![File_Norman_Mineta,_official_portrait,_DOT[1].jpg](http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/terminal-q/File_Norman_Mineta%2C_official_portrait%2C_DOT%5B1%5D.jpg "File_Norman_Mineta,_official_portrait,_DOT[1].jpg")
Twittering FAA Reauthorization hearing now. Twittered day one of the Colgan Air crash yesterday.
Recent Assets
Canadian startup Porter Airlines is moving into a new terminal at Toronto City Centre Airport in November.
The airline is dropping more than C$45 million ($36.9 million) on a 10-gate facility that is expected to handle 1 million passengers annually by 2010.
The move comes as Porter plans to add frequencies on domestic service and preps for another US destination, which will likely be Philadelphia, Boston or Washington.
The new terminal will include two lounges.
Scott Associates Architects is design architect for the terminal, figure3 is providing interior design services and the Maple Reinders Group is the lead terminal contractor.
Check out an Interior.pdf rendering.
A diorama of the US Airways A320 ditching made of marshmallow candy has been named a finalist in The Washington Post's third annual Peeps contest.
"We thought it was the most memorable image from the past year," co-creator Brady Gordon tells the newspaper.
The aircraft landed in New York's Hudson River on 15 January after both engines lost power after striking a flock of Canadian geese.
Don't forget to vote for your favourite candy display.
(Image from The Washington Post)
Twittering FAA forecast panel about aviation trends impacting US airports here
The Onion has an investigative report on what could be the worst airport in the world.
Terminal Q has joined the twitterati. Go big or go home, I guess.
American Airlines finished renovating its lounge at Chicago O'Hare International airport.
The Admirals Club has seating for 504 passengers in a space larger than 32,000 square feet.
Elements include 39 work stations (this sounds practical but awful at the same time), a cyber cafe and a children's room.
The most refreshing part for road warriors must be the spa-like shower facilities with eight private showers, complete with towels, shampoo, body gels and blow-dryers. Shower caps and razors are avaialble upon request, the carrier says in a statement.
Photo from American Airlines. Go here for more pics.
![060623_mineta_vsmall.vsmall[1].jpg](http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/terminal-q/060623_mineta_vsmall.vsmall%5B1%5D.jpg)
Leading the US DOT doesn't sound like a walk in the park.
So, I asked the United States' longest serving transport secretary what advice he would give to newbie Ray LaHood.
"Keep [your] nose above the water line," Norman Mineta says. "The transportation industry is a great sector of our economy but it's got problems everywhere. Don't get overwhelmed."
The only Democrat to hold a cabinet position in the George W. Bush administration, Mineta was confirmed as DOT secretary in January 2001.
He was one of six cabinet members to be reappointed for President Bush's second term, but Mineta resigned in July 2006.
The former congressman has a history of aviation policy on his resume. He chaired both the House public works and transportation committee and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of review during his 21-year career in Congress.
After retiring from Congress in 1995, Mineta chaired the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, which issued a report in 1997 predicting gridlock at US airports.
Photo from Carlos Osorio/AP file
So, I asked the United States' longest serving transport secretary what advice he would give to newbie Ray LaHood.
"Keep [your] nose above the water line," Norman Mineta says. "The transportation industry is a great sector of our economy but it's got problems everywhere. Don't get overwhelmed."
The only Democrat to hold a cabinet position in the George W. Bush administration, Mineta was confirmed as DOT secretary in January 2001.
He was one of six cabinet members to be reappointed for President Bush's second term, but Mineta resigned in July 2006.
The former congressman has a history of aviation policy on his resume. He chaired both the House public works and transportation committee and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of review during his 21-year career in Congress.
After retiring from Congress in 1995, Mineta chaired the National Civil Aviation Review Commission, which issued a report in 1997 predicting gridlock at US airports.
Photo from Carlos Osorio/AP file
Florida Representative Scott Plakon and Senator Carey Baker are draftinglegislation.pdf to grant airports immunity from state and local liabilities to deter wildlife following the Hudson River landing of a US Airways Airbus A320 caused by a bird strike last month.
"You don't want to put your employees in legal jeopardy for trying to keep airline passengers safe. It's just not right," Plakon tells me.
The issue is somewhat personal for the Central Florida politician (pictured).
Last summer his wife was on an aircraft that experienced a bird strike while departing Newburg, New York's Stewart International airport, Plakon says.
Susie wasn't sure if the wheels were off the ground when it happened, but the strike caused enough damage that passengers had had to switch aircraft, he explains.
"It's interesting working on something that affects you personally," he says.
Both Plakon and Baker say they are confident The Airline Safety and Wildlife Protection Act will pass this year.
(The photo of Scott and Susie Plakon is from Plakon's election Web site).
The environmental debate has been one of very deep concepts and very long, nay sesquipedalian, words.
So, it was quite pleasing to hear the issue brought down to monosyllables, and by none other than Allan McArtor, the former FAA administrator who is now chairman of Airbus Americas.
McArtor explained why airlines are such an easy target for the authorities during the American Bar Association's
air and space law forum in Washington the other day.
Farm animals and their methane emissions may pollute more than airlines, McArtor says, but the big difference is "cow farts don't leave contrails!"
(The author of this post is a veteran aerospace reporter who declined to be identified).
So, it was quite pleasing to hear the issue brought down to monosyllables, and by none other than Allan McArtor, the former FAA administrator who is now chairman of Airbus Americas.
McArtor explained why airlines are such an easy target for the authorities during the American Bar Association's
air and space law forum in Washington the other day.
Farm animals and their methane emissions may pollute more than airlines, McArtor says, but the big difference is "cow farts don't leave contrails!"
(The author of this post is a veteran aerospace reporter who declined to be identified).
ADVERTISEMENT
Recent Comments