Aviation

Lawmakers on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee used a hearing about the proposed merger between U.S. Airways and American Airlines to press officials from both companies to keep flights from Washington back to their districts.

Most of the questioning centered on landing "slots" at Washington, D.C.'s Ronald Reagan National Airport, which are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The allotment of the flight slots, which are designed to limit the amount of duplicate air traffic at the small metropolitan airports like Reagan and New York's LaGuardia Airport, will have to be redistributed if American and U.S. Airways are allowed to merge. 

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is reviewing a petition to reopen its investigation of a 1996 plane crash, officials with the agency confirmed on Wednesday.

The petition asks the agency to revisit its ruling that the crash of now-defunct TWA Airlines Flight 800 in July 1996 was caused by a mid-flight explosion en route from New York to Paris that was sparked by a wiring failure. 

The petition is reportedly being filed by the makers of a new documentary film about the accident and former regulators who were involved in the initial investigation, which killed 230 people.  

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A federal appeals court is allowing loan guarantees to help an Indian airline purchase Boeing airplanes, but making the federal agency that issued the loans explain how they will impact Americans.

The Export-Import Bank needs to further explain how its $3.4 billion in financing for Air India will affect U.S. industries and workers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled on Tuesday.

Airplane manufacturer Boeing announced on Tuesday that it is planning to build larger versions of its 787 “Dreamliner” airplane now that the plane has been cleared to fly again.

The company’s original 787 model was grounded for three months earlier this year after several battery failures during its initial rollout, one of which resulted in an electrical fire.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) cleared Boeing’s plan to redesign the battery, and the company announced on Tuesday that it was moving ahead with a new Dreamliner model, dubbed the 787-10.

Boeing Commercial Airplanes President Ray Conner said in a statement that "the 787-10 Dreamliner will be the most-efficient jetliner in history."

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Flight attendants for an airline that flies regional flights for U.S. Airways are gearing up for a potential strike that could snarl flights out of Washington, D.C.’s Ronald Reagan Airport.

The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA) union said on Thursday that its members who are employees of Piedmont Airlines will be picketing the company at airports in New Bern, N.C.; Roanoke, Va.; Charlottesville, Va.; and Harrisburg, Pa.

Piedmont flies a lot of the short flights U.S. Airways operates out of D.C.’s Reagan airport, which the company currently uses a hub for its operations in the capital city. 

The recent trend of airline mergers will be a topic of discussion for the Senate next week.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will hold a hearing June 19 to discuss the upswing in airline consolidation in the last few years.

The hearing comes as U.S. Airways and American Airlines are seeking regulatory approval for their combination, which was announced earlier this year.

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