Aviation

Your morning transportation speed-read:

A pair of airline lobbying groups is asking the Department of Transportation (DOT) to not count flights that were delayed because of the sequester from its usual tally of late airplanes.

The DOT normally tracks the on-time arrival rates of airlines, and the agency issues fines for specific flights that are “chronically delayed” if they are behind schedule more than 50 percent of a given month.

But in a petition submitted to the DOT this week, Airlines for America (A4A) and the Regional Airline Association (RAA) said flights were held back in April because of air traffic controller furloughs that were attributed to the sequester.

Defense giant Lockheed Martin is confident the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will be ready for combat in time to meet the Pentagon's deployment deadlines. 

The number of people employed by U.S. airlines declined by 2.7 percent in March, according to statistics released on Thursday by the Department of Transportation (DOT).

The most recent figures available show that 380,325 people were employed by airlines in March 2013, compared to 390,761 in March of last year.

The number of employs was largely stagnant between March and February 2013, going from 380,159 in February to March's 380,325 figure. 

Images taken by the old machines had been heavily criticized as an invasion of privacy.

More than 100 members of Congress are pressing regulators to allow American Airlines and U.S. Airways to keep their airport slots at Reagan National Airport, Reuters reports.

Regulators are investigating big banks over practices used to collect on delinquent credit card debt, according to The Washington Post.

President Obama’s push to seat three judges at once on one of the nation’s most influential benches holds major implications for the administration’s regulatory agenda, RegWatch reports.

The United States signed an Open Skies air transport agreement with Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, allowing for unrestricted air travel between the two countries.

After a transition period, the agreement will allow for “unrestricted air service by the airlines of both countries between and beyond the other’s territory, eliminating restrictions on how often the carriers fly, the kind of aircraft they use and the prices they charge,” according to the State Department. The goal is to strengthen and expand trade and tourism links with Saudi Arabia, “benefitting U.S. and Saudi Arabian businesses and travelers by expanding opportunities for air services and encouraging vigorous price competition by airlines, while preserving our commitments to aviation safety and security.”

The agreement was signed by U.S. Ambassador James Smith and Saudi Arabia’s deputy director of the General Authority of Civil Aviation, Faisal bin Hamad Al-Sugair. The United States has more than 100 Open Skies agreements with partners around the world and at all levels of development.

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American Airlines' mechanics are on the verge of holding an election to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, officials with the union said on Monday.

The mechanics have submitted a petition to the National Mediation Board (NMB) that contains signatures in favor of holding a vote.

The Teamsters' union has been campaigning to represent the American Airlines' mechanics since June 2012. 

AAA predicts that 35.4 million Americans will travel to destinations that are more than 50 miles from their home.

Four House Democrats have proposed legislation that would require airlines to put policies in place so families can sit next to each other on flights.

The Families Flying Together Act, H.R. 2191, is a response to the growing difficulties families face staying together on flights, as airlines have begun to charge for services such as making a specific seat request.