Aero Blog

Archive for March, 2010

Aviation maintenance is a highly specialized field of work and requires a high degree of understanding, skills, and professionalism. In the last few years, the aviation industry has witnessed a decline in the number of people venturing into the field of aviation maintenance. Apart from this, the high levels of security risk in the aviation industry, especially after the events of September 11, 2001, have boosted concerns regarding the maintenance and day-to-day wear and tear of airplanes.

In order to boost this dwindling profession, the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) has launched a campaign to promote a higher degree of professionalism among aviation maintenance personnel. The association is aiming to develop and improve skills, methods, learning, and achievements in the aviation maintenance industry. PAMA has been conducting meeting and seminars at both the national and state levels, and striving to recognize achievements in this field. However, most importantly the association has been collaborating with other organizations in the aviation industry and has been actively addressing the queries of governmental agencies pertaining to maintenance rules and guidelines.

In the recent years, PAMA has also established a Student Scholarship Program that recognizes and rewards qualified airframe, power plant, and avionics students who have selected aviation maintenance as a career. The awards that the association provides, may be used for tuition, fees, supplies, or books, which are related to their program

The association also supports another scholarship program – known as the Foundation Scholarship Program. Created to recognize and reward qualified students who have selected aviation maintenance as a career, the PAMA Foundation (PAMF) Scholarship Program awards $1,000 to the recipients. The association awards these scholarships regardless of the color, race, religion, and the national origin of the applicants.

PAMA’s programs operate based on donations received and from the funds raised at PAMA’s Annual Chili Cook-Off. Though the scholarships are not renewable, students have the option of reapplying for the scholarship every year.

Apart from PAMA, the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) also provides scholarships for qualified students wishing to study further in the field of aviation maintenance. The UAA’s Era Aviation, Inc. Scholarship offers two scholarships, each of $2,500. The aid is to help students who are admitted to an aviation maintenance technology program at the university with the cost of tuition, fees, and tools. While one scholarship is awarded to a helicopter maintenance student, the other is awarded to a general aviation maintenance student. Additionally, preference is given to candidates who are intending to follow a career in Alaska itself.
While these two are the more prominent of the scholarships in this field, there are others as well, such as the Helicopter Association International’s (HAI) Aviation Maintenance Technician Scholarship Award Program. This program aims at promoting the choice of helicopter maintenance as a career, and the scholarship is given to five recipients. Apart from this, the first place winner also receives about $1,500 from HAI to assist with the associated expenses.
Overall, the field of aviation maintenance should pick up as such kind of scholarships add to the value of the field, and attract more students to enter the industry. While helping students along financially, these aviation maintenance scholarships are also giving rise to specific skill-based talent in the country.

Have you ever thought about a job that can take you all over the world? Right from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the Caribbean in the West Indies, you can move around the world if you opt for a career in aviation. This is possible in the sectors like aviation industry, airline or aerospace. Aviation job search includes jobs related to airlines as well as the jobs in the aviation industry. It provides jobs to those people who are interested in aviation as well as aerospace positions in the aviation industry. You will come across the recent aviation job search from the agencies and the employers of aviation industry. Or else, you can also directly make an application to the aviation jobs best suiting your experience and skills. Aviation job search includes jobs where you can make your career in different types of jobs such as air traffic control jobs, aero engine jobs, cabin crew jobs, executive position jobs etc. Some more jobs are welders or fabricators job, avionics and electronics job, aerodynamics/ fluids jobs, aircraft interiors job, fitters job, freight jobs, flight stimulation jobs, tooling jobs, training/ instructors jobs, landing gear jobs, VVIP jobs and many more. These are some of the jobs available in aviation job search.  You can use the internet as a tool for your Aviation job search. You will have to specify about the job you are searching for and the name of the country that you would prefer. For instance, if you are looking for a pilot’s job, your search can be narrowed down by selecting pilot’s jobs and then choose the location. You will receive the job alerts either through your e-mails or get a phone call. Thus, you can have an easy access to any new job suitable to you that you have posted on a site. At the same time your search remains completely confidential. The Aviation job search can also help you find out which countries have maximum job openings for that sector. Aviation jobs are available in various cities and countries like Las Vegas, Waterford, Los Angeles, Savannah, Peachtree City, Greenville, New York, Manchester, Columbus, Orange City, Phoenix, Singapore, Atlanta, etc. In these countries, jobs are available for the post of aircraft mechanics, airport maintenance manager, assistance maintenance manager, avionics manager, cabinet builder, captain, chief flight instructor, corporate flight attendant, documentation specialist, flight dispatcher and human resources manager. For those who wish to seek jobs in aviation, they have to go through some processes. Firstly, browse through different aviation jobs available in the market and find out ones that are suitable to you. Keep your resume updated with all the latest details. If you find a suitable job, apply immediately and schedule a day for further process. E-mail your resume to the desired location. It is very important to begin with your Aviation job search after identifying your skills, interests, values, experience and accomplishments briefly. There are a number of jobs available in the field of your interest as the competition is fierce. You have to make right decision of selecting the job that suits your ability as well as liking. 

Southwest Airlines cheap flights operate on a point to point system rather than the more conventional hub and spoke system that many other carriers prefer. With more than three thousand flights a day, Southwest Airlines flights can often be bought cheaply because it is a low cost carrier.
The point to point system may benefit the traveler, as rather than having a central airport from which many of its flights originate, the Southwest Airlines model flies its airplanes between airports, with each of its airports having relative parity with the next. To cut down on costs and enable cheaper flights, Southwest Airlines frequently uses the secondary airports of its origin and destination cities. This may be a benefit or a disadvantage, depending on where the traveler wants to go in the destination city. Secondary airports usually have lower tariffs and charges for the airline, and the reduction in costs is often passed on in part to the consumer in the form of Southwest Airlines cheap flights.
Flying the High Life with Southwest Airlines Cheap Flights
However, Southwest Airlines also waives the rule about serving only secondary city airports – it also serves some of the major airports in the big cities. Listed below are some of the major airports that may be served if you book a Southwest Airline cheap flight.
1. Philadelphia International
2. Denver International Airport
3. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport
4. Orlando International Airport
5. Detroit Metropolitan Airport
6. Lambert St. Louis International Airport
7. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport
8. Seattle-Tacoma International
9. Pittsburgh International
10. San Francisco International Airport
11. Washington Dulles International Airport (limited flights, also serving Baltimore-Washington International Airport)
The Los Angeles area is served by Southwest Airlines cheap flights via four airports including the major Los Angeles International (LAX). The one airport not served by Southwest Airlines in the Los Angeles area is Long Beach so if you are headed there you will need to check out the fares of other low-cost carriers that fly to the area.
Benefits of Booking Southwest Airlines cheap flights
So why should you check out Southwest Airlines cheap flights rather than those of other carriers? First, the point to point system employed by Southwest airlines means that it is likely to have flights going between your intended origin and destination cities. If you are relying on cheap flights from other carriers, you’ll probably be in luck if you happen to be living in a hub city otherwise, you might struggle to find a cheap flight to your intended destination.
Another reason to check out Southwest Airlines cheap flights is the fact that it avoids “farming out” its fares. It is not likely that you’ll find a Southwest Airline cheap flight on fare search sites like Orbitz or Expedia. It is better that you go to Southwest Airline’s home on the web to find bargain flights there. The current home page of Southwest Airlines can be found at http://www.southwest.com. Southwest Airlines has had an online presence for more than a decade. Its flights are sold direct from its web site, and Southwest Airlines has a great record for online sales. As such, you are likely to find good deals on Southwest Airlines cheap flights exclusive to its web site. So why not check it out today?

What are airline credit cards? Are they different from regular credit cards? Airline credit cards are similar to regular credit cards in the way that they process transactions and payments. Airline credit cards were designed for those who frequently make trips via airplane because of their work, and it is also known as frequent flyer cards.The benefits of getting a credit card with an airline differ in some ways with regular credit cards. Both credit cards offers reward bonuses that can be earned when the cards are used for purchases. Some airline credit cards reward consumers a point for every dollar charged that can equal to one air mile or travel mile. These purchases can be from grocery or gas purchases. The airline credit cards also offer consumers a choice of converting the points into cash or into air miles that they can convert into free airline tickets. Consumers also have an option to convert their rewards points into hotel accommodations, toys or other items that the credit card company lists as redeemable items. Another benefit of having an airline credit card is that it makes airline ticket purchasing easier. Though there are some airline credit cards that restrict the consumer to use the airline that the card carries, there are some airline credit cards that no longer restrict their consumers by having to use the airline of the airline credit card. With the rewards points or air miles earned from purchases, consumers can convert their points to purchase tickets of another airline. Consumers do need to check first if this is available in their airline credit card.Airline credit cards are also widely accepted in many establishments. These airline credit cards can be used in hotels, restaurants and basically function the same way as regular credit cards. Another benefit of having an airline credit card is that some airline credit cards allow users to exceed their credit limit. Consumers do need to check with the airline credit card company if there will be extra charges or new interest rates that will be applied if ever that one spends beyond the set credit limits of the credit card.Some airline credit cards as part of their marketing strategy award bonus points or air miles upon joining. There are limits though on the number of rewards points that can be earned in a year, and the air miles have to be consumed within three years or else it gets forfeited. Because of the benefits not offered by regular credit cards, the annual fees and interest rates of airline credit cards may be slightly higher. Even if the consumer is not a frequent flyer or needs the air miles in order to convert the rewards points into free flights, they can enjoy the benefits of having to convert the air miles into cash if ever that they need to. People who use airline credit cards do get to save money from the rewards points that they offer that are not the same as with regular credit cards.

When managing the ideal holiday, whether it is for your unforgettable honeymoon, a swift weekend furlough or family vacation, many travel specialists are advising the use of the Internet in order to not simply efficaciously arrange a vacation, but as well obtain some of the most inexpensive prices on flights, hotels, automobile rentals and comprehensive vacation packages. While a lot of travel agents will be telling you that the best flight offers might not be went across online, this is just not the instance in the majority of conditions.

Having access to last minute deals and Net-only prices, the American traveler can frequently order vacation packages, as in additions or inclusive, via the Internet at a portion of the expense of employing a travel agent. One general field of affair, when ordering a vacation via the Internet, is the statement by several Internet travel booking agencies to state the secured cheapest prices. In objective reality, you might not be receiving the cheapest price, specifically in instances of flight prices, when the general travel booking agency is unsuccessful to supply price data for each and every airline accessible, even airlines with low budget. To evade falling into the trap of restricted flight prices, in consideration of contacting the Federal Aviation Administration, and receiving a list of all airways approved to fly in the United States of America.

Since you’ll be having this list in your hand, you should start seeking for prices through each private airway as well as on the chief travel booking websites. As a main rule, price specials, specifically for short length, swift turnaround holidays, are customarily announced by the airways on every Wednesday morning. As part of their sales campaign of high quality, Southwest Airlines will be announcing their special sale prices at 12:01am on each Tuesday morning, the prior day.

So, if probable, don’t forget to visit these websites in the short run after midnight and you might discover you can purchase a really great airfare at a portion of the expense beforehand the seats are completely sold out. On top of everything, to last minute airfare offers, a lot of online travel booking websites are becoming a sort of an auction kind of flight price sale. Some agencies are offering the American customer the probability to bid on cheap airfare tickets, implicitly, at a portion of the expense of obtaining a secured seat. While these kinds of auctions might originate several degrees of difficulties, when attempting to order multiple seats, it is a perfect way to discover low cost air fare if you are traveling by yourself. Be certain, anyway, to examine the expense of flight in comparison with other airways as you do not wish to bid too high on the auction website.

Like with any travel arrangement, using the Internet to order cheap airfare tickets might supply a great way to save you money on your following vacation. While the operation of searching out tickets might turn out time consuming, employing the guidelines your time embedding might be worth while the expense in savings.

The air-transport aviation industry has grown tremendously over the years and includes all aspects of commercial airlines. The past few years, have been difficult for the aviation industry. The 9/11 attacks on World Trade Center and the subsequent security delays at airports dealt a major blow to the aviation industry.
However, with rapid globalization in this fast paced world, the aviation industry has emerged as one of the fastest growing industries in the world. The upward trend in both aviation and travel industries has lead to an increase in job opportunities in the aviation, travel and hospitality industries. With the world getting smaller each day, there will be a constant demand for people trained in aviation careers.
Sound Education: A Must
If aviation is your choice of career, then you need to educate yourself to excel in this challenging field. Career options in this field are unlimited and you are required to learn the skills from a recognized institute to pursue them. Before you choose a particular field from the aviation line, you should be aware of the number of job options available and their individual scope.
Aviation careers can be divided into Flying Careers and Management Careers. Career options include Pilots, Flight Engineers, Flight Attendants, Cabin attendants, In-flight Supervisors, Technicians, Flight Coordinators, and Crew Schedulers. Other job options such as Airport Security, Line Service Personnel, Business Development, Cost Analysts, Aeronautical Engineers, Ground Instructors, Airport Managers, Technical Writers, and Air Traffic Controllers have also attracted a significant number of job seekers.
Once you have identified the field you are interested in, determine the educational qualifications and expertise required for that field. Most careers in this field require strong arithmetic skills and sound computer knowledge.
Pilot Training Lessons
Do not limit your aviation career by applying only at large airports and major airlines. You will be surprised to know that small and local airports strewn across the country also provide excellent job opportunities. Pilot training is constantly required in small aircraft. You can begin private pilot training even before you complete high school, and can offer you a BIG break in the personal aviation field.
If your inclination were towards military aviation, then Air Force would be the obvious choice. To become a pilot in the military, you need to undergo full-fledged training in college. The Service Academies would be evidently the first option, however you can also become a military pilot by attending an extensive college program, which offers ROTC training.
To become a commercial pilot, you must be qualified to obtain a commercial pilot license or CPL. This also involves many hours of flying, plus theory examinations. A new CPL holder would need either a command instrument rating or an instructor rating, in order to meet the requirements of the employer. You can also obtain professional training for aircraft repair and other mechanical jobs and acquire the necessary skills. Air traffic control is another promising and lucrative career option in the aviation industry.
Several aviation academies have emerged owing to the increasing demand for skill and expertise in aviation fields. Such academies chisel young minds and groom their careers. Most of them have specialized training programs for those aspiring to become Flight Attendants.

It may be noted that in the last two years many a new airlines have come to the fore in a huge way and many huge industries have declared their wishes to enter into this industry. Another major leap was the open sky policy of Government of India permitting the existing private airlines in India to fly to foreign destinations. It does require a special mention that with such expansions planned by major aviation companies and new companies formed there is a vast manpower requirement. Qualified manpower is in huge abundance in India but they need a proper direction to capitalise on this surge in industry. When the human resources needed by these companies were less in number, it was easy to tap from a huge HR bank but when the demand for such HR increased they are finding it extremely difficult to maintain the quality of HR selected for these jobs especially when more and more foreign airlines are flying into India offering high salary packages forcing the better of HR to go with these companies.

It is important to mention here that Indian aviation industry grew by 20% second only to BPO industry in services sector and then comes the concept of no frills airline the market for which is growing vastly. Many no frills airline have already announced their plans to start services to India a few of them are Nok Air, Air Asia-Thailand, Air Arabia etc.

The boom in the aviation sector in India can be gauged by the fact that in one year, the number of people seeking pilot licenses and airhostess training has multiplied three times. In April 2005, it was 300. In April 2006, the number rose to 1045. The civil aviation industry is booming. Indian airlines placed orders for over 400 aircraft worth a whopping $30 billion for its operational requirements. That shows a requirement of 5600 pilots, 19000 airhostess or cabin crew, 24000 technicians, 36000 ground handling crew and various other related vacancies.

And these aviation industry vacancies are all fresh vacancies without including vacancies that may come up in the existing aircrafts.

Also the pay packages offered by the various Indian airlines have also seen an upward trend due to very few number of trained pilots and cabin crew availability. Hence there is an opportunity for you.

Indian Aviation is witnessing a mushrooming of new airlines especially low cost carriers. Besides the existing Air Deccan, newly launched Spicejet and value airline Kingfisher Airlines, there are Indus Airways, Air One, East West Airlines, Go Airways, Magic Air and Crystal Air who are getting ready to fly Indian sky soon. India is to see the launch of at least 14 such airlines. Low cost start-up carrier IndiGo had stunned the aviation industry by placing orders for 100 aircraft at a list price of over $6 billion last year.

It is anyone’s guess as to Human Resource Requirements, especially pilots, airhosess, flight attendants and other cabin crew, that are going to come up in the Aviation Sector. Demand is much above the number of people acquiring training for the same. Jet Airways along with Sahara India has about 47 percent share of the domestic aviation market, followed by Indian Airlines (28 per cent), Air Deccan (11 per cent), Kingfisher (6 per cent) and SpiceJet (5 per cent) as on October2006.

Jet Airways tops the list of domestic and national carrier operators with 8,168 flights operating till June 2005. Indian Airlines ranks second with 7,562 flights, followed by Sahara (3,225 flights), Air Deccan (2,889 flights), Spice Jet (483 flights) and Kingfisher Airlines (267 flights).

The sudden boom in Indian aviation has caught even the normally market savvy global aerospace manufacturers unawares. Recently, both Boeing and Airbus said they had underestimated Indian growth. This means global players are also coming into the scene.     

It wasn’t surprising since statistics compiled by Airbus Industrie showed that Indian carriers accounted for 327 out of the 2,140 firm orders for new aircraft that were placed with it and rival Boeing in 2005. This does not take into account the orders placed for smaller airplanes with other manufacturers like ATR and Dassault – which, too, are flooded with offers from private Indian carriers.

The Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, is bullish on the prospects in the Indian market. Their forecast is that between 2006 and 2010, the demand for 30-120-seater planes in India would be around 165, which is about 40 per cent of the demand of the Asia-Pacific region. The value of these aircraft would be around $4 billion. They feel that a majority of the aircraft required will be in the 61-120-seat capacity segment. 70 per cent of these would be required for market growth while there would be a small demand for replacement.

Globalysis Ltd.forecasts growth in India’s aviation market, to be one of the fastest growing in the world, for the years 2007-2008. The Globalysis research report forecasts growth in India’s aviation market of approximately 28% in 2007 and 24% in 2008, for a total of approximately 52 million passengers being carried in 2008.

From the above given facts this is the right time to invest in a business opportunity and anyone with cash and liquidity can go in for the kill.

Traveling is always stressful. That is especially true these days with constantly increasing security measures being added to already extensive procedures in light of recent events. But the stress of travel has also been increased by the challenges faced by the air industry. Airlines are constantly finding more fees to tack on carry on luggage for example, as they struggle to make a profit in light of increasingly high fuel costs and the general challenges of an economy in recession.

From finding people to watch your house, watch your pets, and take in your mail, to booking hotels and time off, to the actual travel and jet lag, there is a lot about organizing a trip can take some of the fun out of your vacation. Booking a flight can be one of those hassles, especially if you do not know where to look. Here are three of the top web sites to check out.

Travelocity is one of the top destinations on the internet, offering a guarantee that the prices they offer are the lowest available online. They also offer a rewards point program, which allows frequent fliers to gain points towards free future flight upgrades, free flights or free merchandise. Their flight search option shows you the different airlines that have flights available for your specified date and locations, and allows you to list the flights by price, duration or departure and arrival times. (www.travelocity.com)

Hotwire is more known for their unique hotel searching program, that allows you to pay a very low rate for a hotel, but restricts you from knowing which hotel you have reserved at until you finalize your purchase. Their air fare booking page is much more straight-forward, giving you all of the relevant details prior to making a purchase. There is also a Flexible Date Search feature that allows you to review a group of dates, and find the cheapest options to fly on. (www.hotwire.com)

Expedia is one of the most popular choices for online flight bookings and is quite well known due in large part to their heavily-rotated commercials on television. Their search feature will show you, in an instance, which flights are available, how many stops are involved, and what airlines they are on. They also give you the opportunity to change your dates, or sign up for their FareWatcher Plus program, which allows you to keep an eye on flight deals for dream locations. (expedia.com) Whatever the destination maybe take the time to review these sites to find the best possible deal.

There are a number of companies all over the world that offer international air travel discounts. Travelling abroad is not an inexpensive activity. The air fare alone is going to make a major hit to your budget so you will want to conserve some cash wherever possible, but you have to be be alert when purchasing your tickets from discount air travel websites. Even though the bulk of these websites are trustworthy they are very firm in the areas of refunds or ticket exchanges for tickets purchased from them. Considering that these companies get these tickets from airlines under strict conditions their position is understandable. Best advice, stick to the rules.Getting Ready For Your JourneyThe majority of companies that offer international air travel discounts will require you to book your ticket reservations well in advance. Some of these companies expect you to book your reservations a few weeks or even months before your actual departure date. To make sure that everything goes well, plan your vacation well ahead of time. Prepare everything that you need for the trip and when you are certain of your departure date, book your tickets. The ticket office will need a few days to verify your ticket reservation. Make use of this time to continue searching for international air travel discount promos. If you can discover another company that offers bigger international air travel discounts, cancel your reservation with the other company right away. Note that some companies charge you for late cancellation of tickets so make sure that you cancel everything within the permitted period to escape paying penalties. On the other hand, if the other airline company gives you a huge discount and such savings are more than enough to cover penalties for late cancellations at the other company, you may as well pay the penalty and get the cheaper airline ticket.Packing For The JourneyYou will want to pack light clothing, and not much of that for your trip. The motivation for this is that the bulk of air travel discount accommodiations do not entitle you to the typical free baggage check in. So to get around paying more money for baggage check in pack light and make use of hand carried luggage