Orient Thai Airlines (OTA), a private carrier based in Phnom Penh, wants to acquire four L-1011s from the open market. The aircraft would be used on flights to Qingdao, Dalian, Harbin, Jinan and Shenyang, China. OTA, set up in 1993, moved its base to Phnom Penh early this year, when the Department of Aviation in Bangkok did not renew the airline's operating license.
AirTran Holdings Friday started a cash tender offer and consent solicitation for all $150 million of its outstanding 10.25% senior notes due in 2001 and a concurrent cash tender offer and consent solicitation for all $80 million of AirTran's outstanding 10.5% senior secured notes due next year. The tender offers and consent solicitations are part of the airline's plan to refinance existing indebtedness under the notes with the proceeds of the planned issuance of new securities.
Potential exists for several changes on the Senate aviation subcommittee as a result of next week's congressional elections. A recent University of Montana-Billings poll puts Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) in a statistical dead heat with Democratic foe Brian Schweitzer. Aviation subcommittee Chairman Slade Gorton is in a close race, as is Spencer Abraham (R-Mich.). No Democrats on panel are endangered.
FAA must resist international efforts to change the Stage 2 noise standards for aircraft weighing less than 75,000 pounds, the National Air Transportation Association said. "Because of their weight, many Stage 2 business jets are actually quieter than Stage 3 airliners," NATA said in its comments on the FAA's recently proposed national noise policy.
American Airlines Cargo has selected Emerald Solutions and Sabre to streamline key business processes for customer services online. The project will enable customers to access the latest information on their shipments over the web, it said, adding that it is "transitioning customer-related functions to the Internet to further capitalize on digital business opportunities."
American's Allied Pilots Association board will meet next Monday to determine interim appointments following the resignation late last week of APA President Rich LaVoy, VP Brian Mayhew and Secretary-Treasurer Bob Morgan. All three were in office during the pilot sickout last year that landed the union in court facing a $45.5 million fine. The union is appealing the fine. The board recently failed an attempted recall of LaVoy and Mayhew after last month's rejection of a tentative contract extension that would have forgiven the fine.
AccessAir unveiled plans to restart scheduled service Nov. 15 after 11 months of fundraising and reorganization. The Des Moines, Iowa-based carrier recently started taking reservations for its first and only route to Chicago Midway, using Boeing 737-200s. AccessAir received DOT operating authority late last week to resume scheduled service and expects to start the route with three daily roundtrips each weekday and two on weekends.
Alitalia and Aer Lingus were forced to keep substantial numbers of flights from taking off because of labor actions. The Italian flag carrier had to cancel more than 300 flights on Friday because of a 24-hour strike by its flight attendants. Hardest hit were the two Milan airports, Linate and Malpensa, where more than 219 flights remained on the ground, followed by Rome Fuimicino with 103, among them 23 international departures. Aer Lingus was forced to cancel 35 of its 260 flights on Friday due to a four-hour strike by check-in, arrivals and boarding staff.
Lufthansa will introduce its first long-haul service from Berlin to Washington Dulles with the beginning of the summer timetable 2001. The airline will operate the six-times-weekly flight with an Airbus A340-200. Lufthansa recently withdrew the A340-200s from its long-haul network and placed them on medium-haul flights to the Middle East and the CIS states. In the long-haul role, the aircraft have been superseded by higher-thrust versions of the A340-300.
American admitted it has engaged in discussions with other carriers regarding mergers or acquisitions since the United-US Airways merger was announced. "To date, these discussions have not resulted in a definitive agreement," the airline said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Teams led by ITT Industries and Raytheon announced at the Air Traffic Control Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City last week that they will compete for FAA's Next Generation Air/Ground Communication System (NEXCOM). This program will replace existing analogue VHF radios with more than 36,000 multi-mode digital radios that will provide both voice and data communications in air traffic control. Raytheon, the prime contractor for its team, has extensive experience in digital radios.
National Transportation Safety Board said it will hold a three-day public hearing Dec. 13-15 into the fatal crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261. The MD-80 crashed Jan. 31 off the coast of California with the loss of all 88 aboard. The hearing will be held at the board's conference center in Washington, D.C.
American Society of Travel Agents Senior VP-Legal and Industry Affairs Paul Ruden was appointed to the DOT Air Carrier On-Time Reporting Advisory Committee.
The French government has decided in principle to build a third airport in the Paris region. The airport, which is expected to open in 10 years at the earliest, is intended to ease congestion at the two other Paris airports, Orly and Charles de Gaulle. A decision on the exact location is expected by next summer. The airport was the subject of a high-profile political debate. Dominique Voynet, minister of the environment, and the green party have strongly opposed the project because of additional land use.
Delta and CSA Czech Airlines released details Friday of their intended code-share flights that are planned to begin after CSA joins the SkyTeam alliance next year. Delta and CSA Czech Airlines plan to file an application soon with DOT seeking authorization to code share on flights between the U.S. and the Czech Republic, starting March 25. Delta wants to begin code-share flights next summer between New York Kennedy and Prague and between Newark and Prague on CSA's Airbus A310s.
