Don't touch my junk!

How'd you like to do this for a living.?

More Mergers Likely

Don't shoot the messenger.

Airline Employment by Job Category

BTS Releases 2010 Passenger Airline Employment by Job Category.


U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 4.9 percent more pilots and 1.1 percent more maintenance workers in 2010 than in 2009 while total industry jobs declined by 0.5 percent, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today.

BTS, a part of the Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the six large network carriers employed 1.3 percent fewer pilots and 2.3 percent more maintenance workers in 2010 than in 2009. A separate group of the seven largest low-cost carriers employed 11.2 percent more pilots and 1.5 percent more maintenance workers from 2009 to 2010. The group of regional airlines employed 4.9 percent more pilots and 3.3 percent fewer maintenance workers from 2009 to 2010. Employment numbers for individual regional airlines can be found on the BTS website.

Alaska Airlines had the largest decrease in maintenance employees for the network airlines at 6.7 percent. US Airways had the largest decrease in pilot employees for the network airlines at 2.6 percent. Delta Air Lines’ employment increases reflect its merger with Northwest Airlines that became effective for reporting purposes in January 2010.

All the low-cost carriers added pilots from 2009 to 2010 while only Southwest and Spirit Airlines reduced maintenance employees for this period. Allegiant had the largest increase in maintenance employees at 51.0 percent. Virgin America had the largest increase in pilot employees at 43.6 percent.

See BTS Annual Airline Employment press release for summary tables and additional data.

Historic annual employment data can be found on the BTS web site.

More than a pretty face

B & B for the thrifty.

Air India losses pilots

Playing Fast and Lose.

Tivo for your Radio

Searching Radio by phrase, such as 'registered traveler'.

EPIC

Litigation Journal (Body Scanners).

Caribbean Pass

It's a Start.

757 Airworthiness Directive

Deployment of Spoiler Pairs.

Legal Effect.

Airport Status / Delays

Sign up for updates via phone.

Proper Installation of Child Safety Seats (Video)

From the FAA.

Air France Airbus

Air France 447, the Deepest End (via the NYTimes Sunday Supplement).

Some of the finest writing on the subject of why governments should never own airlines.

Update: May23, 2011:

Recovered Voice Recorder Reveals Capt. On Routine Rest Break When Trouble Began.

Black Boxes and Pilot Error.

Reports of Pilot Error Condemned (NYTimes).


DailyBeast.

Subglacial Eruptions

WebCam.

Targeting

Center for Human Rights and Global Justice. (Studies)

Visa Waiver program

GAO Report.

Oversight of NMB

Congressional Letter.

PDF of Letter.

Google Searches cater to your pre-existing bias

Thereby reinforcing such bias, rather than presenting conflicting information on the subject. Well, that's the allegation, anyway. See the interview from The Diane Rehm Show on NPR, March 17, 2011. Author formerly associated with MoveOn.org, skirts the issue of how those who supported Clinton were deleted from the organization's email list after Obama won the nomination. Not travel related, however, this is why someone has to do the digging to get the information in front of you, because your own searches may or may not yield the same resources, depending upon your pre-existing bias.

Everybody Wing Chun Tonight

Yeah, right.

national terror alert

Data.

Immunity for Delta and Virgin Blue

DOT 59-11
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Contact: Bill Mosley
Tel. (202) 366-4570



DOT Proposes to Approve Antitrust Immunity for Delta/Virgin Blue Alliance

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today proposed to approve an application for antitrust immunity made by Delta Air Lines and affiliates of the Virgin Blue Group to operate joint services between the United States and Australia. The carriers revised their application after the Department tentatively denied an earlier request for immunity last September.

Antitrust immunity allows airlines to closely coordinate their international operations. In today’s show-cause order, the Department tentatively concluded that the revised application demonstrated that the alliance would produce sufficient public benefits to justify a grant of immunity without diminishing competition.

The Virgin Blue Group includes V Australia, Virgin Blue and Pacific Blue Airlines affiliates in both Australia and New Zealand.

In today’s order, the Department said Delta and its partners had made substantial changes from their previous application, addressing concerns that immunity would provide only limited benefit to consumers. In the new application, the Virgin Blue Group expanded the scope of the alliance to include service to more passengers. It also said that it had completed an upgrade of its reservation system to ensure compatibility with Delta’s system, providing consumers with a more seamless travel network. In addition, the carriers said they would serve more cities and offer more capacity at the start of their alliance than they originally proposed, providing more benefits to consumers at the outset.

Interested parties are invited to provide comments as to why the proposed decision should not be made final. Objections are due in 14 calendar days, and answers to objections are due seven days afterward. Following the comment period, the Department will review all filings and then issue a final decision. If the Department grants final approval, the carriers must start their joint venture within 18 months of a final order.

Today’s proposed decision, comments and other documents in the case are available on the Internet at

Regulations.gov.
docket DOT-OST-2009-0155.

-END-

Schneier.com Hat Tip

Schneier's Blog.

4th Amendment does not include curtilage of House:

Po-lice can plant a tracking device on your car in your driveway. So. . .how easy do you think it will be to extend that surveillance plant device to your carry on luggage, in which there is no reasonable expectation of privacy?

And then this, today, from CourthouseNews.

Decimating 4th Amendment.

Opinion.

SupremeCourtBlog.

More.

The go-to guy on the 4th.

Then this, today, May 18, 2011- Warrantless searches of CD and DVD manufacturing plants.Anyone remember the "ask not for whom the bell tolls" argument? It tolls for thee.

9/11 Conspiracy Theorists

New Book Review, from the NYTimes.

9/11 Conspiracy Theorists

New Book Review, from the NYTimes.

Dept of State

Advice.

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Travel Screening.

SWA-Bags Fly Free

Paper.

Bed Bugs & MRSA

Dear God, no.

Journal of Infectious Diseases. (June 2011)(advance)

From CDC.

The CDC's Yellow Book.

W/O suspicion

ACLU.

Alerts

Centralized.

Federal Register

Press Release – FAA Revises Proposal to Enhance Air Carrier Training Programs

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2011
Contact: Alison Duquette or Les Dorr
Phone: (202) 267-3883


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today proposed a substantial and wide-ranging overhaul of air carrier crew training. The supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (SNPRM) addresses comments from the January 2009 proposal and provisions laid out in the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010.

“The United States has the world’s safest aviation system, but we are continually seeking ways to make it even safer,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This proposal will make U.S. pilots and other crewmembers even better-equipped to handle any emergency they may encounter.”

“The FAA is proposing the most significant changes to air carrier training in 20 years,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “This is a major effort to strengthen the performance of pilots, flight attendants and dispatchers through better training.”

Responding to a congressional mandate, the proposed requirements reflect a significant shift in training philosophy designed to produce qualified and capable crewmembers and dispatchers ready to face current and future aviation challenges.

Under this proposal, flight crews would have to demonstrate, not just learn, critical skills in “real-world” training scenarios. Pilots would be required to train as a complete flight crew, coordinate their actions through Crew Resource Management, and fly scenarios based on actual events. Dispatchers would have enhanced training and would be required to apply that knowledge in today’s complex operating environment.

The revised proposal would require ground and flight training to teach pilots how to recognize and recover from stalls and aircraft upsets. The proposal also would require remedial training for pilots with performance deficiencies such as failing a proficiency test or check, or unsatisfactory performance during flight training or a simulator course.

The proposal would address how air carriers may modify training programs for aircraft with similar flight handling characteristics. It also reorganizes and revises the qualification, training, and evaluation requirements for all crewmembers and dispatchers.

Like the original proposal, the supplemental notice would require the use of pilot flight simulation training devices. Pilots also would have to complete special hazard training in addition to practicing the use of crew resource management skills.

The supplemental proposal also contains requirements derived from voluntary FAA-approved alternative training regimens such as Advanced Qualification Programs (AQP). These include: crew-oriented, scenario-based training; demonstration of satisfactory skill on each task to determine necessary job performance training hours; a continuous analysis process that lets the certificate holder validate how effective the qualification and training program is, or where it may need to be changed.

The new proposal also clarifies that the proposal’s economic impact on air carriers that conduct training under voluntary, FAA-approved alternative programs, such as AQP, and the time used for flight simulator training, would be minimal.

Flight attendants would be required to complete hands-on emergency drills every 12 months, and the proposal would standardize the training and experience requirements for certain dispatchers and instructors.

The proposal will be on display at the Federal Register.

The comment period closes on July 19, 2011.



Crewmember Recurrent Training.


Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.


Supplemental Notice.

CourtHouseNews

Screening Challenge Fails.

national terror alert

Data.

TWIC

GAO Report.

AirWorthinessDirective Airbus 310

Read.
Update:
Airbus' Recovered Black Box suggests no technical malfunction in 2009 crash of airliner.

No Fly List Decision

Via CourthouseNews.

Air Consumer Report May 2011

Rating Efficiencies.

NewsHounds

How folks find the news they want, where they go on the sites, and why they leave to go someplace else. The new NewsAggregator(s), like this one!

Scholar

Networked Carriers.

Treasure Trove of (Valuable) Location Data via your Cell

While violating your privacy.From the WSJ.

Legislators schedule hearings.

Technology and the Law "Protecting Mobile Privacy: Your Smartphones, Tablets, Cell Phones and Your Privacy":

LiveWebcast.

Air France 447

Air France 447, the Deepest End (via the NYTimes Sunday Supplement).

Some of the finest writing on the subject of why governments should never own airlines.

Update: May23, 2011:

Recovered Voice Recorder Reveals Capt. Not in Cockpit when plane when down.

Implications

Why should everyone know this but you.?

Studies.

Biometrics

Who are you.?

New Madrid Homesteads

This is relevant because of the Japan Nuclear Reactor incident, and because lots of people don't realize we have several Reactors located along the New Madrid Fault line.

Travel Notices from the CDC. (some about Japan)

Dept of State Travel Alert

Heightened.

Enhancing Airline Passenger Protections

Final Rule, Published in Federal Register, April 25, 2011.

Issues in Aviation Law

New Issue.

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