Thailand and the United States are expected to resume direct flights in February of next year when the FAA of the US Department of Transportation upgrades Thai aviation safety from Category 2 to Category 1, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit. Suriya recently announced the significant progress in Thailand's aviation safety standards following an inspection by the FAA between Nov 11 and 15, with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) receiving favourable evaluations. He said while some minor issues remain, they are not expected to impact the final decision, adding that Thailand is projected to regain its Category 1 (CAT 1) safety rating by February next year, marking a major milestone for the country's aviation sector. Thailand's downgrade to Category 2 (CAT 2) in December 2015 followed a reassessment by the FAA, citing non-compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards. In 2015, the ICAO found a conflict of interest in that the department is both the regulator and the operator of provincial airports in the country<br/>
general
Rattled nerves and spilled drinks are the most common outcomes of a choppy flight, but intense air turbulence can also cause bodily harm. And while one well-known cause of air turbulence is thunderstorms, it’s poorly understood how far from a tempest shaky conditions are likely to persist. To answer that question, researchers recently analyzed millions of measurements of air turbulence collected by commercial aircraft. The team found that a heightened risk of a jarring flight extended more than 55 miles away from a thunderstorm, which is roughly three times the storm-avoidance distance currently recommended by the FAA. These findings, published this month in The Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, could inform new guidelines for storm avoidance, the researchers suggest. Pilots and dispatch crews on the ground have long kept an eye trained on the weather. “The links between meteorology and aviation go way, way back,” said Stacey Hitchcock, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Thunderstorms are of particular concern to pilots. “You get really rapid changes in vertical and horizontal motion over short distances,” Dr. Hitchcock said. Those chaotic motions — which can also be caused by jet stream winds and air moving around obstacles like mountains — can cause aircraft to go up and down, creating the tumultuous sensation that’s all too familiar to many fliers. And the sphere of influence of a thunderstorm extended to significant distances, the researchers showed. “You can even go as far as 50, 60, 70 kilometers from a storm and still have double the risk of turbulence,” Dr. Lane said. Overall, the team found that the risk of experiencing light, moderate or severe turbulence remained above background levels up to 55 miles away from a thunderstorm.<br/>
For members of the Boeing Co.’s executive council, catching a ride on the company’s corporate jets has long been a cherished perk of the job. The 19 senior leaders have counted on five company-owned Bombardier Inc. Challenger 650 business jets and two customized 737 narrowbodies to help oversee the US planemaker’s sprawling operation. Boeing requires its CEO to avoid commercial flights for security reasons, even when on a personal trip. Then in mid-September, new CEO Kelly Ortberg grounded much of the corporate fleet in an early cost-cutting move. Executives were instead told to fly economy on scheduled airline flights. At the time, a strike had shut down Boeing’s commercial manufacturing and the company was in dire need of cash. The flying restrictions, combined with work furloughs and layoffs, sent a message of frugality as Ortberg worked with bankers to raise $24b to fund its comeback. “To some degree, I think he was trying to get people’s attention,” said George Ferguson, analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. “He’s trying to show some of the shared sacrifice.” The savings wouldn’t move the needle for a company with a $58b debt load, said aviation consultant Brian Foley, who estimates Boeing spends about $15m per year flying its executives around. But at a time when the company was cash-strapped and factory workers in open revolt about what they viewed as measly paychecks, the move sent a clear message from the new boss. <br/>