Rockwell Collins and BFGoodrich Aerospace formed an alliance to provide airlines a "broad range of equipment, parts and maintenance services including single-stop solutions for avionics, instrumentation and other aircraft components, the companies said yesterday. The alliance will draw on Rockwell's expertise in avionics and inflight entertainment systems, avionics integration and a global service network including maintenance, repair and overhaul of avionics equipment.
Commercial jet emissions accounted for about 3% of greenhouse gases and are a "potentially significant" factor in global warming, the General Accounting Office said in a report this week. GAO said jet emissions are deposited directly into the upper atmosphere and some of these emissions have a greater warming effect than gases given off closer to the surface, such as automobile exhaust. The primary gas emitted by aircraft engines is carbon dioxide, which can survive in the atmosphere up to 100 years.
Boeing and Aviation Partners Inc. (API) of Seattle next month will begin flying a 747-200 freighter with 14 1/2-foot tall winglets. The 747 winglets are expected to provide as much as 7% fuel savings, which officials say equates to "saving a million gallons of fuel per year" for a typical 747, or extending range by 50 minutes per flight. Boeing earlier announced it will start offering the 737-800 with winglets early 2001 (DAILY, Feb. 22). The company is beginning flight certification tests of winglets for the Boeing Business Jet as part of a joint venture with API.
British Airways yesterday said a #100 million (US$161 million) investment it will make in e-commerce over the next two years will reduce its costs and yield new consumer travel ventures. Currently, fewer than 2% of BA's tickets are sold online, but the carrier has set an ambitious goal of 50% of sales online by yearend 2003. To get there, BA will invest in three major initiatives under a new "eVentures" group. It will include an online travel agency for one-stop shopping to book flights, hotels, and car rentals.
TWA's first Boeing 717 will enter revenue service March 2 and will fly for the bulk of the month between St. Louis and Dallas/Fort Worth and Minneapolis/St. Paul. TWA will take delivery of 15 717s this year and despite the Boeing engineers' strike, the airline does not expect delivery delays.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic July 1999 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 1,297 8.40 853 1,106,210 5.89
Italian regional Gandalf Airlines has taken delivery of two Fairchild 328JETs for its Milan-Paris route, and has another two on order, Fairchild announced in Singapore. Fairchild delivered its first U.S.-based corporate 328JET with quick-change interior to Johnson Controls Inc. Fairchild also is preparing to certify the 328JET for operations up to 35,000 feet. Atlantic Coast Jet, which will fly with Delta's code, will take delivery of an increased payload aircraft in April, Fairchild said.
British Midland yesterday placed a firm order with Airbus for four A330-200s and placed options on another eight, with a total value of$1.9 billion. The first two aircraft are to be delivered in April and May 2001.
Legend Airlines has pushed its end-of-February startup date to early March, so that FAA can complete certification of the airline's DC-9 galley and inflight television. Legend asked for the delay to install the custom-built equipment. "My guess is it won't delay us by more than a few days," Legend President and Chief Executive Allan McArtor told The DAILY yesterday. He said the new galley formed the core problem because the airline underestimated the time it would get to obtain certification.
Startup Guyana Airways 2000, operating since July 1999 from Georgetown, Guyana, to New York and Toronto, has begun cost-saving measures. These include trading its current Airbus A300 for a smaller Boeing 757 and terminating 19 employees.
US Airways yesterday said it will "shut down the airline" after the current 30-day cooling-off period if it cannot reach an agreement with its flight attendants union. The brazen threat came after the National Mediation Board yesterday released both sides into the 30-day period, which typically happens after months or years of negotiation and mediation fail. The flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, have worked under a contract that expired Dec. 31, 1996. NMB said the cooling-off period ends at 12:01 a.m.
American is asking DOT to renew its exemption authority granted in August 1995 to continue service between Los Angeles and Guadalajara. (Docket OST-95-244-19)
AviationX Inc., discussing its new e-commerce foray at the Asian Aerospace 2000 in Singapore, says it has signed beta test agreements with Express Airlines I and Chautauqua Airlines. Both carriers have been instrumental in providing feedback on the initial network design. Both will begin using the aviationX.com e-marketplace and certain technical resources when they are launched in the second quarter. AviationX will add additional technical resources to the network during the third quarter.
Boeing has prioritized its support activities during the engineers' strike into five categories: First is operational safety, followed by Defense Department priorities, aircraft-on-ground support, airplane delivery support and all other support.
FAA certified the UPS Aviation Technologies MX20 multi-function display, which the company described as a "revolutionary cockpit instrument that advises pilots if their aircraft strays too close to terrain, while providing a clear picture of the aircraft's route of flight in relation to the ground, weather and other traffic." UPS said the technology and visual resolution "set a new benchmark for situational awareness by fundamentally strengthening the pilot's ability to command and control the flight environment."
The 737-800 will be available with fuel-saving winglets, beginning early next year, John Hayhurst, VP and general manager of 737 programs for Boeing, said Friday. The first 737-800 with winglets is expected to be delivered in spring 2001 and all subsequent 737-800s will come with structurally enhanced wings that will permit the winglets to be ordered as an option or will allow them to be retrofitted, Hayhurst said. Aircraft with the winglets will be able to fly farther, burn 3% to 5% less fuel or carry up to 6,000 pounds more payload, he said.
Cirrus Airlines, Saarbrucken, Germany, will become a member of Lufthansa's regional franchise, Team Lufthansa. Cirrus, which recently bought Mannheim-based Cosmos Air, operates three Dash 8-100s, one Dornier 328 and one Dash 8-300, all of which it will dedicate to Lufthansa. It will take delivery of its first ERJ-145 soon and has three more ERJs on option.
The National Mediation Board declared contract negotiations between US Airways and its Association Flight Attendants (AFA) unit at an impasse Friday, setting the stage of a 30-day cooling-off period. The NMB has requested that the parties agree to submit all remaining open issues to binding arbitration and if either side declines arbitration, the cooling-off period will begin. The contract talks have continued over three years, and AFA reports that 16 of 32 sections remain open, including compensation, sick leave and scheduling.
A Lufthansa Boeing 737-500 made an emergency landing at Istanbul's international airport Friday morning. One of the three hydraulic systems of the aircraft failed after parts of a main gear tire that was destroyed on takeoff hit a hydraulic cable. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Larnaca/Cyprus to Frankfurt. None of the 90 passengers and crew was hurt.
China Southern, for the second year, has two leased two Boeing 777s to Biman Bangladesh Airlines to carry Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. During the seven-week pilgrimage period, China Southern will provide 96 pilots and cabin attendants to transport about 20,000 religious travelers on their annual visit to Mecca.
Full-year 1999 profits at SAS dropped 35% due to significant overcapacity throughout its network, intense fare competition and weak local economies. The airline earned 1.85 billion Swedish kronor (US$213 million), down from 2.86 billion kronor in 1998, but officials expect operating income to improve this year, as economies in key markets improve.
Brazilian carrier TAM took delivery of its first two Airbus A320s last week. The carrier has a firm order for 32, all powered by IAE V2500 engines. The aircraft, configured for 12 seats in business class and 138 in the main cabin, will be flown on domestic routes.
