FAA this week published an interim rule requiring revisions to airplane flight manuals of Bombardier CRJ700 fuel tanks. The rule replaces an emergency airworthiness directive issued last month (DAILY, Jan. 24).
Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.) reintroduced legislation to push through Chicago O'Hare expansion and prevent future state and local administrations from dismantling the project. Lipinski introduced the National Aviation Capacity Expansion Act of 2003 late Wednesday. Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley agreed on the plan in December 2001, and Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich reiterated his support in a letter to Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).
Dragonair registered double-digit growth for the number of passengers and cargo carried last year. For the first time, the airline broke the three million mark, carrying 3.45 million passengers, an increase of 19.24% over the previous year, while cargo saw an increase of 59.61% with a record uplift of 193,465 tons.
AirTran, as part of its overall strategy to boost its Florida network, this week launched new daily nonstop flights between several cities, including one daily flight between Philadelphia and Fort Myers. The airline also started additional nonstop service from Fort Myers to Baltimore/Washington and Atlanta. The carrier also added one new daily nonstop flight between Milwaukee and Fort Lauderdale, and a new daily nonstop flight between Atlanta and West Palm Beach. -SL
Ryanair selected CFM56-7 engines to power the 22 Boeing 737-800s it ordered last week, and the 78 aircraft on option. The airline also opted for CFM56-7 engines for an order it placed in January 2002 for 100 737-800s.
Indonesian businessman Made Wiranatha will launch Air Paradise's international flights despite the drop in tourism following last October's bombing in Bali. With Bali as its base and initially operating with two leased Airbus 310-300s, Air Paradise will begin offering twice-weekly services to Perth Feb. 16. Two days later, it will launch twice-weekly flights to another Australian destination, Melbourne, and a daily frequency to Jakarta will come on line March 2. Plans are nearly complete to launch flights to Taipei and Seoul next month.
Talks to rescue troubled French carrier Air Lib collapsed in the early hours of Thursday morning, jeopardizing the jobs of some 3,200 employees. France's travel agent federation estimates 8,000-10,000 passengers are stranded because Air Lib suspended operations at midnight, following the expiration of its operating certificate. The French government called on Air France, Corsair and the high-speed rail network to increase capacity on Air Lib's former routes.
Airbus selected Goodrich to provide primary and standby air data systems for the A380. The company's SmartProbe product integrates multi-function sensing probes, pressure sensors and processing capability. Goodrich said it plans to deliver the first prototypes to Airbus in September. Goodrich also furnishes primary and secondary conventional and electro-hydraulic flight control systems and an electrical power system for the aircraft. -LR
Frontier Airlines reported a $6.2 million fiscal third quarter loss -- significantly worse than last year's modest profit of $909,000 -- largely due to a sharp 13.4% drop in unit revenues. The deficit includes a special charge of $1.1 million for the early "extinguishments" of debt related to the debt retirement of an Airbus A319 sold and leased back to the airline. Excluding this one-time item, the net loss was $5.1 million, generally in line with average analyst expectations.
Delta reassured all non-union employees under the VP level that they will not be hit with pay cuts this year, as its plan to reduce costs focuses largely on "process and efficiency" improvements. At a time when many rival U.S. majors are cutting base pay and compensation across the board, Bob Colman, executive VP-human resources, wrote in an internal memo to all staff that the airline's "commitment to competitive compensation remains unchanged."
The U.S. has rescheduled air liberalization negotiations with both Vietnam and the Philippines; the talks were postponed last fall for lack of DOT funds. The U.S. now plans to have talks with the Philippines Feb. 17-18 in Washington to discuss open skies for cargo. Talks with Vietnam are slated for March 12-14 in Hanoi. The U.S. wants to negotiate direct service to Vietnam; currently, U.S. carriers may serve Vietnam through third-country code sharing. -SL
James Wilding, longtime president of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, yesterday told the authority board he plans to retire at the end of April.
Wellington International Airport Limited (WIAL) told airlines it will increase landing charges by 27% and terminal fees by a massive 311.8%, angering anchor user Air New Zealand, which says it is appalled at the operator's decision to exorbitantly raise landing charges and terminal fees. Air NZ Managing Director and CEO Ralph Norris, describing WIAL's proposed increase as bitterly disappointing, said over the last 19 months the airline had been in discussion with the operator on the proposed fee hike the facility.
Avcraft Aviation, which just took over Fairchild Dornier's 328JET unit, plans to restart production of the plane in five months and hopes to sell another 300 to 500 328JETs during the program's life. Avcraft owner and founder Ben Bartel told The DAILY he also secured rights to the once-planned stretched version -- the 428JET -- along with the name Fairchild Dornier, so the company will continue to operate under the current name as Avcraft's German subsidiary.
Venezuela's Aeropostal and Spain's Air Europa said last week they carried 90,000 passengers between Caracas and Madrid in 2002, the first year of their code-sharing agreement. This accounted for 10% of Aeropostal's revenues, in a year when it experienced heavy losses due to Venezuela's political and economic crisis. The joint objective for the Caracas-Madrid route in 2003 is to carry 120,000 passengers, and that goal is already underway, as passenger traffic increased 28% in January.
Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), yesterday introduced a measure with Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) requiring jetliners to be fitted with anti-missile defense systems similar to those now used on military planes.
FAA granted a request from the Air Transport Association (ATA) and the Regional Airline Association (RAA) to extend the comment period for its interim rule requiring age related inspections of aircraft.
AIM Aviation Inc. and TIMCO Aviation Services, Inc. won certification and completed the first installation of their Intrusion & Ballistic Proof Flight Deck Doors for an AirTran Airways Boeing 717.
