Transportation supplemental funding is causing a turf war between House appropriators and authorizers, with airlines scrambling to keep in place provisions of the stabilization act as appropriators seek to make changes as the supplemental bill is marked up today. The House Appropriations transportation subcommittee wants to double the security fee to $5 per segment, rescind $250 million from the $5 billion in airline bailout funds, and cut short the loan guarantee program from the transportation stabilization act.
FAA has finalized a draft rule proposing a one-step transition to domestic reduced vertical separation minimum (DRVSM) in December 2004. The notice of proposed rulemaking, slated for publication tomorrow, will have a 90-day comment period.
National Airlines yesterday confirmed that it recently submitted its application for federal loan guarantees to the Air Transportation Stabilization Board. The carrier, which has been trying to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy for close to 18 months, said the government guaranteed loan is part of a larger deal the company reached last quarter with Wells Fargo subsidiary Foothill Capital. Under the deal with Foothill, National could borrow $70 million, but only if it is backed by a combination of private backers and the government, a spokesman said.
FAA seeks comments, by June 5, on modifications that might be required to be made to its overflight fees rule as a result of substantive changes to the fee authorization included in the transportation security act. The post-Sept. 11 act gives FAA latitude by "changing the wording of the operative standard," requiring that fees be "reasonably: rather than "directly" related and "providing that 'the determination of such costs by the Administrator are not subject to judicial review.'" International carriers in 2000 began a court challenge of FAA's basis for fees charged.
Mexicana last month took delivery of an Airbus A319 on lease from Boullioun Aviation Services, and will take another by the end of the month. Both planes are powered by CFM56-5B6/P engines. Lease terms were not disclosed.
Lufthansa yesterday became the latest international airline to eliminate its base commissions for tickets issued in the U.S. and Canada. The change applies to tickets, commissionable miscellaneous charge orders, and prepaid ticket advices.
FAA will seek to improve airspace efficiency this fall when it rolls out a more advanced version of the User Request Evaluation Tool (URET) this fall, upgrading systems at six Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The ARTCCs have been using the technology to give more efficient routings to flights passing through their airspace. Constant Feedback
FAA certified Connexion by Boeing, the airborne network that brings broadband communication capability to commercial flights. Certification was achieved using a 737-400 testbed that went through three months of flight trials. At the end of the trials, test summary data to support certification was e-mailed from the plane to FAA's Los Angeles certification office via Connexion. The 800-kilobyte document went through in about 30 seconds, Boeing said. Lufthansa will start a three-month trial on a 747-400 later this year.
Investigators in Tunisia and China are piecing together clues from two accidents yesterday that coincidentally involved two jetliners built in the early 1990s that had accumulated nearly the same number of hours and flight cycles. An EgyptAir Boeing 737-500 crashed on approach to Tunis Carthage Airport, killing at least 18 of 63 people on board, various reports claim. Weather at the time included fog and rain.
Miami International Airport hopes to introduce passenger and baggage screening systems at nearby seaports to process the thousands of cruise ship passengers that could swamp the airport's security checkpoints when new screening requirements become effective at the end of the year. Bruce Drum. Miami assistant director for operations, said the airport is looking for new ways to ease the pressure on its terminals as additional explosives detection system (EDS) machines are introduced and traffic returns to pre-Sept. 11 levels.
Estado de Mexico has signed Lufthansa Consulting GmbH (LCG) to work on the new Texcoco International Airport project. LCG will help the state government create passenger and cargo air service development strategies for Texcoco and Toluca airports.
Amadeus, the European travel distribution system controlled by Lufthansa, Air France and Iberia, yesterday announced a 10.9% drop in first quarter net profits to EUR48.6 million but forecast a stronger-than-expected recovery. "Given the clear signs of a more sustained recovery in air travel, Amadeus is raising its target for bookings growth in the current year from flat growth to an increase of around 1.2%", said Amadeus Chairman Jose Antonio Tazon.
Insolvent aircraft maker Fairchild Dornier is in discussions with three potential investors for its 728 regional jet program, The DAILY has learned. Sources familiar with the situation said that preliminary discussions are ongoing in parallel. Bombardier Aerospace has confirmed that it will send a team of 20 engineers to FD's Oberpfaffenhofen plant later this week.
Chief executives from several major airlines yesterday blasted plans by Congress to double the current security tax charged to passengers. Delta CEO Leo Mullin told The DAILY that a potential fee increase would handicap airline industry recovery in the near-term and "would stagger carriers' ability to put customer service improvements in place." Mullin will be in Washington today for a previously scheduled meeting and will meet with members of Congress.
FLS Aerospace (FLSA) won a five-year, 20-million euro (US$18.2 million) deal to do all heavy maintenance and major modification work on Virgin Atlantic's Airbus A340 fleet, including the A340-600s that the airline will start operating this summer. All work will be done at FLSA's Dublin maintenance base. The deal, which covers 10 Virgin A340-300s in service and 10 A340-600s on order, is the first for FLSA for A340 heavy maintenance.
Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), in an effort to develop Shanghai Pudong Airport into a leading hub, soon will mandate that carriers now operating international flights at Shanghai Hongqiao move to Pudong starting Oct. 1. After that date, Hongqiao will operate only domestic flights. A CAAC official said the regulatory body would not entertain requests from any airline to stay back at Hongqiao or delay moving to Pudong.
Northwest yesterday said it plans to recall about 135 furloughed mechanics starting next month, and the airline will make changes to its Minneapolis/St. Paul heavy maintenance base that will better align it to deal with a changing fleet. The airline, which like many is parking older planes earlier than planned, is closing one MSP maintenance bay, adding 100 positions to a second, and turning a third into a "utility" bay that will handle overflow from other bays during peak check periods. In the past, such work often was outsourced.
The Malaysia government plans to set up a new civil aviation authority that will have more clout and better regulation over the local industry. The new body will take over existing functions of the Ministry of Transport, duties that include negotiating air service, open-skies agreements and enforcing performance standards of Kuala Lumpur International (KLIA) and 21 other airports in the country.
Supply chain management specialist Manugistics Group bought privately held Western Data Systems (WDS), provider of maintenance planning and supply chain management software. WDS's aerospace clients include BAE Systems, Boeing, GKN Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Sikorsky and Smiths Aerospace. WDS had $28 million in revenues last year.
Priceline.com yesterday launched a 30-day airfare "super sale" for U.S. and international flights on its major-brand airline partners. Through June 5, Priceline.com claims that customers can save up to 50% or more over published retail airline ticket prices to destinations throughout the world. Priceline said it initiated the sale in cooperation with its airline partners "to help get more travelers into the skies" during the pre-summer-vacation months of May and June. The sale ends June 5. -SL
Rolls-Royce's Trent 900 program received a major boost yesterday as Lufthansa said it will equip its Airbus A380 fleet with the engine. The deal, expected to also be a blow to the Engine Alliance, is worth $750 million. In addition to Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas and ILFC have opted for the Rolls-Royce engine. The manufacturer said it has gained a 58% market share on the A380 with 64 firm orders and options. -JF
Delta yesterday received DOT approval to expand its code-share relationship with SkyTeam partner CSA Czech Airlines on flights via Prague to Split, Croatia. The carriers plan to start the code-share service May 21. Delta currently code shares with CSA on its services from New York Kennedy to Prague and beyond to 18 cities.
The 14th Annual Greater Washington Aviation Open raised a record $101,000 for the Corporate Angel Network at its annual charity golf and tennis event held yesterday in Washington, D.C
