Air fares for leisure travel in July dropped 6% from June this year, but still remain nearly 10% higher than last July, according to a study by the American Automobile Association. AAA's Leisure Travel Index reported the average fare in July was $267.69 versus $243.93 in July 1999.
Philadelphia Airport officials are trying to make sure those attending the Republican National Convention this week get a first good impression of the City of Brotherly Love. The airport hired trainers from consulting group Learning Frontiers two months ago to teach airport employees to "help turn an inbound or outbound travel experience into a friendly one, particularly during the expected heavy traffic days" of the convention.
Three days into the investigation of the crash of Concorde Flight AF 4590, French Bureau Enquetes Accidents (BEA) has released more information that could lead to what brought the supersonic jet down. BEA, which is responsible for aircraft accident investigations in France, said Friday that one -- possibly two -- of the four tires of Concorde's left main landing gear burst during the takeoff roll. BEA officials have found pieces of tires on the runway at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
British Airways' CitiFlyer Express last week placed a firm order for six new Avro RJ100s valued at $180 million, with options for six additional RJX-100 regional jets. The RJX options represent the second commitment for the new aircraft; launch customer Druk Air in Nepal ordered two of the four-engined jets earlier this year. The six firm RJ100s will be delivered between November 2000 and April 2001, increasing CitiFlyer's RJ100 fleet to 16 aircraft. The aircraft will be used to replace its ATR-42 and ATR-72 turboprops.
Canada 3000 has acquired an additional Airbus A319, bringing to five the number of A319s in its fleet. The aircraft will be used to increase frequency south of the border.
FAA proposed 10 rules to make the MD-11 safer, continuing a trend to eliminate electrical hazards in the widebody trijets that came to light shortly after the crash of a Swissair MD-11 in September 1998. One of the proposals mandates detailed visual inspections of electrical wiring installation in various parts of the plane, including the cabin, cockpit, cargo compartments, forward drop ceiling, center accessory compartment; and the main avionics compartment. Damage such as cracked or loose wires and straps should be corrected, FAA says.
Rolls-Royce announced more than $1.6 billion in business last week at the Farnborough Air Show, forecasting a potential value of $200 billion for high-thrust Trent engines during the next 20 years. Nearly $1.3 billion comes from AE 3007 engine business, including applications on two new versions of ERJ 135/145 aircraft. The company launched a trial of its web-based maintenance portal, aeromanager, which includes Enginedatacenter.com, for which Condor is the first customer.
The current stock valuation for the newly incorporated European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company is lower than it deserves to be, the company's top executives said at Farnborough Air Show last week. EADS started trading on the Paris, Munich, Madrid, and Paris stock exchanges on July 10 and is currently valued at roughly $16 per share. "We had hoped for a higher initial value for our stock," said Philippe Camus, co-CEO for EADS.
Chinese carriers, which have long sought release from the stranglehold of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, especially in their day-to-day operations and purchase of new aircraft, soon will enjoy new independence. The proposed changes have been submitted to the State Council, the Chinese government's supreme body for drafting and making policies. According to one CAAC official, barring any last-minute change of mind, the airlines' request will be handled in the New Year, seen as the earliest time for implementing the changes.
AirCell, which provides inflight and ground wireless communications, has teamed with Jeppesen on an alliance to bring weather information to the cockpit of general aviation aircraft. Data transmitted from AirCell's airborne cellular system is being paired with Jeppesen's FlightMap moving map navigation software. The combination means the latest high-resolution weather graphics can be made available in flight to airplanes where traditional onboard weather radar is either too expensive or impractical.
Federal Express told DOT that it will relinquish voluntarily four of its allocation of 10 U.S.-Brazil all-cargo frequencies. Currently, 24 cargo frequencies are available in the market for U.S. carriers. The four frequencies are part of five of FedEx's frequencies included in a dormancy exemption request by the carrier.
Jet fuel prices for New York were $0.81 per gallon a week ago, down 4% week-over-week and up 51% year-over-year, reports DB Alex. Brown. "All fuel surcharges have been rolled back in the markets that we follow," says analyst Susan Donofrio.
Only 10 of Australia's 36 regionals carried the lion's share of passengers last year, according to the Regional Airline Association of Australia. Of the 4.35 million passengers transported from June 1998 to June 1999, 10 regionals flew 3.9 million, leaving the 26 other airlines to compete for just 450,000. Kendell is the largest regional, carrying 395,827 passengers, while the Qantas group -- Eastern, Southern and Sunstate -- tallied about 1.5 million. Ansett regionals Aeropelican, Kendell and Skywest totaled around 1.8 million passengers.
US Airways Friday reiterated that the Justice Department, with the advice of DOT, is analyzing its proposed merger with United and that it is "confident the merger will bring overwhelming consumer benefits and great opportunities for the communities we serve." The statement came following a hearing by the Senate Commerce Committee last Thursday in which Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Aviation Subcommittee Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) introduced a resolution expressing concern about the United-US Airways merger proposal.
Travelocity.com and American Trans Air on Friday announced an enhanced marketing relationship. In addition to schedule and fare information, Travelocity.com will feature American Trans Air throughout the site including a regular rotation on its homepage, "Deals and News," "Real Deals," its weekly newsletter and in e-mail marketing campaigns. Travelocity.com will also provide promotional exposure for most of American Trans Air's route system.
ATR signed a contract last week with DHL Aviation Africa for two freighter versions of the ATR 42-300s, the first time the aircraft will be dedicated to cargo. Deliveries of the aircraft will start in September. DHL Aviation Africa has established an overnight delivery network in 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The freighter ATRs ordered at the Farnborough Air Show will enter service in the West African Network and will be operated by South African-based Rossair.
America West's changes to its maintenance program announced last week are voluntary but come as the FAA continues to review safety and maintenance operations at major airlines. FAA is currently auditing America West, Continental and United in what an FAA spokeswoman said was "not so much a tire-kicking exercise as a look at their quality assurance management systems." America West last week reduced flights to make aircraft available for maintenance and restructured its existing line maintenance operation.
Northwest officials say Travelocity.com's web site has biased its display in favor of British Airways, based on schedule displays retrieved from the site last week. In a letter to Sabre Senior VP-Sales and Marketing Scott Alvis, Northwest VP-Distribution Planning Al Lenza says he logged onto Travelocity and requested flight information in the Seattle-London Gatwick and Los Angeles-Gatwick markets. "In each instance, a British Airways flight was listed on the first line when the available flights came up, indicating that BA 'offers nonstop service,'" Lenza wrote.
The world's commercial aircraft makers, spurred by sales of everything from the proposed Airbus A3XX to regional jets, logged more than $40 billion in orders during the Farnborough Air Show this year. Airbus and Boeing led the pack with more than 210 and more than 130 orders, respectively. Airbus's totals included 23 launch orders for the A3XX, and Boeing padded its 777 backlog, picking up 66 new orders.
