Atlantic Southeast flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, have ratified a one-year contract extension by a 71.6% vote. The current contract becomes amendable in September 2003.
Attorneys for the Raleigh/Durham Airport Authority are looking at Midway Airlines' claim that its passenger numbers are proprietary information. Airport Director John Brantley said the airline "at first refused to provide [passenger] numbers for February, then put in a disclaimer that they...could not be released." Midway provided passenger statistics "and every other information needed by the airport" for the past seven years, Brantley said.
Investigators could not determine why a Horizon Dash 8 Q400 hydraulic line failed, forcing the crew to extend the plane's gear manually at the end of a flight from Seattle to Boise, Idaho, March 1, an NTSB brief said. A line to the elevator was fingered as the problem, and the plane's No. 2 hydraulic system lost pressure as a result. The pilots landed the plane without incident, but it had to be towed from the runway because the system failure knocked out its nose wheel steering.
Under the open-skies agreement signed between the U.S. and Peru, Lima-based AeroContinente will carry passengers to and from the U.S. and beyond, starting with the new Lima-Guayaquil-Miami service that began in March, to be operated initially three times a week with 213-passenger Boeing 767-200s. This trunk route will pave the way for passenger and cargo expansion in the countries of the Andean Pact and Mercosur in South America as both groups implement economic integration.
Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum is expected to announce next month that construction of its new facility at Washington Dulles Airport is well ahead of schedule.
FAA yesterday ordered modifications to prevent "erroneous altitude reporting" of Rockwell Collins TDR-94 and TDR-94D Mode S transponders that get altitude information from a Gillham encoded pressure altitude source. Affected aircraft must be modified at the next transponder check or by Feb. 3, 2003, whichever comes first. Fixes are outlined in several Rockwell Collins service bulletins issued since 1999. Some 1,400 U.S.-registered ATR 42s/72s, de Havilland Dash 7s, and Shorts 330s/360 could have the error-prone transponders
FAA will take public comments through June 20 on long-term plans to allocate capacity at New York LaGuardia. The agency also is seeking comments on how several recent developments, such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's rate increase for the three New York-area airports and the increased number of regional jet flights at LaGuardia since Sept. 11, might affect proposed plans. Comments can be filed at http://dms.dot.gov under docket No. FAA-2001-9854.
US Airways Express carrier Shuttle America is leasing 18 Saab 340As from Saab Aircraft Leasing, nine for immediate operation and nine to place into service this year. The 340As, on three- and four-year leases, replace Bombardier Dash 8s and contribute to the carrier's expansion.
Air Europe plans to drop its $69 million lawsuit against Iberia after the two reached an agreement on the return of some leased aircraft. Under the deal, Iberia will return six aircraft it leased from Air Europa that it decided to retire as it cut capacity last fall. "This agreement will allow Air Europa to meet its commitments and Iberia to meet its cost-cutting targets," the airlines said in a joint statement.
America West yesterday revamped its fare structure by eliminating the Saturday night stay requirement and including new reduced one-way fares. The airline believes that the new pricing structure will result in significant reductions to current, unrestricted walkup fares. The change comes after CEO Doug Parker told employees recently that one of the keys to the future of the airline is its ability "to price intelligently." Parker said in a letter to staff that the new structure would increase the airline's revenues.
Japan has indicated it will permit the return to FedEx of slots being used by Delta, defusing a bilateral dispute. In response, DOT is deferring the requirement that eight Japanese all-cargo carriers would have to file their schedules for reconsideration by the U.S. DOT imposed the requirement last week with a March 22 deadline in response to the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation's resistance to Delta's move, which DOT maintains is permitted by the 1998 U.S.-Japan bilateral.
Delta CEO Leo Mullin has no near-term plans to spin off the carrier's regional subsidiaries or launch an initial public offering of Comair or Atlantic Southeast to raise additional funds. "We're happy with the current arrangement," Mullin told The DAILY in Washington. While other major airlines, such as Northwest and Continental, recently filed IPOs for their regional airlines, Mullin said Delta operates more efficiently with the current centralized planning of its mainline and regional route network.
Air Canada, following the lead of U.S. major airlines, said last week it will no longer pay base commission for tickets issued in Canada, the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Tickets issued for travel on Tango by Air Canada will not be affected by the new structure, the airline said.
German regional carrier Augsburg Airways plans to significantly cut its capacity and also reduce its work force. The airline is likely to ground three to four aircraft and must cut the work force accordingly, Managing Director Olaf Dlugi told The DAILY. The carrier, which operates mainly under the Team Lufthansa brand, has informed the workers' council and will make final decisions as early as next week.
United in May plans to replace its on-board Coca-Cola beverage products with Pepsi, following the signing of an exclusive, multiyear deal with the Pepsi-Cola Co. In addition to offering the company's drinks on all flights, United and Pepsi will develop joint marketing, promotional and sales programs. "The Pepsi-Cola Co. has been a major corporate customer of United's for some time," said Larry De Shon, senior VP-onboard service.
Oneworld alliance recently launched the "Worldflyer" fare program aimed at small and medium European business customers. The product is now available in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and Switzerland. Worldflyer enables companies to pre-purchase blocks of tickets for future travel by its employees on specific European routes. Worldflyer tickets are available in books of 10, 20, 30, 40 or 50, depending on the route. "The more tickets your company purchases, the higher the discount offered," the alliance said.
The leadership of UPS Teamsters Local 2727, which represents the company's mechanics and related workers, will send out a survey asking members why they overwhelmingly rejected a tentative contract offer. The membership voted 83% to reject the TA, and a vote against automatically included a vote to strike. The union represents about 1,100 employees.
Boeing, through its FlightSafety Boeing Training International joint venture, will team with Advanced Interactive Systems Inc. to offer flight and cabin crew security training programs. The major training elements include determining the seriousness of an occurrence; crew communication and coordination; appropriate self-defense response; use of protective devices provided to crews; psychology of terrorism for coping with hijackers and passengers; live situational training, and flight deck procedures or aircraft maneuvers to defend the aircraft.
Cathay Pacific on April 1 will begin enforcing a seven-kilogram-per-person limit (about 15.4 pounds) for carry-on baggage, not including laptops, cameras and "certain other small personal items," the carrier said. The move is based on a uniform set of rules crafted by Association of Asia Pacific Airlines members based on a recent safety and security review. The new limit will be "carefully enforced" to help cut down on problems that result from excessive or heavy bags in the cabin, Cathay said.
Boeing, which some in the industry saw as a prime contractor candidate for FAA's lucrative En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) program, has instead joined a Lockheed Martin-led team bidding for the work, the companies said yesterday. Other high-profile members of the team are Computer Sciences Corp., Harris Corp., and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin will serve as lead integrator, and the team will include "a full range" of other technology companies.
Switzerland's new airline Swiss is expected to announce a bilateral alliance with American today, but it will not yet commit to joining oneworld, according to industry sources. Swiss also said it would release details of a multi-billion dollar, long-haul aircraft deal for the Airbus A340-300 or the Boeing 777-200 to replace the airline's 13 MD-11s, starting next year.
