Business News of Monday, 7 October 2013

Source: graphic.com.gh

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Delta Airlines has agreed to operate a direct flight from Accra to Atlanta in the United States of America next year, following a request made by President John Mahama.

The company is also introducing one of its new airplanes on the Accra route, with effect from October 26.

The 210-seater ‘Business Class C’ airliner is equipped with facilities that will make travelling more convenient and entertaining for both business and economy class passengers on the route.

At a meeting with the top management of Delta Airlines Incorporated at the company’s headquarters in Atlanta, USA last Thursday, President Mahama indicated that passenger numbers in Ghana were growing. In that vein, he said Delta’s decision to operate direct flights came as good news to travellers, as currently, passengers travelling to Atlanta had to transit in New York or other longer routes before reaching their destination.

“We intend making Ghana the aviation hub in the West African sub-region, therefore, working together with you, we can achieve that dream,” President Mahama told the airline’s executives.

New airport

President Mahama stated that the government was conducting feasibility studies into the building of a new international airport about 30 kilometres out of the national capital, Accra, to ease pressure at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA).

“Government has secured the land already and we are looking for expression of interest,” he stated, adding that “We are looking for partnership on a win-win situation.”

KIA refurbishment

In the meantime, he said the KIA was undergoing refurbishment including the introduction of air bridges and improving baggage and general services on the ground.

President Mahama informed the Delta officials that aviation fuel was becoming more competitive, stressing that extra facilities had been provided at the airport to avoid past glitches such as aviation fuel shortages.

He expressed appreciation to the senior officials of the airline for linking USA and Africa, stressing the need for Delta to reconsider more than one route to America, to enhance travelling convenience.

Delta MD

Responding, Mr Steve Long, a Managing Director of the company, said, “Ghana is a logical place to look at, considering the stable atmosphere for business.”

He stated that it would be helpful if aviation officials from the Ghana Civil Aviation Authority under-studied the operations of Delta in Atlanta, to tap their rich experience and expertise.

Mr Long also said the new Delta Airplane that would be operating in Ghana later this month was one of its newly refurbished airlines, saying that all the seats would have video strings at the back.

He expressed appreciation to the GCAA for working closely with the airline over the years, adding that the GCAA had ensured that it maintained standards in instances where there had been shortfalls and gave an assurance that Delta would further improve on its services.

President Mahama later toured the offices of the company, where he and his entourage received in-depth briefings on the airline’s operations.

He was accompanied by Mr Daniel Ohene-Agyekum, Ghana’s envoy to America; Kwame Tenkorang, Director of State Protocol; Mahama Ayariga, Minister of Information and Media Relations, and Mr Samuel Sarpong, Central Regional Minister.

Channel 2 Action News is tracking powerful pushback against a controversial deal to bring commercial airline service to another metro Atlanta airport.

Delta Airlines and the city of Atlanta seem willing to do whatever it can to keep any commercial carriers from ever taking off from Paulding County’s airport.

Meantime, Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant spoke to a local lawmaker who’s clearly annoyed he never got a heads up about the airport expansion deal before it got done.

“Very frustrating, very disappointing,” Paulding County commissioner Todd Pownall said.

He told Diamant he is livid he was left out of the loop.

“Sitting on the couch last night at 11 o’clock is how I found out,” Pownall told Diamant.

That’s when Channel 2 Action News first reported the Paulding County Airport Authority had very quietly signed a long-term deal with an investment group seeking to start up commercial service at the renamed Silver Comet Field outside Dallas.

“Naturally, we hope it works, but we’ve got to make sure that what we do in our community is good for our community and good for our citizens,” Pownall said.

Propeller Investment’s CEO Brett Smith signed a 40-year lease on the terminal and a lot of surrounding land. He’s already in talks with several airlines and is putting together proposals for aerospace and aviation companies to set up shop.

“The market clearly supports a second airport. There are a million people that live within 25 miles of this airport, and there are still $5.5 million people that live in the Atlanta metro area,” Smith said.

But Smith is already facing powerful pushback. On Friday, Delta Airlines CEO Richard Anderson told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “With the city of Atlanta and Mayor (Kasim) Reed, we will work together to oppose any investment in that facility.”

Meantime, a spokesperson for Reed said in a statement to Channel 2 Action News, “We intend to focus our energy on expanding the Hartsfield-Jackson campus and will not support Propeller Investment’s efforts to add commercial air service.”

Propeller Investments has already committed to spend $10 million for phase one of its plan. The airport will still own the terminal and the runway.

Plus it can end its lease with Smith’s company after just five years if he fails to meet certain goals.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. –  Delta Airlines says a flight was diverted to Memphis International Airport because of a crack in a window.

In a statement, Delta says Flight 557 was going from Detroit to Mexico City on Wednesday when crew members reported a small crack in one of the aircraft’s cockpit windows.

The Airbus A319 carrying 104 passengers and six crew members landed safely. No injuries were reported.

Delta says passengers were being placed on another flight.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Delta Airlines says a flight was diverted to Memphis International Airport because of a crack in a window.

In a statement, Delta says Flight 557 was going from Detroit to Mexico City on Wednesday when crew members reported a small crack in one of the aircraft’s cockpit windows.

The Airbus A319 carrying 104 passengers and six crew members landed safely. No injuries were reported.

Delta says passengers were being placed on another flight.

Memphis, Tenn. Delta Airlines says a flight was diverted to Memphis International Airport because of a crack in a window.

In a statement, Delta says flight 557 was going from Detroit to Mexico City on Wednesday when crew members reported a small crack in one of the aircrafts cockpit windows.

The Airbus A319 carrying 104 passengers and six crew members landed safely. No injuries were reported.

Delta says passengers were being placed on another flight.

MEMPHIS, TN –

(WMC-TV) – A Delta Airlines flight made an emergency landing in Memphis after a crack was reported in one of the cockpit’s windows.

Delta flight 557 was heading from Detroit to Mexico City with 104 passengers and six crew members when it was diverted around 11 a.m.

Nobody was injured. The flight landed without incident.

Delta Airlines released the following statement:

The crew of Delta flight 557 from Detroit to Mexico City elected to divert to Memphis after a small crack in the outer pane of one of the aircraft’s cockpit windows was reported. The flight landed without incident and customers will be reaccommodated on another Delta aircraft. Safety is always Delta’s top priority.

Copyright 2013 WMC-TV. All rights reserved.

Surface Pro tablet: Last week, Microsoft rolled out the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets and already has its first big customer. Delta Airlines will outfit 700 planes with Surface 2 tablets, hoping to go paperless by 2014.

By

Karis Hustad, Contributor /
October 2, 2013

A Delta Airlines Airbus A320 passenger jet taxis at the Salt Lake City international airport, in Salt Lake City, Utah, in Nov. 2012. Delta will take delivery on new Microsoft Surface Pro tablets for their aircraft fleet.

George Frey/Reuters/File

Enlarge

Microsoft lost big on its last Surface tablet model, but now it appears things for the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are lifting off in a big way.

Skip to next paragraph

• In Pictures
  Supersonic planes

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Delta Airlines announced a partnership with Microsoft to purchase 11,000 Surface 2 tablets to replace heavy pilot flight bags. Initially, this will be rolled out on 700 Boeing 757 and 767 planes, with the goal of going totally paperless by 2014.

In a blog post, Delta Senior Vice President, Captain Steve Dickinson, says the move is motivated by saving fuel costs and cutting carbon emissions. The 38-pound flight bags pilots ordinarily use are loaded down with maps, charts, checklists, and reference materials, and transferring the data to the 1.5 pound tablets will reduce fuel usage by 1.2 million gallons per year, he says. This means a 26 million pound reduction in annual emissions (like taking 2,600 cars off the road).

RECOMMENDED:

How safe is flying? Take the aviation safety quiz

But it isn’t just fuel emissions that motivate Delta. In a video, Capt. Dickinson adds that the two-application screen offers pilots a way to run a static and real-time app at the same time (like navigation and weather conditions), which is ideal for the changing nature of each flight.

Delta, the no. 2 airline carrier in the country, has worked with Microsoft in the past. Currently Delta’s training software runs on Windows, and this August it announced Microsoft would outfit 19,000 flight attendants with the Nokia Lumia 820 Windows phone for in-flight services like beverages and seat assignments.

But it hasn’t always been this way. After the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Apple iPads for cockpit use in 2011, Delta started trials with the iPad which many Delta pilots liked, according to Apple Insider. American Airlines currently uses iPads in all 8,000 of its cockpits for all-phase flight use. As of now, the Surface 2 is not cleared for all-phase flight, though Delta says they expect the FAA approval to come by next year. Despite this, Delta went ahead with the Microsoft deal. 

This news comes on the heels of Microsoft’s new tablet roll out last week. The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are slated to go on sale to the public in late October, the lighter Surface 2 retailing for $449 and the more technical Surface Pro 2 for $899. Delta declined to comment whether it would purchase the Surface 2 for the consumer price or a special price from Microsoft.

Microsoft ran into problems selling its last Surface model, and ended up paying $900 million for unsold merchandise. It hopes this model, with fine-tuned details and a focus on quality hardware, will fare better in an increasingly competitive tablet market.

Surface Pro tablet: Last week, Microsoft rolled out the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 tablets and already has its first big customer. Delta Airlines will outfit 700 planes with Surface 2 tablets, hoping to go paperless by 2014.

By

Karis Hustad, Contributor /
October 2, 2013

A Delta Airlines Airbus A320 passenger jet taxis at the Salt Lake City international airport, in Salt Lake City, Utah, in Nov. 2012. Delta will take delivery on new Microsoft Surface Pro tablets for their aircraft fleet.

George Frey/Reuters/File

Enlarge

Microsoft lost big on its last Surface tablet model, but now it appears things for the Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are lifting off in a big way.

Skip to next paragraph

• In Pictures
  Supersonic planes

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Subscribe Today to the Monitor

Click Here for your FREE 30 DAYS of
The Christian Science Monitor
Weekly Digital Edition

Delta Airlines announced a partnership with Microsoft to purchase 11,000 Surface 2 tablets to replace heavy pilot flight bags. Initially, this will be rolled out on 700 Boeing 757 and 767 planes, with the goal of going totally paperless by 2014.

In a blog post, Delta Senior Vice President, Captain Steve Dickinson, says the move is motivated by saving fuel costs and cutting carbon emissions. The 38-pound flight bags pilots ordinarily use are loaded down with maps, charts, checklists, and reference materials, and transferring the data to the 1.5 pound tablets will reduce fuel usage by 1.2 million gallons per year, he says. This means a 26 million pound reduction in annual emissions (like taking 2,600 cars off the road).

RECOMMENDED:

How safe is flying? Take the aviation safety quiz

But it isn’t just fuel emissions that motivate Delta. In a video, Capt. Dickinson adds that the two-application screen offers pilots a way to run a static and real-time app at the same time (like navigation and weather conditions), which is ideal for the changing nature of each flight.

Delta, the no. 2 airline carrier in the country, has worked with Microsoft in the past. Currently Delta’s training software runs on Windows, and this August it announced Microsoft would outfit 19,000 flight attendants with the Nokia Lumia 820 Windows phone for in-flight services like beverages and seat assignments.

But it hasn’t always been this way. After the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved Apple iPads for cockpit use in 2011, Delta started trials with the iPad which many Delta pilots liked, according to Apple Insider. American Airlines currently uses iPads in all 8,000 of its cockpits for all-phase flight use. As of now, the Surface 2 is not cleared for all-phase flight, though Delta says they expect the FAA approval to come by next year. Despite this, Delta went ahead with the Microsoft deal. 

This news comes on the heels of Microsoft’s new tablet roll out last week. The Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are slated to go on sale to the public in late October, the lighter Surface 2 retailing for $449 and the more technical Surface Pro 2 for $899. Delta declined to comment whether it would purchase the Surface 2 for the consumer price or a special price from Microsoft.

Microsoft ran into problems selling its last Surface model, and ended up paying $900 million for unsold merchandise. It hopes this model, with fine-tuned details and a focus on quality hardware, will fare better in an increasingly competitive tablet market.

Delta Air Lines, which had earlier equipped its 19,000 flight attendants with Nokia Lumia 820 handsets, is now going to give Surface 2 tablets to its 11,000 pilots.

Surface 2 tablet (Photo from Microsoft)

Pilots will be using the tablets to access flight and weather information through apps such as FliteDeck Pro and the Weather app.

The tablets will also have stored in them charts, navigational aids and checklists that replace the paper manuals and documents formerly in the pilots’ flight bags, according to the company.

Replacing the pilots’ traditional 38-pound flight bags with the much lighter tablets is expected to save the airline some $13 million a year in fuel usage and other costs, according to the two companies.

The airline may also create its own custom apps, and put its operations manuals on the device, said Brian Hall, a general manager with Microsoft’s Surface team.

Delta still needs to receive approval from the FAA to allow the pilots to use the tablets during all phases of flights — something the company expects to happen next year, according to the news release from Microsoft and Delta.

While Microsoft has focused on marketing Surface RT — the Surface 2′s predecessor, which did not sell well — as a consumer device, it seems to be taking a broader approach to the Surface 2 marketing.

Delta’s decision to go with Surface 2 for its pilots, Hall said, is “an important signal that Surface a great tablet for businesses.”

The airline likely chose the Surface 2, which runs on a variant of Windows 8.1 specifically designed for power-sipping ARM-based chips, over the more powerful Surface Pro 2 because it’s less expensive while able to do the necessary tasks, Hall said.

While Microsoft is positioning Surface Pro 2 as a laptop replacement, it’s positioning Surface 2 as a straight tablet with some laptop capabilities. “For anyone who doesn’t need legacy Windows support, Surface 2 is really the best option now,” Hall said.

Both Surface 2 and Surface Pro 2 are scheduled to launch on Oct. 22.

When I attended the Surface 2 event in New York City, I came away impressed with the new tablet. Its versatility and improved battery performance make the Windows RT device quite intriguing. While I like the Surface 2, it was the Blades that really impressed me — I like the way that they could focus an experience on a particular task. Today, Microsoft announces that Delta Airlines is buying 11,000 Surface 2 tablets.

While the airline is not leveraging customized Blades, it has still found great value in Surface and the Windows RT platform. Microsoft says that Delta “is equipping its 11,000 pilots with electronic flight bags using the Microsoft Surface 2 tablet. Device rollout to pilots flying the Boeing 757 and Boeing 767 fleets will start later this year and all Delta cockpits are projected to be paperless by the end of 2014”. It seems Delta is a fan of Windows as the company is also equipping its flight attendants with Windows Phone.

“The Surface tablets fully integrate handheld technology in the flight deck, streamlining organization of necessary materials and ensuring continuity of information accessed by pilots while giving them the latest tools to drive operational and cost improvements. The reduction of paper in the cockpit also reduces clutter and allows pilots to spend more time focusing on flying the aircraft as they will benefit from an intuitive user interface with functions to find key information faster without having to hunt for appropriate manuals in flight bags or page through paper documents”, says the Redmond, Wash.-based company.

Brian Hall, Surface General Manager at Microsoft says, “this announcement demonstrates Delta’s absolute commitment to bringing the best in technology innovation onto their flight operations. The full HD Surface screen and 10-hour battery life will be perfect for flights where Delta pilots will get seamless real-time data and visualization in a variety of lighting conditions. And then they can be productive off the plane with Microsoft Office and our click-in keyboard. We look forward to seeing how Delta amazes us with its Surface tablets”.

While the Surface 2 improves safety and productivity, it will also save fuel and reduce the airline’s carbon footprint. The Surface Tablet manufacturer says, “rolling out the Surface 2 tablets across the entire fleet and eliminating paper in the cockpit means the carrier will remove traditional 38-pound pilot flight bags maintained on board aircraft for each pilot. That critical weight reduction is expected to reduce fuel usage by an estimated 1.2 million gallons per year which translates to a 26 million pound reduction in carbon emissions — the equivalent of taking more than 2,500 passenger cars off the road. Additionally, the tablet will cut the airline’s paper usage by 7.5 million sheets annually and save an estimated 900 trees each year”.

Overall, it seems to be win-win all-around. Reducing fuel usage and improving safety is always a huge plus. However, increasing Surface and Windows RT usage is also a great benefit to Microsoft. Quite frankly, knowing that Windows RT is essentially being trusted with human life is a big feather in the struggling operating system’s cap; if a major airline is trusting its reputation to it, maybe consumers should too.