Technology

TOPIC: TECHNOLOGY

LEVEL: DIFFICULT

Read the introductory text about NextGen and follow links for additional reading material.

The Next Generation Transportation System, or simply – NextGen – is the name attributed to a new National Airspace System that is going to be implemented in the United States between 2012 and 2025.

The need for such a system has been widely discussed in the FAA and beyond, the main justification being that American airports are simply too congested, flights are overscheduled, delayed or canceled and something needs to be done to alleviate the gridlock problem.

George Donohue, director of the center within the Volgenau School of Information Technology and Engineering, says: “Commercial flying in the United States is often an abysmal experience, and our research says that it is only going to get worse. Passengers are frustrated in their inability to have a predictable, comfortable trip.”

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TOPIC

TOPIC: AVIATION BUSINESS

Level: Easy

1.     Read this abstract about a world-known aviation industry show, then answer questions based on the information provided in the text:

The Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is a seven-day trade fair for the aviation business that is held once every two years in Hampshire, UK. (http://www.farnborough.com  ) This airshow is considered to be one of the world's most iconic global aviation events. It is particularly important because new developments and orders are announced during the event.

2008 was a record-breaking year for FIA bringing US$88.7 billion worth of orders announced during the show.  The dire slump that followed and haunted the aviation industry for 2 years after the show seems to be over in 2010.

FIA 2010 channels a new, more optimistic mood and there is talk of a revival of fortune for the air shows that have recently not been doing very well in this economy.

Leading aircraft manufacturers and leasers claim one year has made a substantial difference, and there is hope that about 400 hundred planes would be ordered by the end of the trade week.

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NEGOTIATIONS

TOPIC: NEGOTIATIONS

LEVEL: DIFFICULT

Read the following short introduction to the topic. Review this important vocabulary below.

·        international policy

·        crucial areas

·        liberalization of the industry

·        elimination

·        government interference

·        lucrative

·        on-again off-again talks

“Open skies” is an international policy concept which allows for liberalization of the airline industry in several crucial areas. Its key provisions include the elimination of government interference in the commercial decisions of airline carriers, free market where competition is key, providing fair and equal opportunity for competition, etc.

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Aviation Business: Competition

TOPIC: COMPETITION

LEVEL: EASY

Read the introductory text about competition in the airline industry.

The aviation industry is a highly competitive market and is a true rollercoaster ride for some airlines. While industry majors are used to competing on a large scale, there are successful low-budget carriers, like JetBlue or Southwest, that trigger a competitive mode even with the big guys.

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Business: Airline Alliances

TOPIC: AIRLINE ALLIANCES AND A CHANGED PASSENGER EXPERIENCE

LEVEL: easy

Read the introductory text below. Follow links to additional material.

Passenger experience as a concept has been a matter of great transformation over the last years. Both, airlines and airports have invested time and expertise into revamping interiors and procedures, introducing new technologies, going green, offering bonuses and frequent flier miles club memberships, forming alliances and expanding them, as well as reinventing the entire idea of aviation security in a way that is unnerving for many a traveler or human rights activist Read

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AIRLINE_FEES

1. Read the passage about the recent changes in airline fees and find the most appropriate definitions for the words in bold:

1.   scrutiny: a. testing, b. criticism, c. close examination

2.   unbundled services: a. new services, b. unsupervised services, c. services charged separately

3.   frenzy: a. wild excitement, b. mental agitation, c. mania

4.   transparent: a. see-through, b. obvious, c. fair

5.   proliferation: a. rapid growth, b. development, c. implementation

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Mergers

TOPIC: MERGERS

LEVEL: EASY

Read the introductory text about mergers, following links to additional material where necessary.

Airline mergers have caused a lot of controversy in the history of aviation, some of them proving that bigger is not better at all (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_20/b4178007849046_page_2.htm ), yet for industry giants, like Continental and United, learning from other airlines’ mistakes may just not be an option.

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LUXURY AIRLINES

TOPIC: LUXURY AIRLINES

LEVEL: DIFFICULT

Read the introductory text about luxury in the airline industry. Follow links for additional material and answer the questions below:

The economic downturn, industry experts say, “has clipped the wings of luxury travel” (http://in.reuters.com/article/idINTRE6531V720100604 ).

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Airline Certification

TOPIC: AIRLINE CERTIFICATION

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Catering Companies

TOPIC: AIRLINE CATERING SERVICES

LEVEL: EASY

Read the following introductory text about airline catering companies following links for additional information.

Airline service experience can never be full without an in-flight meal, or at least that is what travelers used to think. Before the airline industry was struck with the economic downturn and long before air travel was de-romanticized and demoted to a mundane commute, flights and in-flight meals were in fact a symbol of luxury. However, with the advent of no-frills airlines and their “peanuts-only” catering policies, many experts rushed to announce the death of the airline meal (http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/TravelForLess/TheDeathOfTheAirlineMeal.aspx ). Resurrection, industry watchers say, is nowhere in sight.

Catering services that serve some major airlines beg to differ. Emirates Flight Catering, which employs 6400 staff and is known to have produced 32 mln meals in 2009, runs its own luxury chocolate factory called “Le Chocolat”, and Gate Gourmet (world’s largest independent airline catering company based in Zurich) and LSG SkyChefs (Lufthansa’s caterer) are still going strong despite the economic slump, serving passengers a variety of options, from muslim and kosher to gluton-free and vegan dishes.

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