A Chicago O'Hare watchdog group, Aviation Integrity Project, formed at the behest of Chicago's suburban mayors "to investigate waste and corruption" at the airport, is accusing Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) of taking $140,752 in campaign funds from contributors with contracts or economic interest in the airport. Durbin introduced the National Aviation Capacity Expansion Act to expand O'Hare, which is strongly opposed by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald (R-Ill.).
Mexicana, responding to the need for major Mexican airlines to renew their aging fleets, will replace 11 aircraft and reduce their average age from 10 to eight years in the next 10 months, the carrier said. Its current 58-aircraft fleet comprises eight Boeing 757s, 11 727-200s, 13 Fokker l00s, 12 Airbus A320s and four A319s. Between 2002 and 2003, the 11 727-200s are to be replaced with Airbus equipment -- six A320s and five A319s.
Baltimore/Washington Airport, to be the first U.S. airport with a fully federalized security screener work force -- starting today with federalization at one or two piers -- will benefit from the Transportation Security Administration's use of the airport as a test bed on passenger flow and process in Pier C. Argenbright, which had continued to handle screening at Piers A and B, is slated to be replaced by federal workers, with all five piers to have federal employees, on TSA's payroll and trained to TSA's requirements, by June, sources confirmed.
Air Anatolia will lease two Boeing 757-200s from IEM Airfinance. Teams of the lease were not disclosed. The Turkish charter carrier also operates two 737s and three Airbus A300B4s.
LanChile, through its code share with American, has introduced service from five U.S. West Coast cities through its hub in Los Angeles to a number of destinations in South America with just one ticket and through-check to final destinations. The new gateways are San Jose, Oakland and San Diego, Calif.; Phoenix, Ariz., and Las Vegas, Nev.
A strike at Bombardier's three Montreal-area plants entered a third week yesterday with little activity after just-restarted talks fell apart late last week, when the company balked at the union's latest proposal. The talks, the first since the strike began April 15, were triggered by the Quebec government's appointment of an arbitrator in an effort to get things moving.
Air Transportation Stabilization Board Executive Director Joe Adams is expected to resign from his position as early as tomorrow, sources told The DAILY. His departure comes roughly three months after he joined the ATSB after taking a one-year leave from New York-based Brera Capital Partners. A spokeswoman would not comment, but ATSB Managing Director Dan Montgomery is now expected to oversee the office.
Air Transportation Stabilization Board Executive Director Joe Adams is expected to resign from his position as early as tomorrow, sources told The DAILY. His departure comes roughly three months after he joined the ATSB after taking a one-year leave from New York-based Brera Capital Partners. A spokeswoman would not comment, but ATSB Managing Director Dan Montgomery is now expected to oversee the office.
Northwest pilot leadership is expected to vote today on a tentative contract extension reached Saturday that includes two pay raises over the next 18 months. The deal also requires that negotiations for a new contract begin in January, with the goal of achieving agreement by September 2003. Pilot representatives say the agreement enables them to negotiate the new contract when the airline is in better shape financially.
A strike at Bombardier's three Montreal-area plants entered a third week yesterday with little activity after just-restarted talks fell apart late last week, when the company balked at the union's latest proposal. The talks, the first since the strike began April 15, were triggered by the Quebec government's appointment of an arbitrator in an effort to get things moving.
House Transportation Committee Chair Don Young (R-Alaska) and transportation subcommittee Chair John Mica (R-Fla.) today will introduce a bill authorizing the arming of pilots in the cockpit. The law is aimed at giving Transportation Security Administration a push in clarifying regulations allowing pilots to carry weapons in the cockpit.
Mexicana, responding to the need for major Mexican airlines to renew their aging fleets, will replace 11 aircraft and reduce their average age from 10 to eight years in the next 10 months, the carrier said. Its current 58-aircraft fleet comprises eight Boeing 757s, 11 727-200s, 13 Fokker l00s, 12 Airbus A320s and four A319s. Between 2002 and 2003, the 11 727-200s are to be replaced with Airbus equipment -- six A320s and five A319s.
The European Commission is looking into a $90 million three-month credit facility for Fairchild Dornier, a Commission spokesman said yesterday. The rescue package includes state guarantees granted by Germany's Federal and Bavarian governments. The state guarantees could qualify as "rescue aid," which the EC authorizes, provided it has limited scope and duration and is subject to interest payments at financial market conditions. The commission has asked for additional information on the credit line, the EC spokesman said. -MT
American will finish April with an approximately 99% completion factor despite poor weather in Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago and St. Louis. As of yesterday, the airline completed 99.1% of flights, and 85% arrived on time. "Given the weather challenges, those are quite good numbers," CEO Don Carty said to employees.
United yesterday reduced preflight arrival time of passengers not checking bags to 60 minutes. Customers who have baggage to check should still get to the airport at least 90 minutes before they fly, and customers who are flying to an international destination should arrive at least two hours before departure.
The de facto ban on flight training of new foreign-national students in U.S. schools could drag on for months as the Department of Justice goes through a formal rulemaking process to set up an approval procedure for flight students, according to industry officials. U.S. schools stopped training foreign nationals in November after Congress included a measure in the Aviation Transportation and Security Act that requires up to a 45-day DOJ review of prospective non-U.S. students who seek training on aircraft weighing 12,500 pounds or more.
Bombardier Regional Aircraft named Jeff Mihalic VP-general manager customer services; Barry MacKinnon VP-marketing and analysis; Chris Beaton VP-sales, international, and John Howarth senior adviser to the president.
DOT could lose a chance to lead the shaping of international policy if it doesn't consider expanding foreign ownership of U.S. carriers, an industry observer says. DOT Secretary Norman Mineta had pushed for establishment of a DOT "think tank" -- a role for experienced Associate Deputy Secretary Jeffrey Shane. But Mineta's recent pullback on ownership will likely make Shane find " there's more tank than think."
U.S. major airlines posted a cumulative $2.1 billion loss in the first quarter, excluding one-time events. "The generously optimistic interpretation of the quarter is that everything got better" compared with the fourth quarter, said UBS Warburg analyst Sam Buttrick. "But that's not saying much."
Cathay Pacific said Friday it would expand its twinjet fleet in a most equitable fashion, splitting a six-plane order right down the middle between Airbus and Boeing. Starting next year, the Hong Kong-based carrier will add three Rolls-Royce Trent 700-powered A330-300s to its 35-plane Airbus fleet, which includes 20 A330-300s and 15 A340-200s. It also has three A340-600s on order, the first of which is slated to arrive this year. Cathay also will take on a trio of Trent 800-powered Boeing 777-300s, which will expand its 777-300 fleet to 10 by 2004.
