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1. Defense Manufacturing Initiative shows importance to U.S. economy.

Defense manufacturing initiative announced by NAM will bring together manufacturers in defense and aerospace industries as well as their suppliers to highlight critical importance of defense sector to USA's innovation and economy. Spearheaded by NAM's Defense Manufacturing Working Group, initiative will focus on issues such as export controls, procurement efficiencies, rare earth minerals, extension of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bill, and defense budget cuts.
National Association Of Manufacturers (NAM)

NAM Announces Defense Manufacturing Initiative to Highlight Importance to U.S. Economy

Washington, D.C. - The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) announced a defense manufacturing initiative today that will bring together manufacturers in the defense and aerospace industries and their suppliers to highlight the critical importance of the defense sector to our nation's innovation and economy. As policymakers discuss programmatic changes to the sector, manufacturers are working aggressively to illustrate their roles as innovators and creators of many of the products and technologies used to protect our nation and improve the daily lives of its citizens. Manufacturers know this sector is vital to helping our country maintain its competitive edge in the world.

This initiative will be spearheaded by the NAM's Defense Manufacturing Working Group and will focus on issues such as export controls, procurement efficiencies, rare earth minerals and the extension of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) bill. The group will also work to address concerns about deep defense budget cuts in Congress that would hurt our national security and cripple a vital part of manufacturing that will affect tens of thousands of small and medium-sized manufacturers and up to 3 million workers directly and indirectly, as the ripple effects impact many broad sectors of manufacturing.

"As a supplier to this industry, I know firsthand that the continued success of our defense and aerospace manufacturing sectors is critical to America's ability to compete," said Click Bond COO Collie Hutter. "Manufacturers across the supply chain, both large and small depend on the defense and aerospace industries to grow and to create high quality jobs. We cannot afford to fall behind as the world's leader at this critical time in our economic recovery."

"Manufacturers fully acknowledge we have to get our fiscal house in order to ensure a healthy economy, and that includes hard choices on our spending," said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. "Those decisions must be smart decisions and should not be at the expense of our nation's competitiveness or national security or at the risk of adding to the already high unemployment rate. Much of the innovation essential to our economic development comes from important research and development in the defense and aerospace industries. Manufacturers firmly believe advanced defense and aerospace manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. should not be taken for granted because once they are gone it could take decades to rebuild them."

Other countries are moving forward in developing their own defense and aerospace manufacturing industries. Brazil, China and Russia are racing to develop new aircraft to project their power internationally and continue to grow their economy through exports. It is critical that manufacturers not stand on the sidelines while other countries seek to minimize strong lead of the defense and aerospace sectors in the United States.

-NAM- The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states.

2. Top-flight medics: Army training moves to next level

The Army will be training hundreds of new medics in enhanced skills to treat wounded servicemembers during the flight from the battlefield to field hospital, when the most severely injured have a better chance of surviving with an experienced paramedic aboard.

By Rafiq Maqbool, AP
A U.S Army flight medic and medical nurse carry a wounded Afghan soldier to a medevac helicopter.

The tentative plan is to train 1,200 critical-care flight paramedics at a cost of $53 million, with the first of them deployed next year, says Col. Bob Mitchell, aviation consultant to the Army surgeon general.
"(This) is a quantum leap forward for how we've done business so far," says Lt. Col. Bob Mabry, an emergency medicine and pre-hospital care specialist, and an architect of the plan.
The need for the new specialists became clear when the vast distances for airlifting casualties in Afghanistan complicated care for troops suffering multiple amputations, severe blood loss, brain damage and internal injuries, Mabry says. Massive bleeding and organ failure make it difficult for surgeons to save these casualties.
A new Army study shows that severely injured troops and Afghan civilians transported by Army National Guard units whose medics were also civilian flight paramedics had a 66% higher survival rate than casualties carried by standard Army medical evacuation units.
Civilian flight paramedics are the highly trained medical professionals found on emergency air helicopters, also known as medevacs.
In Afghanistan, medical flights are usually staffed by medics with basic live-saving training only.
The Army has placed critical-care nurses on flights between medical facilities, but not on flights from the battlefield. Mitchell says a dozen of these nurses are now in Afghanistan.
The current survival rate for wounded troops, at more than 95%, has never been better, military data show. However, most of the remaining 5% die before reaching surgeons.
"We want to enhance the skills of our medics at the critical time between the point of injury and getting them back to the hospital ."Our (survival) numbers are good. But that's a vulnerable period in there.

3. Southwest flier arrested, refused to turn off phone

In case you missed this story from Monday, a Southwest Airlines passenger was arrested in El Paso after an incident in which he refused to turn his cellphone off during flight, The Associated Press reports. The man allegedly switched on his phone during the flight's final approach to El Paso and then "refused crew instructions to turn the phone off," according to The Aviation Herald. The unidentified man apparently had attempted to make a call, according to KSAZ-TV Fox 10 of Phoenix.

The incident also set off an altercation onboard the flight, though Fox 10 says details of that are "unclear." Possibly hinting at those details, "the passenger was restrained" before the flight landed. Fox 10 says the man "was turned over to federal authorities," though it was not immediately clear what charges he might face.

4. JAIME BAUTISTA, PRESIDENT, PHILIPPINE AIRLINES
Optimism at Philippine Airlines

MANILA, Philippines (eTN) - Philippine Airlines recently reported losses of $10.6 million for the first quarter of its financial year, but it does not deter the optimism of PAL President Jaime Bautista about the long-term perspectives of Southeast Asia’s oldest air carrier. “This is a very challenging year, especially as fuel prices are reaching a new peak. But I am confident that we still will remain profitable this year,” said the PAL President in an exclusive interview to eTN.

The airline carried last year some 9 million passengers, slightly down from 9.3 million passengers a year earlier. This result can be explained by the fact that some domestic passengers switched to PAL's low-cost subsidiary, Air Phil Express. In FY 2010-11, PAL achieved a profit of US$72.5 million over total revenues of US$1.6 billion, after losing US$14.5 million a year before.

Remaining profitable for the current fiscal year could come, in fact, from PAL's latest round of restructuring, which saw the outsourcing of non-core operations. Measures to subcontract ancillary activities such as ground handling, catering, or call-center operations would help to reduce the PAL working force to 4,400 employees, compared to the current manpower of 7,000 people.

“We must get leaner and more efficient if we want to attract foreign investors and compete efficiently against other airlines, including low-cost carriers. This is a question of survival,” added Jaime Bautista. Outsourcing is expected to reduce the carrier's operating costs by up to US$15 million a year.

The working environment has been very challenging on both the international and domestic fronts. “We faced the consequences of political turmoil in the Middle East, as well as the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which depressed travel demand in both markets,” described Mr. Bautista. In Japan, the PAL President estimates the decline in passengers at 20%. “We, however ,maintained our yields and even increased slightly our fares by adjusting our capacity. We how resumed all of our frequencies to Tokyo Narita, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Okinawa, and Osaka,” he said. After resuming flights to Saudi Arabia in March 2010, PAL finally suspended again its route to Riyadh last April.

“Competition is now very tough on all routes to the Middle East due to the aggressive expansion of Gulf carriers into the Filipino market. There are over 70 frequencies per week from those airlines to Manila now,” highlighted Jaime Bautista.

PAL does, in fact, disagree with the way open skies are currently granted by the government to foreign airlines. “Let’s be clear about it. We are not against an open skies policy as long as it is balanced. We can’t just give rights to anyone without being allowed ourselves to benefit from the same rights. This is what happens for example to Canada where we can’t fly where we would like,” stressed Mr. Bautista.

PAL has not been helped by the Filipino Civil Aviation authorities. Neglecting the upgrading of safety at Manila International Airport conducted both the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and EU Aviation authorities to rule against the Filipino airlines. The FAA downgraded Manila airport from Category I to II, clipping PAL - consequently PAL wings - by freezing any expansion to the USA.

“We have an open skies agreement with the US and would love to fly to New York, Chicago, or even Houston and put our newest Boeing B777 in service. But we can’t, due to the downgrade. In Europe, all Filipino carriers are now put on [the] EU black list despite the fact that we pass successfully all safety controls imposed by international institutions such as IATA,” added Mr. Bautista.

With the government now putting absolute priority to Manila Airport’s safety upgrading, PAL's President is optimistic to see the ban removed by March of next year. Much of PAL's future evolution then remains dependant on the government’s ability to fix the woes at the country’s civil aviation infrastructures. “We also consider flying again to Europe as we acknowledge that there are not enough capacities. We would likely serve Frankfurt or Munich, as we could benefit from good feeder services to the rest of Europe,” estimated PAL's President.

The airline is due to take delivery of 4 new Boeing 777, with delivery starting next year, as well as a new Airbus A320 for its regional network. “We are now looking at aircraft to replace our Airbus A330 over the next 5 years. We [are] look[ing] closely at Airbus A350 and Boeing B787,” described Mr. Bautista. For the time being, PAL is looking at further expanding into Asia. The carrier recently opened a daily frequency to Delhi via Bangkok and is looking at more destinations in China. “Guangzhou is an option. We [are] also look[ing] currently at serving Cambodia,” said Mr. Bautista.

PAL does not exclude also joining an alliance, most probably in a 2- to 3-year time frame. Oneworld could be one of the best options, as PAL enjoys a strong relation with Cathay Pacific, as well as Malaysia Airlines. The carrier’s network, with its extensive flights to North America and North Asia (especially to Japan), as well as Australia, could, in fact, fit very well into Oneworld's own global network. Flying to Munich could also create synergies with Air Berlin.

Aviation NEWS By
Neha Jain
Aviation NEWS Reporter