"FAA" Spells "DEFEAT"!

The FAA is operating in full “Defeat” mode. It’s a beautiful thing to watch.

FAA goes belly-up like a dog wanting a tummy-scratch, and concedes its moronic original litigation "position" on slots:

"Subject: [allstaff] NATCA Daily Press Clippings, March 16, 2009
DAILY PRESS CLIPPINGS, MARCH 16
Aviation Daily
FAA Quietly Ending Slot Auction Court Case
Aviation Daily: FAA Quietly Ending Slot Auction Court Case
FAA may be closing one of the most controversial chapters in its last year, as the agency has asked the courts to suspend its briefing scheduled on slot auctions until FAA reviews the issue.
FAA last week asked the appeals court for the D.C. circuit to hold briefings on the slot auction case 'in abeyance until FAA determines whether rules should be withdrawn.' The Air Transport Association and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey last year petitioned the court to block the auction plan. The court suspended the Bush Administration’s plans to auction slots at the New York airports on December 8.
On Feb. 20, the court issued its briefing schedule on the case, and last week FAA petitioned that the court suspend moving forward on the issue until 'FAA completes its review of whether the rules challenged in this litigation should be withdrawn.'
Airlines and airports were united in their opposition to the slot auction plan from the moment it was announced last May. The Government Accountability Office said FAA did not have the authority to auction slots, and the port authority, in a standoff with the FAA, threatened to bar flights that had bought auctioned slots from landing at its facilities."

Also, FAA has apparently given up on their little game played with their hack crony aeromerc buddies Southwest Airlines, trying to make the entire originally-“imposed” US$10.2 million safety-violation fine, entirely disappear. Reports now indicate that Southwest will be required to pay at least US$7 million of that fine. [Quiet Rockland wants now-deposed Southwest CEO Herb Kelleher to be required to pay at least half of it]. You remember Southwest. They are the airline that almost killed you in the second half of this decade, making you unsuspectingly fly in cracked airplanes, while they conspired with FAA to threaten aviation safety-inspector whistle-blowers. That's right. THAT Southwest.

Oh, it’s a lonely, disgruntled, disoriented place at The Puzzle Palace, 800 Independence. It’s the very situs of Learned Helplessness, incarnate. Now we are told, below, that the FAA is also giving up on its recent quest to change crew-rest rules. One concession after another. One surrender after another. One dejected FAA defeat after another. One complete ass-kick after another.

Here’s my strong advice to FAA: NEXT UP, GIVE UP ON THE NY/NJ/PHL AIRSPACE REDESIGN TOO, YOU CLOWNS! BECAUSE IF YOU DON’T, WE ARE GOING TO BEAT YOU ANYWAY!!!

FAA Gives Up On Stronger Crew-Rest Rules - Air Traffic Control ... By LawnGnome

The FAA has given up on an effort to mandate enhanced crew-rest rules for airline pilots flying legs over 16 hours long, according to a recent report. Air Traffic Control - ATC - Aviation - http://www.stuckmic.com/

Google News Alert for: FAA
FAA Gives Up On Stronger Crew-Rest Rules

AVweb - Greenwich,CT,USA

By Mary Grady, Contributing Editor The FAA has given up on an effort to mandate enhanced crew-rest rules for airline pilots flying legs over 16 hours long, ... See all stories on this topic

FAA backs down on longer crew rest guidelines By Admin

In the face of considerable resistance and a threatened lawsuit from the airlines, the FAA has backed down on imposing new crew rest requirements for long-haul flights until a formal rule making process can be conducted. ... JetPhotos.Net Airline News - http://www.jetphotos.net/news/index.php?blog=1

B/E Aerospace Receives FAA STC for B777-200 Overhead Flight Crew RestAMTOnline.com - Beltsville,MD,USAThe FAA STC is also validated by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The OFCR STC was obtained by B/E Aerospace’s integration and reconfiguration ...See all stories on this topic

Google News Alert for: FAA
FAA scuttles crew rest rules for long-haul flights

SmartBrief - Washington,DC,USAThe FAA has withdrawn its proposed rule for pilot rest on extreme long-haul flights, saying "additional data is necessary." Airlines had complained that the ... See all stories on this topic

FAA Drops Its Rest Plan for Pilots on Long Hauls « Asia Market Insight

By lgsdemo FAA Drops Its Rest Plan for Pilots on Long Hauls. By lgsdemo. The FAA withdrew a proposal mandating extra rest for U.S. pilots flying the longest international routes. … http://link.gs/IwLZ ... Asia Market Insight - http://asiamarketinsight.wordpress.com/
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FAA Drops Its Rest Plan for Pilots on Long Hauls - Football ... By Newsposter By ANDY PASZTOR After years of disputes with airlines over ways to reduce fatigue in the cockpit, federal aviation regulators this week withdrew a...

Football Manager - FM2009 - FMFormation - http://www.fmformation.net/

FAA Capitulates On Longer Crew Rest Guidelines
Tue, 17 Mar '09
Carriers Say Change Is Needed... But Process Must Be Followed
In the face of considerable resistance and a threatened lawsuit from the airlines, the FAA has backed down on imposing new crew rest requirements for long-haul flights until a formal rulemaking process can be conducted.
As ANN reported, the FAA had drafted new requirements based on a voluntary plan adopted in 2006 by Delta after negotiations with its pilots. The change was intended to address new longer-range airliners, which have rendered decades-old rules about minimum crew rest requirements obsolete.
But the airlines pushed back -- acknowledging there is scientific evidence the longer flights require changes to manage fatigue, but asserting the FAA needed to go through the formal process to gather the best available data on which to base a new rule set.
The Wall Street Journal reports the initiative would have mandated longer layovers for pilots, and could have required some carriers to redesign cabins to provide additional sleeping areas for flight crews. Airlines also worried that doing an end-run around the formal rulemaking process could set a precedent allowing the FAA to bypass the process on other issues in the future.
The National Transportation Safety Board has been after the FAA for years to impose tougher, wide-ranging fatigue-prevention rules.