World Cabin Crew
Flight Attendant Charged With Starting Fire On Plane
An American Airlines flight attendant has been charged after admitting to starting a fire on board a flight, the FBI said.
Authorities said Johnathan Tafoya-Montano was working on a flight traveling from Dallas to Detroit on February 1 when he reported a fire in the rear lavatory and then extinguished it.
The plane, which was already near the Detroit airport when the pilot reported the fire to the control tower, landed without incident.
The FBI said an investigation revealed that Tafoya-Montano started the fire.
He was arrested on March 1 and charged with “destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities” and making false statements to authorities.
Tafoya-Montano was released on bond with conditions; he’s not allowed to fly without the court’s permission.
CNN attempts to reach phone numbers listed for Tafoya-Montano for comment were unsuccessful.
Passenger Spots Woman Hiding Baby In Carry-On Luggage
A passenger found out that a woman was hiding a baby in her hand luggage on board Air France flight.
A passenger of flight Air France #AF1891 from Istanbul to Paris CDG was shocked after finding out a woman was carrying a baby son in her hand luggage Monday night, Planet.fr reports.
The bag belonged to a woman sitting at the back of the Airbus A319. A passenger sitting at the row behind noticed that something moved inside. He alerted the crew who discovered a baby of 2 years old. The woman and the baby then were redirected towards the front of the plane.
Air France press service confirmed the information and said the child was traveling without a ticket.
Passengers Clap After 7-Year-Old Forced Off Plane
MESA, AZ – A Valley family said they’re happy to be back in Arizona after being kicked off an Allegiant Air flight from Washington state to Mesa.
Jorge Alvarado said his 7-year-old son Giovanni started having an allergic reaction to a dog on the plane while boarding. Alvarado says the flight attendant moved him and the boy to the back of the plane to get away from the animal but were ultimately kicked off the plane.
The family said they believe a flight attendant, who was making snide remarks, egged on some of the passengers who then applauded as the family walked off the plane.
What passengers didn’t know was that Alvarado has terminal cancer and was making the trip to see family. He said he’s not sure how long he has left.
“ I’m sad this has to be a memory of my dad,” Giovanni said. “Clapping on the plane when he got off.”
The family says the dog’s owner refused to move and feels everyone’s reaction is a slap in the face.
“I felt hopeless when everyone just started laughing at my family, my kids,” Alvarado said. “I felt, what could a husband do? I’m not going to yell at them. I’m just going to show them how to have respect.”
Something good did come out of the ordeal. Southwest Airlines Vacations is giving the family a four-day, three-night stay at Disneyland!
The family said they’re in contact with Allegiant Air, but said they don’t want any compensation for the whole ordeal.
Republic Airways Files for Bankruptcy After Pilot Shortage
Short-haul carrier Republic Airways Holdings Inc. filed for bankruptcy Thursday, blaming a lack of pilots for its failure to succeed when major airlines are enjoying record profits.
Indianapolis-based Republic operates a fleet of smaller planes that provide flights for larger airlines including American Airlines Group Inc., Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. Although it landed a three-year union contract with its pilots last year, the company still had to ground aircraft just as it was trying to renegotiate agreements with the larger carriers and to rework terms of aircraft leases.
“It’s become clear that this process has reached an impasse and that any further delay would unnecessarily waste valuable resources of the enterprise.” Bryan Bedford, Republic’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement Thursday.
Major U.S. airlines have reported record profits in the past two years. Republic’s filing is the first by a big airline since American went into Chapter 11 in 2011. Feeder Pinnacle Airlines sought court protection the following year.
While it was working to negotiate the labor contract, Republic was losing as many as 40 pilots a month, while adding about 30, according to Duane Pfennigwerth, an Evercore ISI analyst.The new contract helped shore up the pilot base, but higher pay meant Republic had to get more compensation from Delta, American and United, according to Dan Akins, a Golden, Colorado-based aviation consultant.Akins was involved in negotiations between the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, which represents Republic’s pilots, and the company last summer. If Republic was struggling to get the three major airlines to pay its higher fees, it may have turned to bankruptcy court to force their hand, he said: “It’s not the preferred path, and I know they did not want to do it.”In bankruptcy, Republic could ask a judge to cancel unprofitable contracts without the penalties that would be imposed without court protection. The filing also will allow the company to escape leases for planes it’s not flying or that are too costly.
Slim Down
Republic has been working to slim down operations by flying the more popular 70- to 88-seat Embraer E170 and E175 aircraft, which are bigger than the Embraer E145 it’s operated for larger carriers. The E170 and E175 are considered in the same fleet type, and flying one type saves money by simplifying employee training and reducing spare parts that must be kept on hand.The airline was flying 41 of the 45-seat E145s at the end of last year’s third quarter and has parked many of the 80 E145s it still controls, Aviation Daily reported on Feb. 23. The airline would remain liable for interest incurred on the parked planes unless it negotiates new terms with the aircraft owners.The goal is for Republic to become “a single fleet, a single operating certificate carrier and one airline with a very bright future,” Bedford said in a recent note to employees, according to Aviation Daily. But he “can’t promise how it will all work out,” the publication said.
Flight Shares
As of the 2015 third quarter, Republic operated 110 of the 550 aircraft flown by the 10 smaller carriers American Airlines uses. It accounted for 16 percent of the 3,400 daily regional flights by American, the airline said. At that time, Republic’s Shuttle America flew about 15 percent of all Delta Connection flights.“Republic is a valued longtime partner,” American said in an e-mailed statement. “It’s very early in this process and we will work with Republic and our other regional partners to make sure we take care of our customers.”Delta spokesman Michael Thomas said the company had no comment on the filing. United didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.Republic reported 19 percent drops in its block hours, seen as a proxy for revenue, in December and January. Listing $2.97 billion in liabilities and $3.56 billion in assets in Chapter 11 papers in Manhattan federal court, the company said it has enough money to operate while it tries to reorganize.
Bombardier Blow
The bankruptcy may be a blow to Canada’s Bombardier Inc., which has struggled to market the C Series jet it’s developing. The aircraft is more than two years late and about $2 billion over budget. Republic signed a firm order for 40 CS300 planes in 2010, though Bedford later cast doubt on the agreement after the carrier’s strategy changed.Marianella de la Barrera, a spokeswoman for Bombardier, didn’t immediately respond Thursday to an e-mailed request for comment on the Republic order.Even with an improved pilot’s contract, Republic’s recruiting efforts were hampered after the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration boosted required flight experience for first officers sixfold to 1,500 hours and set new limits on duty times.“We’ll contact the company and see where we go from here,” Jim Clark, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters at Republic, said in an interview. “Business will continue.”The case is In re Republic Airways Holdings Inc., 16-10429, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
Lufthansa: Airline Cancels 930 Flights Wednesday After Failing To Stop Flight Attendant Strike
Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) will have to cancel 930 flights on Wednesday after cabin crews continued what is shaping up to be the longest strike in the German airline’s history, even after a court ruled it must stop Tuesday’s walkout at one airport.
Flight attendants started striking last Friday over early retirement benefits and pensions and the cabin crew union raised the pressure on Tuesday by calling for walkouts on short- and long-haul flights at Frankfurt, Duesseldorf and Munich airports from 0300 GMT on Wednesday through to 2300 GMT on Friday.
Lufthansa said in a statement it would have to cancel 930 flights to and from the three airports, affecting about 100,000 passengers, adding that management remained ready to talk to the union but only if they first end the strike.
Lufthansa filed for temporary injunctions at labour courts in Darmstadt and Duesseldorf after four days of strikes resulted in more than 1,800 flights being cancelled and left hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.
The court in Duesseldorf halted Tuesday’s strike for crews at Duesseldorf airport, ruling that the strike was illegal because the union had not clearly defined its aims and demands. It is due to consider an additional request by Lufthansa to end the planned strike up until Friday on Wednesday afternoon.
However, the court in Darmstadt rejected Lufthansa’s bid for an injunction to stop the strike, although the decision is likely to face an appeal in a higher court.
The airline is negotiating with various staff groups as it tries to bring costs down to compete with budget rivals and Gulf carriers and has been hit by strikes as a result, with the cabin crew protests coming after walkouts by pilots.
“As management we are forced to explore our legal options, but I would rather find a solution at the negotiating table,” Lufthansa Chief Executive Officer Carsten Spohr said on the sidelines of an event in Berlin on Tuesday.
Lufthansa said the union had offered to end the strike and enter into mediation earlier on Tuesday but had later announced it would continue its strike.
The union, which represents 19,000 flight attendants, said it was open for talks but would not first call off strike action as Lufthansa has demanded as a precondition.
Separately, German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) filed a complaint with Germany’s constitutional court to challenge a legal ruling that forced it to halt its strikes at Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) in September.
The union has held more than a dozen strikes over the last 18 months, but the last one was stopped when a court in Hesse ruled on Sept. 9 that the pilots had overstepped their mandate by striking against strategic company decisions.
VC said its complaint was based on two grounds: that the court was wrong in saying the pilots were striking for reasons other than early retirement benefits, and that the court had wrongly assumed the jurisdiction of a higher federal court.
The court said at the time that in this dispute the pilots were only supposed to be on strike over pay issues but an analysis of union statements showed the protests also centred on opposition to the expansion of Lufthansa’s budget airline.
A spokesman for the Karlsruhe-based constitutional court said no date had been set yet for the hearing.
Lufthansa shares closed down 1 percent, underperforming the DAX Index .GDAXI.
Plane Catches Fire On Runway In Fort Lauderdale
Multiple crews responded to a fire on a plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport Thursday.
The fire occurred on Dynamic Airways flight 405, which was scheduled to depart at 12:30 p.m. to Caracas, Venezuela.
FAA officials said the Boeing 767 caught fire while taxiing for departure. An aircraft that was behind it reported that fuel was leaking from the plane before the fire started.
Passengers evacuated the plane by sliding onto the runway, officials said. It’s unknown how many passengers were on the plane.
Smoke was seen billowing from the plane before firefighters doused it with foam. At least one passenger was seen being placed on a stretcher.
The airline is headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina.
DOT Bans E-Cigarettes In Checked Luggage
Under a new federal rule announced Monday by the Department of Transportation, airline passengers and crewmembers will no longer be able to pack battery-powered portable electronic smoking devices such as e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes, personal vaporizers and any sort of electronic nicotine delivery system, in checked luggage.
“We know from recent incidents that e-cigarettes in checked bags can catch fire during transport,” Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in statement announcing the new federal rule. “Fire hazards in flight are particularly dangerous. Banning e-cigarettes from checked bags is a prudent safety measure.”
The DOT cites a U.S. Fire Administration report listing more than two dozen e-cigarette-related explosions and fires that have taken place since 2009, including some that involved e-cigarettes that were in checked luggage on airplanes.