Sean Broderick covers aviation safety, MRO, and the hardware side of the airline business from Aviation Week Network's Washington, D.C. office.
Broderick's aviation career started in 1991, working for Airbus in Toulouse. His industry experience includes four years with an aviation consultancy, where he helped launch a U.S. Part 121 carrier; 12 years with the American Association of Airport Executives, where he served as editor of Airport Magazine; and 20 years in full- and part-time roles with Aviation Week writing primarily about safety and the aftermarket.
Broderick was named the 2020 Aerospace Journalist of the Year by the Aerospace Media Awards. He also shared in a 2020 Neal Award for Best News Coverage with Aviation Week Network colleagues. Broderick and Aviation Week colleague John Croft shared the 2015 Flight Safety International Cecil A. Brownlow Publication Award recognizing "significant contributions by journalists to aviation safety awareness."
He graduated from James Madison University with a B.S. in Communications ('91) and earned an M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications ('13) from West Virginia University.
Europe The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has proposed beefed-up standards and maintenance practices for aircraft flight and data recorders. Among the changes: Cockpit voice recorders (CVR) on large aircraft—having a maximum takeoff weight of at least 27,000 kg—would need recording durations of 15 hr. by January 2019. EASA also proposed that, by 2020, CVRs and flight data recorders have underwater location devices that broadcast for at least 90 days.
Surplus parts, already well-established in the engine aftermarket, are becoming more prominent in the components world and may be responsible for smaller across-the-board OEM spare parts price increases, a Canaccord Genuity survey of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) service providers reveals.
United Airlines, still content with not becoming a significantly bigger carrier, will continue to focus on strategies to become a better one, from running a more efficient operation to boosting the appeal of its services to customers. The carrier’s just-completed calendar year saw capacity fall 1.3%, the third straight annual decline. Current projections of a 1%-2% capacity bump in 2014 means that downward run will come to an end, but only through upgauging, not growing its fleet.
