The ground support industry's source for news, articles, events, product and services information.
Issue link: https://groundsupportworldwide.epubxp.com/i/654993
BUSINESS BUZZ Upcoming Events Advertiser's Index April 5-7 MRO Americas Dallas, Texas April 20-22 GSE Buyers & Ramp Ops Conference Istanbul, Turkey April 23-27 NEC/AAAE International Aviation Snow Symposium Buffalo, New York May 3-5 NBAA Maintenance Managers Conference Kansas City, Missouri May 15-18 IGCH 19th Ground Handling Conference Toronto, Canada 4 GROUND SUPPORT WORLDWIDE MARCH 2016 TOP NEWS Southwest Airlines Ground Service Employees Ratify Agreement On February 19, Southwest Airlines' in-house ramp, operations, provisioning and cargo agents narrowly approved a tentative agreement that the air- line reached with Union negotiators in late December. The Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 555 reports that 50.4 percent of those who cast ballots voted in favor of the fve-year contract agreement. The new contract includes employee wage increases and work rule improvements, while South- west says they believe the agreement will enhance their competitive standing within the industry. BBA Aviation Obtains Regulatory Clearance for Landmark Acquisition The Department of Justice announced on February 4 has proposed an antitrust set- tlement with BBA Aviation for clearance under the U.S. Hart–Scott–Rodino Act for the acquisition of Landmark Aviation. As a result, completion of the Landmark acqui- sition is expected shortly. Under the terms of the regulatory approval, BBA is required to sell six FBOs: West- chester County Airport, New York; Washington Dulles International Air- port, Virginia; Scottsdale Airport, Arizona; Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, Alaska; Jacqueline Cochran Regional Air- port, California; and part of the Landmark facilities at Fresno Yosemite International Airport. In all, the FBOs up for sale contrib- uted $16.1 million of EBITDA in 2014. Mumbai Airport Will Fine Staff Found Littering Mumbai International Airport management de- cided in January to penal- ize airport staffers who are found littering in the ter- minal or not maintaining it properly. The offenses listed in the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL) compensation policy in- clude fnes for occupying passengers' seats, sitting on conveyor belts, slowing check-in queue by haphazardly placed queue manag- ers and littering the terminal. The list also warned retail outlets of overcharging pas- sengers and misusing baggage trolleys. The fnes range between Rs100 and Rs500. Rice University Development Finds Graphene Composite May Keep Wings Ice-Free A thin coating of graphene nanoribbons in epoxy developed at Rice University has proven effective at melting ice on a helicopter blade. The coating may be an ef- fective real-time de-icer for aircraft, wind turbines, transmission lines and other surfaces exposed to winter weather, according to a new paper in the American Chemical Society jour- nal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces. In tests, the lab melted centimeter-thick ice from a static helicopter rotor blade in a minus-4-degree Fahrenheit environment. When a small voltage was applied, the coat- ing delivered electrothermal heat to the sur- face, which melted the ice. Shuster Says Reauthorization Bill to Move Forward Despite reports to the contrary from the Associated Press, U.S. Rep Bill Shuster, R-Pa., said his Aviation Innovation, Re- form and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act will move forward while a short-term extension is used to fund the Federal Aviation Administration while the bill is debated. Advertiser Page # A T Juniper .................................................. 30 AERO Specialties ........................................ 23 Aeroservicios............................................... 32 Alberth Aviation .......................................... 32 Columbus Jack ............................................ 25 David Clark Company Inc. ............................. 5 Engine Distributors...................................... 36 Fortbrand Services Inc................................. 32 Global Ground Support.................................. 6 Gorman-Rupp Pumps................................... 13 Hydraulics Intl ............................................. 24 IATA ............................................................. 35 International Airport GSE Expo .............. 20-21 ITW GSE J&B; Aviation ................................ 31 Lektro........................................................... 30 Mercury GSE ............................................... 32 Par-Kan ........................................................ 31 Phoenix Metal Products .............................. 29 Premier Engineering & Manufacturing ......... 9 Pro-Flo Industries, LLC................................... 8 Rampmaster ................................................ 28 Satellite Specialized Transportation Inc. ... 32 Skymark Refuelers ...................................... 17 Somerset Aviation Capital .......................... 32 Trinity Hwy Rentals ..................................... 15 Tronair ........................................................... 2 U.S. Airmotive GSE ..................................... 19 Xced Aviation Services ................................. 7