Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Career iView

My ultimate career goal is to secure a position within our global aviation industry as an Aviation Business Consultant (e.g. sales, marketing, research, management, training, etc). Therefore, once I complete my B.S. degree at EMU, I will continue my higher education to complete an MBA.

Currently, my short-term goal is to continue with my linguistic career until I obtain an MBA; in which then I would eventually converge the two experiences, that is my linguistic experience and an MBA so that I can market myself as an International Business (Aviation) Expert/Consultant. As I have previously stated in my introductory blog at the beginning of this course, I am already at the top of the ladder of my linguistic career with over seven years of native/professional linguistic and cultural advising experience in support of our government's (military) efforts overseas; providing and supplying cultural and linguistic expertise to top U.S. companies and government organizations (e.g. NIST, DARPA, Northrop Grumman, L-3 Communication, etc) within various sectors of the industry (e.g. government services, technical services, education, training, etc).

Although I have chosen a different career path, I still have strong interest in the aviation industry from a business perspective and I will continue to explore this industry both globally and domestically. Given my aviation education background and linguistic experience, I am continuously searching for and exploring new possibilities. As of now, I think I am heading on the right path to an ultimately successful career destination!

The following links are examples of positions that I might consider in the near future as entry level positions toward an ultimate career within the aviation industry:

The Opportunities are Vast. The Possibilities Extend even Farther. — Jobs at Boeing

Company: Boeing                         Positions: 1) Intern Business A    2) Production Coordinator A

........................................................................................................................................................

Company: Northrop Grumman                          
Positions: 1) Business Management Professional... 2) College Intern Administrative

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Airbus A380 Production: Latest News

Bellow is the latest production news of Airbus A380, which is continuously updated and posted by Oliver Gigacz of Airbus A380 Production (web site). I have summarized the latest production data and organized it in the following table. Older production events and information on A380 are available on Airbus A380 Production (web site) if someone is interested in reading further back into the production time-line.


Date
Event
11/26/2011
Airbus delivered Qantas’ eleventh A380 (MSN063) at a ceremony in Toulouse. Once in service, it will be utilized by Qantas to run daily Melbourne to Los Angeles flights.
11/25/2011
Emirates’ twenty-third A380 (MSN103) completed final assembly. She took just ten weeks to complete assembly, making her the quickest frame yet.
11/24/2011
Thai Airway’s first A380 (MSN087) has been spotted inside the body join hangars. She will be moved to the final assembly line shortly, and is expected to be completed in February 2012.
11/24/2011
Lufthansa’s tenth A380 (MSN073) began taxi testing. She is expected to perform her first flight next week, and join her sister ship (MSN072) in Hamburg as well.
11/22/2011
Singapore Airline’s eighteenth A380 (MSN085) completed final assembly and was towed to the flightline. She took just thirteen weeks to complete assembly.
11/18/2011
Emirates’ twenty-fifth A380 (MSN106) has been confirmed as the new frame being carried on Convoy #22/2011. Emirates will take delivery of MSN106 in the third quarter of 2012.
11/17/2011
Lufthansa’s ninth A380 (MSN072) performed her first flight. She is expected to be ferried to Hamburg next week. Delivery to the airline is scheduled for April 2012.


Also, If further interested, the following link, http://plane.spottingworld.com/A380_production_list, contains a production list of the aircraft type, serial number, airline registration, planned & delivery schedule, production status of each ordered aircraft, and other valuable information.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Richard H. Anderson

Richard H. Anderson, Chief Executive Officer


Mr. Richard H. Anderson was born in Galveston, TX in 1956. He began his career in law, then worked for Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines and UnitedHealth Group before joining Delta. On September 1, 2007, Richard became Delta's Chief Executive Officer and a member of the company's Board of Directors.

Delta Air Lines was founded in 1928. Today, Delta is considered the world's largest airline in terms of capacity, with destinations in more than 350 cities around the globe. Delta has grown considerably over the years, through numerous mergers and acquisitions, including its most recent merger with Northwest Airlines.

Under Richard Anderson's leadership, Delta has built an airline with an unsurpassed global network, strong financial position and culture known for high employee engagement. Through his vision and leadership, Delta continues to expand and extend its network of strategic partnerships including trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia, as well as a preferred codeshare agreement with Alaska Airlines Group along the U.S. West Coast. In 2010, Delta Airlines successfully completed its merger integration with Northwest Airlines, for which Richard Anderson was recognized with the "2010 Airline Strategy Award for Executive Leadership" presented by industry trade magazine "Airline Business" and global executive search firm Spencer Stuart.

Richard's Aviation/Business Background:
Richards aviation experience expand over a 23-year period. It began in 1987 at Continental Airlines, where he served as Staff Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. His 14-year career with Northwest Airlines began in 1990, where he served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel; Senior Vice President of Technical Operations and Airport Affairs; Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer; and as Chief Executive Officer from 2001 to 2004. In September 2007, Richard joined Delta Airlines after spending nearly three years as Executive Vice President of UnitedHealth Group and served as President of UnitedHealth's Commercial Markets Group. In addition, Richard is chairman of the Air Transport Association Board of Directors and serves as a director on the Boards of Cargill, Inc., Medtronic, Inc. and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Richard's Education Background:
- Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Houston, TX
- Juris Doctorate Degree from South Texas College of Law.

Forbes Rankings:
Richard Anderson is ranked 315th on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2011, and was previously ranked 394th in 2010; Delta Air Lines' 627th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2010; Medtronic's 228th on the Forbes Global 2000 in 2010; ranked 490th on the Forbes Executive Pay in 2009; in addition to numerous past rankings.

Andersons' Compensation for 2009:
Salary: $600,000.00
Restricted stock awards: $6,602,115.00
All other compensation: $1,173,217.00
Total Compensation: $8,375,332.00


In my point of view, Mr. Richard H. Anderson is one of the top influential people in our global aviation industry today. This successful business man is a role model in terms of vision and leadership. He has contributed significantly to the growth and success of the world's largest airline; while simultaneously contributing to the success and growth of the U.S. aviation industry. His executive leadership and airline/business strategy is a major contributing factor in the recent successful merger of Northwest Airlines and Delta. As an Aviation Management Technology student, I look forward to learning more about this individual' secrets to success and how he manged to successfully run the world's largest airlines in a recession economy.

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Aviation Industry Corportation of China (AVIC)

"We are just a partner but no competitor. We are committed to develop aviation industry and pursue business success, to participate in global aviation industry chain and regional economy development circle,..."
                                                                      _Lin Zuoming, President of AVIC              

Aviation Industry Corporation of China was founded on November 6, 2008 through restructuring and consolidation of China Aviation Industry Corp I (AVIC I) and China Aviation Industry Corp II (AVIC II). AVIC's business units cover Defense, Transport Aircraft, Engine, Avionics and Systems, General Aviation, Aviation Research, Flight Test, Trade Logistics, Assets Management, Finance Services, Engineering Planning and Construction, Automobile and etc. Currently, AVIC owns nearly 200 member companies, over 20 listed companies and approximately 400,000 employees. On July 7, 2011, AVIC  ranked 310 among the newly published Fortune Top 500 enterprises. By the end of June, 2011, AVIC's total assets reached ¥500 billion. AVIC sticks to the principle of 'Technology spin-off from military to civil and to achieve synergy development between military and civil businesses', commits itself to commercial transportation industry and actively participate in the development of international aviation programs.

Financial/Strategic Partners
In 2009, AVIC signed strategic cooperation agreements with 15 domestic banks, gaining a total of 482 billion RMB credit volume of intention. Since the establishment of AVIC in 2008, it has maintained a 2-digit number growth in 2 consecutive years. The total revenue of 2009 reached 191 billion RMB with growth of about 14.4% from the previous year.

History of AVIC

1951 - April 17, Bureau of Aviation Industry was established
1954 - July 3, the first trainer produced by New China CJ-5
         - August 18, engine M-11 manufactured by Zhuzhou Aero Engine Factory
1956 - September 8, the first jet aircraft J-5 produced and certified by the authority.
1958 - July 26, the first jet trainer JJ-1 independently-designed and produced by China
1963 - September 23, the first supersonic jet fighter manufactured in China- J-6.
1982 - September 26, the large passenger aircraft Y-10 made its first flight successfully.
1988 - Ministry of Aerospace Industries was established
1993 - Aviation of Industries of China was established
1998 - March 23, third generation of fighter with independent intellectual property right - J-10 made its first flight successfully.
1999 - July 1, Aviation Industries of China was restructured to Aviation Industry Corporation I and II.
         - October 3, the trunkliner jointly produced by China and US-MD-90-30 made its first flight successfully in Shanghai. It was certified by the FAA on October 28.
2000 - June, MA60 was award type certificate by Chinese civil aviation airworthiness authority.
         - August 13, the first MA60 aircraft was delivered to Sichuan Airlines.
2007 - February 27, J-10 received the 2006 Outstanding Award for National Science and Technology Progress on the National Science and Technology Award Conference.
         - December 21, the new regional aircraft ARJ21-700 made its first flight successfully.
2008 - October 10, new type of independently produced turboprop regional aircraft MA600 made its first flight successfully in Xi'an.
         - November 6, the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) was established after reorganization, setting out on the journey of new aviation, great aviation and strong aviation.
2009 - September 1, China's self-developed large passenger aircraft C919 started its nose prototype production in AVIC.

Supplier of Transportation Capability: Aviation Transportation Products



Passenger Aircraft: MA60 (turboprop regional passenger aircraft); MA600, ARJ21 (jet regional aircraft); ERJ-145 (turbofan regional aircraft).

Transport Aircraft: Y-7, short/medium-range regional aircraft; Y-8, first generation medium-sized/medium-ranged multipurpose transport aircraft.

General Aircraft: N-5, agriculture/forestry aircraft; Y-12, light twin-engined multipurpose transport aircraft, the first type of Chinese civil aircraft certified by international airworthiness authorities (CAA in the UK and FAA in the US).

Civil Helicopter: AC313, 13-ton civil helicopter; H425, new generation of multipurpose helicopter.

Transportation Services: Joy Air Co, Ltd, co-founded by AVIC and China Eastern, is the only airlines that operates 100% China homemade aircraft. It is based in the west of China and positioned to provide regional transportation.

Domestic/International Orders:
In late 2010 AVIC International signed an agreement with Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) to purchase 10 ARJ21 to market to international carriers. Most of current orders for the ARJ21 are from domestic carriers, but Lao Airlines, which ordered two aircraft, will likely be the ARJ21's foreign operator.

AVIC commits itself to fulfilling its social responsibility of providing extensive job opportunities. More than 6,000 graduates from universities are recruited in China each year. Technician and management personnel who are performing outstandingly will be provided opportunities for further eduction overseas; and nearly 100 employees have been funded to study in foreign well-known universities to obtain their degrees.

In my opinion, AVIC somewhat is a successful Chinese domestic aircraft manufacturing corporation, but it has not yet secured its place in the international market. If more countries such as China start to independently manufacture their own civil and military aircraft and produce them efficiently, then in the long run large companies such as Airbus, Boeing, GE, etc, will foresee a negative economical impact as a result.

Saturday, October 29, 2011

Landmark Aviation



“Welcome to Landmark Aviation, where uniting exceptional customer service and uncompromising safety standards is our primary focus.”

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Landmark Aviation is a portfolio company of GTCR Golder Rauner and Platform Partners, LLC. Landmark’s current network includes ten fixed base operations in Europe and Canada, as well as 41 locations in the U.S.

Landmark Aviation, one of the nation's largest FBO networks, is committed to exceeding the standards in business aviation services. This company is successfully providing its customers with a single source for all of their aviation needs. It offers a wide range of services, including, FBO, MRO, charter and management; in addition to a wide variety of amenities and services, guaranteeing both comfort and convenience.

Charter & Management:

With over 60 years of experience, Landmark Aviation's charter operation provides convenience and safety, getting you to your destination in the most exclusive and secure way possible. With charter flights, you have the ability to save time and money, eliminating the hassles of check-ins, stops, plane changes and layovers common in conventional airline services.

Fleet:

Landmark Aviation has one of the largest corporate charter fleets in the nation, ranging from a King Air 200 to a Challenger 604.


·    - Crew scheduling and briefing for all trips Part 91 and 135

·    - Aircraft schedules for Part 91 and Part 135 trips
·    - Arrangement of crew accommodations and transportation

·    - Track weather conditions, ensure all amenities are on board, and each aircraft is always spotless and ready to depart on time


Landmark Aviation Careers:

Landmark Aviation firmly believes that its employees drive the success of the company; therefore it strive to create and provide an environment that offers challenging, stimulating and financially rewarding opportunities to its employees.

Landmark Aviation offers jobs in Accounting and Finance, Charter and Aircraft MGMT, Clerical and Administrative, Customer Service, General Management, Ground Operations, Maintenance & Repair, Sales and Marketing, and Technology and Computer-related.


Offered Benefits

- Medical
- Dental
- Vision
- Short Term Disability
- Long Term Disability
- Employee Life Insurance
- Spouse Insurance
- Dependent's Insurance
- Flexible Spending Accounts
- 401k



Pilot 135

Job Description

The Pilot provides exceptional customer service to all Landmark customers, suppliers, and employees while observing and practicing all safety policies and procedures. Qualified candidates will check aircraft prior to flights to ensure that engines, controls, instruments, and other systems are functioning properly, contact control towers for clearances and instructions using radio equipment, start engines, operate controls, and pilot airplanes to transport passengers or freight according to flight plans. In addition, pilots will monitor engine operation, fuel consumption, functioning of aircraft, altitudes, plane weight, weather, and wind conditions before and during flight. Pilots will order changes in fuel, load, routes, or schedules and plan flights according to government and company regulations to ensure flight safety.

Required Skills

-High School diploma or equivalent

-Minimum of 18 years old

-Education and training to obtain required licenses and certificates

-FAA Airline Transport Certificate

-FAA First Class Medical Certificate

-3 to 5 years experience

-Advanced working knowledge of applicable FCC, FAA, OSHA, and environmental regulations

-Proficient in computer operations and software (internet, email, database, spreadsheet, and document)

-Excellent customer relation skills required

-Strong communication skills required, both verbal and written

-Knowledge of simple arithmetic

-Possess and maintain valid state driver’s license with driving record acceptable to FAA and Company
policy

-Ability to perform service operations outside and in extreme temperatures and inclement weather

-Requires stretching, bending, and climbing

-Excellent vision and coordination

-Ability to perform medium to heavy lifting

-Will travel extensively and sit for extended periods of time

Required Experience

Required Flight Experience:
-3500 Hours Total Time
-2000 Hours PIC
-1500 Hours Multi-EngineLand
-500 Hours Multi-Engine PIC
-500 Hours Turbine Engine
-300 Hours PIC (HS-125)
-300 Hours Instrument

Job Location
Frederick, MD, US.

Position Type
Full-Time/Regular
...............................................................................................

Dispatcher

Job Description
-Receives, records, and distributes work orders to service crews to meet customer requests for service.

-Records information, such as name, address, service location, time of service and service to be rendered.

-Prepares and distributes work orders to service or maintenance crews.

-Relays messages and special instructions to crews using radio and telephone equipment.

-Communicates with the customer to ensure satisfactory performance of service.

-Maintains records of service calls and work orders.

-Uses the Fuels Automated System (FAS) and electronic database management systems to manage, schedule, and document all activities in support of site operations.

-Records service requests, prepares service schedules, dispatches personnel, controls equipment, and documents all site activities.

-Receives requests either by telephone and/or messages

-Reviews service schedules to ensure that adequate manning is scheduled to support anticipated workload.

-Recalls employees or implements the contingency plan as appropriate to ensure uninterrupted mission support of multiple simultaneous fuel service operations.

-Coordinates all Logistical Requirements to ensure that customer services, supplies, and material requirements are available.

-Controls the discharge of fuel by operating motorized valves.

-Monitors inventories, flow rates, tank level, and other information provided by the system.

-Monitors system alarms and responds accordingly in the event that an alarm is sounded.

-Reviews all receipt; issue, defuel, and fillstand documents for accuracy by compares data against the automated dispatch log.

-Prepares records, reports, and other documents relevant to product inventory, receipt, and issue to ensure account accuracy.

-Required Skills

-Possess strong communication skills, both verbal and written
-Proficient in computer operations and Microsoft Office Software (Outlook, Word, Excel, and Access)
-Possess excellent customer relation skills

-Possess and maintain valid state driver’s license with driving record acceptable to Company policy
Required Experience

-Minimum of 18 years old

-High School diploma or equivalent

Job Location
Sioux Falls, SD, US.

Position Type
Part-Time


Saturday, October 22, 2011

The New Space Economy

In my opinion, the statement, “the new space economy is getting real” refers to genuine and lively commitment by space pioneers and private companies within a global commercial space industry, aspiring to take on space travel and exploration to new frontiers. Two great examples of that, are two successful private companies, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX. 


This week Sir Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Group (a British billionaire), and New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez dedicate the ‘Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space' as SpaceshipTwo got released from WhiteKnightTwo at 51,500ft and for the first time tests and demonstrates its unique feathered re-entry system. The test has met all objectives and after re-feathering to the normal glide configuration, SpaceShipTwo made a smooth touchdown at Mojave Air and Spaceport.


 Space Tickets, A Journey of a Lifetime into Space.  - Virgin Galactic



The Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space is a combined terminal and hangar facility, built to support up to two WhiteKnightTwo and five SpaceShipTwo vehicles. The Gateway will house all of the company’s astronaut preparation and celebration facilities, a mission control center, and a friends and family area. There is also space committed to public access via the planned New Mexico Spaceport Authority’s Visitor Experience. In addition, the company is taking steps to expand its mission beyond commercial space tourism, and it announced last week that it had been awarded a contract under NASA’s Flight Opportunity Program for research flights to a potential value of $4.5m. More than150 Virgin Galactic customers from 21 countries attended the dedication ceremony and over 450 future astronauts worldwide have signed on to join Virgin Galactic for a voyage into space.


 
The second example of a successful private company is SpaceX, led by breakthrough innovator Elon Musk, which is the first private company to send a capsule into orbit and successfully recover it. This company has set its sights on the Dragon becoming the next American craft to carry astronauts. The aerospace company signed a $492 million launch contract (the largest in history) with the satellite company Iridium Communications. It also received a $75 million from NASA to develop an escape system for its Dragon spacecraft.


NASA's Role in the Next 25 Years

Recently, NASA has published the Global Exploration Roadmap; which is a document detailing the agency's plans for the next 25 years of space exploration. The plan is a vision of robotic and human space exploration within the solar system, with the premise that human may one day live and work in space; it reflects international effort to define feasible and sustainable exploration pathways into space. Agencies agree that human space exploration will be most successful as an international endeavor because there are many challenges for these missions and because of the significant social, intellectual, and economic benefits to people on Earth. The most common goals and objectives of the global Exploration Roadmap are, to search for life outside of Earth, extend human presence in exploring a variety of destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, developing exploration technologies and capabilities, stimulating economic expansion by supporting commercial entities, engaging in scientific investigations of, and from the solar system destinations, and providing opportunities for the public to engage in space exploration.

The historic purpose of space travel was primarily a matter of competition between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, each wanted to gain the upper-hand in space and military technological superiority, while the primary purpose of the current and future space travel and exploration has shifted focus into scientific research and exploration of space to include private companies engaging in investigations and explorations for the purpose of benefiting mankind from technological advances to the possibility of space travel, tourism and the search for life outside of our planet. This purpose is in fact of significant benefit to mankind because it is not just a matter of space travel and tourism, it is a matter of attaining new frontiers to enhance our lives. The undertaking of such endeavors require a big investment of time and money and I am glad that pioneers such as Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Galactic and Elon Musk of SpaceX are two of many great pioneers whom work and achievements have and will continue to benefit us all whether directly or indirectly.

The only possible career implication to the current direction of space travel that I could think of is the reality that global and national space agencies such as NASA may not offer as many career opportunities as they once did in the past and may end up loosing some talents to the private sector as more private companies gets their hands on this promising industry. Overall, I think the space economy will grow steadily in the next 25 years, creating more jobs both in the public and private sectors. I think it is extremely important that private companies must plan extensively and prioritize safety in every aspect of their work when investing and engaging in the space industry, simply because failing a mission is not tolerable by the commercial space industry and especially by investors. 

Friday, October 14, 2011

EU's Emissions Trading System

The European Commission for Climate Action explain ETS as follow:

EU’s emissions trading system/scheme! was launched in 2005 and it works on the "cap and trade" principle; which means a limit on the total amount of certain greenhouse gases that can be emitted. The way this scheme works is that companies will receive emission allowances which they can sell to or buy from one another as needed. At the end of each year, each company must surrender enough allowances to cover all its emissions, otherwise heavy fines are imposed. If a company reduces its emissions, it can keep the spare allowances to cover its future needs or else sell them to another company that is short of allowances.The number of allowances is reduced over time so that total emissions fall. The ETS now operates in 30 countries (the 27 EU Member States plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). Airlines will join the scheme in 2012. The EU ETS will be further expanded to the petrochemicals, ammonia and aluminium industries and to additional gases in 2013.

The ETS conflict between the U.S. and EU is very serious and concerning. Testifying before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation, ATA Vice President of Environmental Affairs Nancy Young shared this concern with members of the House of Representatives. “The EU ETS violates international law, including the sovereignty of the United States and imposes an illegal, exorbitant and counterproductive tax on U.S. citizens, diverting U.S. dollars and threatening thousands upon thousands of jobs.”In addition to that, ATA projections estimate that the ETS could cost U.S. airlines more than $3.1 billion from 2012 to 2020, a figure that could sustain more than 39,200 aviation jobs. Simply just these two statements alone do tell the potential impact to the US aviation industry if US carriers are forced to participate in this scheme.

Currently, it is unclear whether non-carriers such as U.S. corporate operators will have to participate in the EU's emissions trading scheme. Based on my understanding of reading the EU's ETS on the European Commission for Climate Action website, I think it is quite clear that this scheme is going to include non-carriers and definitely freight carriers such as UPS, FedEx and DHL.

From an enviromental perspective, this scheme seems like at a positive step forward; but, from an economical and legal perspective, I think the EU's emission trading scheme is unfair and illegal because it is regulated and ran by the Europeans alone instead of an international regulatory body that would act as a neutral regulator. This scheme tend to negatively impact most airlines and manufacturers that do business in Europe because it trims their bottom-line and make them less competitive in the global market. If U.S. carriers are required to participate, then the U.S. government should counter-tax European air carriers that fly into the U.S. and use it to subsidize the impacted U.S. airlines and/or companies.