March 4, 2010 at 3:39 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Government,
Manufacturing
Associated Press | Defense contractor Boeing Co. said Thursday
that it will bid for the Air Force’s troubled $35 billion refueling
plane contract, leaving rival Northrop Grumman Corp. to decide if it
will make its own attempt to build the long-delayed jets.
Boeing said it plans to offer a military version of its 767 passenger
jet for a fleet of 179 new planes. The contract is expected to be the
first of several to replace many of the Air Force’s current planes that
date back to the 1950s. Boeing said it will submit its formal bid by
May 10.
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Feb. 26, 2010 at 12:19 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
A screenshot of United’s apology to Twitter followers after the airline’s Twitter account was briefly hacked on Friday morning. Hackers sent one message that included an offer for “better sex” and a link to a Web site. (Tribune)
By Julie Johnsson | United Airlines’ Twitter account was hacked Friday morning, part of a
broader security breach at the social media site that affected the
United Kingdom government and is spreading around the world.
Hackers are using hijacked accounts to distribute mildly pornographic
tweets and direct messages to other Twitter users, said Dennis Howlett,
an independent enterprise software analyst based in Spain.
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Feb. 26, 2010 at 6:30 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
Associated Press | Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings,
which is still digesting the acquisition of two airlines this year,
announced plans Thursday to buy 40 of the newest generation of
fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly passenger jets for more
than $3 billion.
Also in a quarterly conference call with Wall Street analysts, Republic
executives said they are moving quickly to streamline the brand names
and services of Midwest and Frontier airlines, which were acquired in
2009.
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Feb. 25, 2010 at 5:18 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
Boeing employees cheer as the first 787 Dreamliner takes off from the runway at Paine Field in Everett, Wash. in December. (Mike Siegel/Seattle Times/AP)
By Julie Johnsson | UAL Corp.’s United Airlines said Thursday it had finalized its order to buy 25 of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliners with an option to buy another 50 jets, one half of an order that’s expected to total $8 billion.
The Chicago-based carrier, however, still hasn’t finalized terms with Airbus SAS to purchase 25 A350-XWB aircraft, with options for another 50 jets. United said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Thursday that it expects to close that deal by the end of March.
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Feb. 25, 2010 at 11:50 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Tourism,
Travel
Associated Press | The regional affiliate of American Airlines says it will set aside room on some of its planes for first-class seating beginning this summer.
American Eagle said Thursday it will offer nine first-class seats on its CRJ-700 jets, which are much smaller than most planes operated by big sister American Airlines. The jets will have 63 or 65 coach seats after the redesign.
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Feb. 24, 2010 at 8:11 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Manufacturing
Associated Press | Seven years and two jail convictions later, the Pentagon revealed on
Wednesday its latest attempt to get a $35 billion contract for
refueling planes off the ground.
Within moments, the proposal was at risk of a crash and burn after a
major contractor considered withholding its bid because it believed the
terms unfairly favored its competitor.
With thousands of jobs possibly at stake for the southern state of
Alabama, the state’s two senators weighed in as well, saying the latest
proposal appeared to do little to satisfy Northrop Grumman Corp.’s
suspicions that the terms were skewed against its larger, more
expensive plane in favor of the aircraft maker Boeing Co.
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Feb. 23, 2010 at 3:47 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
All Nippon Airways’ announcement shows how far carriers are going to differentiate themselves. (Kimimasa Mayama/Bloomberg)
By Julie Johnsson | Starting Monday, All Nippon Airways plans to begin introducing women-only bathrooms across the wide-body fleet that it uses on international routes.
The concept is appealing to many travelers. For women, it means guaranteed to access to a cleaner lavatory, where the toilet seat will always be left down.
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Feb. 22, 2010 at 2:59 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
(EPA/Marius Becker)
By Julie Johnsson |
Lufthansa pilots have suspended their strike, which was slated to last through Thursday, and are headed back to the bargaining table with management.
The strike is one of several job actions that could make European vacations a nightmare over the next month. Paris air traffic controllers plan a four-day work stoppage, beginning Tuesday. British Airways’ cabin crews voted Monday to strike in mid-March.
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Feb. 22, 2010 at 8:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
By Julie Johnsson | Boeing’s
787 Dreamliner hastily touched down at Moses Lake, Wash., Friday, after
losing power in one of its engines about an hour into its planned
eight-hour test flight, according to reports.
Chicago-based Boeing Co. confirmed the incident, which was first
reported by blogger Jon Ostrower, and said it repaired the aircraft
over the weekend and returned the 787 to its Seattle-area base on
Sunday.
Get the full story »
Feb. 22, 2010 at 7:48 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Travel
A security officer demonstrates full body scan image on a computer screen on trial at Manchester Airport in Manchester, England in January. (Photo Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
By Julie Johnsson
| Pope Benedict XVI urged caution on the use of body scanners to screen
airline passengers, stating that “human dignity must be preserved,”
reports the Telegraph.
Addressing 1,200 airport workers during the weekend, the pontiff never
directly mentioned the scanners, which can reveal foreign objects
hidden beneath clothing — and even breast implants.
Get the full story »
Feb. 19, 2010 at 12:35 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines,
Jobs/employment
Associated Press | Boeing Co. says it is sending out layoff
notices to more than 1,000 people, most of them technology workers in
Washington state and California.
The notices that went out on Friday mean the workers are at risk for
being laid off April 23. The number of workers to be laid off could
shrink.
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Feb. 18, 2010 at 10:41 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
Boeing employees check the cockpit of a 787 jet earlier this month at Boeing’s manufacturing facility in Everett, Washington (AP)
Dow Jones Newswires | Boeing Co. may reclaim top spot from rival
Airbus as the top civil airplane maker by 2014 once its 787 Dreamliner
begins deliveries, the Financial Times reported late Thursday, citing
an interview with the company’s commercial aircraft division head Jim
Albaugh.
Get the full story »
Feb. 18, 2010 at 12:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
| By Julie Johnsson | A United Airlines aircraft bound from Denver to San Francisco was diverted to Salt Lake City Wednesday morning because of a bomb scare.
United flight 741, a Boeing 757 with 168 passengers and six crew members on board, landed at Salt Lake City at 9:46 a.m., local time, as a “precautionary measure,” said Robin Urbanski, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based carrier.
|
See also
• Video of the plane
|
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Feb. 18, 2010 at 11:41 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
From Reuters | The U.S. Air Force expects to release the final specs for its multi-billion aerial refueling tanker contract by the end of the month and in considering the possibility that Boeing will be the only company bidding.
Read the full story: reuters.com
Feb. 18, 2010 at 7:25 a.m.
Filed under:
Airlines
A terminal at O’Hare International Airport. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
By John Hilkevitch | Airline passengers are growing increasingly dissatisfied with their experience at O’Hare International Airport
on matters ranging from the cleanliness and comfort of terminals to
problems with baggage and security, according to a new survey by J.D.
Power and Associates.
Along with O’Hare slipping in virtually all categories since the last study by J.D. Power two years ago, Midway Airport went from first place in 2008 to ranking ninth in customer satisfaction
this year among 20 medium-sized airports where passengers were surveyed.
Read the full story: chicagotribune.com
