To list an event, fax information to Ron Brown at 202-383-2438. (Bold type indicates new calendar listing.) MAY 5-8 -- ATCA 14th International Technical Program and Exhibits, CMAC 03-Civil-Military Air Traffic Management Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, 703-522-5717, fax 703-527-7251, [email protected] MAY 7-9 -- EBACE 2003, Europe Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, Geneva, 202-783-9000, www.ebace.com
World Airways last week signed a new contract with a group of U.S. and Swiss investors to provide passenger service between Washington Dulles and Kabul, Afghanistan, via Geneva, as part of a consortium to rebuild Afghanistan. The flights are expected to start in July and will operate through December 2005. The total contract is valued at $102 million, and the services in 2003 are valued at $19 million. The service will operate twice per week with MD-11s featuring an "enhanced" international business class. -SL
The House Transportation Committee will mark up its version of the FAA reauthorization bill next week, and is slated to take up the measure next Wednesday. The Senate is scheduled to bring the Aviation Investment and Revitalization Act, AIR-V, to the floor for debate this week. The manager's amendment was reported out of the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday (DAILY, May 2).
Arinc last week announced the launch of a new VHF voice radio network to support en route communications in Mexican airspace. The network, called MEXNET, was designed and installed at the request of major U.S. carriers who fly to Mexico, according to Arinc. The network means the carriers can now "fully satisfy the FAA requirement for rapid and reliable voice communications with their dispatchers over their entire routes," the company said.
Asheville, N.C., Regional Airport and Killeen, Texas, Municipal Airport will lose the highest percentage of their TSA screener forces after cuts made public last week are complete Sept. 30, -- roughly 63% each. Among larger airports, Pittsburgh will have 40% fewer screeners and Salt Lake City will be down 37.5%.
British Airways last week introduced a three-times-daily service between London city Airport and Glasgos. The flights are operated by BA CitiExpress Avro RJ100s.
ATA last week boosted the number of weekday flights from New York LaGuardia to Chicago Midway and Indianapolis, operating eight daily flights from LGA to Midway, up from six daily nonstops.
ExpressJet charges $3,875 per 50-seat RJ departure, the highest of the seven regional carriers tracked by JP Morgan. SkyWest is second, charging major airline partners $3,570, but analyst Jamie Baker expects it to fall to $3,275. Chautauqua and Pinnacle have the lowest rates at $2,725 and $2,575, respectively.
Frontier signed a deal with Hahn Air Interline Services for marketing services that will enable customers to book travel on the airline from some points outside the U.S. Hahn said the deal would give Frontier access to travel agents in more than 30 Bank Settlement Plans on five continents. Hahn Air has more than 50 clients worldwide. -SL
The "generally depressed market situation" of air transport in Europe has been "substantially worsened by a massive drop in traffic between Europe and the Far East," the Association of European Airlines (AEA) reported last week in Brussels. As a consequence of the SARS pneumonia outbreak, traffic to the Far East and Australasia plunged 28% from year-ago levels in the week ending April 20, said AEA. The drop was comparatively lower on routes to the Middle East, with a 24.3% fall, "a lesser decline than in the previous four weeks," AEA said.
The House Transportation aviation subcommittee will mark up legislation Thursday to let cargo pilots carry guns. Subcommittee Chair Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.) introduced the bill, H.R. 765, after cargo pilots complained about being left out of earlier guns-in-the-cockpit legislation.
Hawaiian Airlines reached an agreement with International Lease Finance Corp. on consensual restructuring of four Boeing 767 aircraft leases. Hawaiian and ILFC also agreed to extend the 60-day deferment period permitted under section 1110 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Both agreements are subject to bankruptcy court approval. -LR
Atlantic Aviation Flight Services named Mike Todd supervisor-Flight Standards supervisor. The Auxer Group appointed Ronald Greene chief pilot for its Viva Airlines subsidiary. DHL Airways appointed Capt. Dan Brannan director-labor relations. DMJM Aviation named Lee Tillotson associate VP. Polar Air Cargo named Richard Nuttall VP-sales, the Americas, to replace Peter Burn, who recently left the company.
America West set web site sales records on three separate days last week, posting more than $2 million in sales April 28 - 30. Its web sales have soared since it launched a new booking engine last July.
US Airways launched its new service between Philadelphia and Dublin on Sunday, followed by the launch of Philadelphia-Shannon service today. The carrier will operate the seasonal summer service through the end of October, using 199-seat Boeing 767s, offering seating for 23 passengers in business class and 176 in coach class.
American reached a milestone in its effort to go paperless by implementing "interline" e-ticketing agreements with 10 other domestic U.S. carriers, eliminating paper tickets for domestic travel.
United parent UAL Corp. on Friday reported a huge $1.3 billion first-quarter loss, the airline's second-worst ever, including one-time items, but claims it has a strong cash position and has already recorded significant cost cuts. The loss included $248 million in reorganization items and $137 million stemming from the write-down of United's investment in and guarantee of Air Canada's debt. The loss compares with a $510 million deficit posted a year ago, including special items. The company's operating loss was $813 million for the first quarter.
Flight attendants brought their battle over FAA certification to Capitol Hill last week, where Reps. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Sue Kelly (R-N.Y.) introduced a bipartisan bill that would make the certification mandatory; Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is expected to introduce a companion bill in the Senate. Kelly said she has spoken with Republican House leadership about the issue and while she declined to say whether they supported the measure, she told The DAILY leaders "understand...we are in a different world" from pre-Sept. 11.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) wants to preserve small airports, whose rapid disappearance is hurting general aviation. Lautenberg presented, but then withdrew, an amendment at Thursday's Commerce Committee FAA markup to let DOT use Airport Improvement Program money to buy small airports and sell them to private operators with the caveat they remain airports. Committee Chair Sen.
Lufthansa will start a twice-daily service from Frankfurt to Stavanger/Norway on June 1. The flights will be operated by Lufthansa CityLine's CRJ700s. Stavanger is an important center for the oil and gas industry.
