Aviation News Update

Filed in archive Aviation News on March 30, 2008

Here's the best of the aviation news I missed.

Smoky smell in cabin forces Fla. landing

Officials say an American Airlines jet has made a safe emergency landing in West Palm Beach, Fla., after passengers noticed a smoky smell in the cabin. The airline says Friday morning's problem isn't related to inspections of wiring bundles on other MD-80 jets that led the company to cancel hundreds of flights this week. The plane returned to Palm Beach International Airport about 10 minutes after taking off on a flight bound for Chicago. There were 145 people on board.

Colgan To Re-bid EAS Routes In Three States

Citing rising fuel costs, Colgan Air Inc. said Friday that it will re-bid the majority of its Essential Air Service (EAS) routes, but stressed that the move is a "procedural process" that won't alter services in the affected communities. "Because EAS does not have a mechanism to provide for unforeseeable cost increases, Colgan must file to exit the market, followed by a re-bid at a higher rate," the carrier said. The only option, the carrier explained, is to dump the routes and re-bid them.

Air France-KLM Courts Labor Unions

Air France-KLM held firm on plans to lay off 2,100 people as part of its takeover bid of the ailing Italian airline Alitalia, but courted skeptical unions by promising to keep more ground and maintenance staff than originally planned. Air France-KLM is hoping to overcome opposition from powerful Italian unions by offering to keep almost half the staff at Alitalia's ground and maintenance business and extend early retirement, retraining and other welfare measures to workers who are let go.