USA: Southwest Planes Collide At Nashville International Airport, Nobody Was Hurt

One of the planes has just landed and was taxiing to the parking lot, while the second was preparing for departure.

During the towing, the Southwest Airlines plane preparing for a flight to St. Louis, Missouri, touched the wingtip of an identical airplane that was supposed to depart for Atlanta, Georgia.

Nobody was injured as a result of the incident.

Judging from the picture, which one of the passengers made during the flight to Atlanta, the other aircraft had damaged the upper part of its vertical stabiliser.

After the collision, both aircraft were temporarily grounded for inspection.

Two Southwest Airlines planes have collided on the tarmac of Nashville International Airport.

Airline officials say no injuries were reported in Saturday (July 21) night's collision.

An emailed statement from Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Michelle Agnew says the winglet of the St. Louis-bound Southwest Flight 1555 "came into contact" during pushback with the winglet of Southwest Flight 4580, headed for Atlanta.

A photograph provided by a passenger onboard the flight to Atlanta showed rainy weather and what appeared to be the top of the other plane's fin clipped off.

The airline says both planes returned to the gate "under their own power" and were taken out of service for evaluation. The Southwest flights will continue towards the scheduled destinations using new planes.

A spokeswoman for the airport directed inquiries to Southwest.


Tourism Observer

USA: Regional Jet Operator ViaAir Makes New Connections

ViaAir launched flights between Orlando Sanford (SFB) and Columbia (CAE) on 21 December.

The US regional operator will serve the 573-kilometre route four times weekly, with departures on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The carrier will operate the sector using its fleet of 30-seat EMB 120s, with no other airline currently flying the airport pair.

Situated in South Carolina, Columbia Airport handled 1,077,188 passengers in 2017. During the first eight months of 2018, 772,614 people have used the airport, up 8.6% versus the same period of 2017 based on statistics published by the airport.

ViaAir becomes the airport’s fourth operator, with it already served by the USB3 carriers of American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and United Airlines.

ViaAir has launched its second route from Austin (AUS), with the US regional operator starting a link to Tucson (TUS) on 18 January.

Joining its existing service to Hayden/Steamboat Springs which began 13 December, the carrier will operate the 1,278-kilometre route between Austin and Tucson three times weekly using its ERJ 145s, with no other airline currently serving the city pair.

The regional jet operator will launch a third connection from Austin on 1 March, a three times weekly link to Oklahoma City.

The airline previously served Austin from Branson in Missouri, but the route is no longer bookable on the carrier’s website, the last service flew in November.

ViaAir has commenced flights between Austin (AUS) and Oklahoma City (OKC). Inaugurated on 22 April, the US regional operator will fly the 578-kilometre sector six times weekly, with it facing no direct competition on the airport pair.

The airline will utilise its 50-seat ERJ 145s on the city pair. Based on MIDT data, some 24,900 passengers travelled indirectly between the two airports in 2017, with Dallas/Fort Worth being the leading hub for connecting traffic.

Demand on the Austin to Oklahoma City airport pair grew by 4.2% last year versus the number of passengers travelling between the two points in 2016.

ViaAir is a US domestic regional airline offering scheduled service across the United States. The airline originally focused on scheduled Essential Air Service from Raleigh County Memorial Airport in Beckley, West Virginia, Parkersburg/Marietta in Parkersburg, West Virginia to Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Via Airlines was established on March 27, 1997 and operated public and private charter flights for corporations, sports teams, casinos, and air travel functions before expanding to scheduled passenger flight services with ViaAir.

ViaAir began its EAS scheduled flights in December 2014, with the inaugural flight to Beckley, WV taking place on December 3. Prior to ViaAir beginning flights, air service was operated by United Express.

The same day as the inaugural Beckley flight, ViaAir announced it would be operating seasonal unsubsidized nonstop service from Charlotte Douglas International Airport to Northeast Florida Regional Airport in St. Augustine, Florida, with its inaugural flight taking place on December 19, 2014.

After a seasonal trial, an agreement was reached to continue service to St. Augustine from Charlotte and Beckley. In early November 2015, ViaAir announced it would extend its St. Augustine service into 2016.

ViaAir, with flights operated by the Charter Air Transport fleet, offers additional air travel options with its AirCruise and Air Tours products. ViaAir's aviation products began in 2009 with its Air Tours, and introduced AirCruise in 2011.

AirCruise introduced a concept similar to naval cruises, but that transports passengers by plane instead of by boat. While naval cruising is limited to ports, AirCruise is able to reach landlocked destinations.

On November 15, 2017, ViaAir announced two new destinations from Austin (Oklahoma City and Tucson), taking its total destinations from Austin up to four.

Coinciding with this information was the announcement that ViaAir plans to base crews and maintenance at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, positioning its Austin based operations to expand.

We will roll out additional cities throughout next year as we hope to be known as Austin’s hometown airline.

On February 9, 2018 Via announced two new destinations from Austin (Little Rock and Tulsa), bringing the total of destinations served from Austin up to six.


Tourism Observer

USA: 13 Killed After Tourist Boat Sinks In Table Rock Lake In Branson State Of Missouri

A tourist boat carrying 31 people sank in a lake in the U.S. state of Missouri Thursday night, killing at least 13 people, with four others missing, officials said.

A total of 14 people survived, including seven who were injured when the Ride the Ducks tourist boat sank in Table Rock Lake in Branson Thursday evening, local media quote Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jason Pace as saying.

Among the seven injured, four are adults and three are children.

Two adults were in critical condition and others were being treated for minor injuries, officials said.

Officials also confirmed children are among the dead, but they have not said how many victims were children.

Four others remain missing after the duck boat was buffeted by powerful winds, the Stone County Sheriff's Office said.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted his condolences early Friday, extending his deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those involved.

Several dive teams from different law enforcement agencies joined the rescue Thursday night and recovery efforts were paused late in the evening. On Friday morning the search diving operations resumed.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigators are expected to arrive on the scene.


Tourism Observer

USA: Latest Tourism Campaign Targeting Baby Boomers

Lee’s Summit Mayor Randy Rhoads knows a good opportunity to highlight the city when he sees it.

Rhoads and other civic leaders have helped launched the city’s latest tourism initiative aimed at attracting multi-generational travelers to town by partnering with the defending 2016 World Series champion Kansas City Royals on a cooperative advertising agreement.

The agreement includes more than 150, 30-second commercials promoting Lee’s Summit. The spots will air throughout the 2016 season on 610 Sports Radio’s On-Deck pregame and postgame shows.

610 Sports is the Royals’ official broadcast network.

Rhoads said by sponsoring the Royals, the city has the opportunity to reach hundreds of thousands of potential tourists in a six-state region. The outreach effort targets baby boomers and grandchildren.

“We want to encourage families who pack up the minivan and head to Kansas City for a Royals game this summer to spend a few extra days exploring everything Lee’s Summit has to offer,” Rhoads said.

The campaign is a collaboration with the city of Lee’s Summit, the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street. The three-month initiative targets selected cities in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa and Nebraska with a blend of traditional advertising, interactive media buys and social media outreach.

Cities in Arkansas and South Dakota are also targeted.

Nancy Bruns, president of the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce, said research shows that baby boomers are looking for meaningful experiences with their children and grandchildren.

“With gasoline prices remaining at historic lows, we want to spread the word through the region that a visit to Lee’s Summit is affordable, enriching and most of all, fun for all,” Bruns said.

A variety of ads promoting the city’s economic development, historic downtown Lee’s Summit restaurant and entertainment options, health and wellness initiatives and recreational opportunities and events will be broadcast to listeners throughout the region.