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.
The FAA is waiving its slot-usage rules at the three slot-controlled U.S. airports and will credit airlines for canceled flights due to COVID-19-related service cuts at four other congested airports; the agency is asking foreign regulators to match the moves for affected U.S. airlines.
Spirit Airlines, citing declining yields but not the falloff in bookings that most other U.S. carriers are facing, will trim its planned April capacity 5% and could extend the cuts deeper into the spring if necessary.
North American airlines, reacting to a sharp and unexpected decline in bookings in response to COVID-19, have ramped up communications aimed at reassuring the traveling public that they are taking extra steps to prevent the virus from spreading.