Senate appropriators, concerned with "delays and difficulties" FAA has experienced with its Advanced Technologies and Oceanic Procedures software and testing, propose to delete $11,051,000 in funding "in anticipation of the cascading effect software development problems will have on the delivery of the first system."
Denver International Airport plans to waive landing fees on Sept. 11 for airlines that provide free flights on that date to stimulate travel, according to Mayor Wellington Webb. DIA will waive about $1,600 in fees for Spirit's four flights from Denver that the carrier is offering free of charge.
Polar Air Cargo this month plans to boost its scheduled Boeing 747 Freighter service between points in the U.S, U.K., Ireland, Sweden and continental Europe. On Aug. 8, Polar resumed its scheduled service to Ireland by adding two weekly flights from the U.S to Shannon, Ireland. These flights will continue to Amsterdam before returning to the U.S. Effective Aug. 7, Polar began its new scheduled service from Chicago and New York to Liege, Belgium. Initially, Polar will operate four weekly services between the U.S. and Liege, increasing to six in September.
While most European and U.S. carriers are taking a cautious approach toward new aircraft orders, major Asian carriers continue to firm up fleet expansion requirements. Latest on the list is Thai Airways International, which has in principle received the government's go-ahead to acquire 16 widebody aircraft. The approvals required from the Thai cabinet and majority shareholder Ministry of Finance are only formalities. The finance ministry holds 93%, while the remaining 7% is floated on the Bangkok Stock Exchange.
FAA ordered operators of U.S.-registered Boeing 767s to check inboard flap outboard supports for missing bolts and other anomalies by Nov. 25. FAA said one operator found "one missing bolt and two loose bolts" on an airplane, and evidence that the bolts were not installed tightly, putting the part at risk of structural failure. "The outboard support for the inboard main flap cannot carry limit load with one bolt missing in the aft attachment locations," the agency said.
Birdstrikes cost aircraft operators some US$3 billion per year, and the increasing amount of bird populations and aircraft movements worldwide will push these costs higher if aggressive measures aren't adopted to help reverse the trend, an Australian report concluded. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) looked at birdstrikes in its country over a 10-year period and studied the problem, and what's being done about it, in other countries.
The forward section of the first Boeing 747-400ER freighter has arrived in the manufacturer's Everett, Wash., factory to be joined with the remaining sections of the fuselage. Boeing says it plans to roll out the first freighter version of the extended-range 747 in September, and deliver the aircraft to launch customer International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) in October. Air France plans to lease the launch aircraft from ILFC. -LR
Standard & Poor's yesterday lowered its credit ratings on United parent UAL Corp. to triple-'C' from single-'B' following the company's warning that it will likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by mid-November if it does not gain concessions from United's unions and other stakeholders within 30 days.
Continental Airlines has extended its use of the Passur aircraft arrival information system by purchasing software to interpret Passur's information and send it to operations centers at the airline's 3 hubs. Passur uses a passive system that listens to FAA radar and aircraft responses and then provides location updates every 4.6 seconds.
Air France, despite the worst economic crisis in Argentine history which has cut ticket demand 50%, confirmed it will continue operating from Paris to Buenos Aires three times a week with Boeing 777s. It also announced a new web page for bookings throughout Argentina.
Northwest plans to start operating daily service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Helena, Mont., Oct. 27. Initially, this service will include a stop in Billings, Mont. Northwest will operate the new service with its DC-9-30s. The carrier noted that it provides single connect service to 14 cities in Montana through its code-share agreements with Horizon Air and Big Sky Airlines.
Alaska Air recently started a maintenance facility construction project at Oakland, Calif., at the same time it opened its first maintenance operations in Mexico. The carrier last week started a $5 million remodel of the Oakland hangar, the first phase of which includes an expansion of the employee parking lot. In the coming months, Alaska will remove and relocate several offices and shops on the hangar floor and modify one of the larger hangar doors so a third aircraft can be moved in and out of the facility at any time.
Pressure is mounting on industry and government alike to speed the pace and expand the scope of financially troubled Brazilian airline Varig's ongoing plan to recapitalize itself, according to a recent report in DAILY affiliate AvNews Latin America & Caribbean.
US Airways, completing its first week of operations under bankruptcy protection without interruptions, vowed to maintain service to all cities in its network except one. Due to an "independent business decision" made by US Airways Express affiliate Air Midwest, the carrier will cease service to Saginaw, Mich., Sept. 7. Air Midwest, a subsidiary of Mesa Air, was operating flights from Pittsburgh to Saginaw. After service stops to Saginaw, US Airways will offer flights to a network of 203 cities.
FAA recently commissioned the first of Raytheon's ATCBI-6 secondary surveillance radars at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., signaling the start of the nationwide deployment of the system to replace older radio beacons.
Continental next month will offer the only jet service to Alexandria, La., when Continental Express starts daily regional jet flights from Houston. The service will start Sept. 5 and will be operated with Embraer ERJ-145s. Currently, the airline offers four daily flights using ATR 42 turboprops.
The Fuss About Orbitz By Antonella Pianalto, Interactive Travel Services Association Guest columnist Jon Ash asked (DAILY, Aug. 2) "Why all the fuss about Orbitz?" Clearly he hasn't spoken with dozens of members of Congress, half of the states' attorneys general, or every national consumer organization. The "fuss" everyone is making about Orbitz is that they see this for what it is -- an airline-owned vehicle to control inventory, eliminate competition and resist downward pressure on ticket prices.
Delta CEO Leo Mullin and CFO Michele Burns, in statements filed this week with the Securities and Exchange Commission, affirmed the accuracy of the airline's financial reports for the first and second quarters of 2002 and other recent SEC filings. These actions are in response to a June 27 order by the SEC requiring large publicly traded companies to certify the accuracy of their financial reports. Most other U.S. major airline executives have taken the same action.
Venezuela's fledgling Civil Aviation Institute (INAC) requested that FAA postpone until the middle of next year its inspection visit to assess progress on the country's safety oversight program. Gen. Saul Fuenmayor, acting director of INAC, told reporters this week he is convinced that by that time standards and procedures will have improved for Venezuela to be upgraded to Category 1.
President Bush's decision this week to reject emergency spending legislation has eliminated millions in security-related reimbursements for airports, and put into jeopardy even more. The vetoed amount also includes money FAA requires to avoid temporary controller furloughs, but the White House promised it will cover this need from other budgets.
Airlines will face a challenge to get certain widebodies retrofitted with new cockpit doors by April 9, as required by FAA for U.S. flights, because certification delays and engineering challenges push kit approvals into late 2002 and beyond. Two configurations for Boeing 747 Classics won't ship until December and January, respectively, and Airbus may not have its A330/A340 kits available until then.
