Norwegian Air International is the third largest low budget carrier in Europe. “The Norwegian Group consists of the parent company Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA and its directly or indirectly fully-owned subsidiaries in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Singapore.” Norwegian has a fleet composed of many 737-800‘s, 737-300‘s and 787‘s. Norwegian pilots operate under Singapore and Norwegian flies between US and Scandinavia. Currently, Norwegian is attempting to operate a foreign airline domestically in America however, their request was denied.
In September, the Department of Transportation (DOT) denied Norwegian’s permit to operate in America under an Ireland permit. The DOT denied the permit because “It would need more time to consider an application from the airline for long-term permission to fly into the US”. I agree that the permit should be denied however, There should be no need to consider anything on the DOT’s side. Clearly Norwegian is unsafe and would deal a heavy blow to U.S. carriers, who could not compete, due to operating under stricter laws. But what makes them so unsafe and do are air carriers support this?
The U.S. air carriers are opposed to Norwegian because, they operate under Ireland therefore, do not have to comply with American standards. This would allow Norwegian to be able to undercut all U.S. carriers and endanger safety at every turn. Norwegian is also owned by six different counties. This creates a problem of who is really liable for the planes? If an accident were to happen (heaven forbid on America soil) then Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland and Singapore would all be pointing fingers at each other. Operating under so many countries also create the question of what laws would apply to the carrier? If any foreign company were allowed to operate domestically, then the U.S. risks losing American air line companies and create a loophole on our regulations.
References:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/flights/2014/09/02/dot-norwegian-air-alpa-foxx/14810499/
http://www.norwegian.com/us/about-norwegian/our-company/
http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/transport-and-tourism/us-ruling-hits-norwegian-air-shuttle-s-long-haul-plans-1.1916935
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Sunday, October 12, 2014
UAS's
As technology evolved, UAS’s (unmanned areal system) came to be. Now as UAS’s continue to grow, they find their way into the civilian market. UAS’s can be used for anything from areal photography or just for recreational play. With their current growth I see UAS’s replacing helicopters in filming movies, carrying packages to door steps, and even replacing freight pilots. But are UAS’s being regulated? In order for anyone to use an UAS they must first get an exception from the FAA.
“Obtaining a Special Airworthiness Certificate in the experimental category for a particular UAS is currently the only way civil operators of unmanned aircraft are accessing the NAS. Experimental certificate regulations preclude carrying people or property for compensation or hire, but do allow operations for research and development, flight and sales demonstrations and crew training.”
- FAA.gov.
There have been multiple accounts of people not acquiring the proper paperwork and flying UAS’s, just to get found out by the FAA and punished.
With UAS’s growing more popular I believe that it is only a matter of time before they are integrated into the NAS. With companies like Amazon trying to use drones, the interest is there but, is the safety? Every so often there is a drone strike. Some pilot did not see the drone and collided with it. With some drones being small and flying high, it is easy to see why the FAA is hesitant on releasing regulations. Also, with no person flying the UAS, what will happen if control is lost? I believe that with Nextgen, UAS’s will be forced to have positioning reporting equipment, if they want to fly in an airspace. Currently the military uses UAS’s that have a preprogrammed route. If a failure is detected or control is lost the programmed route takes over.
In the military UAS’s take on a much different role. according to uavs.org UAS’s have 6 main functions: security, search and rescue, monitoring, impact and disaster management, communications, and munitions. With UAS’s the military can send up an unmanned drone, controlled from the other side of the world. This saves pilots from flying into higher risk areas and save the cost of sending in a fighter jet, where something smaller can get the job done just as well. The integration of UAS’s have been good, so good there is even talk that one day there will be no more manned planes. As for me, I think there will always be a need for manned planes in the military because, there will always be a need for the human to “press the button”.
References:
https://www.faa.gov/uas/
https://www.uavs.org/military
“Obtaining a Special Airworthiness Certificate in the experimental category for a particular UAS is currently the only way civil operators of unmanned aircraft are accessing the NAS. Experimental certificate regulations preclude carrying people or property for compensation or hire, but do allow operations for research and development, flight and sales demonstrations and crew training.”
- FAA.gov.
There have been multiple accounts of people not acquiring the proper paperwork and flying UAS’s, just to get found out by the FAA and punished.
With UAS’s growing more popular I believe that it is only a matter of time before they are integrated into the NAS. With companies like Amazon trying to use drones, the interest is there but, is the safety? Every so often there is a drone strike. Some pilot did not see the drone and collided with it. With some drones being small and flying high, it is easy to see why the FAA is hesitant on releasing regulations. Also, with no person flying the UAS, what will happen if control is lost? I believe that with Nextgen, UAS’s will be forced to have positioning reporting equipment, if they want to fly in an airspace. Currently the military uses UAS’s that have a preprogrammed route. If a failure is detected or control is lost the programmed route takes over.
In the military UAS’s take on a much different role. according to uavs.org UAS’s have 6 main functions: security, search and rescue, monitoring, impact and disaster management, communications, and munitions. With UAS’s the military can send up an unmanned drone, controlled from the other side of the world. This saves pilots from flying into higher risk areas and save the cost of sending in a fighter jet, where something smaller can get the job done just as well. The integration of UAS’s have been good, so good there is even talk that one day there will be no more manned planes. As for me, I think there will always be a need for manned planes in the military because, there will always be a need for the human to “press the button”.
References:
https://www.faa.gov/uas/
https://www.uavs.org/military
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