Mesa changes planes for United Express
United Express carrier Mesa Air Group Inc. announced it has agreed with United Airlines to take out of United Express service eight 50-seat Bombardier CRJ-200 planes, replacing them with two 66-seat Bombardier CRJ-700 planes, to enter service next spring.
Mesa will then operate a total of 22 CRJ-700 aircraft for United Express.
Developer building hangars near airport
Erie Convair LLC said it is developing a 12-unit hangar building on private land near the Erie Municipal Airport to sell hangars, along with the land beneath them. The company plans to build a total of 52 hangars. The 12 units represent the first phase of the project.
U.S. trade deficit decreases in July
The U.S. trade deficit declined slightly in July, helped by record exports that offset the biggest foreign-oil bill in nearly a year. But even a spate of recalls did not stop the deficit with China from climbing to the second-highest level on record.
The trade deficit edged down 0.3 percent in July to $59.2 billion, compared with $59.4 billion the month before, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. It was the lowest monthly imbalance since April.
FAA: Carriers must schedule realistically
The head of the Federal Aviation Administration on Tuesday said the airlines, dogged by record flight delays, need to shrink their schedules or potentially face government action.
“The airlines need to take a step back on scheduling practices that are, at times, out of line with reality,” FAA Administrator Marion Blakey said in prepared remarks at an industry luncheon.
Feds may limit fees to sever contracts
U.S. regulators may consider limiting fees that telephone and cable companies can charge subscribers who cancel their service before contracts expire.
The Federal Communications Commission, which already is examining early-termination fees for wireless service, should also investigate cancellation charges for land- line phone, Internet and cable-TV contracts, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Tuesday.
HP, Crospon pursue new drug delivery
The technology behind that inkjet printer on your desk may soon deliver drugs painlessly into your body, potentially replacing the need for traditional hypodermic needles.
Hewlett-Packard Co. said Tuesday it has signed a deal with Crospon, a small Irish medical-device maker, to develop and sell a new type of drug-delivery platform that uses tiny microneedles embedded in patches applied to the skin, not unlike nicotine patches used by smokers who want to quit.
China will police lead use in toys
The Chinese and U.S. consumer-safety agencies agreed to crack down on the use of lead in toys being exported to the U.S.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine announced the agreement at a summit in Washington to address the growing list of recalls of Chinese-made toys and other consumer products.
EC downgrades economic forecast
The European Commission trimmed its forecast for economic growth in the euro currency zone and the European Union, warning Tuesday that the region’s recent pickup may have peaked as higher borrowing costs make a global slowdown more likely.
It expects the 13-nation euro area to grow 2.5 percent this year, down from an earlier forecast of 2.6 percent.
Boeing confident of 787 delivery
Boeing Co. chief executive Jim McNerney voiced confidence Tuesday that the airplane maker would be able to deliver the first 787 on time in May but acknowledged there is no margin for error in order to keep to that schedule.
His comments at a Morgan Stanley conference in California came six days after Boeing said the first test flight was pushed back to mid-November or mid-December, due to complications with the flight- control software.
