Boeing has added former aircraft maker and long-time supplier Vought Aircraft to its Sonic Cruiser development team. Vought, which designed and built some 15,000 planes from 1917 to 1983, now provides major aerostructures, such as skin panels, as a subcontractor. It has contributed to a variety of major commercial and military programs, including the 747, 757, 767, DC-10, B-1, B-2, and C-17. Vought began supplying commercial components to Boeing in 1968 as part of the 747 program.
A mass phase-out of older aircraft that picked up steam with post-Sept. 11 capacity cuts will result in a much younger U.S. fleet by 2003, a Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown (DBAB) forecast shows. One byproduct of the trend: falling aircraft market values, both for planes being parked and the next-oldest ones remaining.
DOT Office of Inspector General this week began an audit of the FAA's long-range radar program, saying that the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks "have made clear that long-range radars are essential to locate aircraft without active transponders, including general aviation aircraft." FAA had intended to decommission most of the radars in favor of secondary surveillance radars, which rely on aircraft transponders to track aircraft identification, position and altitude.
FAA has reprogrammed funds to keep the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) program on track once "we found we were running a little short" of funds, FAA Administrator Jan Garvey told The DAILY yesterday. "We wanted to accelerate the program and keep our commitments both internally and to the Hill," she said. Budgets were shifted from areas where there would be no short-term impact.
The European Regions Airline Association recently took part in the public launch of the European Airline Passenger Service Commitment that is supported by the European Commission, but it blasted the EC for proposing passenger compensation rules that discriminate against the airline industry and would pave the way for hundreds of thousands of compensation claims annually. ERA said the Commitment is overshadowed by the EC's latest proposals on passenger compensation.
United, though relieved that a temporary door security upgrade apparently kept a cockpit-intrusion effort from being worse, plans to make already modified doors on 93 widebodies even more impenetrable. United will install locks and "reinforcing material" in the tops and bottoms of cockpit doors and doorframes on its 56 Boeing 777s and 37 767-300s, a spokesman said. The work will take about two weeks.
Cathay Pacific plans to make AHK Air Hong Kong Ltd a wholly owned subsidiary by acquiring the 25% stake held by Stabilo Ltd in an all-cash transaction worth HK$194 million (US$25 million). Cathay Pacific already controls 75% of the all-cargo carrier through Maplebeck Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cathay Pacific. It decided to make the acquisition "to invest in the future and position itself take advantage of good business prospects in the longer term."
Boeing CEO Phil Condit called for the commercial and military sectors to share solutions to combating terrorism. "We can do far better with shorter acquisition periods, with electronic transactions, with common standards," he told a meeting in Chicago of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. "Information technology, high-bandwidth communication and integrated infrastructures continue to dramatically alter how we do business," he said.
Delta wants DOT to continue its allocation of four unused U.S.-Brazil frequencies, which it uses for Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro nonstops, on an "indefinite, temporary" basis, telling the department that such an allocation would "help offset" service reductions by other U.S. carriers in the market. The carrier wants DOT to "grant Delta's allocation from an unspecified source" so that the frequency allocation "would not be subject to recall until the last frequencies are exhausted from among the many sources of dormant and/or unused frequencies.
South African Airways (SAA) plans to boost its European services significantly in an effort to become profitable again in preparation for a second attempt at privatization. The airline, which is about to make a decision on the replacement of large parts of its long-haul fleet, is looking at destinations in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Denmark, Richard Meichtry, executive VP-sales and network, told The DAILY.
British Airways plans to stop its four-times-weekly service to Montego Bay/Jamaica in April. The airline will continue flying to Kingston, a service that was previously linked to the Montego Bay flight. The decision is part of BA's strategy to dramatically scale down its London-Gatwick based long-haul operation in an effort to make Europe's largest carrier profitable.
Honeywell this week signed an agreement with FAA to develop a new air transport aircraft radio with digital voice, a data rate of 31.5 kilobytes per second and the ability to share a radio frequency. These specifications are designed to meet FAA requirements for Very High Frequency Digital Link-Mode 3 avionics and to support the next-generation air/ground communication program.
Qantas last week said it would spend A$50 million (US$26 million) over the next year as part of its most extensive airport lounge development program. The first renovations will take place at the airline's domestic terminals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, according to Qantas Executive General Manager Sales and Marketing John Borghetti. He said the major project in the lounge program was the construction of a second Qantas Club lounge at Sydney Domestic Terminal, slated to start next month in addition to a redevelopment of the current Sydney lounge.
Air France surpassed analysts' expectations yesterday when it posted a net loss of EUR131 million (US$114.5 million) for the period from October to December 2001, compared with a profit of EUR32 million in the last three months of 2000. It also announced that its objective was a positive operational result for the year ending March 31. Air France said it benefited from a faster-than-expected recovery of traffic after the Sept. 11 attacks, while yield per seat kilometer had returned to the same level as the previous year.
Mesa is giving bonuses to employees whose pay was cut 10% over 90 days following Sept. 11. The bonuses are coming earlier than expected, the company said. Full-time employees not covered by collective bargaining took a 10% pay cut. Unionized pilots, flight attendants and some mechanics declined to participate.
American CEO Don Carty yesterday underwent reconstructive rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder in Dallas. He is expected to be released from the hospital today, and recuperation is likely to take three weeks.
St. Louis Lambert Airport recently installed Cernium, Inc.'s ExitSentry video surveillance system in the passenger exit gateway that serves Concourses C and D. The FAA-approved system detects and alerts security guards when people try to enter secure terminal gate areas -- and bypass security checkpoints -- through the exit-only gates. Lambert has two other ExitSentry systems installed, and a Jan. 24 security breach at the C/D gateway convinced airport officials to speed up deployment of the system, Cernium said.
Delta Tech Ops more than doubled year-over-year revenues from third-party maintenance work, going from $55 million in 2000 to $105 million last year. Some 56% of last year's income came from long-term contracts, while the rest was drop-in work, Delta said. A quarter of all revenues came from Delta's ties with SkyTeam partners Air France and AeroMexico, in part through marketing each other's MRO capabilities in efforts to win business -- and share revenues -- for the group.
Lufthansa plans to launch nonstop service from Boston to Munich effective May 1. The flight will operate six days a week and is one of four between Munich and the U.S. in Lufthansa's summer timetable. Others include a new daily flight from New York Kennedy, starting March 1, the restoration of a daily flight from San Francisco starting March 31, and continuing Chicago-Munich daily service. The Boston-Munich flight will operate with an Airbus A340.
Tesna Holdings this week unveiled a frequent flyer program for the new Ansett, effective from the completion of the sale agreement with the Ansett administrators. The program has been named "Ansett Frequent Flyer" and has been developed following "extensive consideration and market research." The plan includes a one-time fee to join.
U.S. National Carriers Traffic January 2002 (000) January January % 2002 2001 Change Air Wisconsin Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 105,231 99,799 5.4 Available Seat Miles (000) 169,552 174,452 -2.8 Load Factor (%) 62.1 57.2
British Airways is likely to close its Washington government affairs office in the coming months as part of its cost-cutting plans, The DAILY has confirmed. Sources familiar with BA said that the carrier's future size and shape study calls for changing how BA is represented in Washington. While the decision is not final, it follows BA's frustration over the price demanded by DOT for U.S.-U.K. immunity with American.
DOT Inspector General has launched a review of air carriers' use of aircraft repair stations to determine if FAA is providing adequate oversight. The IG probe started shortly after French safety authorities recommended that FAA audit Continental's maintenance practices "both in the United States and at its foreign subcontractors." FAA has not said whether it is considering the request. The IG inspection will cover the entire U.S. industry and has four main objectives.
