Aviation Facilities Co. promoted John McKay to VP-facilities; David Percy to VP; Ahed Shakhsheer to VP-design and construction and Daniel Ungerleider to VP and treasurer.
British Airways had reason to be optimistic at its investors' briefing last month as it reported stronger traffic in February, especially in the business- and first-class cabins. Mainline traffic rose 3.4% on 4.0% higher capacity, but premium traffic jumped 11.7%. "While overcapacity continues in some markets, premium traffic continues to recover strongly, and the beneficial effect on yield of a higher mix of premium passengers seen in the December quarter continues," the airline said. Passenger load factor was down 0.3 percentage points in February to 64.5%.
Shanghai Airlines has committed to lease four Boeing 737-800s from International Lease Finance Corp. for delivery between September 2001 and September 2002 on 10-year leases.
Rep. James Traficant Jr. (D-Ohio), probably the most outspoken member of the House aviation subcommittee and also the House when it comes to government abuse, faces two Democratic opponents in tomorrow's Ohio primary. While both are credible challengers, they may split the anti-Traficant vote. He is believed to be involved in a Justice Department organized crime investigation.
Spanair will increase its nonstop service between Washington Dulles and its Madrid Barajas hub from five flights a week to daily service and will add Paris to its route network, beginning March 26. "Spanair decided to add seats on its Washington-Madrid route in anticipation of a strong summer season based on our bookings-to-date, our new United code-share opportunities and last summer's exceptional traffic," said Hans Bucheli, Spanair's U.S. sales director.
Transport Workers Union on Friday lost its bid to organize Delta's 10,777 ramp workers. The National Mediation Board said 1,790 workers cast votes for TWU representation and 78 voted in favor.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey conceded at a House aviation subcommittee hearing last week that the agency received "less than we wanted" for its Operational and Supportability Implementation System (OASIS). The White House cut FAA's request for OASIS by 36%. Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association sources say FAA wanted $35.7 million in the fiscal 2001 budget, but the amount was cut to $23.7 million and on appeal was raised to $25 million.
House and Senate negotiators wrapped up the $40 billion, three-year FAA reauthorization package, but an 11th-hour element of uncertainty was created Friday afternoon when Senate Appropriations Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) raised objections to a House point of order, which threatened to delay plans to take up the conference report in the House and Senate this week. One congressional source said there were insufficient Senate Republican signers of the compromise measure. The plan was to take up the compromise package in the Senate first.
Simat, Helliesen&Eichner (SH&E) is working with the investment banking arm of ABN AMRO and local affiliates to privatize Tarom, the Romanian national airline. Together with the ministry of transport and the civil aviation authority of Romania, the privatization advisory team launched the initial phase of 13-week discussions to provide privatization strategy recommendations. The second phase is a "fast-track privatization" approach expected to lead to the sale of a stake in the airline before yearend.
US Airways and its flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, are headed into supermediation March 17, sources close to the talks told The Daily. Supermediation is intense negotiations aimed at avoiding job action. National Mediation Board Chairman Ernest duBester has been in contact with the union and management, an NMB spokesman said.
Midway Airlines and American Express signed a partnership to offer frequent flyer miles through Midway's Membership Rewards program. Card members earn one point for every dollar charged on eligible, enrolled American Express cards.
Signature Flight Support named Thomas Wyman avionics manager for its Midway Regional Maintenance Center; Robert Gallop avionics manager for the Las Vegas center, and Paul Wallace technical services director for the Birmingham center.
U.S. Regional Analysis West North Central Region Carrier Ranking Passenger Flows Airport Activity and Trends Top 15 Carriers Serving West North Central Region Ranked By O&D Passengers WNC % of WNC Region O&D Region Passengers Per
The Association of Flight Attendants is criticizing the FAA budget under review by the House Transportation Subcommittee because it does not include money for mandatory programs for flight attendant safety.
Argentina's LAPA, despite an image crisis after one of its Boeing 737-200s had a fatal crash last summer, is renewing its fleet with 12 737-700s. Two will be delivered this year and 10, including two on lease, in 2001. The deliveries will enable LAPA to retire its last 737-200 by 2002. It also plans to acquire a second 767-300ER and is studying the 737-900. LAPA plans to strengthen its position in the domestic market, where it has been a power for several years, and also expand internationally, including to the U.S.
Civilian pilots make up 56% of those hired by airlines, a study by Atlanta-based AIR Inc. revealed. AIR Inc. President Kit Darby said the January '99-December '99 Pilot Interview Statistics, compiled from interviews with nearly 2,000 pilots, divided military and civilian background pilots to determine the qualifications a competitive candidate from each background possesses. The study showed that a younger pilot or a pilot starting a new career later in life may not need to have the average flight times or ratings to be competitive, Darby said.
Malaysia Airlines recorded a pre-tax profit of US$16 million for the nine months ended Dec. 31 versus a massive US$184.9 million loss in the year earlier period. Revenue was US$1.3 billion, while aircraft sales contributed US$18.9 million. Cargo operations registered a pre-tax loss of US$36 million after revenue of US$194.9 million. Company expenses increased 3% to US$1.6 billion for the nine-month period. MAS attributed the increase and the bulk of the expenditure to the escalating price of fuel.
The U.S. government is being pressed by industry groups immediately to file a compliant with ICAO on the European Union's hushkit rule, which goes into effect May 4. The groups say they reviewed a possible solution to the rule now under review by the U.S. and the EU and "fundamentally, we see no evidence in these materials of any meaningful movement in the EU's position" (DAILY, March 1). "Time is of the essence in completing this filing if we are to secure a meaningful review by ICAO this year.
TWA yesterday began service with the first of 15 Boeing 717s it is scheduled to take delivery of this year. The first revenue flight was between St. Louis and Dallas/Fort Worth. Its contract calls for 50 firm orders with options for another 50 of the BMW Rolls-Royce B715-powered aircraft. TWA will replace its DC-9 fleet with the new aircraft, configured for 111 passengers, 16 of them in first class. TWA last year took delivery of more than one new airplane every 10 days, and it replaced more than 40% of its fleet between 1996 and 1999.
David Cush will return to American this month as VP-international planning and alliances, after serving as chief operating officer of Aerolineas Argentinas since November 1998. Cush will be responsible for managing American's international airline alliances and for strengthening the airline's global route network through those partnerships.
TWA, despite its financial difficulties, is "further along in the DC-9 replacement process than Northwest," notes George Hamlin, VP of Global Aviation Associates. TWA's first Boeing 717 entered service yesterday, replacing an older fuel-guzzling DC-9. Northwest has 116 DC-9s older than 30 years, according to BACK Associates.
