Alaska Air Group’s regional division Horizon Air late this month will start equipping its fleet of Bombardier Q400 turboprops with Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) technology and expects the retrofit to be completed by the end of the year.

Etihad Airways is continuing to build its presence in the Australia market with new flight

A new study estimates that potential across-the-board budget cuts to the FAA could amount to an $18.4 billion blow to the economy, including the loss of up to 73 million passenger enplanements and 2 billion lb. of airfreight. Former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta called the study, released Aug. 13 by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), “very significant” and urged Congress to take action. “Let’s not let the FAA be victimized by budget politics,” he said.

Pemco expects little to change when its completes its sale to Avion

Parts manufacturing and distribution specialist Wencor Group expanded its repair capabilities, purchasing Part 145 repair stations Absolute Aviation Services and Soundair Aviation Services, Wencor reports. Absolute, which also holds a European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) certificate, specializes in electronics and avionics. Soundair, which also has EASA and Civil Aviation Administration of China approvals, focuses on aircraft interior parts, ranging from cockpit lighting to ovens. Like Wencor, Soundair also develops PMA parts.

Two Trent 900 operators turned up no findings on the engines of their A380 fleets

U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators believe the breakdown of a General Electric GEnx-1B engine on a taxiing Boeing 787 July 28 stemmed from the failure of a fan mid-shaft.

FAA could seek a record $162.4 million in civil penalties from AMR Corp., according to filings at the bankruptcy court overseeing AMR’s Chapter 11 case. Both the FAA and AMR say the amount of the claims could change and reflect ongoing enforcement cases the FAA has against both American Airlines and its subsidiary, American Eagle. FAA filed the claims with the bankruptcy court of the Southern District of New York in advance of the July 12 deadline, but the documents came to light only this week. Details of the claims remain confidential, however.