Federal screeners arrived this week at 22 airports, bringing the number of airports with federal screeners staffing passenger checkpoints to 59, the Transportation Security Administration said. Passenger screening is not fully federalized at all airports where TSA employees are in place, however. Detroit Metro, Pittsburgh and Dallas Love Field, among the largest of the 22 airports where TSA screeners began working this week, are partially federalized.
FAA mandated additional inspections of certain Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines after determining that operators need to monitor critical rotating engine parts to prevent uncontained failures. The agency granted a request from operators for a 180-day compliance period from the Feb. 24, 2003, effective date to allow time to revise and publish inspection procedures.
Revamped Aerolineas Argentinas asked Argentina's department of transportation to stop Argentina-Miami service started by Southern Winds Airlines. The AR request is based on the allegation that because Argentina is now in the U.S. FAA's safety oversight Category 2, Southern Winds is violating Argentina's Aeronautical Code by operating the Miami service with Boeing 767-300s wet-leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic.
The U.S. government yesterday intervened in contract negotiations between Boeing and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) with a request by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) for a 30-day extension of the current contract and a resumption of negotiations Sept. 4 in Washington, D.C.
German tourism concern TUI AG is setting up a no frills airline subsidiary. The airline will be named Hapag-Lloyd Express and will serve European and domestic destinations from its base at Cologne/Bonn Airport. While the new company will handle sales and marketing and carry overall commercial responsibility, aircraft will be chartered from Germania, a private airline specializing in charter and no-frills operations, as well as aircraft leases. Germania initially will operate eight Boeing 737-700s in Hapag-Lloyd Express colors.
US Airways says it will begin fresh negotiations with the International Association of Machinists (IAM) as quickly as possible, following rejection of a concession proposal by the airline's mechanics. The company wants to complete an agreement in the small window available before it requests permission from a bankruptcy court to restructure the mechanics' contract. The mechanics voted on a concession proposal late Wednesday night, with 57% rejecting it.
LanChile has raised US$40 million through the securitization of future credit card ticket sales in the U.S., which CFO Alejandro De La Fuente interpreted as "recognition of our efforts and ability to adjust to complicated scenarios." The transaction follows a similar one that raised $60 million in 1999. Certificates have a fixed-rate coupon with a final maturity of seven years and a four-year principal grace period. Three major North American institutional investors took part in the transaction, coordinated by Merrill Lynch and priced at a coupon rate of 6.96%.
International airline groups say FAA's proposal to ban non-U.S. aircraft from Washington, D.C., and New York airspace on Sept. 11-12 for security reasons unfairly discriminates against foreign carriers. Such action would be illegal, they say, and could result in a diplomatic response from European governments or even retaliatory action against U.S. carriers.
CFM56-5B8 engines powering an Airbus A318 took their first flight yesterday on a four-hour, two-minute trip from the Airbus facility in Hamburg, Germany, to the manufacturer's headquarters in Toulouse. Yesterday's flight was actually the second in the A318 testing program. The aircraft's first flight was Jan. 15, using Pratt & Whitney PW6000 engines. Development of the PW6000 A318 program was delayed after the engines failed to meet performance guarantees during the January flight test.
French regional carrier Air Littoral is developing services to Algeria with the launch of two new routes from Nice to Oran and Constantine this month. The airline launched Nice-Algiers June 13. The Montpellier-based carrier operates some 120 routes in France, Italy, Spain, Germany and Algeria from Nice and Montpellier in Southern France. Its 32-aircraft fleet comprises 17 CRJs, five Fokker 70s and 10 ATR 42-500s. -MT
FAA has asked airlines and manufacturers to provide status reports and compliance plans for retrofitting their fleets with hardened cockpit doors. The agency will hold weekly meetings with industry representatives to ensure the effort to comply by April 9 is on track. FAA officials used a closed-door meeting yesterday (DAILY, Aug. 27) to reiterate that "the deadline is firm" and no exemptions would be given, the agency said.
LanPeru said yesterday it will appeal a ruling by the country's civil aviation agency (DGAC) penalizing the carrier with a 90-day suspension of operations and a fine of 930,000 soles for allegedly operating an aircraft that had structural faults. Emilio Rodriguez Larrain, LanPeru's president, said appeals will be filed with the DGAC and the DOT, and if these fail, the issue will be submitted to the courts.
Airlines and pilot unions are combining to demonstrate to FAA and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) an employee data sharing system they hope will lead to restoration of pilot jumpseat privileges withdrawn after Sept. 11. Airlines and unions have been urging the government to allow carriers to resume jumpseat agreements as soon as possible.
US Airways CEO David Siegel speaks to the International Aviation Club at its Sept. 17 lunch meeting at the Mayflower Hotel, Washington. A printable registration form is available at http://www.iacwashington.org, under "Events."
Varig's pilots association (APVAR) plans to submit an alternate plan to one offered by BNDES, Brazil's public sector development bank, which is orchestrating the carrier's financial restructuring (DAILY, Aug. 26). APVAR, jointly with the local consulting firm GGR Finance and a new, as-yet-unidentified investor, will put up the $250 million needed to complete recapitalization along with funds expected from BNDES, the association announced yesterday.
Bombardier's net income fell for the three months ending July 31, 2002, to $101 million from $136 million for the same period last year. Net income for the first six months fell to $320 million from $258 million.
Despite carrying a heavy burden after the collapse of subsidiary carrier Ansett last September, Air New Zealand turned in a NZ$39 million (US$18.62 million) profit for its fiscal year ended June 30. This was a dramatic turnaround from last year's NZ$1.4 billion loss, which then included Ansett losses. Revenue fell 9.5% to NZ$3.62 billion, compared with last year, while spending dropped 11.3% to NZ$2.95 billion.
JetBlue named Rich Smyth VP-New York Kennedy Redevelopment. Smyth will focus on the infrastructure projects associated with its future needs at JFK, as well as building a "support campus" that could include a long-term hangar, warehousing/stores and provisioning. Smyth will work closely with George Sauer, VP-corporate real estate, to ensure the airline's "brick and mortar" needs are met at JFK. Smyth previously was with Continental for five years as managing director and program principal for the Newark Global Gateway project.
Air Canada this fall plans to launch nonstop service between Montreal and Atlanta. The airline will operate three daily flights, beginning Nov. 4, using Canadair Regional Jets aircraft operated by Air Canada Jazz. Delta currently operates three nonstops on the route, one with an RJ and two with mainline jets.
DOT should simultaneously review the proposed United/US Airways and Continental/Delta/Northwest reciprocal agreements and take steps to ensure competition and market access, the Air Carrier Association of America said in a filing at DOT. ACAA wants DOT to review the proposed agreements formally for their total effect on competition in the U.S. domestic market. DOT "cannot routinely process proposals by five of the nation's six largest carriers to combine operations and effectively end domestic competitive opportunities," ACAA Executive Director Ed Faberman said.
British Airways is expanding its new European fare structure to Spain, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Luxembourg, cutting fares by up to 80%. The changes are in effect from today and increase the number of routes under the new fare regime to 170. The plan includes 41 additional international routes, plus 12 more routes operated by British Airways CitiExpress. BA has been the most radical among the European airlines in reacting to low-fare carrier competition with new fares spread across its entire European network.
Japan Airlines filed a proposed winter schedule with government regulators that it hopes will boost competitiveness and profits. Tokyo-Bangkok service will grow from double daily flights to 17 per week in October, rising to three flights daily in November. Expecting higher winter demand, JAL will swap its current DC-10s for larger Boeing 747s on its daily Osaka Kansai-Bangkok service.
Airline Apocalypse: The Bankruptcy Domino Effect By Michael Miller, President, Miller Air Group The airline industry stands before a daunting climb back to profitability, but regulators face an even more challenging possibility: what if one major airline bankruptcy triggers six or seven more?
