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The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday proposed fines against two of the nation’s largest airlines, saying the airlines flew planes on hundreds of occasions in violation of FAA or airline safety standards. The FAA is seeking a $5.4 million fine from US Airways and a $3.8 million fine from United Airlines for unrelated violations.

The US Airways case involved the greatest number of planes – eight. The FAA alleges US Airways operated the eight aircraft on a total of 1,647 flights last fall and winter while the planes were in a potentially unsafe condition.

The FAA said it issued an AD requiring airlines to inspect Airbus A320 aircraft for possible cracking of a landing gear part. But US Airways operated two Airbus A320s on a total of 43 flights without complying with the ordered inspection. The airline also operated an Embraer 190 aircraft on 19 flights without performing an inspection to prevent a cargo door from opening during flight, according to the FAA. The remaining five cases involve the airline’s failure to follow its own maintenance procedures, the FAA said.

The United Airlines case involves one aircraft, a Boeing 737. According to the FAA and the airline, a pilot noticed a low fuel pressure indication while on a flight from Denver, Colorado, on April 28, 2008. The pilot shut down an engine and returned to the Denver airport. United mechanics who inspected the engine found that two shop towels had been used to cover openings in the oil sump area, instead of protective caps.

The National Transportation Safety Board said Wednesday that both engines of the US Airways flight that ditched last month into the Hudson River contained bird remains. The engines from US Airways Flight 1549 were sent to the manufacturer in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the NTSB directed the analysis, it said in a news release. The plane’s flight data recorder “revealed no anomalies or malfunctions in either engine up to the point where the captain reported a bird strike, after which there was an uncommanded loss of thrust in both engines,” the NTSB said.

(Photo Copyright Gerard Isaacson)

Divers on Wednesday found the missing jet engine that broke off a US Airways plane when it splashed down in the Hudson River, locating it in mud about 65 feet below the surface. NYPD officers working with a sonar expert from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration had gotten a reading Tuesday of an object 16 feet long and 8 feet wide near the spot where Flight 1549 made its emergency landing. Divers went into the icy, murky water Wednesday and located the left engine in about 10 minutes, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

The rest of the Airbus A320, with its right engine still attached, was placed on a barge and has been taken to a New Jersey marina to be studied by investigators. There was no immediate indication when National Transportation Safety Board salvage crews would retrieve the engine from the river bottom. All 155 people on board the flight, which was bound for Charlotte, survived.

Photo: The wreckage of US Airways flight 1549 in the icy waters of the Hudson River prior to recovery (Photo Copyright Gerard Isaacson)

US Airways Airbus A320-214 N106US (cn 1044) has crashed into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from New York’s La Guardia Airport. Flight 1549 to Charlotte, NC departed from LGA at 3:26pm with 151 passengers and crew aboard. The flight crew reported a bird strike and a dual engine failure, then indicated they would ditch the aircraft into the water. The FAA has confirmed that all passengers and crew were evacuated safely.

Continuing the dismantling of what was once the carrier’s largest hub, US Airways (Phoenix) announced Friday that it will end all of its 24 weekly nonstop flights to Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Florida on January 1, 2009. The airport, which boasted over 600 daily US Airways flights to 140+ nonstop destinations in its early-2000s heyday, will see its daily flights reduced to 58 with the latest cuts.

The losses keep piling up for airlines, as three of the nation’s biggest carriers said Tuesday high fuel costs overwhelmed higher revenue in the quarter that ended June 30:

- United Airlines (Chicago) posted the biggest loss – $2.73 billion or $21.74 per share. United also expanded the number of jobs it plans to eliminate by the end of the year from 3,800 to 7,000.

- US Airways (Phoenix) rolled up a $567 million loss – $6.16 per share. Revenue rose 3 percent, but CEO Doug Parker also pointed to soaring fuel costs for most of his company’s financial woes.

- jetBlue Airways (New York) posted the smallest loss – $7 million or 3 cents a share, as revenue climbed 18 percent. JetBlue will shut down its operations in Ontario, Calif., because of rising costs.

Several of the major U.S. airlines announced second quarter operating results today, with heavy losses. All of the reporting airlines blamed sky high fuel prices for their disappointing results. Among the heavy hitters:

- Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) reported a $1 billion loss including special charges. The airline, however, earned a net profit of $137 million excluding special charges.

- American Airlines (Dallas/Ft. Worth) lost $1.45 billion in Q2, much of which was attributed to write downs of the value of American’s jet fleet, which the airline is trimming to save money. Excluding writedowns, AMR would have lost $284 million.

- Continental (Houston) lost $3 million in Q2 2008. Excluding a net gain of $22 million from one-time events, the carrier lost $25 million, or 25 cents per share. A year ago, Continental earned a profit of $228 million.

- US Airways (Phoenix) will report its quarterly earnings on Tuesday. Analysts, on average, expect the airline to lose $1.21 per share during the second quarter on revenue of $3.27 billion.

American Airlines (Fort Worth) could be eliminating more than 6,800 jobs later this year as the carrier struggles to survive record fuel costs. AMR Corporation, the parent of American Airlines and regional carrier American Eagle, said that it will cut domestic service 11-12% by the fourth quarter, which becomes a systemwide reduction of 8% when including international flights. In a memo to all employees, AMR said the employment reduction will be commensurate with the capacity cuts. AMR has about 85,500 employees, which means an 8% decrease would be about 6,850 workers.

American’s announcement is the latest furlough announcement in the airline industry, which also is trying to raise fares and fees to cope with record fuel prices. Other announced staff cuts include 4,000 at Delta Air Lines (Atlanta), 3,000 at Continental Airlines (Houston), 2,550 at United Airlines (Chicago) and 1,700 at U.S. Airways (Phoenix).

To major U.S. airlines, US Airways (Phoenix) and United Airlines (Chicago), are doing everything they can to survive in tough times. Both this week have announced changes that will affect the travelling public.

United, the first legacy carrier to implement a $25 fee to check a second bag, announced yesterday that they will be following American Airlines by charging a $15 fee to check a first bag. The new fee will start in August of this year. New bag-check fees, which have rankled the traveling public, are part of a broad effort by airlines to charge passengers for services that used to be included in the fare. “With record-breaking fuel prices, we must pursue new revenue opportunities, while continuing to offer competitive fares, by tailoring our products and services around what our customers value most and are willing to pay for,” John Tague, UAL’s chief operating officer, said in a statement. Earlier last week, United announced capacity and employee cuts to take effect later this year.

US Airways is following a similar line of thought as they impose a similar $15 fee for your first checked bag. Additionally, starting in August, the carrier will start charging coach passengers $2 for non-alcoholic drinks on flights, and has added an additional $2 to the cost of alcoholic drinks. US Airways has started taking a very serious look at the “pay-for-what-you-use” business model. “We must write a new playbook for running a profitable airline in this new and challenging environment,” US Airways Chairman and Chief Executive Officer William D. Parker said in a statement.

Separately on Thursday, US Airways said it will be eliminating 1,700 jobs and will return ten (10) leased jets to counter surging fuel bills. US Airways will be reducing its fourth-quarter domestic mainline capacity by 6-8%, having previously planned a 2-4% cut.

The CEOs of United Airlines (Chicago) and US Airways (Phoenix) have told their employees that a combination of the two carriers won’t happen “at this time.” In a letter to his employees, Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways, said, “It is simply unlikely that anything will happen in 2008 as our industry continues to struggle with how to function in a world with $130 a barrel oil prices.” After meeting yesterday, the two carriers ended two months of merger talks.

Mesa Air Group (Phoenix) said earlier today that it might be forced to file for bankruptcy protection if it loses a legal fight with Delta Air Lines (Atlanta). Should this occur, it would be the eighth airline to seek Chapter 11 protection or close down operations in the past five months, following Frontier Airlines (Denver), Skybus Airlines (Columbus), ATA Airlines (Indianapolis), and others, as they struggle with record fuel prices.

Mesa, which operates regional flights for Delta Air Lines, United Airlines (Chicago) and US Airways (Phoenix), has been in dispute with Delta since March, when the carrier told Mesa that it planned to terminate their partnership, accusing Mesa of failing to complete a specified number of flights. Mesa denied the allegation, and in April filed suit against them, saying the airline had breached their agreement. Earlier this month, Mesa filed a motion in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to prevent Delta from terminating the agreement. A court hearing is set for May 27, and Mesa said it expects a ruling when that is completed.

An outside source close to both United Airlines (Chicago) and US Airways (Phoenix) says that the carriers are in very advanced talks and expect to announce within a couple of weeks that they will be merging. The two carriers have been in preliminary talks for weeks about possibly teaming up, although United had focused more recently on joining with Continental Airlines (Houston). United and US Airways reportedly stepped up their own talks after Continental caught United off guard by deciding not to pursue a deal to merge. No real details have emerged regarding the merger including the name or headquarters location of the combined carrier. It is believed, however, that as a significanly larger carrier, United would take the lead in those decisions.

Aisle or window seats in the front rows of the coach class of US Airways flights will cost an additional $5USD, following the introduction of the Choice Seat program by the low-cost airline. The program, which will be effective from May 7, 2008, will see people who book their tickets online paying the extra fee to reserve a seat of their choice. The fee will reportedly vary according to the destination or the length of the flight. The fee will not apply to members of the Dividend Miles Preferred program.

US Airways (Phoenix) has reported that problems with seven (7) of its Boeing 757 aircraft were discovered following inspections performed this week. The inspections were prompted by the loss of a wing panel inflight on another of the carrier’s aircraft. Crews completed repairs on the aircraft before returning them to service. US Airways is also rechecking paperwork on eighty-six (86) older Boeing 737 aircraft to ensure they follow federal rules regulating inspection for fuselage and window cracks.

Photo: A Boeing 757 from US Airways taxies out for departure in Charlotte. (Photo Copyright Chris Starnes)

US Airways (Phoenix) announced yesterday that it would return three (3) leased Boeing 737 aircraft this year in an attempt to further slow growth in response to climbing jet-fuel prices. The carrier added that it would be reducing 2008 flight capacity by 3%, in addition to initial plans to trim 1.5%. US Airways joins Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and United Airlines (Chicago) in saying that they will ground planes or slice capacity in other ways to help offset rising fuel costs.

Photo: The three Boeing 737s will be returned to their lessor at the end of their lease in August of this year. (Photo Copyright Saurabh Patel)

A gun carried by a US Airways (Phoenix) pilot discharged while inflight over the Easter holiday weekend. The incident occured on flight 1536 from Denver to Charlotte on Saturday. The unidentified pilot was authorized to carry the firearm through the Federal Flight Deck Officer program run by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The program trains pilots to carry guns aboard their flights as part of the United States’ anti-terrorist protection policy. A spokeswoman for the TSA confirmed that the gun discharged in the cockpit, but she could not release how the gun was being transported at the time. The TSA issued a statement saying that the plane was never in danger but that the agency and Federal Air Marshals Service take the matter seriously and it is receiving immediate attention. US Airways has taken the aircraft, an Airbus A319, out of service until it can be determined the aircraft is safe to return to flight.

A US Airways (Phoenix) Boeing 757-200 was grounded Saturday after losing a section of its wing inflight. Flight 1250 was operating from Orlando to Philadelphia with 174 passengers aboard when a 17.5 square-inch panel from the top section of the left wing came loose. Debris from the panel struck a passenger window and cracked it. The flight was able to continue to Philadelphia where it landed without incident. The airline is investigating.

Firefighters in Charlotte, North Carolina responded to a call at the Charlotte Airport around 10 a.m. local time Tuesday after officials discovered an “unknown substance” onboard a US Airways Airbus A321. Flight 1961 to Tampa, Florida was delayed while a HAZMAT team removed an unidentified liquid substance from the cargo area of the aircraft. Officials say that they do not know at this time what the substance is, but that there was at no time a threat to passengers. After the substance had been sent out for testing, a US Airways spokeswoman said that she didn’t know what it was, but that a sugary substance was the mysterious liquid that grounded the flight.

Following in the footsteps of United Airlines (Chicago), US Airways (Phoenix) announced Tuesday that it will start charging travellers to check a second bag. Under the new program, fliers will get one checked bag free plus their carry-on bags. Each additional bag checked will cost $25.00. Those in the company’s frequent flier programs who reach preferred status won’t have to pay the fee, nor will those flying first class. The carrier also will waive the baggage charge for active military personnel, unaccompanied minors and customers checking assistive devices. A spokesman for US Airways says that the charge is expected to generate $75 million in revenue and cost savings each year. The new charge is expected to go into service May 5th.

In what is becoming a recurring event for US Airways, two of their flights were delayed in Charlotte when the aircrafts’ wingtips clipped one another. Flights 1857 and 1586 bumped wings as the jets were being pushed back from the terminal and damaged each others navigational lights. Passengers were deplaned until other plans could be made. Two US Airways aircraft collided with each other in Washington, D.C. earlier this week.