Delta asked DOT to make permanent its temporary award of three U.S.-Brazil frequencies or determine a final allocation, under expedited proceedings, of frequencies on which Continental defaulted. Delta announced plans to begin its first nonstops in the Atlanta-Rio de Janeiro market June 1, using the three frequencies temporarily reallocated by DOT. Delta said it will operate three weekly roundtrips, using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The frequencies had gone unused by Continental for planned service to Brazil from Houston.
US Airways will drop MetroJet service from Raleigh/Durham to Orlando and Tampa on March 5, just over a year after it was launched. Southwest started service on the same routes June 6, 1999. The routes are being suspended because of aircraft shortages and an effort to boost capacity between Boston Logan and Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa, also on March 5.
Domodedovo Airlines, third-largest Russian domestic carrier, was forced to cancel most of its flights after regional taxation authorities froze its bank accounts two weeks earlier. According to Alexander Akimov, general director of the state-owned carrier, Domodedovo has owed significant debts -- about 22 million rubles (US$759,000) -- to the regional budget for several years.
Early returns from onboard recorders indicate nothing went wrong that would have suddenly brought down Crossair Flight LX 498, the Swiss office for accident investigations (BFU) reported. The pilots of the doomed Crossair Saab 340 that crashed Jan. 10 shortly after takeoff from Zurich "communicated with each other in a professional manner in easily understandable English," BFU said following a preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice recorder.
SunExpress Aviation has taken delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 from GE Capital Corp. The Turkish carrier plans to lease four of the aircraft from GE Capital this year. SunExpress currently operates three 737-300s and two 737-400s.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines is offering introductory fares beginning at $158 roundtrip on its new nonstop jet flights between Worcester, Mass., and 147 U.S. markets. Beginning Feb. 1 ASA will offer daily nonstop jet service between Worcester and Atlanta aboard Canadair Regional Jet aircraft. Sample roundtrip fares from Worcester include $218 to Austin, $198 to Gulfport/Biloxi and $238 to Portland, Oregon.
In Federal Register dated Jan. 14...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Boeing 737 aircraft requiring inspection of certain wire bundles and hydraulic hoses... Issued an AD on certain Fokker 27 and F50 aircraft requiring modification of the electrical power supply of the landing gear anti-skid unit...Issued an AD on certain Boeing 777 aircraft requiring replacement of fuse pins in the main landing gear...Proposed an AD on Bombardier DHC-8-100 aircraft to require changing the power supply for the thunderstorm lights.
FDX will extend the FedEx name to three subsidiaries and to the holding company and roll out a "new, lost-cost residential delivery service in March in many major U.S. markets, the company told an analysts meeting last week in New York. "Our customers increasingly want a single company that can meet all their global transportation needs," said Chairman Fred Smith. "It is time to leverage and extend one of our great assets, the FedEx brand, and to provide our customers an integrated set of business solutions."
Industry analysts said Boeing will enjoy a significant marketing boost for its 777 jetliner following FAA's decision to extend twin operations (ETOPS) clearance for the aircraft on a case-by-case basis, AviationNow.com reported. JSA Research's Paul Nisbet said FAA's previous ETOPS restriction of 180 minutes was a major factor in slack demand for 777s among airlines with transpacific routes. In contrast, Airbus has booked more than 100 orders for its four-engine Airbus A340s during the past 18 months, due mainly to not being hobbled by ETOPS rules, he said.
Pratt&Whitney, citing a slowdown in new engine deliveries, said Friday it will begin this month to eliminate up to 1,700 jobs and continue reductions throughout the year as part of its "restructuring" plans. Pratt said about 1,500 of the layoffs will involve hourly jobs and about 200 will be salaried positions.
A House Transportation Committee source carefully avoids raising expectations over Chairman Bud Shuster's decision to resume the failed FAA reauthorization conference on Jan. 27. The source says Shuster (R-Pa.) wants "to get the parties together to discuss how we can resolve" major issues. With Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) pushing for the Republican presidential nomination, Senate Budget Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.Mex.) -- who last fall opposed Shuster -- likely will play a major role again.
Japan Airlines' fuel cost actually fell 6% in the first half of the carrier's fiscal year thanks to a strong yen. While fuel volume and unit price rose, the yen's appreciation "worked in our favor," the carrier said in an internal memo. JAL's first-half fuel bill fell by 4.3 billion yen (US$41 million) and the same benefit is expected during the current period.
Need for the multi-billion dollar WAAS also is being questioned. The contracted accuracy for WAAS is 7.6 meters, which translates into a 350-foot decision height for pilots. At this height, non-precision approach aids, such as a VOR, work as well. This means that FAA cannot certify it for Cat 1 under the current 200-foot minimum decision height. It also means WAAS would not replace a single Instrument Landing System -- a big reason European airlines are not supporting the WAAS-equivalent European Geostationary Overlay System.
British Airways' low-cost carrier Go plans to drop Lyon and Zurich as full-year destinations under an ongoing review of its network, but the service likely would resume next winter. Go started selling tickets for several of its summer destinations last week, earlier than last year. Flights to Alicante and Palma begin on March 27 and service to Ibiza starts May 24. The carrier flies 13 Boeing 737-300s.
Airborne Freight Corp. reported that its net earnings for the fourth quarter will fall short of expectations. The company, which operates under the name Airborne Express, estimates results will range from 30 to 35 cents a share, while the consensus estimate of analysts was 48 cents. Actual results will be issued Jan. 31.
Europe's regional airline community faces another year of heavy air traffic delays while it is in the midst of double-digit growth. European regional carriers will grow by about 20% annually as they forge agreements with major carriers and continue stimulating traffic, London-based analyst Andrew Light of Salomon, Smith Barney predicts. Financially, regionals will continue to be more profitable than mainline carriers, with margins of 8-10% versus 5% for larger airlines. Regionals will continue to lag behind their U.S.
Tupolev is close to completing the creation of Tupolev Joint Stock Company (Tupolev JSC), in line with the Russian government's strategy to restructure the aerospace industry. The establishing fund of the new holding company, which combines ANTK Tupolev, better known as Tupolev Design Bureau or Tupolev Aviation Scientific Technical Complex, and Ulianovsk-based aircraft plant Aviastar, was set at 7.9 billion rubles (about US$277,193,000).
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines will upgrade its service to include four daily regional jet roundtrips between Norfolk, Va., and Washington Dulles, beginning April 2. The airline will offer a total of eight flights each day in the market. Flights will be operated with 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet aircraft.
1999 was the fourth straight record year for pilot hirings, according to Atlanta-based AIR Inc., which tallied 15,747 new jobs. In 1998, 14,143 commercial pilots found work. Hirings for December also broke a record with 779 new jobs, as 80% of carriers hired pilots.
FAA Friday gave the green light to the 207-minute extended-range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) requested by the Air Transport Association but held it up for 45 days for additional comments because of opposition expressed by the Allied Pilots Association and Airbus Industrie. The current maximum is 180 minutes.
