London, Ontario-based regional carrier Air Georgian will launch routes to Toronto Pearson Airport in the spring, the carrier said last week. On April 3, it will begin nonstop daily service from Albany and Dayton and on April 10 from Grand Rapids. On May 1, it will launch daily nonstop service from Louisville and on May 8 from South Bend. On May 15, Air Georgian will start daily nonstop service from Akron/Canton. All service will be operated with 18-seat Beech 1900Ds.
The problems behind CanJet's decision to suspend operations before it got off the ground go beyond allegations of competition from WestJet and Air Canada, airline industry experts contend. "I don't accept his excuses at face value," said David Gersovitz, a Toronto-based transport analyst. "Nothing has changed in the environment in two weeks" since Halifax, Nova Scotia, entrepreneur Kenneth Rowe canceled CanJet's launch, he said.
Government officials in charge of civil aviation and airport services meeting last week in Havana, called for increasing the quality of air transportation at all levels in order to cater to growing international tourism. Rogelio Acevedo Gonzalez, head of civil aviation, reported an increase of 16% in airport operations in 1999, compared with 1998.
-- In Federal Register dated Feb. 4...Proposed an airworthiness directive on Boeing 767 aircraft requiring modification of the drain system in the main landing gear wheel well...Proposed an AD on Fokker F28 aircraft to require improved bonding jumpers on the horizontal stabilizer... Proposed an AD on Boeing 747 aircraft with Pratt&Whitney JT9D-70 engines to require modifications of the thrust reverse control and indication system.
Jet fuel spot prices in New York ended last week at $1.38 per gallon, up 22% from the beginning of the week but up 331% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
Air France's operating revenues rose 12.4% last quarter, proving the carrier's aggressive expansion and capacity increases have not slowed the its financial growth. Despite "significant disruptions" in December caused by a two-day oil suppliers strike and severe wind storms, revenues from scheduled passenger operations rose 11.1% to 12.1 billion French francs and cargo revenues rose 12.1%. Traffic rose 9.1%, topping a 7.1% increase in system capacity. Load factor grew 1.4 points to 75.2%.
Delta promoted Ed Bastian to senior VP-finance and controller, Michele Burns to senior VP-finance and treasurer and Hank Halter to VP-finance, operations.
Continental Express will launch long-haul routes from Dallas Love Field this summer following a judicial court ruling yesterday that lifted an injunction against the carrier. The airline plans to serve its Cleveland hub with four daily flights June 1 and boost Love Field-Houston service June 14 by two daily flights. "Continental Express originally announced plans to fly between Love Field and Cleveland in May 1998, and we are pleased to finally be able to bring competition to this market," said President Jim Ream.
Athens-based Axon Airlines has joined Europebyair.com's one-fare flight pass program. Axon operates a new fleet of Boeing 737-700 aircraft, offering daily service to Paris, Rome, Brussels and Milan.
A strike by Boeing's Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) appears to be having an impact on the company's operations, although the company said it has not yet quantified the effect. SPEEA spokesman Bill Dugovich said the strike has caused a Qantas plane to be grounded in Bangkok awaiting repairs, and a Singapore Airlines aircraft sits in Everett, Wash., ready for a paint job. Deliveries have been held up at a Boeing Auburn plant because there are no designated engineering representatives to certify the product, Dugovich said.
Tower Air yesterday laid off 300 employees, or 18.5% of its work force, in an effort to restructure and cut costs. Laid-off employees include captains, first officers, flight attendants, ground crew and maintenance workers. Tower is restructuring to enhance its competitive position and is returning one Boeing 767-200 to the lessor. The carrier will handle the reduction in work force by "rescheduling flights based on market demand," said spokesman Howard Cannon.
Northwest unveiled a major change in its fare structure yesterday to boost its business passenger traffic and increase revenues by $50 million a year. The carrier introduced "BizFlex" fares, which offer tickets at a 40% discount off the regular unrestricted full coach fare and do not require a Saturday night stay. The new fare, available on a 10-day advance purchase for U.S. and Canada destinations, is expected to return yields of 20-25 cents per mile.
JetBlue Airways begins scheduled service today from New York Kennedy to Fort Lauderdale. The first week of service will include two daily Fort Lauderdale-JFK roundtrips, increasing to three Feb. 17. Service to Buffalo starts Feb. 17 and Tampa March 16.
The 11th Salon International Air and Space Fair will take place along with the IATA's "Wings of Change" conference for the Americas, March 28-April 2 at Cerrillos Airport, Santiago, Chile.
National Transportation Safety Board, citing operational errors involving Air Force 1 and two airline aircraft, yesterday recommended that FAA increase the supervisor staffing at the Washington National air traffic control tower to "ensure adequate supervisory monitoring of presidential aircraft." The board cited an FAA order that requires supervisors to "aurally and visually monitor presidential flights...regardless of other supervisory duties."
US Airways and its Air Line Pilots Association unit have reached a stalemate on talks over regional jets, US Airways ALPA said in a recorded message to pilots. ALPA requires any RJ agreement to include an enhancement to the contract scope language limiting the RJs to 50 certificated seats. Larger jets that approach the current 69-seat limit "begin to resemble mainline jets and could threaten our careers and mainline flying if flown by commuter carriers," said US Airways ALPA spokesman Roy Freundlich.
DOT granted America West a two-year exemption for service between Newark and Amsterdam, Belgium and Zurich under code share with Continental (DAILY, Dec. 10, 1999). America West code shares on Continental flights from Newark to Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt. (Docket OST-99-6594)
Alaska Airlines believes the Jan. 31 crash of flight 261 off the coast of California will not have a significant negative impact on its long-term financial results. While the airline said it had adequate insurance coverage against accidents, "any aircraft accident, even if fully insured, could cause a negative public perception of the company with adverse financial consequences," according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
National Transportation Safety Board recommended that most government-owned or -operated turbine-powered aircraft that do not have crashworthy flight recorders be required to install an FAA-approved, crash-protective video recorder. The board also recommended that these operators prepare a complete weight and balance computation, passenger-loading manifest and cargo-loading manifest for each flight on single- and multi-engine aircraft and that the record be kept for 30 days.
President Clinton called British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Wednesday to urge quick resolution of Pittsburgh-London service, sources told The DAILY. Clinton also raised access to London Heathrow for U.S. carriers. A British official confirmed that the "door is still open" for a deal including Pittsburgh. The U.K. may submit a statement on U.S.-U.K. to the House Transportation aviation subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
Continental Express has begun service between Cleveland and Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Charleston, W.Va., and tomorrow will launch flights to Charleston, S.C., and Savannah, Ga. All service is operated with 37-passenger Embraer ERJ-135 jets. With the new destinations, the carrier serves 59 cities from Cleveland.
AeroMexico and Air France want code-share authority for Miami-Cancun and Atlanta-Monterrey service. AeroMexico wants to display Air France's designator code on flights in the U.S.-Mexico markets, where it operates nonstops, beginning March 25. Air France holds beyond-U.S. authority and would connect the Mexico service with its Atlanta/Miami-Paris nonstops. (Docket OST-00-6880)
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Aircraft Operating Costs Third Quarter 1999 Dollars Per Block Hour DC-10-10 American United Average Crew Cost $1,207 $1,207 $1,088 Fuel&Oil 1,297 1,161 1,209 Rentals -- -- --
While many of the industries under the jurisdiction of Sen. John McCain's Commerce Committee have been fueling his presidential race, the political action committees (PACs) of the major airlines appear to have taken a wait-and-see attitude in early contributions, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission for all of 1999. According to FEC filings by eight major airline PACs (TWA and Alaska Airlines PACs not included), Texas Gov. George W. Bush raised $10,000 from major airline PACs and McCain $7,500.
