Airbus delivered the first Airbus A319 to China Eastern Airlines. The aircraft, the first of its type in China, will be used to replace MD-82s on the carrier's domestic network. China Eastern operates 13 A320s, five A340-300s and 10 A300-600Rs. The carrier has ordered nine more A319s and seven more A320s.
Latest order by American means that the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engine has secured 43% of the Boeing 777 market. Rolls says the Trent family is now available for 90% of all new widebody aircraft, including future 767s, 777s and the A3XX.
AOPA says that FAA "continues to try 'fix' operational or education problems with airworthiness directives." The AD in question addresses flight crew emergency procedures on Learjets and stems from crew incapacitation, the most notable being the accident that claimed golfer Payne Stewart, AOPA says. A pilot's failure to don an oxygen mask is an operational and educational concern, but ADs "should only be used to address flaws in equipment, not the operator," AOPA says.
Frontier Airlines Friday reported its ninth consecutive profitable quarter with a fiscal first quarter net income of $16.4 million, up 113% from the same period last year. Revenue jumped 44.8% to $112.8 million and revenue per passenger mile increased 10% to 16.9 cents. Operating expenses decreased 32.2% to $87.4 million. Cost per available seat mile increased 6% to 8.59 cents, a hike mostly attributed to jet fuel, which cost 92.6 cents per gallon on average for Frontier.
America West believes Congress could spur competition at Washington National by adding 100 slots.In comments to the Senate Commerce Committee, the airline cited a 1995 DOT slot study that said DCA could handle another 126 flights per day. The 100 additional slots would alleviate concerns over United-US Airways slot transfers, America West said, adding, "Without a substantial increase in slots, any approval of the proposed merger should require the transfer of the proposed DC Air slots to post-deregulation carriers that can maximize competition."
Comair will begin daily nonstop regional jet service between Orlando and Greensboro/High Point/Winston Salem on Oct. 1. The three daily roundtrips will be aboard the 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet.
Attorney Donald Pevsner last week complained to DOT that it has taken no action on a complaint he filed three years ago that airlines "routinely overcharge inquiring consumers by refusing to disclose their cheapest Internet fare offerings to prospective passengers" who ask via telephone or CRS. Pevsner says DOT must act "to prevent the phrase 'consumer protection' from becoming an oxymoron within the department."
Air Canada CEO Robert Milton last week promised improvements in the airline's troubled customer service and laid down the blueprint for the "180-Day Commitment/Progress Report." Although the report does not contain completely new initiatives, Milton said it details efforts under way and promised monthly progress updates. Among Milton's pledges are completion of key elements of an integrated Air Canada-Canadian information technology systems by October, hiring more than 2,000 employees by yearend, mainly in customer service functions. Air Canada also will:
U.S. Major Carriers Pacific Share of Service First Quarter 2000 Total Revenue Departures American 905 Continental 362 Delta 704 Northwest 5,569 United 4,660 Total 12,200 Average Number of
European regional BASE Airlines had the highest increase in passengers carried in the first three months of 2000 among members of the European Regions Airline Association, with 105% growth. BASE carried 15,054 passengers. Air Nostrum posted the second highest increase, 53.1% or 586,410 passengers, but Lufthansa CityLine, which grew 16.8%, flew the most passengers overall, 1.63 million. ERA includes 28 European regionals.
Reunion Island based Air Austral has taken delivery of one ATR 72-500 turboprop. The aircraft will be based in Pierrefonds and primarily operate to Madagascar and Mauritius.
Air Canada CEO Robert Milton's comments this week accusing some pilots of acting irresponsibly during the recent crew shortage that caused more than 50 flight cancellations over the weekend has raised pilot hackles as the Air Canada Pilots Association and the company prepare to go into federally mediated talks Aug. 7. Milton yesterday declined to address the issue, noting during a media conference on the company's 180-Day Commitment/Progress Report.
US Airways plans to restart MetroJet service from Hartford to Tampa, beginning Sept. 4. The daily flight will be direct with one stop at Baltimore/Washington Airport. The carrier discontinued MetroJet service on the route in December 1999 due to a lack of Boeing 737 aircraft at the time (DAILY, Dec. 9, 1999). US Airways offers mainline, one-stop flights on the route, competing with Southwest which also flies one-stop service between Hartford and Tampa.
Boeing has acquired Continental Graphics Corp., a leading provider of customized and specialized technical information to the aviation industry, for an undisclosed amount. Continental Graphics produces illustrated parts catalogs, provisioning/procurement data, customized fleet and owner/operator catalogs, and component maintenance manuals.
DOT granted an additional waiver, through Dec. 1, for action on Northwest's complaint against the European Union's proposed hushkit regulations. The carrier agreed to extend the deadline on its complaint, filed in January 1999, in support of the U.S. Article 84 complaint filed at ICAO on March 14 to "permit the United States to concentrate" on those proceedings, DOT noted. (Docket OST-99-5011)
Trade representatives of Brazil and Canada will meet again on Aug. 30-31 in Sao Paulo to seek a negotiated solution to their dispute over export subsidies for Embraer and Bombardier regional jets. The meeting follows the report of an arbitration board of the World Trade Organization (WTO), set up at the request of the Canadian government, to determine which sanctions, if any, it can impose on Brazil for honoring subsidy payments on some 900 aircraft before delivery under its Export Support Program (Proex).
Colombia's Aces is implementing a contingency plan to maximize heavy traffic routes and eliminate less profitable links during the country's current security and economic crisis. Additional emphasis will be put on trunk routes between Bogota and Medellin, Cali, Cartagena and Quito. New aircraft will be purchased to increase frequencies between Bogota and Manizales, Armenia, Pereira and Bucaramanga. On the other hand, less profitable routes have been suspended as of Aug. 8 between Medellin and Chigorodo, Turbo, Capurgana, El Bagre, Nuqui and Urrao.
Air Line Pilots Association continues to recommend that its members decline simultaneous intersecting runway operations (SIRO)/land and hold short clearances (LAHSO) in Canada until further notice, US Airways ALPA spokesman Roy Freundlich said. In a recorded message to pilots, Freundlich said the Canadian government remains behind the U.S. in enacting effective safety regulations concerning SIRO/LAHSO.
U.S. Major Carriers Atlantic Share of Service First Quarter 2000 Total Revenue Departures American 5,846 Continental 4,117 Delta 6,222 Northwest 2,193 TWA 1,212 United 4,835 US Airways 1,834 Total 26,259
Investigators of the Air France Concorde crash have confirmed that they have found parts of the aircraft's water deflector on the runway. The metal piece is installed on the landing gear to reduce spray when the Concorde is moving on wet surfaces. However, the deflector played a role in an incident in 1993. At the time, the tires of a British Airways Concorde burst on landing and destroyed the deflector, which in turn penetrated the fuel tank. BA consequently modified the deflector. Air France declined comment on whether it did the modification work as well.
