JetBlue will begin offering daytime flights from New York Kennedy to San Francisco May 1 and Los Angeles June 1. The daytime flights complement JetBlue's red-eye services.
1996 Jan. 21 - The U.S. is negotiating for greater access to Hong Kong, including additional U.S. gateways, fifth-freedom rights and beyond rights, with the U.S. concerned that if it agrees to limited bilateral changes now, Hong Kong may not have incentives for further bilateral expansion because Cathay Pacific will not need more U.S. access. 1981
Mortimer Downey will be acting DOT secretary following George W. Bush's inauguration and has been asked to remain in the post until the new secretary is confirmed and sworn in. Under the Clinton administration, Downey had been DOT deputy secretary since 1993. The confirmation hearing for Secretary-designate Norman Mineta before the Senate Commerce Committee is scheduled at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, 253 Russell.
One of the first big tasks of FAA's new Management Advisory Council will be to help the agency decide the winner of intense competition between Australian and New Zealand-led companies for the air traffic control operations contract for the Pacific. FAA is budgeting $52 million this year for the project but will take its time selecting a winner. The new board, headed by GAMA President Ed Bolen, will have approval authority.
DOT has pushed a controversial rewrite of repair station regulations out the door, but efforts to get it published before the government changes administrations reportedly have failed because the Office of Management and Budget will not sign off on the rule.
Australian regulators Thursday night grounded three Ansett Boeing 767s after checks turned up hairline cracks on two of the aircraft, and they ordered that the planes stay out of service until they pass inspections and the damage is repaired.
DOT finalized 2001 U.S.-Argentina 2001 rights as anticipated (DAILY, Jan. 18), awarding seven frequencies each to new market entrants Delta and Continental for, respectively, Atlanta-Buenos Aires service beginning April 1 and Newark-Buenos Aires starting Dec. 1. Market incumbent United had sought Los Angeles-Buenos Aires rights, arguing that Continental's recent filing for antitrust immunity with COPA (DAILY, Jan. 4) would allow it to serve its proposed route via Panama City. American also serves the limited-entry market.
AIRCRAFT TRANSACTIONS FOR OCT 26 - 30, 2000 Seller/ New Type / Previous Operator Owner Engine Operator Airbus Iberia Iberia Airbus A320-200/ CFM56-5B4/P Airbus Spanair Spanair Airbus A321-200/
Japan Airlines this week started increasing the number of weekly flights from Tokyo to Seoul. On Monday, the carrier added two weekly flights to the current daily operation, bringing the total of weekly Tokyo-Seoul flights to nine. One more weekly flight will be added February 5, making a total of 10 per week on the route due to increased demand, the carrier said. JAL's passenger traffic between Japan and Korea showed an increase of 14% in fiscal year 1998 and 21% in FY1999 on a year-over-year basis.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI), a faithful friend of Pratt&Whitney for more than 40 years, is negotiating with Rolls-Royce for possible participation in a development and production program of a Rolls Tay derivative engine.
Legend Airlines remains grounded this week awaiting a promised debtor-in-possession loan to materialize. Representatives of the Legend Funding Group told the bankruptcy court that the money would be in place by today or Monday at the latest, said CEO Allan McArtor. He McArtor said Legend was unable to meet its payroll on Tuesday after lenders failed to come up with the promised $20 million DIP. He said the loan was supposed to be in the bank Tuesday, and when it does come through it will take about another week for Legend to resume its scheduled operations.
As airlines expand and traffic increases in Asia, concern for safety will continue to grow. The three crashes last year, which took the lives of 256 passengers, were suspected to have been caused by a disregard for safety regulations. The third, the Oct. 31 crash on takeoff of a Singapore Airlines Boeing 747 at Chiang Kai Shek Airport in Taipei, reinforced the message that airport authorities have a major role in implementing safety measures.
Flight attendants at United and American will conduct informational picketing today at Chicago O'Hare. United flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, are protesting the lack of progress in contract talks with the company and alleged ongoing contract violation. American's flight attendants, represented by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, is in the midst of at two year fight for a new contract.
United, crippled by soaring costs and continued flight disruptions, finished the year 2000 with a $124 million quarterly loss. Winter storms and labor-related flight cancellations cost the airline as much as $240 million in revenue while fuel and wage expenses soared. Further hampering results were reduced capacity levels implemented to improve operational reliability. The financial results took "a pretty significant downturn," said CEO Rono Dutta. "It was another challenging quarter." The airline posted a $100 million profit in the same 1999 period.
DOT yesterday issued a final order revising ownership change reporting requirements for foreign carriers of the four Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation nations that are party to the multilateral pact with U.S. In response to complaints from carriers of Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore, DOT made four changes. Transaction reporting is required only when "U.S. nationals are the beneficial shareholders," and only when the transaction moves upward by 20% and any time control reaches 40% or more.
Machinists union yesterday vowed to fight Boeing's plan to allow Mitsubishi to produce wings in Japan for the proposed 747X. Local President Bill Johnson said Boeing confirmed that it is dealing with Mitsubishi, saying, "This union will fight this move with all its strength." Boeing "has never permitted a supplier to lead in the production of wings, [and] runs the real risk of losing its...skill base."
Delta earned $79 million in the fourth quarter, excluding one-time items, down 53.8% from the year-earlier period due to unexpected labor and weather disruptions. Prudent fuel hedging, however, saved the carrier $210 million last quarter, and it now has greater protection than most major airlines this year. Counting the unusual items, Delta posted a net income of $18 million, a drop of 95%. It also took a $56 million non-cash charge, reflecting the decline in fair value of certain derivative instruments to comply with new accounting standards.
U.S. safety investigators have issued their final report on the 1996 crash of TWA Flight 800 that killed all 230 aboard, confirming that a center fuel tank explosion probably triggered the Boeing 747's inflight breakup off the Long Island, N.Y., coast.
The Board of Airline Representatives (BAR) welcomed the Hong Kong government's decision to reduce landing charges for carriers operating to a new destination from Chek Lap Kok Airport (CLK). The reduction will be 50% for the first year and 25% the following year. The airlines were informed by the Hong Kong Airport Authority (HKAA), which said the incentive scheme will be effective March 25. The 15% reduction on landing charges and related fees, which were introduced last year, has been extended until January 2002.
An appeals court yesterday told Delta's Air Line Pilots Association unit that it is not doing enough to encourage pilots to return to overtime flying. It ruled that a district court did not take into consideration the "gravity and depth of ALPA's duty under the Railway Labor Act" when it declared ALPA was not accountable for pilots refusing overtime flying.
Comparison Of American And TWA Pilot Salaries - TWA TWA Contract signed: 7/11/1998 Amendable date: 10/1/2002 Pay rates: effective 9/1/2000 Guarantee pay: 73 hours/month Estimated average pay: 73 hours/month Maximum pay: 85 hours/month Future pay raises: 9.4% pay raise 9/1/2001 10.1% pay raise 8/1/2002 International override: Capt: $6.40/hour F/O is a % of Captain's override
ICAO's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), meeting this week in Montreal, issued a series of recommendations to reduce aircraft noise and exhaust emissions, including a noise standard 10 decibels lower than current international noise rules. U.S. airlines, airframe and engine makers unanimously supported a reduction of eight decibels for aircraft in production (DAILY, Jan. 16). Airports Council International called the consensus "too little, too late." The CAEP recommendations will be submitted to the ICAO Council for review and further action.
Comparison Of American And TWA Pilot Salaries - American AMERICAN Contract signed: 5/5/1997 Amendable date: 8/31/2001 Pay rates: effective 8/31/2000 Guarantee pay: 64-67 hours/month (variable) Estimated aver pay: 74 hours/month Maximum pay: 75-78 hours/month (variab International override: Capt: $6.00/hour F/O and S/O override is expressed as a % of Captain's override F/0: 50% of $6.00 in first year up to 69% in 12th+ years
The 12-member pan-Asia/Pacific travel exchange, which aims to be the region's leading online travel retailer, will be launched in June and commence operations immediately. The yet-to-be named exchange's founding members are Malaysia Airlines, Royal Brunei Airlines, Ansett Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Airlines, EVA Air, Singapore Airlines, Garuda, Royal Brunei Airlines, Air New Zealand, Qantas and SilkAir.
