European carriers urge EU action to stem 2012 losses

The Assn. of European Airlines (AEA) predicts its member airlines will post a € 1 billion ($1.3 billion) to € 2 billion EBIT loss for 2012 and is urging European institutions and the EU's 27 member states to take concrete action to improve this outlook.

AEA's 2012 forecast follows IATA's forecast last week that European airlines will fall to a $4.4 billion loss in 2012 if governments fail to resolve the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis ATW Daily News, Dec. 8.
'There is one certainty for 2012: it will not be an easy ride for European airlines. The prospect of high external costs and depressed demand is not a good combination,'said AEA secretary general Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, noting that even the negative outlook for Europe's network carriers 'is heavily dependent on a swift and effective political solution to the sovereign debt crisis.'

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Atmospheric Scientists Develop Experimental Ice Forecasting Tool

Atmospheric Scientists recently improved the ability to forecast icy conditions at altitudes used by regional airliners. Using graphical displays and advanced weather prediction models, they can now quantify the safety risks by guiding aircraft away from areas where icing is likely to occur. The improved analysis differentiates between conditions where icing should be light and where it should be heavy

Of all the dangers weather can pose to an aircraft, ice is often considered the worst. For three decades, the National Transportation Safety Board has repeatedly called icing a threat to air safety. Now there's a new technology that could save travel time, money, and lives.

Even with the most up-to-date weather information, commuter and small aircraft pilots are vulnerable to ice build-up on the wings.
'The best thing is to avoid it,' pilot Al Yecny told Ivanhoe.

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