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.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen reported that the industry posted record billings and a double-digit increase in shipments in 1999, partly due to the number of new aircraft offered. The industry has "never before enjoyed five straight years of growth in both industry billings and shipments" as it did at the end of last year, Bolen said.
Biman Airlines, Bangladesh's national carrier, has taken delivery of two leased aircraft -- a DC-10-30 from Pegasus of Canada and Airbus A310-300 from Singapore Airlines.
Thailand's second national carrier, Angel Air, will offer three-times-weekly Bangkok-Mandalay (former capital of Myanmar), starting Feb. 15, using a Boeing 737-400. Effective April 2, Angel will fly four-times-weekly to the Cambodian capital and Siem Reap, also in Cambodia. These services would be in direct competition with Thai Airways International, against which no other Thai private carrier has been allowed to compete in the history of the country's aviation industry.
Major airlines began five-point inspections of the stabilizer assemblies on MD-80 and Boeing 717 twinjets yesterday after Alaska Airlines found two more faulty jackscrews during inspections. Alaska President Bill Ayer said 26 aircraft were released to service after completing the inspection, but two MD-80s "have been grounded after discrepancies with the jackscrews were discovered." NTSB investigators were en route to look at the two aircraft in Seattle and Portland. Three Alaska aircraft currently undergoing regular heavy maintenance remain to be inspected.
FAA has brought Pacific oceanic airspace under its Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum (RVSM) for aircraft that meet stringent altimeter and autopilot performance requirements. Previously, RVSM applied only in the North Atlantic. RVSM is the reduction of vertical separation of aircraft from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet at flight levels between 29,000 feet and 41,000 feet. FAA said air traffic on Pacific routes between the U.S. has increased steadily and is projected to continue growing.
Aviation groups, in a rare move, banded together this week to rally behind AIR-21, the beleaguered FAA reauthorization bill, due to its provisions calling for multi-year funding of the agency, the full use of trust fund revenues and reinstatement of general funds for such FAA functions as safety and security. Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the aviation subcommittee, pressed the groups to urge their members to contact senators not on the aviation subcommittees in an attempt to break the deadlock between House and Senate conferees on the reauthorization bill.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines will introduce Canadair Regional Jet service May 1 from its Dallas/Fort Worth with roundtrip service to Columbia, S.C., and Lubbock, Texas. President Skip Barnette said the introduction of RJ service at DFW "marks the beginning of an increased Delta Connection presence" in the market.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater yesterday said there had been "some thawing" in negotiations to try to work out a compromise FAA reauthorization, but he conceded that that the question of long-term funding for aviation investment still is unsettled. In an interview with The DAILY following his testimony at a hearing on the FAA budget request, Slater detailed the meetings he has had with the leading negotiators but added, "They haven't figured out exactly how they're going to do it" (long-term financing for the FAA).
FAA yesterday ordered operators of General Electric CF6-80C2 engines to replace two models of fan mid-shafts before their established life limits at a cost of more than $90,000 per engine. FAA estimated that 1,796 engines are affected, 230 of them on aircraft of U.S. registry. Estimated cost of the fix is $90,085 per engine, or $161.8 million for the world fleet. The order was prompted by "recent component test data," the agency said.
McDonnell Douglas DC-10 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Third Quarter 1999 DC-10-10 American United Total Number of Aircraft Operated 7 12 19 Total Fleet Operations Departures 12 33 45
BAA, like the airlines, suffered from reduced traffic over the New Year's holiday. As expected, January's traffic at its seven U.K. airports increased by just 0.3%, "due to the lackluster traffic" over the New Year period. However, it noted that traffic in the last three weeks of January rebounded with growth of 4.8%. European scheduled traffic at Stansted alone added 63% in January, contributing to the airport's overall 12-month total of more than 9.5 million passengers. Overall Irish traffic grew 2.9% for the month group-wide, while domestic U.K.
With a Saturday midnight strike deadline looming, Midwest Express and its Air Line Pilots Association unit are continuing contract bargaining talks this week with the help of the National Mediation Board. Midwest Express spokeswoman Lisa Bailey said talks began Tuesday and will continue at least through Friday. "We're committed to talking until the strike deadline and beyond," she told The DAILY. Bailey declined comment on how much progress the two sides have made thus far.
LastMinuteTravel.com yesterday added five international airlines to its membership -- Air France, Air New Zealand, Korean Air, SAS and Icelandair. The company's web site consists of time-sensitive offers from airlines with last-minute ticket availability on specific routes. Users click on a link to the carrier's own web site and booking engine. LastMinuteTravel does not handle direct fulfillment. The site is free to the consumer, and the airline's only fee is the posting on the site.
Arkia Israeli Airlines has received its first Boeing 757-300, which it plans to use on international charter flights. The carrier is to take possession of a second within the next few weeks.
Northwest VP-Marketing Tim Griffin will host a news conference this morning to announce a new initiative in the carrier's "mainline passenger marketing."A spokesman said the announcement will "change how people buy tickets."
AirTran's customer service, ramp and reservations agents rejected a bid by the Machinists to become their representative body. The National Mediation Board reported that the International Association Machinists received 437 votes of 1,584 eligible voters, less than 30%.
McDonnell Douglas DC-9-30 and MD-80 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Third Quarter 1999> DC-9-30 Continental Northwest TWA Number of Aircraft Operated 11 115 34 Total Fleet Operations Departures 50 541 164
