Three Republican members of the House aviation subcommittee are listed by Congressional Quarterly as among the 10 House incumbents most at risk in elections this year. The members and the risk factors: Rep. Merrill Cook (Utah) -- reported temperamental outbursts produce serious primary and general election challenges; Rep. Steven Kuykendall (Calif.) -- former congresswoman seeks to reclaim old seat, and Rep. Don Sherwood (Pa.) -- rematch of closest House race two years ago.
House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) on Friday said the day-earlier delay of hundreds of East Coast flights could have been averted if Congress had enacted his Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21), with its increased funding for upgrading air traffic control systems. Thursday's breakdown was "just a taste of what is going to happen in the future if we don't invest in our aviation system. He predicted more delays "if we don't do something soon.
DOT soon will name a "new carrier" that will win China service in 2001, DOT Secretary Rodney Slater said Friday.Incumbents United, Northwest and FedEx and new entrants American, Delta, Polar Air and UPS have bid for a total of 51 frequencies -- 10 frequencies and a new carrier designation become available April 1, 2001.
Aviation Facilities has received approval from the Capital Region Airport Commission to purchase a 30-year ground lease from another developer to build an air cargo facility at Richmond Airport. Construction of the 51,000-square-foot cross-dock air freight trucking facility will begin this month and be completed by July.
Comair Holdings reported an 8.6% jump in traffic and 16.5% more capacity for December, compared with the same 1998 month, which depressed load factor 6.8 percentage points to 56.8%. Passenger boardings gained 0.4%.
Nine carriers reporting December traffic so far show a domestic load factor 2.1 percentage points lower, according to Merrill Lynch. "Bookings for the first two weeks of January showed a similarly sluggish trend," said analyst Candace Browning. However, the last two weeks of January have rebounded, except in Japan, which remains weak.
Vanguard reported a 12% rise in traffic on 32% more capacity for December, compared with the same 1998 month, which depressed load factor 10 percentage points to 55.7%. Passenger boardings gained 16%.
Moody's Investors Service lowered its corporate rating for Japan Air System Friday, saying the carrier is strained due to tight competition and high operating costs. The decision to drop the airline's rating to 'B2' from 'Ba3' is based on Moody's expectation of a "continued weak operating performance and highly extended financial condition for JAS over the intermediate term." JAS operates about 90 domestic and several international routes, generating more than 85% of the company's total revenues from its domestic passenger businesses.
China is preparing the way for direct air service between the Chinese mainland and Taiwan. Shen Yuankang, deputy director of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), said more than 100 senior executives of Chinese carriers were briefed on the plans recently. China's eagerness, however, is not reciprocated by Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration. China is eager to launch the route, starting with flights from Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xiamen.
In Federal Register dated Dec. 29...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Fokker F27 aircraft to require inspections of the wing skins...Issued an AD on Pratt&Whitney JT8D engines to require inspection of low-pressure turbine blades...Issued an AD on Rolls-Royce Dart engines to require inspection of the low torque switch...Proposed to supersede an AD on Embraer 145 aircraft concerning use of the autopilot...Proposed an AD on Boeing 767 aircraft to require inspection of the door latches of the off-wing escape slide compartments.
Former Chief Executive of Hawaiian Airlines Bruce Nobles accepted a position with PurchasePro. com, a provider of business-to-business e-commerce services. Before his work at Hawaiian, Nobles was head of Trump Shuttle, Pan Am Shuttle and a senior VP at Continental. Nobles began in an unnamed position, effective immediately, to lead PurchasePro.com's expansion into the transportation market.
FedEx should expect to see at lease two more quarters of difficult year-over-year fuel price comparisons "before the issue of fuel costs recedes," said Warburg Dillon Read analyst Daniel Hellberg. Looking more long term, becoming an integrated express company should be more difficult for FedEx than UPS. FedEx "must grow its ground package division RPS faster than recent market growth of this segment, which suggests lower margins and a dilution of the top line sales growth rate," he said.
Boeing said the first of two 717s for Bavaria International Aircraft Leasing Co. have been delivered to Olympic Aviation of Athens. The carrier plans to use the aircraft on routes to Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Munich, Paris, Stuttgart and Cyprus. Olympic is configuring the aircraft for 34 seats in business and 71 in coach class. Bavaria has five 717s on order.
U.K. will not enter into a new bilateral "deal" with the U.S. until the American/British Airways code-share request is "resolved," a British official told The DAILY. The U.S. is "not fulfilling its obligations under Bermuda II," he said, calling DOT's insistence on Pittsburgh-London restoration as a prerequisite to negotiation an "act of bad faith by DOT." Negotiators plan to meet in London Jan. 27-28 and have cleared their schedules for that weekend. The U.S. is pushing for swift resolution on Pittsburgh so US Airways can plan summer flights on the route.
Reuben Robertson, 60, a founder of the Aviation Consumer Action Project and former director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the Civil Aeronautics Board, died Jan. 4 of colon cancer at his home in Washington, D.C.
Air Canada and Canadian are cutting fares on selected routes by as much as 40%. Quebec-based Air Nova offers discounts of 55% off regular excursion fares. The sale goes through Jan. 18 for travel beginning Jan. 13. All travel to Canada and U.S. destinations must be completed by May 12. The last departure date for international travel also is May 12 unless otherwise specified. This is the first sale since Air Canada's successful bid to acquire Canadian.
Rolls-Royce was selected by El Al to supply Trent 895 engines for three Boeing 777s on firm order. The contract, valued by Rolls at $75 million, brings its share of the 777 market to 44%. Rolls said the order "further extends a long established relationship with El Al."
If last year's airline labor relations are any indication of what's to come, 2000 could go down in history as the year hard-core, militant unionism re-emerges to plague management. It's not a pretty picture to contemplate, but management, no less than labor, must bear the blame. This could be the year when unions work to the rule and management quickly turns to the courts to stop them, raising the need for the next best-seller, Labor Negotiations for Dummies.
Traffic at some of Europe's regional airports hit records last summer. London Luton posted a 25% rise in the number of passengers and passed the 1 million mark for July and August. Birmingham handled more than 750,000 passengers during August, 4.1% more than in the same month last year.
Approved an initial one-year exemption for Mexicana de Aviacion to operate scheduled service between Cancun, Mexico, and Orlando, Fla...Approved a one-year renewal of Aerolineas Uruguayas' exemption to operate cargo service between the U.S. and Uruguay, provided the carrier does not perform the service with its own aircraft or crews...Approved a Cunard Line Ltd. charter using an Air France Concorde to operate two roundtrip London-Cleveland flights, via New York, Aug.
Los Angeles World Airports appointed Alonso Almeida chief of the newly created LAWA Small Business and Job Opportunities Bureau and Barbara Martinoff head of the new LAX Residential Acquisition Bureau.
