Airborne Express, which recently completed contracting with GE Capital Aviation Services to convert 10 Boeing 767-200/300 aircraft to freighters, has contracted with Israel Aircraft Industries to convert another five 767s to cargo aircraft (DAILY, Jan. 3). GECAS announced it had selected IAI to convert the first 10 aircraft. IAI valued the two deals involving 15 aircraft at $130 million.
TRAFFIC DATA FOR DECEMBER 2001 RPMs Change ASMs Change In From In From Load Airline Billions 12/00 Billions 12/00 Factor Alaska 0.99 -5.1% 1.47 -3.1% 67.6% America West 1.34 -15.0% 2.00 -14.0% 67.1% American 9.08 -17.4% 13.51 -15.3% 67.2%
The Vietnamese government has approved plans to construct a new passenger terminal building at the Tan Son Nhat (TSN) Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. Construction is slated to start in October next year, with completion scheduled in December 2005. The facility, which will open for operations three months later, will have a handling capacity of 6.2 million passengers. It would be dedicated to handling international operations.
Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) said nearly 300 mechanics were laid off in 2001 and more than 200 jobs are threatened by Northwest's plan to transfer maintenance work to outside companies, including to low-cost, privately operated foreign repair stations. The union also criticized the airline for sending jobs overseas after accepting a reported $500 million in federal relief money following the events of Sept. 11.
Air Canada will begin operating an additional daily nonstop flight from Toronto to London Heathrow on June 1, giving the carrier six daily flights to that market. Four will be operated with Airbus A330s, which seat 292, along with one Boeing 767-300 with 212 seats and one 747-400, with 296. With the larger aircraft, Air Canada is increasing summer-over-summer capacity by 30%.
Singapore Airlines will phase out its Airbus A340 fleet seven months ahead of schedule -- in March 2003 instead of October. According to a senior official of the airline, the earlier plan was to maintain five A340s until October 2003. "It was, however, found to be not viable operating and maintaining a small fleet," the official said. Currently, SIA operates nine A340s of a fleet of 17 last year. The official said the number of aircraft to be phased out over the next two years would depend on the demand for the A340 on the open market.
A four-hour strike yesterday by Italian air traffic controllers caused the cancelation of 91 flights at Milan Malpensa Airport, while 98 flights were canceled and 75 rescheduled at Rome Fiumicino Airport. It was the ATC employees' third strike in three months protesting Italy's plans to facilitate the dismissal of certain employees. More stoppages are planned. Unions have called for a sector-wide strike for eight hours on Jan. 18 to demand government aid to offset the crisis that has worsened since Sept. 11.
FAA said that its U.S. Civil Aviation Registry web site operated out of its Oklahoma City facility, registry.faa.gov, now allows anyone with access to the Internet to check data on all certified airmen. The already popular site averages 2,000 visitors a day, and the new airmen search options lets industry, state and local governments, pilots and aviation enthusiasts access the basic certificate information for anyone who has been issued an FAA airman certificate. Information such as certificate type, ratings, type ratings and limitations are included.
The European Commission proposed to multiply denied boarding compensation by five in the European Union to a maximum of 1,500 euros for flights of more than 3,500 km. For shorter flights, compensation would be EUR750 maximum. Contrary to existing EU legislation on denied boarding, which was adopted in 1991, the EC's draft rules would apply to both scheduled and charter flights.
Skyway will launch service between Milwaukee and Minneapolis-St. Paul on March 2 with four roundtrip flights each weekday. Service is possible because of the upcoming delivery of its 10th Fairchild Dornier 328JET.
President Bush late Monday installed John Magaw as head of DOT's Transportation Security Administration 10 days before the 60-day deadline for several requirements under the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. The appointment, while Congress is recessed, comes two weeks before possible action by the Senate and after late-session delays kept the nomination from action on the Senate floor.
Michel Leblanc, former head of the now-defunct Royal Aviation, and Angus Kinnear, former head of Canada 3000 which went out of business in November, have each announced plans to launch new airlines this year. The two airlines merged under the C3 banner to become Canada's second-largest carrier, but C3 shut its doors abruptly in November after declaring bankruptcy and creditors began seizing assets outside the U.S. (DAILY, Nov. 12). Kinnear yesterday said he hopes to start operations this spring with 10 aircraft under the C3 banner.
American on Monday began welcoming back more than 660 reservations agents furloughed in late September. Of those AA and TWA agents furloughed, 83% accepted the offer to return to work. AA also has recalled more than 500 airport, service and cargo agents.
A U.S. district court judge in Washington yesterday denied a Machinists union request for a temporary restraining order against the Presidential Emergency Board but scheduled a hearing Friday on the union's request for a preliminary injunction (DAILY, Jan. 8). This means the three days of closed hearings beginning today by the PEB will be held as scheduled, and both the union and United have lined up executives to present their cases. The union cannot strike the airline until at least late February.
U.S. Major Carriers Top 10 Airports Ranked By Total Passengers 12 Months Ended June 2001 Average % of Stage Onboard Carrier % Change Length Passengers Total Yr./Yr. *Alaska 1 Seattle/Tacoma 897 4,078,210 31.1% 0.4% 2 Portland 727 1,390,600 10.6% -6.3%
United's Cargo Division last week launched a new online tracking service to track their small package deliveries. The enhancement provides customers with real-time tracking information and can be accessed from any page on the unitedcargo.com web site. The new feature makes use of United's previous investment in "BullsEye" baggage scanning technology, according to Mark Haeussler, director-strategic planning and business development.
Air Line Pilots Association and PSA Airlines, after two years of negotiations, reported reaching tentative agreements on Jan. 4 on a new contract for the airline's 250 pilots. The tentative agreement on the four and a half year contract, which includes pay increases and improvements in work rules, retirements and in other areas, will require approval by the pilots. PSA operates a fleet of Dornier 328s as a US Airways Express carrier.
American and British Airways, which seek to concentrate their market power with a strategy aimed at business traffic and toward containing capacity, "dominate markets between major U.S. cities and London," especially at London Heathrow, the General Accounting Office stated in a report on the proposed alliance. A full review of the competitive landscape is important, GAO said, with AA/BA's impact to be determined on "whether other airlines can enter these markets under an open-skies agreement."
NTSB is drafting recommendations to address rudder usage techniques in airliner "advanced maneuvers" training programs and could send them to FAA as early as this week, The DAILY has learned. Sources close to the board said the recommendations stem from the probe into the Nov. 12 crash of American Flight 587 in Queens, N.Y.
British Airways and KLM are expected to announce this week a code-sharing deal covering the two airlines' Middle Eastern operation. KLM yesterday confirmed a Financial Times report saying it was "not unlikely" that a deal between the two could be made public in the course of this week. BA warned that no far-reaching conclusions should be drawn from the arrangement and pointed out that the two airlines are not discussing a merger.
Northwest ended the year with about $2.6 billion in cash, and reported strong holiday load factors. The airline's December traffic fell 11.3% from the same period last year on an 11.8% capacity drop. Load factor was 72.2%, up 0.4 points. The airline reported holiday load factors of up to 90% during peak travel days resulting in December systemwide, domestic, Pacific and Atlantic load factors of 72.2, 69.3, 76.9 and 76.8%, respectively. Separately, United saw a much sharper drop in traffic last month, but said its operations performed well.
Air Transport Association Monthly Airfare Report November 2001 Based on a 1,000 Mile Trip First/Business Coach Average Annual Average Annual Domestic U.S Fare Change Fare Change January $254.22 5.3% $132.11 3.6% February $258.11 0.5% $134.84 0.6% March $257.74 -0.9% $130.15 -2.5%
The NTSB said that between 1993 and 1999, an average of 43 public-use aircraft accidents occurred each year, killing 21 and injuring 28. The board said four states -- California, Alaska, Florida and Texas -- topped general aviation accidents during that period, accounted for 46% of all public-use aircraft accidents.
