C21, D22, D15/16, D29/30 and the Terminal D mezzanine area.

"We’re looking at providing softscape for our travelers and for them to be able to see something other than just news but also something engaging," said Zenola Campbell, vice president of concessions.

For the full story, check here.

-Andrea Ahles

Continental November traffic up 2.9 percent

Continental Airlines reported that its passenger traffic in November grew 2.9 percent even as it cut its capacity by 1.4 percent.

The Houston-based carrier said its consolidated load factor grew 3.2 percentage points to 80.5 percent when compared to November 2008.

The airline also said it expects to end the year with $2.5 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

The full release is here.

-Andrea Ahles

American hires ExpressJet CEO to replace retiring Carmine Romano

American Airlines announced that James Ream, ExpressJet chief executive, will become the Fort Worth carrier's senior vice president of maintenance and engineering on Jan. 1 as longtime American executive Carmine Romano retires after 41 years with the company.

In a press release Tuesday afternoon, American said Ream will oversee all of the carrier's maintenance operations including its repair, overhaul and modification bases in Fort Worth, Tulsa and Kansas City.

The full release is here.

-Andrea Ahles

Australian government comments on F-35 decision

When the government of Australia announced last week it had committed to buying an initial lot of 14 F-35 joint strike fighters, we sent the Australian Ministry of Defence some questions. The answers came back too late for inclusion in the Star-Telegram story that ran Thanksgiving Day.

So we'll post the entire exchange to this blog. And we'll also post some followup information from the primary opponents in Australia of buying the F-35.

Here's the response of the Australian government to our questions:

Australia has been a partner in developing the F-35 from the inception of the program and has invested its own money. Were other aircraft types considered to meet Australia’s future combat needs? Which ones?

The Australian decision to acquire the JSF was made after an extensive analysis of all potential future air combat aircraft. That decision was originally made in 2002 when we entered the System Development & Development phase of the JSF Program and formally re-confirmed in the Air Combat Capability Review that was conducted in 2008.

Throughout that time, however, we have continued to monitor developments in other air combat programs to ensure our decision remained valid.

This is a decision of policy, correct? Not a formal order for aircraft?

This is an acquisition decision – which includes funding approval – for the first 14 aircraft. Placing orders for the 14 aircraft will be done via the US-led JSF Project Office in conjunction with the US and other partners.

Have the U.S. and Australian governments agreed on price and terms of the F-35 purchase?

Australia will pay the same price as the US Government. The USand all partners will buy aircraft under the same contracts placed by the US-led JSF Project Office. For the next several years, the prices of aircraft under these contracts are being determined annually. Eventually acquisition will be via multi-year orders, again in collaboration with all other partners.

When do you anticipate placing a formal order?

Orders are placed progressively. Australia’s first aircraft will be part of the Low Rate Initial Production lot 6 contract to be delivered in 2014. We will identify our requirements for this contract in 2010 to allow ordering of necessary long-lead items. Subsequent aircraft will be ordered on an annual basis until it is agreed that the JSF Program is sufficiently mature to support a “multi-year” contact. In the early years sustainment is also contracted on an annual basis.

Has funding for the acquisition been approved by Parliament?

In the Australian system Parliament does not need to approve the acquisition, that is up to the Government. Government has approved funding for the first 14 aircraft and associated infrastructure and support.

Are there potential political/policy steps to be taken that could result in a change of policy regarding F-35 acquisition?

The Australian Government has stated that it will acquire around 100 JSFs in the context of the 2009 Defence White Paper. The recent acquisition decision – i.e. authorisation for funding – is for the first 14 aircraft. Additional authorisation decisions will be required for the remaining aircraft.

Some Australian groups (Air Power Australia) have been vocal in their criticisms of the F-35. Have those criticisms been considered in reaching this decision?

Defence and Government take into account all informed commentary in making such major decisions

Are there any concerns about the U.S. DoD decision not to release F-35 software codes to buyers?

Australiahas never sought access to source code of JSF software. For commonality and affordability reasons we want to stay common with the core JSF Program. What we do need, however, is the ability to re-program mission data libraries with our data to meet specific sovereign requirements. Ability to do that has been agreed by the US Government.

Are there any concerns about the delays in development and flight testing progress of F-35?

All delays are of concern but there is also very good progress in many areas. Australia has considerable schedule buffer to deal with all realistic schedule risk.

 

- Bob Cox

American schedules a JAL briefing

First Delta made its appearance in Tokyo, now its American's turn.

Those following American Airlines and Delta Air Lines' battle over troubled Japan Airlines will get an update from American's chief financial officer Tom Horton on Wednesday evening (Thursday morning Tokyo time). Horton will be in Tokyo making American's pitch directly to JAL and to government officials who are overseeing the restructuring of the Japanese carrier.

Both U.S. airlines are bidding for JAL's business and may invest over $1 billion in the airline. American is already partners with JAL in its oneworld alliance and has brought in Fort Worth private equity firm, TPG, to help finance any deal. Delta is trying to woo JAL to the SkyTeam alliance and is offering hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue guarantees and capital investments to JAL.

We'll see if Horton is willing to divulge specifics of American's investment plan for JAL. Up to this point, the details of the American-TPG bid have been kept quiet with only the occasional anonymous source report popping up in the Japanese press.

-Andrea Ahles

D/FW Airport board meeting this afternoon

It's the first week of the month and that means D/FW Airport board and committee meetings.

Tuesday afternoon, the airport's board committees will be discussing a range of issues including:

-the 2010 financing plan for the airport

-an update on the planning for the renovations of Terminals A, B, C, and E

-a parking system update.

-Andrea Ahles

American and two different viral Internet issues

American Airlines has been popping up all over the Internet for two very different reasons: a picture of an obese guy in an AA plane and a spider who makes a surprise appearance in a piece of cake on an AA flight.

First, the guy who takes up a seat and half the aisle...Here's the photo floating around the Internet and of course, the thing that we're all asking is if it's real.

The London's Telegraph seems to think so.

American spokesman Tim Smith had this to say about the photo:

"We cannot verify the authenticity of that photograph, nor do we know who might have taken the photo.  We do have a policy that tries to be flexible for passengers of size....We do not always or routinely charge for an extra seat unless there are simply no other options. Our people are trained to work with customers to try and accommodate ALL passengers onboard. Often, pending how full the flight is, we can get everyone taken care of.  In some cases, we cannot, so we book the person on another flight or in some cases, depending on the customer’s schedule needs, we do book and charge for two seats, but certainly not all the time.  We train our people to try and find another solution if at all possible."

Now for the second viral Internet issue for American: someone had a spider in their cake.

 

National Geographic Traveler reader advocate Christopher Elliott blogged about the video on Monday and pondered Why Wasn't Spiders in my Dessert the next United Breaks Guitar?

Watch the video and check out the spider's appearance around 15 seconds in.

Smith says that American's quick response to the passenger who posted the video helped mitigate what could have been a p.r. nightmare for the Fort Worth carrier.

"Because we have people on staff who closely monitor Internet postings and diligently "listen" to what our customers are saying, we found the video posting very quickly after it appeared - certainly within a few hours the same day it showed up, which was several months ago......The person who posted it did contact us and he seemed pleased that we had been listening and reaching out to him. We were able to discuss and personally handle his concerns."

-Andrea Ahles

Continental goes cashless

Cash is no longer king on Continental Airlines flights.

The Houston-based airline said that flight crews will accept only credit and debit cards for in-flight purchases starting on Tuesday. All domestic flights will now have hand-held devices for the flight attendants to use to charge customers for alcoholic beverages and headsets.

However, cash will still be used on Continental's China flights and on Continental Express, Continental Connection and Continental Micronesia flights.

The full release is here.

-Andrea Ahles

Airlines jump in on Cyber Monday

Several airlines are giving Cyber Monday a shot, advertising air fare sales on a day that online retailers have trumped up as sort of an electronic version of Black Friday.

United Airlines, Virgin America and JetBlue have all announced cheap fares for spring travel, of course with some caveats. The three carriers have $39 one-way fares for some city pairs.

Even the Starwood hotel chain, which includes Westin, W Hotels and Sheraton brands, is offering deals today on hotels in some hot spots like Hawaii and the Caribbean.

It remains to be seen if any other airlines will match fares.

"Typically Monday night is sale night so we'll keep an eye out," tweeted Rick Seaney, chief executive of FareCompare.com.

-Andrea Ahles

Aussies commit to F-35 acquisition

Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government have apparently found their first foreign buyer for the F-35 joint strike fighter.

The Australian government has approved plans to buy an initial lot of 14 F-35A combat jets, according to a report issued by the Ministry of Defence. The A-model is the conventional takeoff aircraft that will be operated by the U.S. Air Force and most foreign buyers.

The Government has approved acquisition of the first 14 Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL) Joint Strike Fighters and infrastructure and support required for initial training and testing, at an estimated cost of $3.2 billion.

“Approval of this first batch of JSF aircraft is evidence of the Rudd Government’s strong commitment to defence and our commitment to implementing the Defence White Paper,” Senator Faulkner said.

Approval of the next batch of aircraft and all necessary support and enabling capabilities, sufficient to establish three operational squadrons and a training squadron of CTOL JSF, will be considered in 2012. This will fulfil our White Paper commitment to acquire three operational squadrons comprising not fewer than 72 aircraft.

Australia's announcement comes as most of the news in the U.S. in recent weeks has focused on continued delays in production and testing of jets and Pentagon estimates of higher costs to complete development and testing.

Australia eventually plans to buy 100 F-35s, in order to have three combat-ready squadrons totaling 72 planes. The F-35 will replace F/A-18s in the Australian arsenal. The government has yet to place its order with Lockheed, but said it expects to take delivery of the first plane in 2014.

A strong,vocal opposition has emerged in Australia to the F-35 but the government said the decision was made following "many years of unprecedented evaluation and planning by all nine countries involved in the JSF’s development."

This just in from the loyal F-35 opposition:

This is a courageous move on the part of the Australian Government, particularly given the flawed data and marketing spin upon which this decision has been based.

At a unit procurement cost (UPC) in excess of $200 million, in 2014 dollars, this decision confirms the real price that Air Power Australia (APA) and other experts around the world have been predicting and brings into serious question evidence put before the Australian Parliament over the past 12 months, such as “I would be surprised if Australia were to pay any more than A$75 million per aircraft, in 2008 dollars, at an exchange rate of 0.92”.

Though we wish it were not so, the just so flawed JSF Program is a ‘perfect storm’ which will make the global financial crisis (GFC) look like a mere stumble.  While the GFC and its more voracious sibling, the World Economic Re-alignment (WER), have brought the concept of sovereign financial risk into stark relief, the JSF will put the very sovereignty of western nations, including the USA, at serious risk.

- Bob Cox

Civil aviation, safety advocate Ed Stimpson dies

Anyone remotely connected with civil aviation affairs in the last 30 years probably came across Ed Stimpson. The former head of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and U.S. representative to the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization, died Wednesday.

His passing was announced by the Flight Safety Foundation, which he was chairman of until his resignation Nov. 1. A spokeswoman for the foundation had been battling an undisclosed illness.

Stimpson was presented with the Flight Safety Foundation - Boeing Aviation Safety Lifetime Achievement Award last month.

Prior to his service at ICAO, Stimpson spent 25 years as president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, which represents companies involved in the manufacture of aircraft and component parts. Before joining GAMA, he served as assistant administrator of congressional relations at the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.

- Bob Cox

U.S. won't turn over F-35 software codes

In a decision that probably won't completely quell a long running source of irritation between the Department of Defense and our British allies, the U.S. government has apparently decided it will not give F-35 joint strike fighter buyers, even those who've spent their own money developing the airplane, keys to the software codes for the high tech airplane.

According to a report in DoD Buzz, U.S. officials finally decided that giving the Brits the source codes "would, in the words of one close observer of the program, “turn the British JSF into a Trojan Horse.” The message this source would send the British: “Yes we love you… but who are those third party nationals from the EU working for you? And how do we know we can trust them?” 

Reuters also has a version of the story.

No other country is getting the so-called source code, the key to the plane's electronic brains, Jon Schreiber, who heads the program's international affairs, told Reuters in an interview Monday.

"That includes everybody," he said, acknowledging this was not overly popular among the eight that have co-financed F-35 development -- Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Canada, Australia, Denmark and Norway.

- Bob Cox

Wet landing at end of solo flight

Speaking of flying, we saw this on the wires this morning and just had to pass it along.

(Bloomberg) -- Swiss commercial pilot Yves Rossy dropped into the sea in a bid to make a 40-kilometer (25-mile) flight from Morocco to Spain while wearing a jet-powered wing strapped to his body. He jumped from a plane off Tangier today and was later seen in the water, attempting to swim toward a rescue boat. International broadcasters televised the event. Rossy successfully crossed over the Channel between France and England in September 2008 while powered by the wing.

- Bob Cox

On-time and quiet at D/FW Airport

It's the day before Thanksgiving and D/FW Airport seems to be running very smoothly.

Looking at the departures boards and all flights are on-time with the exception of one canceled American flight to Ft. Smith, Arkansas.

"Flights operations are moving very smoothly at DFW today, and passengers can expect to see short security lines, usually no more than five minutes," said D/FW Airport spokesman David Magana. "The weather is also cooperating so we should see a great day for traveling by air today."

D/FW airport expects 1.63 million passengers to pass through its terminals during the Thanksgiving travel period which stretches from Nov. 20 to Nov. 30. The busiest day at the airport is expected to be Sunday.

Travelocity spokesman Joel Frey, who hung at the airport on Tuesday and will be here all day Wednesday, said that lines have been generally short but he has seen a few travelers pulled out of security lines to check bags that are too big to take on board an airplane.

"The airline staffs are keeping a careful eye on that," Frey said, advising travelers to make sure they are not taking too many bags on just to avoid bag fees.

For Keller resident Scott McNeely, the security lines were short and he and his family had about another hour to wait for their flight to Playa del Carmen, Mexico. 

"It's not as busy as year's past," said McNeely, who takes his family on vacation every Thanksgiving.

-Andrea Ahles

Continental and two regional carriers fined $175,000 for stranding passengers in August

Continental and two regional carriers were fined $175,000 for stranding passengers all night on a plane in August, the Department of Transportation said on Tuesday.

The passengers were on a 50-seat jet operated by ExpressJet that had been diverted to Rochester, Minnesota. The Continental flight from Houston to Minneapolis was diverted to the regional airport due to thunderstorms. When arriving at Rochester, passengers were not allowed to disembark because the airport was closed for the evening, stranding the passengers overnight on the plane.

Continental was $50,000 and ExpressJet was also fined $50,000. Mesaba Airlines, a unit of Delta Air Lines, was fined $75,000 for its role in the ground services for the flight at Rochester.

"I hope that this sends a signal to the rest of the airline industry that we expect airlines to respect the rights of air travelers," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement.

-Andrea Ahles

Continental ranked best domestic airline by Zagat

Fliers of the friendly skies prefer Continental Airlines and JetBlue Airways, according to Zagat's 2009 Airline survey.

Zagat ranked each airline on comfort, service, food and website on a its 30-point scale. The famous restaurant review guide company surveyed the opinions of 5,895 frequent fliers who collectively took 97,600 flights in the past year.

"The newer airlines continue to do well in the survey," said Tim Zagat, chief executive of Zagat Survey. "Being less expensive to operate, they can therefore afford to provide better service."

Large Domestic Premium Class:	21	Continental Airlines
	17	American Airlines
		Delta Air Lines
	16	United Airways
	15	AirTran Airways

Large Domestic Economy Class:	19	JetBlue Airways
	15	Continental Airlines
		Southwest Airlines
	12	AirTran Airways
	11	Delta Air Lines

My favorite part of the Zagat press release though was the outtakes section where Zagat picked the best passenger one-liners given in the survey. Here's a sample:

"Another contender for the 'Passengers Come Last' award."

"If there was any less legroom, I'd have to check my legs."

"Asked why we didn't have blankets, the steward said 'so they could give the execs bonuses."

"They still serve bad airline food, so retro!"

-Andrea Ahles

US Airways completes financial transactions

US Airways announced Tuesday morning that it has completed several financial transactions that will improve its balance sheet by about $450 million by the end of next year.

"This is our third major strategic move in the past 100 days, following announcements of our innovative slot transaction with Delta Air Lines and the realignment of our network to focus on our most profitable flying," said US Airways chief executive Doug Parker in a statement. "These moves are part of our continuing efforts to improve our balance sheet and return the company to profitability."

The airline said it has deferred the delivery of 54 Airbus aircraft that were supposed to be delivered in the next three years, pushing the arrival date to 2013 and later. That move reduces US Airways capital expenditures by $2.5 billion in the next three years the company said.

US Airways said it has also arranged credit facilities in the amount of $95 million and $180 million to finance 2010 aircraft deliveries. It has also signed an agreement with Barclays for $200 million for the advance purchase of frequent flyer miles.

-Andrea Ahles

More on DoD F-35 deliberations

John Bennett at Defense News has filed a story on the meeting that Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, had with reporters today and his comments on the planning to resolve cost and schedule problems with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Carter, Bennett says, called the most recent cost estimates by DoD's analysts "very credible," even noting its 2008 program assessment correctly predicted events that have occurred in 2009. The analysts forecasts, "based in part on historical examples of how DoD fared on similar efforts - differ vastly from that foreseen by F-35 military and industry program managers." 

Carter said he is "trying to dig down and understand" the list of factors that contribute to the different views of the effort's future performance. Ultimately, he said, he would like to "end up somewhere in between" the two projections.

While the new strategy is not yet complete, the one thing this Pentagon leadership team will not do, Carter said, is "just lay in more money." Officials instead are "trying to get the best management" plan, he said.

Simply throwing money at the program without implementing new "management tools," he said, "is not responsible management."

Carter said he is emphasizing the need to build into the Pentagon's 2011 budget plan "realistic" F-35 cost and schedule projections for the next few years.

During the weekend meeting, which he called "constructive," Carter said he discussed with top Lockheed executives the need for a "realistic plan" and that he wants to see them show "a commitment to that plan." He also told them "that we need to address affordability," noting that "is the No. 1 thing Secretary Gates has stressed about JSF."

He said he also told Lockheed officials to show how recent productivity enhancements in the Fort Worth, Texas, plant where the F-35 is built could be reflected in the fighter jet's price.

- Bob Cox

 

 

F-35 flight test progress slow, again

 Lockheed Martin flew the fourth F-35 flight test aircraft (AF-1) twice last week, we're told, for a total of 2.2 hours. That's three flights in a week for nearly four hours. No report on whether there were any surprises or problems, but for the most part the test planes reportedly operate pretty well when they're flying.

Which brings us to the first F-35B STOVL test aircraft, which made it to Naval Air Station Patuxent River on November 15 but is apparently now back in incubation for maintenance issues. Here's what Lockheed told us:

BF-1 is undergoing scheduled maintenance ... prior to the initiation of flight test activities there. The aircraft will undergo the removal and replacement of the transparency removal system (TRS) detonation cord which is bonded to the canopy. This is a required process driven by the expiration of the canopy's detonation-cord material (the detonation cord helps remove the canopy from the pilot's path during an ejection). The process of the removal and replacement of the TRS is a 10-to-12 day operation. Additionally, maintainers will take advantage of the down-time to perform other maintenance on the jet. Return to flight is planned for the week of Dec. 7.

But now DOD Buzz reports work is required on another unplanned item or two. Seems a fuel valve was faulty and has to be replaced, which requires removing the engine. 

- Bob Cox

First report: DoD wants F-35 cost overrun sharing

Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News has a report today out of the Pentagon with comments from DoD weapons acquisition czar Ashton Carter following weekend meetings on F-35 program delays and rising cost estimates.

Lockheed Martin Corp. should assume some of the financial risk for any new cost overrun or schedule delay on the F-35 fighter, the Pentagon’s top weapons buyer said today.

"We don’t want to be in a situation where the government bears the cost of schedule slips in a program all by itself, Ashton Carter, defense undersecretary for acquisition, told reporters at the Pentagon. "It’s reasonable that risk in the program be shared equitably, fairly."

Lockheed has a "cost-plus" development contract which requires the government to pay for any cost overruns. Lockheed Martin spokesman Jeff Adams had no immediate comment.

The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s estimated cost is almost $300 billion, which includes research, development and buying at least about 2,460 U.S. aircraft with common parts for the Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

Carter said he’s reviewing a new independent cost estimate that’s "substantially similar" to one last year that predicted the program could cost about $16.5 billion more for production and development through 2015 and its development phase could extend two and a half years beyond October 2014, the current end date.

The estimates are based on worst-case scenarios for the Pentagon’s most expensive weapons program. Carter said he met yesterday with company officials to review the new cost estimates, including what steps all parties can take to reduce them if needed.

"A lot" of what was estimated last year "has actually transpired," which gives the new estimate credibility, Carter said. "We are trying to get ourselves a plan" that Lockheed Martin will agree with, he said.

Aviation Week's Amy Butler now has a report up on the Ares blog:. It says in part:

JSF: Pentagon acquisition czar Ashton Carter shed some light today on some of the options he is considering for restructuring the $300 billion U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter program.

A Joint Estimate Team (JET), made up of career cost and program evaluators at the Pentagon, has projected the Lockheed Martin JSF could be as much as $16 billion over budget and years late in meeting its in service dates.

*option 1 - Add more test aircraft to the program, which has 12 now planned, in order to burn test points in a "compressed" period of time to maintain schedule. Schedule is critical to keeping the international partners on board, but more flight test assets will cost more upfront.

*option 2 (not to be considered an either/or, this could be combined with option 1) -- add more software teams to the program, including an additional shift. Carter describes this as "blocking and tacking" with the software load.

- Bob Cox

More Texans traveling this Thanksgiving weekend than last year

Driving or flying this holiday week? You're not alone.

According to AAA Texas, about 3.3 million people in the Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas region will travel by car or plane during the turkey holiday up, 7.5 percent from last year.

In 2008, the number of Thanksgiving travelers dropped 40 percent as the recession hit, said AAA Texas spokesman Dan Ronan. Now, "the economy is turning around and things seem to be improving a little bit."

D/FW Airport expects about 1.63 million passengers to pass through its terminals during the 11-day Thanksgiving travel period, which started last Friday and ends Nov. 30.

"We’re really encouraged by the fact that travel is starting to come back," said airport spokesman David Magana.

Here's the full story that appeared in the Star-Telegram on Sunday.

-Andrea Ahles

Prescient commentary on F-35

In a column posted on Huffington Post, Winslow Wheeler, director of the Straus Military Reform Project at the Center for Defense Information, reprises a long ago commentary on the political finagling that led to the Joint Strike Fighter.

The August 2000 commentary (The JSF: One More Card In The House) by Chuck Spinney, former Air Force officer and civilian Pentagon weapons program cost analyst, makes some interesting points that in hindsight were eerily prescient of the situation that could be developing today.

The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), central to the Department of Defense's modernization
agenda, looks more and more like a case of "Here we go again." Why? Because:

* Without timely deliveries of 2,853 JSFs, beginning in 2007, the plan to modernize Air
Force, Navy, and Marine Corps tactical aviation (TacAir) forces won't happen.

* Without the promises of acquisition reform-cost savings, shorter development times,
increased production efficiencies, all without sacrificing capability-the economic
assumptions gluing together the entire DoD modernization program unravel.

The TacAir house of cards is the inevitable product of short-sighted decisions made as
the Cold War ended. In 1991 and 1992, the Air Force and Navy prematurely rushed the
F-22 and F/A-18E/F, respectively, into engineering and manufacturing development
(EMD) without determining how they would modernize the entire force over the long
term. In both cases, the aim was the same: build political support networks quickly before
the threat of a peace dividend became the skunk at the garden party - and hope that
the future would take care of itself.

And this part of the story is, well, we've seen it before. Full speed ahead and worry about the costs and consequences later.

In March 1999, the Congressional Budget Office reported to the Senate Armed Services Committee that JSF costs might be underestimated by as much a 50%; in March 2000, the General Accounting Office told Congress the development program should be lengthened to
reduce technical/cost risks: "To allow the JSF to proceed as planned - without maturing
critical technologies - would perpetuate conditions that have led to cost growth and
schedule delays in many prior DoD weapons system acquisition programs." The GAO claims DoD restructured the program so that the EMD decision will be made with even less information than originally planned, and the program has migrated toward the traditional practice of developing technologies and products concurrently.

Some interesting reading. Spinney, by the way, was a protege of the late Col. John Boyd, one of the fighter mafia leaders and a co-father of the F-16.

- Bob Cox

Full FAA statement about this morning's computer glitch

The FAA put out their press statement around 12:15 CDT today. Here's the full text.

At approximately 5:00 am EST a router problem disrupted a number of air traffic management services including flight plan processing.  The problem was resolved at approximately 9:00 am EST.  Air traffic control radar and communication with aircraft were not affected during this time and critical safety systems remained up and running.

 

The failure was attributed to a software configuration problem within the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) in Salt Lake City.  As a result FAA services used primarily for traffic flow and flight planning were unavailable electronically. 

 

The National Airspace Data Interchange Network (NADIN), which processes flight planning, was affected because it relies on the FTI services.  During the outage air traffic controllers managed flight plan data manually and safely according to FAA contingency plans.

 

There is no indication the outage occurred as a result of a cyber attack.

 

System wide delays and cancellations will continue to be assessed throughout the day.

 

A team of FAA technical and safety experts is already investigating the outage.  FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt is meeting with representatives from Harris Corporation, the company that manages the FTI, to discuss system corrections to prevent similar outages in the future.

 

-Andrea Ahles

No more guessing which American flights have Wi-Fi

With only 165 airplanes equipped to handle Wi-Fi, American Airlines passengers are often playing roulette when trying to figure out if their upcoming flight has Internet service.

But the guessing game is no more.

American Airlines announced Thursday a new Web tool called Wi-Fi Widget that allows travelers to check online 24 hours prior to departure if the flight they're taking will have Wi-Fi.

"We realize how important inflight connectivity is to travelers and believe the new widget will make identifying Wi-Fi equipped aircraft easy," said Doug Backelin, manager of inflight communications and technology.

The new tool can be found at www.aa.com/wifiwidget.

-Andrea Ahles

FAA says "things are starting to get back to normal."

Just got off the phone with FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford who said "It looks like things are starting to get back to normal."

Lunsford added that the computer glitch cause air traffic controllers to have to manually input flight plans. "There was never really a problem with radar coverage."

American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said the Fort Worth-based carrier has not canceled any flights due to the computer glitch. While the airline usually submits flight plans electronically, this morning they were faxing flight plans to the FAA, causing slight delays.

"We actually had flights that left early this morning out of D/FW," Huguely said. "The longest delay was about 40 minutes."

-Andrea Ahles

D/FW impact from FAA glitch is minimal at this time

A problem with the FAA flight plan system has caused flights on the East Coast to be delayed and cancelled this morning.

However, the impact at D/FW airport has been minimal so far this morning.

"We do have obviously some arrivals from Atlanta and the New York area that have been immediately impacted," D/FW airport spokesman David Magana said. "However, most of the flights here at D/FW went out this morning."

 

He added that the airlines are preparing to deal with this problem throughout the day and if it persists, there will be significant delays in the afternoon.

 

-Andrea Ahles

Fokker is back

Dutch conglomerate Stork Aerospace has decided to capitalize on its heritage and a great brand name and beginning in January will become Fokker Aerospace Group., the company announced Wednesday.

"This decision has been taken because the Fokker name is regarded in the international aerospace market as an extremely strong brand, and one that is inseparably linked around the world with aviation, aircraft building, constant innovation and entrepreneurship," the company said in its press release.

"The brand’s 90th anniversary is an excellent opportunity to make even better use of its unique image for the positioning of the companies. This strong, clear brand name will make a major contribution to that aim."

With 3,700 employees, the Fokker Aerospace Group is a major component and systems supplier to aircraft builders like Airbus, Boeing, Bombardier and even Lockheed Martin. The company is a supplier to the F-35 joint strike fighter program and has maintained a presence in Fort Worth almost since the inception of the F-35 program.

In modern times company, probably best known for the Fokker Dr.I Triplane and Fokker D.VII fighters used by Germany in World War I, built a fleet of smaller airliners in use worldwide, including the Fokker 100s formerly flown by American Airlines.

- Bob Cox

Wanted: Way to cool off carrier decks

This isn't exactly breaking news to anyone who has paid attention to the V-22 Osprey program in recent years, but the Navy has found that when a jet engine dumps its exahust straight down onto the deck of an aircraft carrier or one its amphibious assault ships the heat does bad things to the steel.

Now, with the Marines MV-22 beginning to see service aboard ships and the looming entry into service a few years from now of the F-35B short-takeoff-vertical landing variant, the Navy is hoping somebody out there can find a solution that will keep these planes from wrecking its flight decks.

Both the Office of Naval Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have put out bulletins calling for ideas from industry and researchers.

Here's the ONR's summary of the problem:

Navy studies have indicated that repeated deck buckling will cause deck failure at approximately 40 percent of planned ship life. With the upcoming deployment of he F-35B STOVL Joint Strike Fighter, it is anticipated that the engine exhaust plumes will have a severe thermo-mechanical impact on the non-skid surface and flight deck structure of ships. ...  During STOVL operations of these aircraft, engine exhaust is angled or positioned downward, directing the hot exhaust onto the horizontal deck surface, thereby subjecting that surface to higher than normal temperatures. For the MV-22 the localized region of heating, surrounded by regions of cooler deck plate and mechanical constraints of the deck structure (longitudinal and transverse stiffening beams are located under the deck plate) has lead to the observation of thermally induced buckling which appears after approximately 10 minutes of aircraft operation (while the aircraft is sitting on the deck turning rotors). Currently there are no available solutions.

And DARPA's hoped for technological solution:

Currently, there are no available strategies to mitigate deck buckling and thermal-mechanical deck failure other than heavy structural modifications.  The goal of this effort is to exploit thermal management technologies that incorporate a thermally and functionally stable non-skid surface which meets Navy requirements for application, safety, and performance.  Eligible technologies should consist of an integrated Thermal Management System (TMS) that mitigates the thermo-mechanical structural impact of the F-35B engine exhaust plumes.

See commentary at Aviation Week's Ares blog and at Defense Springboard.

- Bob Cox

 

 

 

Report says UAE may want F-35s

Our friend and good aviation reporter Stephen Trimble at FlightGlobal.com reports that United Arab Emirates officials may want to be early buyers of the F-35 joint strike fighter, once Lockheed Martin has ironed out the bugs and got production up to speed.

"I hope that within a couple years the UAE, like many other countries, will have a fifth-generation fighter," says Brig Gen Ibrahim Naser Alalawi, deputy commander of the UAE Air Force and Air Defence. Alalawi was speaking at the Dubai International Air Chiefs conference held yesterday morning at Dubai's Knowledge Village Conference Centre.

Lockheed's F-35 is expected to be the only fifth-generation fighter available for sale for perhaps another decade. The Chinese J-12 and the Russian/Indian PAK-FA remain in the early stages of development.

The UAE has previously not been named among the several countries - including the UK, Australia and Israel - planning to buy the first export F-35s scheduled for delivery after 2013.

- Bob Cox

Lockheed eyes more F-16 sales

Reports this week out of the Dubai Air Show say Lockheed officials are pretty confident they'll sell more F-16s in the Middle East besides those now on order with Egypt and Morocco.

“We have very, very good prospects of selling more in the region,” Rick Groesch, regional vice president for the Middle East, told Defense News. The deal, which could be sealed by the end of the year, would be for the block 50 version of the F-16.

The mystery buyer is not Egypt, where Lockheed is in detailed negotiations for a sale. Iraq, Oman and Jordan are seen as potential buyers, a French aerospace executive said.

A Lockheed team is currently in Egypt for “final discussions” for a prospective purchase of 24 F-16s, Groesch said. The U.S. Congress has cleared the way for a sale with a notification and the present talks were aimed at finalizing contract details.

Lockheed sees potential sales of 100 to 200 F-16s around the world until the F-35 becomes available for export. That market estimate excludes the Indian competition for 126 fighters. As part of the Indian tender process, Indian officials will be invited to the U.S. to see live weapons firing by the F-16 at a number of sites in the last week of January and first week of February.

- Bob Cox

Photos from the picket line

Hundreds of American Airlines flight attendants showed up at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport for the union's informational picketing event.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants held a "simulated strike" to protest the lengthy contract negotiations between the union and the Fort Worth-based carrier. The two parties have been in mediated talks for 18 months and have a two-week negotiating session scheduled in January.

Here are two photos from the event today at Terminal C.

 
-Andrea Ahles

Amarillo pays for Bell Helicopter expansion project

 The Amarillo Economic Development Corporation on Tuesday voted to issue $31 million in bonds to pay for expansion of the Bell Helicopter manufacturing facility there. Bell is expanding the plant to allow for increased production rates of the V-22 Osprey and Marine AH-1Z and UH-1Y helicopters.

Bell was lured to Amarillo a decade ago by the city's promise to build the manufacturing and aircraft assembly facility and lease it back to the company at very favorable terms.

- Bob Cox

Analysts: F-35 program in no danger -- yet

Reuters has a story that gets wide reaction to the Star-Telegram story on Monday about continued production delays on the F-35 joint strike fighter program.

The story quotes Lockheed officials, as did the Star-Telegram follow-up on Tuesday, saying they're making good progress in finally resolving manufacturing and budget problems.

Congressional aides and analysts said they were not surprised about predicted cost increases and delays, given the history of other major weapons programs.

 But they also said the Pentagon had little choice but to continue the Lockheed program. Partner nations are counting on the F-35, and there are no viable alternatives for the U.S. Marine Corps or the Air Force.

"Neither side has a lot of wiggle room," said Richard Aboulafia, analyst with the Virginia-based Teal Group. "Both sides are probably in a position where they have to sit down and discuss the best way to reduce risk and control costs."

The F-35 issues were relatively minor compared with other weapons programs, Aboulafia said. But he added that Congress must lock in funding to prevent an "endless cycle of technical problems and retaliatory budget cuts that make the problems worse."

Meanwhile, everyone wonders what rabbits Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for weapons acquisition, will pull out of his hat this weekend to show he has a plan for covering increased F-35 costs.Defense News had a good story on this.

- Bob Cox

Dangling $1 billion in front of JAL

News reports out of Tokyo over night say that both U.S. airlines that are bidding for Japan Airlines' business may invest 100 million yen or $1.1 billion into the struggling Japanese carrier.

American Airlines, which is already partners with JAL through its oneworld alliance, has teamed up with Fort Worth-based Texas Pacific Group. The equity firm is reportedly prepared to invest as much as the $1.1 billion number in the form of a private placement of JAL stock. The move by TPG would be part of an effort by American to keep JAL in oneworld.

On the other side is Delta Air Lines, who is trying to woo JAL to become a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Delta is also offering a billion dollars to JAL which includes a $500 million capital investment, $300 million in short-term revenue guarantees and $200 million in asset-backed financing for the airline, the Associated Press reports. SkyTeam is also offering to cover the anticipated $20 million cost of switching from oneworld to SkyTeam.

-Andrea Ahles

American flight attendants hold simulated strike today

American Airlines flight attendants will be conducting a simulated strike demonstration at several airports Wednesday including Dallas-Fort Worth airport.

The Association of Professional Flight Attendants said the mock strike will involve several flights where flight attendants will wear red buttons to show customers that that flight would not be operating if it was a real strike. APFA is scheduled to hold a press conference at D/FW at 11:30 am. today.

"We will not disrupt travel on November 18 or throughout the holidays, but it may be a different story next year," APFA president Laura Glading said in a press release. "Should management push us to an actual strike, we'll be ready."

Since airline union contracts are governed by the Railway Labor Act, it is only after a national mediator determines that contract negotiations are at an impasse are unions allowed to "self-help" or strike following a 30-day cooling off period.

The APFA is scheduled to sit down with American management for 10 days of negotiations in January.

-Andrea Ahles

American plans to add paperless boarding to D/FW in December

Not to be outdone by Continental's Dallas-Fort Worth airport demo of "paperless boarding," American Airlines said it expects to introduce the Transportation Security Administration program in December.

Spokeswoman Stacey Frantz said the Fort Worth-based carrier plans to offer the service to D/FW customers by the end of the year and at all of its terminals. American currently uses the technology at six airports including its hubs in Los Angeles and Chicago.

Frantz said the Fort Worth-based carrier has been integrating the paperless boarding passes into AA.com so customers who are checking in for flights are aware the service is available.

Here's how it works:

A passenger checks in for a flight over the Internet and choose the "paperless boarding pass" option. The system then sends an e-mail to the passenger's Web-capable cell phone that includes a two-dimensional barcode when the passenger checks in for the flight over the Internet.

Once at the airport, a passenger scans the image of the encrypted barcode at the TSA security station which then tells the security guard if it is an authorized boarding pass.

If it is valid and matches the identification given to the guard, the passenger can then go through security. If it is not authorized, for example if the scanner is unable to read it because the Blackberry screen is smudged, the guard will send the passenger to the ticket counter to get a paper boarding pass.

-Andrea Ahles

Airlines add more days to the "holiday" surcharge and Super Bowl fee

First it was an extra ten dollars to travel near Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Now, Delta and Northwest have added a $50 one-way holiday or peak travel airfare surcharge for flights the Monday after the Super Bowl.

Bestfares.com posted the 41 travel days where airlines have added this type of surcharge with some ranging from $10 to $30 depending on the day in 2010.

"The writing is on the wall," the site said. "If you want to travel on a peak holiday or high demand travel period, such as spring break or Easter, it's going to cost you more in 2010."

Here's the surcharge chart from Bestfares.com

$20 - November 29, 30, 2009	$10 - March 18, 19, 2010
$20 - December 18, 19, 2009	$30 - March 20, 21, 2010
$20 - December 23, 2009	$10 - March 22, 2010
$20 - December 26, 27, 2009	$10 - March 25 - 27, 2010
$20 - December 30, 2009	$30 - March 28, 2010
$20 - January 2, 3, 2010	$10 - March 29, 2010
$50 - February 8, 2010	$10 - April 1 - 4, 2010
$20 - February 12, 2010	$30 - April 5, 2010
$10 - March 7 - 10, 2010	$10 - April 8 - 10, 2010
$10 - March 11 - 13, 2010	$30 - April 11, 2010
$30 - March 14, 2010	$20 - May 28, 2010
$10 - March 15, 2010

Please Note: The dates in red are the new added holiday or peak travel airfare surcharges.
The dates in blue are where Delta, Northwest, United, have increased the holiday surcharge from $20 to $30.

-Andrea Ahles

Finnair pilot strike is over

After two days of no flying, the Finnair pilots have agreed to end the strike.

The Finnish carrier canceled about 400 flights since the pilots began the strike on Nov. 16 over the use of subcontractor crews in cockpits.

The pilots agreed to a state mediator's proposal that included a 5 percent wage cut and a commitment from Finnair to "safeguard" pilots jobs for a year.

-Andrea Ahles

EBay joins Delta in the free Wi-Fi craze

Delta Air Lines and online auction site, eBay, announced Tuesday morning that customers will get free Wi-Fi during Thanksgiving week.

The Atlanta-based carrier has about 260 Wi-Fi-enabled airplanes and said it expects that more than 1 million passengers will be able to use the free Wi-Fi service on flights from Nov. 24 to Nov. 30.

Delta is the latest carrier to get a sponsor to offer free Wi-Fi. Virgin American and Google teamed up earlier this fall and are offering free Wi-Fi on flights until January. American Airlines and Lexus partnered together to offer the Internet service for free the first week of November.

While the promotions are meant to get passengers hooked on surfing the net at 37,000 feet, you have to wonder if passengers will simply get used to not having to pay for it.

-Andrea Ahles

Checking out paperless boarding at D/FW

Continental Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration will be showing off its paperless boarding process to the media at D/FW Airport this morning.

The Houston-based carrier has been piloting the technology program at several airports around the country since late 2007, including airports in Houston, San Antonio and Austin.

For the TSA, a paperless boarding ticket, such as a bar code on a cell phone, is considered more secure. The agency is concerned that paper boarding tickets, particularly those printed on a home printer as many e-tickets are these days, could possibly be replicated, letting someone into the secure area of an airport.

Currently, there are 30 airports and 5 different airlines that are testing the program. Fort Worth-based American Airlines is testing the program at airports in Los Angeles, Orange County and Chicago.

After the media event, I will let you know if the TSA and Continental provide any more details about the D/FW pilot program.

-Andrea Ahles

Does the coughing passenger next to you have the flu?

Online website, TripAdvisor, put out another one of its surveys this week where it asked its users if they would tell flight crew members if they suspect their seatmate has the flu.

Fifty-seven percent said yes, they would turn in their seatmate, while 43 percent said no.

Last week, United Airlines removed a 50-year-old woman from a flight to Hawaii after crew members thought she had the flu.

-Andrea Ahles

Headlines from over the weekend

A couple things from the weekend...and since I was out on Friday because I had to work the Saturday cops shift this is a good way for me to catch up too.

-American gave out $150 bonuses to about 71,000 employees for meeting customer service goals. Here's the press release.

-Finnair pilots went on strike this morning, causing the Scandinavian carrier to cancel and ground all domestic and international flights. Thousands of passengers are expected to be affected, the AP reports.

-And if you haven't read our own Bob Cox's F-35 story about how the program will need more money and an extra two years, check it out here.

-Andrea Ahles

F-35B test plane arrives in Pax River

 

The first F-35B short-takeoff-vertical-landing (STOVL) test aircraft (BF-1) arrived at Naval Air Station Patuxent River on Sunday where it will begin conducting vertical flight testing. The aircraft, piloted by Jon Beesley, left Dobbins AFB in Marietta, Ga., at 11:34 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 15, and arrived at Pax River a little more than an hour later. Beesley departed Fort Worth on Thursday and had to spend two days in Marietta waiting for the weather en route to Maryland to clear.

- Bob Cox 

Another F-35 flies - finally

At 1:34 p.m. Saturday Lockheed Martin test pilot Doc Nelson pulled back on the throttle and the fourth F-35 flight test aircraft leaped from the runway on its maiden flight.

It was the first flight for test aircraft AF-1, the first re-designed A-model conventional takeoff aircraft like those destined for the U.S. Air Force and most allied nations that are expected to buy F-35s.

The flight was originally scheduled for one hour, but with no trouble signs and plenty of gas on board Nelson went ahead and checked off several more test points before landing at about 3:10 p.m.

Lockheed's F-35 program managers, Dan Crowley and Tom Burbage, co-executive vice president/general managers overseeing the program, observed the flight from the company's control tower and shook hands with the staff when Nelson landed the aircraft softly as the two F-16 chase planes flew overhead.

Crowley said the flight went very smooth with only a couple of minor caution indicators. AF-1 is only the fourth test plane to fly in three years as Lockheed has struggled to get planes built and into the test program. Officials said they hope to fly the plane at least a couple of more times next week and several times before it is flown to Edwards Air Force Base.

Meanwhile, STOVL flight test plane BF-1 spent another day in Marietta, Ga. waiting for improved weather to continue its ferry flight to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station flight test center to begin vertical flight testing.

- Bob Cox

An F-35 has flown the coop

The first F-35B short-takeoff-vertical-landing aircraft finally left Fort Worth on Friday bound for the Navy's Patuxent River, Md. test center.

Flight test aircraft BF-1 took off early Friday and landed at Lockheed Martin's Marietta, Ga. facility about 11 a.m. Lockheed officials had hoped that test pilot John Beesley would, after a refueling stop and check out of the airplane, be able to make the second leg of the trip to Pax River.

But bad weather, which has delayed the Pax River trip all week, shrouded the Navy facility on Friday. The plan is to make the trip Saturday, weather permitting.

Meanwhile, the first flight test of the conventional takeoff F-35A model is reportedly imminent.

- Bob Cox

Fly to Amsterdam from DFW lately?

Did you know that there is a non-stop flight from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport to Amsterdam four days a week on KLM?

Evidently not that many people do, as Air France-KLM vice president Christine Ourmieres was in the Metroplex on Thursday, meeting with potential customers and the media to raise awareness of the flight.

KLM started service at D/FW Airport in March 2008 with one daily flight every day of the week. With the recession, the Dutch-based carrier reduced the frequency of its flights to the Netherlands.

"We have the widest network and the Netherlands can be a gateway to the rest of Europe and Africa," Ourmieres said. "We are here to create more choice for the customer."

Ourmieres also pointed out that with its joint venture with Delta, the European carriers are able to seamlessly offer corporate travel products to customers in a way that other carriers, who do not have anti-trust immunity, cannot.

And while KLM is supporting Delta’s bid to get Japan Airlines into the SkyTeam fold – and away from Fort Worth-based American Airlines’ oneworld alliance – Ourmieres chose not to make any comments on the SkyTeam’s efforts to bolster its Asia presence.

-Andrea Ahles

After year of talks, British Airways and Iberia to merge

Oneworld alliance partners British Airways and Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana announced this evening that it will merge in a $7 billion all-stock deal.

The new merged carrier will be able to compete with larger rivals such as Air France-KLM and Lufthansa. In the deal, BA shareholders will get 1 share of the combined company while Iberia shareholders will get 1.0205 shares.

Both carriers agreed to a joint venture with Fort Worth-based American Airlines and are asking for anti-trust immunity from the U.S. and European governments. The Department of Transportation was supposed to rule on the anti-trust exemption application by the end of October but it is unclear how this new European merger may affect the agency's decision.

For the full Bloomberg story, click here.

-Andrea Ahles

War of words: American vs. Virgin

Virgin Atlantic decided to enter into the JAL fight this morning with a few sharp words for American and by this afternoon, American decided to fire back.

Japan Airlines is struggling financially and is considering investments from either American or Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines. If it enters into a partnership with Delta, JAL would switch from the oneworld alliance to the SkyTeam alliance run by Delta.

Here's what Virgin Atlantic said in its press release:

A Delta-JAL joint venture would have a 54 percent capacity share on US-Narita routes which is smaller than the 64 percent share that a British Airways/American Airlines venture would have on US-Heathrow routes

"Virgin Atlantic absolutely agrees with American Airlines that a high level of market concentration should be an insurmountable hurdle to obtain antitrust immunity for a possible alliance such as BA/AA. Mr. Arpey has clearly highlighted why dominant groups like AA and BA shouldn't be given regulator clearance. We have asked the DOT to further investigate his views as American cannot have it both ways," said Virgin chief executive Steve Ridgway.

And for American's point of view in its press release:

American is opposed to a Delta-Japan Airlines tie-up for the same reason we are confident our transatlantic immunity application will be approved: to preserve and enhance competition.

SkyTeam with a Delta-JAl combination would account for nearly 60 percent of U.S.-Tokyo passengers as opposed to oneworld's approximate 44 percent share of U.S.-London passengers.

Significant competition will remain after AA and BA receive immunity, as 78 percent of travelers on city pairs where AA and BA both provide nonstop service would continue to have three or more competitive options. Just 27 percent of passengers on city pairs where Delta and JAL overlap would continue to have three or more competitors.

-Andrea Ahles

BTS says that airline employment is down 5.5 percent

New numbers from the Bureau of Transportation show that airline industry employment has dropped 5.5 percent in September when compared to the same month in 2008.

It's no surprise that airline employment numbers continue to decline as carriers cut flights out of their schedules and lay off workers as a result.

September employment numbers:

Carrier Name	Full Time	Part Time	Total
AirTran	7,405	624	8,029
Alaska Airlines	8,690	1,275	9,965
American	62,917	9,604	72,521
American Eagle	8,189	1,619	9,808
Continental	30,365	6,017	36,382
Delta	42,233	6,199	48,432
Frontier	3,784	985	4,769
Jet Blue	9,115	3,325	12,440
Northwest	23,433	2,248	25,681
Southwest	34,477	657	35,134
United	41,661	5,380	47,041
US Airways	28,016	4,378	32,394

-Andrea Ahles