In a letter to staff, Mr. Dickson said it was “time to go home” to his family after a tumultuous period of more than two years leading the agency.

WASHINGTON — Steve Dickson, the administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration, will resign at the end of next month, the agency said on Wednesday night.

The announcement by Mr. Dickson, who was appointed by President Donald J. Trump, cut short a five-year term after what had been a tumultuous period for the F.A.A. In a letter to staff, Mr. Dickson said it was “time to go home” to his family after 43 years in the aviation industry and more than two years leading the agency.

“Over the past several years, my family has been a source of tremendous encouragement, strength and support,” Mr. Dickson said. “Nevertheless, after sometimes long and unavoidable periods of separation from my loved ones during the pandemic, it is time to devote my full time and attention to them.”

He said the F.A.A. was in a “better place” than it was two years ago, adding that the agency had reinvigorated its safety culture, overcome some of its toughest challenges and “built a stronger, more collaborative, inclusive and open culture.”

Mr. Dickson had sometimes come under heavy criticism from lawmakers as he responded to a series of challenges at the agency, but on Wednesday night, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg praised him as “the F.A.A.’s steady and skilled captain.”

“His tenure has been marked by steadfast commitment to the F.A.A.’s safety mission and the 45,000 employees who work tirelessly every day to fulfill it,” Mr. Buttigieg said in a statement.

Mr. Dickson, a former pilot who rose to become senior vice president of flight operations at Delta Air Lines and a U.S. Air Force Academy graduate, took charge of the F.A.A. as the agency was reeling after two deadly crashes that grounded Boeing ’s 737 Max jet for almost two years.

Congress and safety experts condemned the agency for lapses in oversight that helped lead to the crashes, which killed 346 people. Mr. Dickson, who took over the agency months after the Max was grounded, oversaw revisions to the aircraft that allowed the fleet to eventually resume commercial flights .

He then had to navigate a cascade of disruptions to air travel from the Covid-19 pandemic, including new airline safety regulations , travel restrictions, a severe decline in commercial air traffic and a surge in unruly passengers that has led some airline executives to call for a federal no-fly list for those convicted of disrupting flights.

The agency had to confront concerns that a nationwide expansion of 5G cellular networks could interfere with sensitive aircraft instruments. The F.A.A. negotiated a compromise with cellular providers in January to partly delay the implementation of 5G service near airport runways.

Mr. Dickson was confirmed in an unusually divided Senate vote in July 2019 after some Democrats raised concerns about his involvement in a whistle-blower case at Delta. The agency had been without permanent leadership for more than a year and a half before his confirmation.

Representative Peter A. DeFazio, an Oregon Democrat and the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said that although he “didn’t always see eye to eye” with Mr. Dickson, he thanked him for his leadership during a challenging time for the agency.

“President Biden must now nominate a new leader committed to the highest standards of aviation safety,” Mr. DeFazio said in a statement.

Article courtesey of BTN – The Business Travel News https://www.btnews.co.uk/article/18716

Guest of Honour at last week’s UK Aviation Club lunch at the RAC London, Air Arabia boss Adel Abdullah Ali was in a positive state of mind. He said that the airline was profitable for the first nine months of 2021, after a loss-making prior year, and the carrier would shortly unveil its full-year performance, which Ali says “should be good”.

Asked by BTN’s Malcolm Ginsberg whether London was a possibility he said the route was on the airline’s wish list, the carrier already serving Gatwick via Morocco.  Sharjah International Airport is less than 20 miles from Dubai International with currently nine flights to London, all wide-bodied. 

UK educated, and with British Airways at the start of his airline career, Mr Ali made it clear that the airline’s future was with the Airbus A320 series, which were easily obtainable on lease, and the long-range A321LR already in the fleet.

Ali also spoke of a new Pakistani joint-venture carrier to commence around mid-year.  Called Fly Jinnah.  It is being established with conglomerate Lakson Group and will be based in Karachi.  He said the airline would be flying around “June time” and that it would initially operate domestically for a year.  “Domestic Pakistan is good business”, he said.

Founded in 2003 Air Arabia today flies 58 aircraft and operates 179 routes.  Its largest overseas base is Casablanca where it serves 17 destinations.

The next Aviation Club lunch is Tuesday 15 March with guest speaker Ed Bastian, CEO Delta Air Lines.

Further articles on this event can be found at:

Routesonline.com – https://bit.ly/3rNoaSx

Reported by BTN – Malcolm Ginsberg:

Speaking at the Aviation Club in London last week Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar Al Baker said that Airbus needs to admit it had a problem with flaws on the surface of its A350 jets and ruled out buying freighter planes from the European aircraft manufacturing company.

BTN’s Editor in Chief made a presentation to His Excellency. Having spent 23 years as Qatar Airways CEO Al Baker is now the longest serving CEO of a major airline.

“They acknowledge that they are working to find a solution, which means they don’t have a solution, and they don’t have a solution because they don’t know why it is happening.”  Al Baker compared the issue with the production and quality issues Boeing has with the 787, saying: “Boeing’s problems with the 787 are ‘dwarfed’ by that at the A350.”

Al Baker confirmed that Qatar Airways had grounded 20 of the long-range A350 jets in a month-long dispute over paint and other surface damage that has also prompted the airline to halt further deliveries.

“Qatar Airways cannot sit with its arms folded and legs crossed. We need to solve it. Airbus has made a very large dent in our widebody operations,” Al Baker said.

“It is a serious matter; we don’t know if it is an airworthiness issue; we also don’t know that it is not an airworthiness issue. The real cause of it has not been established by Airbus. Now they have, at last, accepted that there are other airlines, several of them that have the same condition.”

An investigation done by Reuters showed that the Qatar Airways issue over the A350 is not an isolated case. A private maintenance message board used by Airbus and A350 operators and reviewed by Reuters showed that as early as 2016, Finnair had raised concerns over paint and reported in October 2019 that damage had spread below to the anti-lightning mesh.

According to the investigation, Air France, Cathay Pacific, Etihad and Lufthansa also complained of paint damage.

The response to His Excellency’s discourse was given by Malcolm Ginsberg, Editor-in-Chief Business Travel News (BTN), who said that Al Baker sought every opportunity to promote Qatar and his airline.  “I might as well add a certain Michael O’Leary who also took the same route, but with far less civility.  I know which airline I would prefer to fly on!”

Other stories can be found at the following links:

Aerotime Hub: https://bit.ly/3IRoLZO

www.qatarairways.com

The Club is saddened to hear of the death on 2^nd April of a long-time supporter and friend of the Club, Mike Sanders.  For one so closely involved with the development of Concorde it is apt that he was laid to rest on 9 April directly under Concorde’s flight path on final approach to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, that date also marking the 52^nd anniversary of Concorde’s maiden flight,

Born on 1943 in Chipping Sodbury, England, Mike attended Filton Technical College and went on to join British Aerospace in 1963 where he stayed until 1979. Mike rose to the role of lead flight test engineer on the Concorde project, spending countless hours on board with pilot and good friend, Brian Trubshaw. Embarking on long months of route-proving around the world, his wife Sheila and children Paul and Julie would revel in the excitement of receiving postcards from Dad’s travels to far flung places they could then only relate to in an atlas.

Seconded by BAe to Airbus in Toulouse in 1979, Mike moved his family to France, driving from the UK on their adventure in Mike’s newly-acquired Citroen. After becoming a direct employee of Airbus, Mike spent months in the US and across Europe promoting the A320 aircraft family and ultimately sold the first A320 aircraft to a US lessor, namely GATX.  Shortly after GATX hired Mike to help them lease out those early A320s!

Following the sale of GATX to Macquarie, Mike spent time in the Dublin office (not everyone had one of those back then) and could never quite get used to his noisy neighbour – a certain upstart called Bono from U2.

In time Mike joined Kuwaiti-lessor, ALAFCO, once again based in Toulouse and continued to teach the leasing business to anyone who wanted to learn.

Adel A. Albanwan, CEO of ALAFCO commented “We at ALAFCO were fortunate to have Mike work with us for over thirteen years.  Mike was passionate about his job and the aviation industry.   He was a humble man and a good teacher and very well-liked and respected by everyone who worked with him.  In short, Mike was an encyclopedia of aviation. We will miss him personally and professionally.”

Latterly in his career, Mike consulted for several parties, including UK leisure airline, jet2.com. Founder and Executive Chairman, Philip Meeson, spent a lot of time with Mike discussing the industry and fleet plans and recalls that “Mike was incredibly experienced and very wise. He helped us in many negotiations, including with both Airbus and Boeing and was always calm under pressure and very good company. His contribution was always significant and remains very much appreciated”.

Article from www.btnews.co.uk

EasyJet boss Johan Lundgren was Guest of Honour at an Aviation Club virtual lunch last week.

With overseas leisure travel expected to be permitted for people in England from 17 May as part of the next easing of coronavirus restrictions he said that popular destinations such as Spain, Portugal and Greece should be placed in the lowest risk category with an announcement as soon as possible.

“The success of the UK vaccine rollout has broken the link between cases and hospitalisation.

“It is the same success that allows for the domestic reopening.

“And as we get into May and June we expect the situation to improve because of the progress of the vaccination programmes.

“So, we have demonstrated through the scientific analysis it is safe for much of Europe to be categorised as green.”

EasyJet commissioned research by leading epidemiologists Dr Jeffrey Townsend and Dr Alison Galvan from the Yale School of Public Health in the US.  

The analysis, based on data from 12 April, found that opening UK borders to travellers from much of Europe would increase hospital admissions by less than 4%.

If Spain – the most popular overseas destination for UK holidaymakers – was on the green list, only an additional four people per week would require hospital treatment due to coronavirus, the study found.

The researchers also claimed the 10-day quarantine period for people returning from amber countries is longer than necessary.

Dr Townsend said: “Travel quarantines have been a cornerstone of efforts to prevent infectious disease prevention since the 14th century.

“We’ve determined that appropriate, shorter quarantines and judicious testing can facilitate travel, in cases where they are needed to prevent unsafe levels of transmission.”

Asked about easyJet and Heathrow, the only major European airport it does not operate into. Mr Lundgren said it was not a no.  “It’s something we are always monitoring”.  As for Eilat (Israel), he was less fulsome in spite of incentives from the Israeli Government (see in this week’s BTN).  “We already operate to Ben Gurion from three UK airports.  They are some of our most successful routes.  The status quo remains.

https://www.aviationclub.org.uk

www.easyjet.com

Johan Lundgren (left), easyJet chief executive, and Karl Brünjes, Aviation Club chairman.

Additional coverage can be reviewed at:

The Guardain: Easyjet urges UK to put most of Europe on ‘green’ Covid travel list | easyJet | The Guardian

Yahoo! Finance: EasyJet urges UK government to put Europe on ‘green list’ (yahoo.com)

Mail Online: Coronavirus: Brits could safely travel to most of Europe without quarantine, easyJet study claims | Daily Mail Online

Evening Standard: EasyJet boss wants summer hotspots on green list due to ‘minimal’ impact | Evening Standard

The Independent: easyJet boss calls for opening up travel due to vaccine success | The Independent

Belfast Telegraph: EasyJet boss wants summer hotspots on green list due to ‘minimal’ impact – BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

Express & Star News, Kent News Online, Suffolk News: EasyJet boss wants summer hotspots on green list due to ‘minimal’ impact | Express & Star (expressandstar.com)

Report from BTNews.co.uk

Using the classic words of Flight International magazine in its heyday Sir Stephen Hillier, Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), came across as a “total aviation man” at a webinar hosted by the Aviation Club of the UK last week.

Sir Stephen Hiller has been chair of the Civil Aviation Authority since August 2020. Sir Stephen introduced himself by stating that whilst a former Marshal of the Royal Air Force he started as a mere Private Pilot Licence (PPL) holder, a licence he still held.   For his prepared discourse it was clearly refreshing to know that in the appointment was somebody who had a fine knowledge of the industry he was now serving.  In a new civil aviation role he saw the way ahead.

Safety was the major point he emphasised, returning to the subject again and again, but he also covered topics as varied as the handling of refunds during the Covid-19 pandemic, the environment and airspace.  He said the CAA looks to beef up its powers to improve consumer protection with regard to the Air Travel Organiser’s Licencing (ATOL) scheme.  Sir Stephen pointed out that the CAA is represented on the travel taskforce “and has an important part to play”.  On the technical front the management delays associated with Covid-19 has meant delays in giving approval extensions, something the CAA is monitoring.

Pilots with a licence from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which the United Kingdom is not now part of, can fly within the UK but this has not been reciprocated.  The CAA is working on this issue.  “We are doing what we can and aware of the situation. This is the same for engineers,” he noted.  Regarding EASA, decisions were made not in his time “and was taken at a higher level”.  He pointed out that the CAA had the advantage of a solid foundation and only required 25 people to upgrade the UK system from what already existed in the way of skills needed.  “No risks were flagged up”.  He pointed out that the Boeing MAX had been approved by both Authorities.

Questioned about slots he noted it was not a CAA responsibility.  

And asked what was the best aircraft he has flown during the final Q&A, Sir Stephen made it clear rather, like himself, the now RAF retired Tornado was his favourite, and that he had pulled rank to fly one in a final sortie two years ago.  He also flew in the RAF Memorial Flight Avro Lancaster, “a memorable experience”.  His first solo was in a Leicester Flying Club Cessna 152 at the age of 17.

For the full interview go to this page.

www.caa.co.uk

Article courtesy BTNews: subscribe for free at BTNews: The Business Travel News

Last week saw NATS CEO Martin Rolfe as guest of honour at the first (virtual) Aviation Club lunch of the year.  He last spoke in 2016.

Aviation Club chairman Karl Brünjes (left) and Martin Rolfe. CEO NATS.Opening his address he cited the analytics company Cirium saying that the pandemic wiped out more than 20 years of global aviation growth, putting traffic levels back to where they were in 1999. Last year more than 40 airlines completely ceased or suspended operations.

He noted that closer to home Eurocontrol has just published a report totting up a total of more than €56bn of aviation losses across Europe in 2020, with 1.7bn fewer passengers contributing to plummeting load factors, as well as 6m fewer flights than in 2019.  By the end of the year 51% of European airframes were grounded and more than 190,000 people across Europe had lost their jobs in the industry.

Martin was emphatic.  “I need no crystal ball to know that it’s going to be a long haul to whatever a ‘new’ normal may look like”.

Two items stood out:  Remote tower operations, where he confirmed that London City Airport was expecting CAA approval this month, and the strange situation regarding the early destination arrival of scheduled aircraft.

“During lockdown we have had the bizarre experience of aircraft leaving their point of origin bang on time and racing to their destination in the hope of being first in the queue, and having to circle for 20 minutes burning precious fuel because they’re too early for their landing slot – or because the airport hasn’t even opened yet. We’ve already spoken with a number of airlines who have been staggered to learn of the fuel they could be saving, and adjusted their departure times accordingly.

Visit the Aviation Club “Speakers” website for a video of the speech.
http://www.aviationclub.org.uk

www.nats.aero

article courtesy of BTNews. Subscribe at www.btnews.co.uk

On Tuesday 8 December the Aviation Club of the UK hosted a Webinar on pursuing business in France in the aftermath of Brexit.  It is one of a series which the Club will continue into the new year.

David Priestley at UK Export Finance gave a government perspective.Karl Brünjes, Chairman, welcomed delegates and introduced the speakers.

Jean-Claude Bouche of JC15 Consulting who outlined the size and nature of the French aerospace market including consideration of the impact of Covid-19 and how priorities have changed over the last year.

Simon Phippard of Bird & Bird introduced the perspective of British aerospace companies. With the UK leaving the EU and not remaining within the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), UK businesses not only lose automatic access to EU markets, but many UK-issued aerospace licences and approvals are no longer valid on EU registered aircraft. While some businesses have an establishment in the EU or have transferred their licences to EU subsidiaries, many SMEs are not in that position.

Jean-Claude Vecchiato from Bird & Bird’s Paris aerospace practice explained that British companies no longer benefit from the provisions of the EU treaties such as freedom of establishment and of movement of goods and people. However establishing a business in France by, for instance, acquisition or joint venture, would mean that, in most circumstances, they do not have to be treated as “third country” businesses either for access to EU markets or for obtaining EASA approvals. Legally, supply contracts are not fundamentally affected but may need to be amended. Other issues which companies need to consider are the recognition of choice of law and enforcement of judgments.

Corporate partner Anne-Cécile Hansson explained how branches of UK companies will be treated as branches of “third country” companies, which may require notification of additional information. French law imposes restrictions on controls on foreign investment in certain sectors including some defence activities. However in principle there is no restriction on a UK company setting up a French subsidiary.

Laurence Clot, head of Bird & Bird’s tax practice in Paris, noted that double tax treaty provisions between France and the UK will protect taxpayers from most of the impact of Brexit. This is true of tax treatment of interest, royalties and branch taxes but there may be withholding tax implications in relation to dividends. On the other hand, if the UK changes some tax rates such that it is regarded as a tax haven, France may apply anti-abuse provisions. As is well known, VAT and customs duties will be handled very differently on imports and exports between the UK and France.

David Priestley Head of Export Finance Managers and Business Group Operations at UK Export Finance, and formerly with Rolls-Royce gave the Government’s view.  This is the operating title of the Export Credits Guarantee Department, the United Kingdom’s export credit agency and a ministerial department of the UK Government.  He explained how the assistance can be obtained providing guarantees, letters of credit, loans and credit insurance to assist businesses in securing, fulfilling and getting paid for orders.

www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-export-finance

www.twobirds.com

Richard Forson, President and CEO Cargolux Airlines addressed Club Members and Guests during a webinar session on Thursday 12 November 2020

The following article is taken from BTNews and can be found at https://www.btnews.co.uk/article/16889

Other reports include:

Choice Aviation Services: https://choice.aero/cargolux-looking-very-closely-at-777-300er-freighter-conversion/

Simple Flying: https://simpleflying.com/boeing-777-300er-freighter-conversion-gains-interest-from-cargolux/le

IATA News: https://www.iatanews.com/2020/11/15/boeing-777-300er-freighter-conversion-gains-interest-from-cargolux/

Airliner Watch: https://www.airlinerwatch.com/2020/11/cargolux-eyes-777-300er-freighter.html

https://newsakmi.com/travel-news/boeing-777-300er-freighter-conversion-gains-interest-from-cargolux/

FlightGlobal: https://ftp.hotelnewsresource.com/cargolux-looking-very-closely-at-777-300er-freighter-conversion-1939.html

TravelUni: https://traveluni.com/business-travel-hub/

Bloomberg News: https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/passenger-jets-can-play-integral-role-in-frozen-vaccine-airlift-1.1521580

N-Business: https://www.thenationalnews.com/business/aviation/parked-passenger-planes-can-help-to-get-pfizer-s-covid-19-vaccine-off-the-ground-1.11104

Richard Forson, President and CEO, Cargolux Airlines, proved to be an informative and entertaining speaker for an Aviation Club of the United Kingdom (virtual) lunch last week.  At 50 minutes it proved to be the longest ever speech to the Club and one of the best.

Richard Forson delivered a strong and informative speech.2021 marks the 50th anniversary of Cargolux, Richard joining in 2012 and now has close to 30 years’ experience in the aviation industry and an extensive background in finance, general business and operational management.  He told viewers that it was boom time for the airline after a dreadful first two months of the year.  “We are working flat out, recruiting pilots and ground staff, but Covid-19 brings its own problems.  We are even more safety conscious.”

Cargolux is examining the Boeing 777-300ER freighter conversion programme as a candidate to meet its future fleet requirements, Mr Forson said.

When production of the 747 ceases in 2022, “a significant capability will be lost to the logistics market,” he conceded. “I don’t ever see another four-engined freighter being developed by any manufacturer.”

Cargolux’s current fleet features 14 747-8Fs and 16 747-400s.

www.cargolux.com