General Electric got FAA type certification for CF34-8 growth engine versions slated to power the Bombardier CRJ900 (CF34-8C55), Fairchild Dornier 728 (CF34-8D) and Embraer 170-175 (CF34-8E). All three engine models are derivatives of the CF34-8C1, which entered service on CRJ700s last year.
CCAIR and its pilots' representatives reached a tentative deal on a new contract Wednesday night, concluding discussions that began on the weekend. The contract proposal will be presented to pilots at meetings today and tomorrow. A ratification vote will be expedited, although no date has yet been set, Air Line Pilots Association Communications Specialist John Perkinson told The DAILY.
Incheon International Airport in Seoul, in a bid to step up security, plans to install additional X-Ray scanners and metal detectors to check arriving passengers' carry-on baggage.
Boeing Chairman Phil Condit does not entirely rule out an investment in struggling regional aircraft manufacturer Fairchild Dornier. Boeing is "aware of the possibilities in the regional aircraft market," Condit told German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Asked if Boeing would be interested in buying FD, Condit said, "We don't comment on things that could possibly happen." He hinted at the fact that the regional market was worth only about 10% of the commercial aircraft market. "That's why we move very cautiously.
US Airways yesterday reported a $269 million net loss for the first quarter, a deficit that new CEO Dave Siegel called "disappointing and unacceptable." The carrier's business traffic has been slow to return, officials report, leading to a depressed revenue performance. Revenues were 1.7 billion, down 23.7% from last year, while passenger revenue per available seat mile was off 11%. Results for the first quarter included a $149 million tax benefit and a $17 million credit related to an accounting change.
Italian regional airline Air Dolomiti and United have signed a new transatlantic code-share agreement, the companies announced yesterday. Air Dolomiti, which is 20.7% owned by Lufthansa, operates domestic flights as well as European services from several secondary Italian cities, including Verona, Venice and Pisa.
The Korean government plans to designate Daegu Airport as an international facility due to the increasing number of requests by foreign carriers to operate direct flights into the city. Currently, the airport has direct flights to Shanghai and Qingdao in China and Osaka in Japan operated by Korean and foreign carriers. Several Chinese airlines have submitted applications to operate flights from China to Daegu.
Despite slumping sales and the lack of a launch customer for its newest version of the venerable jumbo jet, Boeing remains confident that its 747 program will continue to win orders for many years. "The 747 is going to be a good long-term program," Boeing Chairman Phil Condit said this week. "It has unique characteristics that are in demand, particularly in the freighter market."
Maryland Governor Parris Glendening this week named Paul Wiedefeld to be the new executive director of the state's aviation administration. Wiedefeld, 46, is VP with the engineering firm Parsons Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas, Inc. and manages the company's Baltimore Office. As head of the aviation administration, Wiedefeld will oversee the operation of Baltimore/Washington International Airport and the $1.8 billion expansion program now underway.
Change in Air Service Index April 1-7, 2002 vs. September 1-7, 2001 U.S. Domestic Averages U.S. Domestic Average Air Service Index Value Change By Stop Value Percent Change in Index Value Total Index -6.6% Nonstop Index -6.5% Onestop Index -5.3% Twostop Index -11.1%
Despite slumping sales and the lack of a launch customer for its newest version of the venerable jumbo jet, Boeing remains confident that its 747 program will continue to win orders for many years. "The 747 is going to be a good long-term program," Boeing Chairman Phil Condit said this week. "It has unique characteristics that are in demand, particularly in the freighter market."
Opodo, the online travel portal set up by nine European airlines -- Aer Lingus, Air France, Alitalia, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia, KLM and Lufthansa -- launched its French site this week. The Italian site is scheduled to go live by June, while The Netherlands, Switzerland and Spain will follow suit in the second half of the year. The first portals of the agency were introduced in November 2001 in Germany and in January 2002 in the U.K.
Media reports on confusion surrounding FAA's inspection visit to Lima April 24-26 prompted Eduardo Guislein, safety director for Peru's civil aviation agency (DGAC), to clarify that the FAA assesses the capabilities of each country's authorities responsible for safety oversight (in this case the DGAC), and not the individual airlines involved. These, in turn, must answer to the aviation authorities for any failures that might jeopardize this oversight process.
Boeing lost $1.25 billion in the first quarter as an accounting change took a $1.8 billion bite out of profits to push $578 million in earnings into the red, the company said yesterday. Revenues rose 4% to $13.8 billion. Boeing earned about $1.2 billion in the 2001 first quarter on revenues of $13.2 billion.
Pan Am will begin service on May 3 to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., with flights from Baltimore, Portsmouth, N.H., and White Plains, N.Y. operated by affiliate Boston-Maine Airways on Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, using 19-seat Jetstream 21s. The service schedule will provide options for weekend and longer stays at the summer vacation destination, Pan Am said. The carrier starts service on May 15 to Freeport, Bahamas, from Orlando Sanford, offering connections with its other Florida and eastern U.S.
The House Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday angrily demanded that the Transportation Safety Administration, which according to DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead will run out of money by the end of May, justify its $4.4 billion budget supplemental request and should not plan to get the 72,000 employees it wants. Subcommittee Chair Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) chided TSA for lack of budget accountability because it justified only about half its supplemental budget request.
China will hold the fourth China International Aviation and Aerospace Exposition in Zhuhai, one of the country's special economic zones, Nov. 4-10. More than 40 companies from the U.S., Canada and France, including Boeing and Airbus, have confirmed their attendance at the exposition. Two websites dedicated to the air show will be launched, at www.airshow. com.cn and www.airshowchina.com.
Media reports on confusion surrounding FAA's inspection visit to Lima April 24-26 prompted Eduardo Guislein, safety director for Peru's civil aviation agency (DGAC), to clarify that the FAA assesses the capabilities of each country's authorities responsible for safety oversight (in this case the DGAC), and not the individual airlines involved. These, in turn, must answer to the aviation authorities for any failures that might jeopardize this oversight process.
The House Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday angrily demanded that the Transportation Safety Administration, which according to DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead will run out of money by the end of May, justify its $4.4 billion budget supplemental request and should not plan to get the 72,000 employees it wants. Subcommittee Chair Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) chided TSA for lack of budget accountability because it justified only about half its supplemental budget request.
The new draft bill to create the future National Civil Aviation agency for Brazil was delivered to airlines this week by Carlos de Almeida Baptista, Brazil's acting minister of defense. The measure replaces the bill the government withdrew last December in order to amend several controversial items. Conscious of the urgency of the bill to help solve some of the industry's most pressing problems, Baptista's timetable calls for a meeting with airlines this week to obtain their input so the draft can be submitted to the legislators in 10 days.
