Despite evidence that Egyptian civil aviation officials believe indicates plausible crash alternatives, the National Transportation Safety Board has not moved off its original theory that the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 was a deliberate act. Sources close to the Egyptian side say the board has not fully exhausted all possible mechanical anomalies, including a potential elevator problem that could lead to a sudden dive if two actuators fail in the same elevator.
Development problems experienced by the Wide Area Augmentation System, primarily related to integrity requirements, "will raise costs, making it unclear whether quantified benefits still exceed the cost of the new system," the General Accounting Office told the Senate Appropriations Committee transportation subcommittee. "We estimate that the agency may need three or more years, at an additional cost of $200 million to $240 million to demonstrate that the [integrity] requirement can be met," the GAO reported.
U.S.-U.K. talks held in London over three days concluded yesterday morning, with negotiators affirming their intention to meet again July 5-7 in Washington. The two sides made clear their positions on a number of points, covering a "wide range of issues, including ideas for phasing in liberalization," according to a U.S. official.
IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot told the Global Navcom Symposium last week in Vancouver that "our industry must stop going forward at the pace of the slowest or it will first grind to a halt and then regress." Jeanniot was referring to the slow pace of progress in implementing a worldwide system of satellite-based air navigation. "Our industry has been incapable of developing a coherent business plan on how to go ahead with system.
Air Canada's pilots union contends a strike at the mainline would affect only about 30% of the company's operations, not 80% as has been widely reported, because the pilots unions at Air Canada and Canadian have not yet merged. Nonetheless, the Air Canada Pilots Association wants the federal government to step in and insist that management return to negotiations, so the two sides can reach a contract agreement. Pilots could be headed for the second strike in two years if they fail to reach a deal with the company by the end of the month.
Nearly 13,000 aircraft will be needed to meet the demand for 20- to 120-seat commercial aircraft by 2020, according to a recent study by BACK Aviation Solutions in cooperation with The DAILY. The study predicts that the 100-seat market will have the largest growth as carriers replace older aircraft and trends continue toward liberalization of routes and loosening scope clauses. When factored by available seat miles, 100-seat aircraft currently account for one-fifth of scheduled capacity.
After agreeing to an Airbus recommendation that a heavy maintenance check be carried out on a damaged Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330, the airline has failed start work, which led insurers to battle the carrier.
DOT granted Continental rights to serve Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta and San Jose del Cabo from New York/Newark. The dormancy period begins Dec. 1. The carrier plans weekly nonstops -- the first on the routes -- on Saturdays in each market beginning Dec. 16. (Docket OST-00-7448)
Brazil's Embraer is studying the construction of a new plant somewhere in Brazil because its present facilities near Sao Paulo, originally built in 1960, have reached capacity. New and larger facilities are needed to handle the growing number of orders for its latest generation of jets. Last week there also was talk of Embraer building a plant in Asia after substantial orders were placed by China. In another development, Embraer formed a partnership with the Swiss group Liebherr that led to the creation of a new company, Embraer-Liebherr Equipamentos do Brasil.
FAA's poor safety rating assigned to El Salvador is one of the first for an open skies partner and means that while U.S. carriers will have unlimited access to that nation, Grupo TACA's operations from its San Salvador hub to the U.S. will be limited to current levels and will be under heightened FAA surveillance. FAA Category 2 rating is assigned when a country does not provide ICAO standards of safety oversight.
DOT granted Delta exemptions to serve Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, as well as Leon and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, from Atlanta. Delta intends to operate daily nonstops on each route (DAILY, May 23). For service to the Mexican points, required 90-day dormancy conditions begin on the dates Delta said it would first fly -- Oct. 1 to Leon and Nov. 1 for San Jose del Cabo. The carrier plans to start to Turks and Caicos Dec. 1. (Dockets OST-00-7389, 7390)
DOT has renewed authority for Honduras National Airlines to operate routes between San Pedro Sula and Tegucigalpa to Miami, New Orleans and Houston. Authority was suspended due to unfavorable economic conditions stemming from floods and landslides caused by a hurricane two years ago. National plans to start scheduled services in December under a wet-lease arrangement.
Delta is expected to fly to Santiago, Chile, in November under the open skies agreement with the U.S. Delta will fly nonstop Atlanta-Santiago. In the first four months of 2000, LanChile had 40.9% market share between the two countries; American 30.2%; United, 13.8% and Continental, 11.4%. Between January and April the four U.S. airlines carried 264,000 passengers to and from Chile.
United and Abercrombie&Kent signed an agreement that will make the upscale tour operator the newest partner in United's Mileage Plus frequent flyer program. Customers who book vacation via A&K can earn 5,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles through the rest of 2000.
House aviation subcommittee chairman Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) has received assurances from the Egyptian ambassador to the U.S. that Egypt will reimburse the U.S. $10.606 million for its share of the search and recovery mission in connection with the crash of Egyptair 990, a Duncan aide said yesterday. The ambassador's letter said the balance "will be paid expeditiously." The aide said Duncan would seek to clarify how soon the remainder would be received, which would go to NTSB for costs already incurred in the recent Egyptair and Alaska Air investigations.
Venezuela's Avensa has been suspended from the IATA Clearing House due to an unpaid debt of $3 million. The IATA issue also has nearly terminated the ongoing negotiations for an eventual merger with Aserca.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey warned this week that if Congress fails to approve a $77 million "urgent supplemental" this year, the number of flight delays could increase while the number of safety inspections drop and maintenance of flight-critical equipment is postponed. Garvey said FAA's operations account was cut about $250 million below the administration's request. "Let me tell you what it means if we cannot get that money this year. We will not be able to hire 170 more safety inspectors and medical certification staff.
The Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee yesterday made clear it would closely monitor the proposed United-US Airways merger to protect competition, consumers and their constituencies. Sen. Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), subcommittee chairman, and ranking member Sen.
Singapore Airlines posted a 17.2% increase in April passenger traffic on 8.2% more capacity, which raised load factor 5.8 percentage points to 76.3%. SIA carried 1.2 million passengers, up 18.5%. The airline's departures and arrivals were 85.2% and 79.8% on time, respectively.
British Airways' German subsidiary Deutsche BA is meeting today and is expected to make a decision about the carrier's future fleet. The airline currently operates 18 Boeing 737-300s, all of which are leased. Deutsche BA is considering the next-generation Boeing 737 and the Airbus A320 family. The airline could convert some of the options that British Airways has placed in its massive short-haul fleet order with Airbus.
American CEO Don Carty stated the airline industry "seems poised for some kind of structural change" at the Merrill Lynch transportation conference this week in New York. Delta CEO Leo Mullin concurred, adding that airline consolidation would not only promote efficiency but would help reduce excess capacity.
Merrill Lynch Analyst Michael Linenberg predicts consolidation of the Canadian airline industry will lead to higher returns as the new Air Canada controls 80% market share, and stocks likely will command a premium multiple compared to U.S. carriers once integration is completed. The combination of Air Canada and Canadian at Toronto Pearson creates a hub that could rival some of the largest U.S. hubs, and enable Air Canada to use the combined traffic base of both carriers to support long-haul thin markets such as Toronto-Munich and year-round service to Milan, he said.
British Airways is planning to consolidate some of its leisure units into a more unified division, in order to further integrate products and reduce costs. Reporting to Tiffany Hall, head of U.K. and Ireland sales, the new division will be led by current General Manager Leisure Sales Robin Hayes and will include leisure sales and BA Holidays. Hayes will be responsible for BA leisure products sold through all distribution channels. The leisure businesses currently are profitable. The new organization takes effect July 3.
Galileo International received a letter of intent from the Arab Air Carriers Organization (AACO) yesterday confirming that Palestinian Airlines has chosen Galileo as its preferred system provider for the territories of the West Bank and Gaza. Galileo recently announced that AACO had agreed to renew its distribution contract with Galileo on behalf of eight carriers in the region including Emirates, Saudi Arabian Airlines, Kuwait Airways, Egyptair, Royal Jordanian, Syrian Arab Airlines, Yemenia and Middle East Airlines.
