U.S. Carriers Maintenance Expense First Quarter 2000 Cost Per ASM Maintenance % Expenses 1Q00 1Q99 Change MAJOR CARRIERS Alaska $ 44,829,000 1.06 0.91 16.8% America West 81,828,443 1.26 1.03 22.7% American 533,154,000 1.33 1.33 0.3%
NTSB said yesterday the probable cause of a FedEx MD-11 crash was the "captain's over-control of the airplane during the landing and his failure to execute a go-around from a destabilized flare."
Air Canada Pilots Association said it has been unable to come to a joint recommendation for a mediator in its ongoing contract dispute with the company. The pilots and management last week accepted an offer by Labor Minister Claudette Bradshaw to appoint a special mediator to help resolve the negotiation impasse. Bradshaw is expected to appoint a mediator.
DOT tentatively selected Delta, Northwest and United to serve Istanbul under third-country code share, allocating seven weekly frequencies to each carrier. It awarded the full complement of 21 frequencies available now to a total of three U.S. carriers for such services. American was the only carrier seeking third-country code share rights -- with Swissair -- not to receive an award in the proceeding. American separately filed to code share with Turkish Airlines (THY).
Pratt&Whitney launched a demonstration program to bring a geared turbofan engine to the regional and business jet market that claims to offer improved economics while setting lower noise and emissions standards. A 12,000-pounds-thrust ATFI demonstrator will run in the first quarter of 2001, with first flight on a flying test bed later in the year.
Brazilian regional jet manufacturer Embraer launched the ERJ-145XR yesterday with a major order from Continental Express at the Farnborough Air Show. Continental converted 64 options and 11 firm orders for current ERJ-145 versions into XR commitments and placed 100 additional options for the new 50-seater. The ERJ-145XR is an increased-range variant of the original, which also was kicked off by a launch order from Continental Express, in 1996.
Milwaukee General Mitchell Airport wants to add six gates in a $17 million expansion to the C concourse expected to be completed in 2004. The proposal, under review by airlines and the county board, is in addition to an in-progress $67 million parking structure addition.
Air France Cargo, in collaboration with the Traxon logistics firm, allows customers to track cargo shipments with a mobile phone. Using a Wireless Application Protocol on any mobile phone, customers log onto the Traxon Internet site and enter the waybill code number to locate a shipment. Air France joined Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines and Lufthansa in April 1990 to build the Traxon global logistics system.
Paul Emens, chairman of Pilots Against Age Discrimination (PAAD), will ask the Senate Commerce Committee today to lift the rule forcing pilots to retire at age 60, arguing that too many experienced pilots are being forced from the cockpit against their will to make room for less experienced pilots who are anxious for promotion.
Thirteen airlines with no common link are setting up an Internet-based exchange for airline products in a reaction to similar moves by aerospace manufacturers. Lufthansa, a driving force behind the project, said Aeroxchange will offer the widest range of spare parts, services and airline articles on the web. Aeroxchange initially will include Lufthansa, All Nippon Airways, FedEx, Northwest, America West, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, SAS and Singapore Airlines.
GetThere Inc. agreed to acquire Las Vegas-based AllMeetings Corp. last week for approximately $25 million in cash and stock. Following the deal, GetThere plans to deliver the first "integrated" online corporate travel and meeting management system. GetThere will expand its system for meeting planners, who spend more than $120 billion a year on events and meetings. "This also provides a new revenue opportunity for GetThere by creating a convenient alternative to handle meeting transactions online," said CEO Gadi Maier.
Frontier will advance the delivery of its first owned Airbus A319 to next May from September 2002. The carrier had planned to take delivery of its first Airbus aircraft, which will be leased, next June. Frontier also exercised its calendar Q4 2003 option A319 aircraft into a firm order. It also was granted an additional A319 option for delivery in early 2005.
Gulfstream Aerospace is seeking a supplemental type certificate for a new electronic device that brings true "paperless" cockpits one step closer to reality. Northstar Technologies CT-1000 flight deck organizer system combines an approach plate database with a bright moving map display, replacing bulky approach plate binders with just two CD ROMs.
DOT last week invited more comments on its Computer Reservation Systems rules. The department issued a supplemental advance notice to update earlier comments and address industry developments since they were filed, and to comment on whether DOT should adopt rules on the use of the Internet for airline distribution.
Boeing today received an order for 40 aircraft from ILFC and a letter of intent (LOI) from GECAS for 149 aircraft. The ILFC order is for 25 777-200ERs, eight 777 longer-range derivatives and seven 737-700/800s. Delivery for the 777s is slated for 2002-2009, while the 737s will be delivered in 2003-2005. ILFC to date has committed orders for 211 of the aircraft, the mainstay of its fleet. As for the 777s, ILFC has committed to a total of 67 aircraft.
Galileo International signed a three-year extension to its existing distribution contract with Lusitania Travel Agency of France. The relationship with Lusitania was established in early 1998 and this extension will result in the Galileo computer reservation system and products being used throughout Lusitania's network until March 2003.
Express I Airlines reported 25.4% more traffic and capacity in June, compared with the same month last year, keeping load factor stable at 65.2%. Revenue passenger miles reached 35.8 million and available seat miles 55 million.
Boeing is not rushing to get the 747X into production to compete with the giant Airbus A3XX. "Ours is a derivative and will not take so long to develop. We can wait until next year and still meet Airbus's entry into service date of 2005," Seddik Belyamani, executive VP-sales and marketing at Boeing Commercial Airplanes Group, told Show News. "That gives airlines time to study the proposals-and whether they even want them. Many have said they are interested, but so far, none are buying," he said.
American and its Allied Pilots Association reached a tentative contract agreement over the weekend to extend the pilot pact for a year, give more than 3% in raises and wipe out APA's $45.5 million fine from last year's 10-day sick-out. The deal also paves the way for major expansion at American Eagle, lifting restrictions on the number of regional jets the airline can fly but not the seat capacity, and removes certain restrictions on markets served, so that Eagle can compete more aggressively.
Regional jet manufacturers Embraer, Bombardier and the newly set up Alliance Aircraft Corp. have announced massive new deals at the Farnborough Air Show that could be worth up to $14 billion with options. Bombardier formally launched the CRJ900, a stretched derivative of the CRJ200 and CRJ700, which are based on the Challenger business jet. The Canadian company firmed up the huge contract with Delta Connection announced in March.
Southwest's board declared a quarterly dividend of $.0055 per share to shareholders of record at the close of business Sept. 6. The dividend, to be paid Sept. 27, will be the 96th consecutive payout for Southwest.
FAA issued an emergency order requiring detailed inspections for cracking of the main deck cargo door frames on Boeing 737-200/300 aircraft. Cracking of the lower door frames "could result in sudden depressurization loss or opening of the main deck cargo door during flight, and loss of control of the airplane." FAA's order was prompted by a report indicating that three aircraft had "multiple cracks." The "exact cause of the cracking is unknown at this time," FAA said. The order also requires that operators report the result of their inspections.
Ryanair plans to introduce a fourth daily flight between Shannon and London Stansted for the peak period travel period Aug. 4-24. Since the route was launched two years ago, the airline said it has enjoyed "phenomenal success" and decided to begin the new daily service with Boeing 737-800 equipment for the three-week peak period.
SITA received a $75 million, seven-year contract from Amadeus to manage AMANET, which provides the computer reservations system's customers with access to all its mainframe applications, based in Erding, Germany. Full network integration is expected by the end of 2001.
United, which experienced a "significant change" in operations over five days last week, is asking mechanics to return to efficient fleet maintenance as contract negotiations continue. In a message to mechanics, Ron Utrecht, senior VP-maintenance operations and chief negotiator, said United has three choices in dealing with maintenance cancellations and delays.
