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Airport development and expansion is supposed to take priority in a bid to keep up with the move in domestic and international air traffic growth.

High fuel prices and airline reorganization are going against cargo growth in the US particularly at small and midsize airports. Key gateways however are benefiting from cargo consolidation but this could change if the Transportation Security Administration institutes stringent guidelines that would result in increased charges and landing fees at major gateways.

The four airline companies which were the top performer in the year 2004 shared many common characteristics including their profits being high compared to others. Some of the top performers among 39 carriers are Southwest Airlines, Cathay Pacific Airways, Ryanair Holdings, and United Parcel Service for cargo carriers.

The dangers lurking the low-cost carriers in the United States are discussed, as they compete with the past and present to deliver a winning strategy for profitability. The low-cost carriers with low-fares and improved services are changing the landscape of the United States and the global commercial aviation.

The air cargo operators would have mixed fleet of small and jumbo jets, with a high percentage of passenger-to-freighter conversion. Many companies like Boeing are ready to cater to need of conversion.

The author examines the falling revenues of reginional cariers. Topics include downturn in the American economy, high fuel prices, and over investment in capitation expenditures.

The author presents an analysis of economic pressures and the impact of the Internet on the airlines freight forwarding business. Topics include effects of economic conditions on air cargo industry, competition, and market share.

This article discusses the design changes U.S. airports will have to make in order to comply with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The greatest challenge to be met before the December 31 deadline is the installation of explosive detection systems (EDS).

This article describes the diversified picture which is African aviation. The International Civil Aviation Organization is promoting an air navigation system that will be satellite based. A common aviation authority may soon be established to improve levels of safety and security.

Several airlines are ranked according to competitiveness, and many of the top airlines focus on growing their productivity. The top large airline is KLM Royal Dutch, while Midwest Express leads the nationals, and Atlantic Southeast is best among regionals.

The Global Analysis and Information Network considered by the Federal Aviation Administration as the main tool to help in reducing airline accident rate has moved to an embryonic stage from being just a concept. The network will analyze data of reported flight management system problems.

The Latin American airline industry is beginning to grow as more carriers become privatized and competition replaces single national carriers in each country. More airlines are starting and others are merging, but profitability is still elusive as in much of the world.

The U.S. Homeland Security Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is actively investigating export-control cases to prevent illegal leakage of high technology and services from the United States. The activities from the ICE and other agencies are in response to criticism from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on lack of coordination among them to prevent such leaks.

Delta Airlines will take over Pan Am's European and Asian routes on Nov. 1, and will possibly reach the top five in international airlines. A history of Delta growth is given, and its acquired hubs and services are discussed.

The article discusses the new challenges that the international air cargo sector faces due to the new screening measures put in by the U.S. Congress. Major emphasis is being placed on freight security in order to ensure safety of passengers.

Asian airlines have notched the top spots in the Top-Performing Companies report of 2007. European carriers have displayed stability to counter the rising cost of fuel while American carriers are struggling.

The various issues like reducing environmental impact, growing demand that are plaguing airports of the world and need to be tackled by Airports Council International are discussed.

The FAA and airports are struggling to try and overcome the airplane congestion by raising political will for cooperation to meet current and future needs.

The article discusses the growing operational problems that continue to plague airlines as passenger dissatisfaction with airline services increase.

The article discusses about Skybus, the new-start airline that is on track to meet the requirements of the state and local incentives.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is the central point on how to tackle the problem of aviation's greenhouse gas emissions.

Alaskan Airlines, in its 75th year is trying to expand its reach by increasing its presence in the transcontinental market. According to the officials Alaska's frontier spirit of serving passengers and meeting community needs will help in its growth.

The US Airways, still merging with partner America West, is planning to include Delta Air Lines in order to create the nation's largest airline. The US Airways has proposed $18 billion alternate plans to acquire Delta, which is facing bankruptcy.

The Defense Department, government and industry are awakening to the possibilities of synthetic fuels and other alternatives as the price of petroleum-derived propellant has climbed to an unprecedented $77 a barrel in 2006. An Air Force fuels specialist is optimistic that a shift to synthetic fuels is gaining acceptance and alternative fuels could also be produced from ethanol, hydrogen and bio fuels as long as they are certified for use.

Southwest Airlines inaugurated service from Denver in January 2005 to five markets and is going head-to-head against United Airlines and Frontier Airlines in five city pairs. With efficiencies of six runways, the lack of congestion, new and developing infrastructure and long-term reducing costs makes Denver International Airport the most enabled place in terms of having an underlying capability to exploit its position without increasing costs dramatically.

The Fltops.com study suggests a looming shortfall of candidates in the US to meet the rising demand for pilots through 2017. Fewer military-trained crewmen entering the ranks is the key factor to the predicted failure to meet the hiring goals, while other factors such as high entry costs in the tough post September 11, 2001 business environment, could pose insurmountable obstacles to those who are considering piloting as a career.

Cash-strapped legacy airliners in the US are increasingly finding it difficult to sell their regional airline subsidiaries. Delta Airlines' failure to sell its wholly owned subsidiaries, Comair and Atlantic Southeast Airlines, to Sky West of St. George, Utah, is a case in point.

U.S Bankruptcy Court Judge Eugene R. Wedoff's approval of an agreement between United Airlines and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), which terminated defined pension plans for four unions, has set off protests and strike threats from labor. It is feared that this incident would wield enormous impact on the fate of its fellow legacy airlines, and possibly trigger a wider national crisis over employee pensions.

Canada's WestJet, known for its reliable service and customer care, has suffered a loss of 46.3 million Canadian dollars despite implementing new technologies and strategies. Fierce price competition, high fuel airport and navigation costs, pricing blunder and a general down cycle in the industry has resulted in WestJet's reduced fourth-quarter earnings, slowing expansion from the typical 30% a year to a 17% capacity increase.

The reasons attributed to the reality of Airlines in Europe, even the traditional flag carriers, being in full swing, profitable and experiencing growth, despite losses to legacy operators in the U.S., are discussed. The various set of circumstances that has led European economy to boost traffic and revenues for most carriers, trips in regulated markets being lucrative for European carriers, are highlighted.

Labor is reluctantly compromising with the management demands for wage cut and productivity gains in the latest airline crisis. As contract negotiations heat up, the unions are likely to continue exchanging pay cuts for job security.

The author examines the effects of a tool industry bankruptcy on Lockheed Martin Corp. contracts and production timetables.

The author presents an analysis of changes in the way airlines conduct business in order to survive in uncertain economic times.

The author examines the growing popularity of online booking of air freight services. Topics include industry competition, use of electronic marketing, and the use of web portals.

American Airlines Inc. is experimenting with 'depeaking' of flights and a new rolling hub system. Changes at Chicago O'Hare International Airport have increased elapsed time of flights but smoothed logjams at peak times which could lead to better on-time performance.

This article discusses the state of the air cargo industry worldwide. Analysts see a trend to consolidation and partnerships among airlines but also a tripling of worldwide air freight over the next 20 years.

Industry analysts, including David A. Swierenga of the Air Transport Association of America, predict strong growth and earnings in the airline industry. Southwest Airlines, which has ordered 25 Boeing 737-700s, expects to have a 10% increase of passengers in 2001.

The outlook for air transport in the coming decade looks good with a forecast of nearly 5% annual growth. Experts, however, are concerned that environmental, safety and labor issues may have an adverse effect on profits.

Some airlines plan to collaborate on websites that will offer consumers all elements of travel services online, from the booking of airline seats and hotel rooms to monitoring their personal frequent flier accounts.

Airbus Industrie had a very good year in 1999, getting a higher amount of commercial aircraft orders than rival Boeing for the first time ever. While the narrow-body performance of Boeing and Airbus-made aircraft is virtually the same, customers tended to favor Airbus' wider cabins.

Government management of commerical avaiation in the world's largest open transatlantic market is one of the proposals that emerged from a global aviation conference. The proposal, which is promotes a Transatlantic Common Aviation Area, would link Europe and the United States.

Increasing flight delays in the US, Asia and Europe 1999 have made some fear the air transportation system is reaching a crisis point. Flight schedule delays in Europe averaged 30 minutes in 1999 to Oct 25, with 500,000 flights affected. The US Federal Aviation Administration has identified 11 problem areas that contributed to numerous traffic delays in the eastern half of the US in summer 1999. However, some have questioned the FAA's ability to modernize the country's air traffic control system while still performing its duties as a safety and regulatory agency.

Capacity at Chicago-O'Hare International Airport is falling, and the introduction of regional jets is being blamed, along with many commercial pilots' reluctance to accept land-and-hold-short clearances. Regional jets are replacing turboprop aircraft that can be stopped more easily. Regional jet pilots also have less difficulty with land-and-hold-short requests. Certified landing distances for the regional jets are in the 5700-5800 foot range. O'Hare's airport arrival rate has been reduced to 80 aircraft/hour or less in optimum weather conditions, down from 1000 aircraft/hour.

The US Federal Aviation Administration may lose control over half of the Oakland Oceanic Control Area/Flight Information Region, because of its failure to upgrade oceanic air traffic control capabilities. Australia, New Zealand, Micronesia, and other Pacific nations are considering a plan to contract for satellite-based air traffic control services through an outside vendor. The FAA planned to implement a system meeting Future Air Navigation requirements in 1998, but now expects a modernized system to be in place at Oakland by late 2001 at the earliest.