The week in brief 220410

Air Austral has celebrated its first year of operations into Australia with a lavish soirée in Sydney hosted by CEO Gérard Etheve (as pictured). The Reunion Island-based airline currently flies through Sydney to Noumea twice-weekly - and claims business has met its targets for the year. Air Austral plans to put the B777-300 into the Sydney route from February next year.

Australian Air Express is a finalist in the 5th Annual Safe Work Awards which will be announced next week in Canberra. The operator's inclusion is related to the design of its new Domestic Freight Handling Centres, "which provides the opportunity to significantly reduce many manual handling risks and traffic management hazards".

The Australian Government is introducing fundamental reforms to personal property securities law starting in May 2011. Efficient financing laws are considered critical for a modern economy - including the aviation industry. International experience in the aviation industry has found that sound financing laws and practice can substantially reduce the costs of equipment supply. However, Australia currently has a range of complex and overlapping laws dealing with personal property securities law. The reforms will streamline and codify these existing laws. For more information about Australia’s personal property securities reform visit http://www.ppsr.gov.au.

The Kiwis have done well out their security levies apparently, judging by this revelation in Parliament recently:

DAVID BENNETT (National—Hamilton East) to the Minister of Transport: What changes is the Government making to per-passenger aviation security charges?

Hon STEVEN JOYCE (Minister of Transport): Beginning tomorrow 1 April, the aviation security charge paid by airlines will be reduced by $5, from $15 to $10, per departing international passenger. The charge for domestic travellers will also drop from $4.66 to $4.35 including GST. This Government is always on the lookout to reduce costs wherever possible, and I am pleased to have the opportunity to do so with aviation security charges. I hope and expect that the airlines will pass most of this reduction on to their passengers.

DAVID BENNETT: How was the Government able to reduce these levies?

Hon STEVEN JOYCE: The Aviation Security Service has accumulated a very significant surplus since the last increase in levies in 2007. The surplus is about $35 million from international security charges and $6.5 million from domestic charges. Although some level of surplus is necessary to buffer against fluctuations in passenger volumes and unforeseen requirements, the current level of surplus is an unfair imposition on airlines and the travelling public.

The August deadline for screening 100 per cent of cargo transported on passenger aircraft to, from and within the US is getting close - and the TSA estimates that 1360 tonnes of cargo will be grounded daily from 1 August owing to a lack of preparation by some shippers and forwarders to meet the new requirement. And that does not include the cargo that enter the US annually on inbound passenger aircraft, freight that TSA has not yet found a solution for.

Senator Charles Schumer is trying to get the US Federal Government to ban airlines from charging a fee for carry-on baggage, calling it a "slap in the face to travellers". The New York Democrat is making a personal plea to the Treasury Department to rule that carry-on bags are a necessity for travel, which would make them exempt from a separate fee outside the ticket price. "Airline passengers have always had the right to bring a carry-on bag without having to worry about getting nickeled and dimed by an airline company," Schumer said.

Pilots taking Prozac are now permitted to fly in the  US as regulators have dropped a decades-old ban on four antidepressant drugs. Risks from side effects, such as drowsiness, associated with the medications used to treat depression don't pose a safety threat, the FAA said. The policy, which went into effect on 5 April may cover as many as 10,000 pilots. Under the policy, pilots can seek FAA permission to take one of four drugs, Prozac, Zoloft, Celexa or Lexapro.

The third edition of the World Health Organisation's aviation health bible was released last week. The Guide to Hygiene and Sanitation in Aviation covers water, food, waste disposal, cleaning and disinfection etc. The publication is intended to assist aircraft and airport operators and associated industries to achieve high standards to protect employees and passengers. Further details at www.who.int/bookorders

A correspondent has suggested a solution to the controversy over full-body scanners: Have a booth that one steps into that will not X-ray you, but will detonate any explosive device you may have on you. It would be a win-win for everyone, and there would be no controversy about racial profiling etc. Justice would be swift. Case Closed!