The attitude indicator on the Korean Air Boeing 747-200 Freighter that crashed Dec. 22 malfunctioned during a previous flight and was not repaired. According to a report issued last week by the U.K.'s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), the aircraft was inspected by a Korean Air ground engineer just before the 747 left London Stansted Airport. The AAIB noted that the problem with the cockpit instrument, which displays the aircraft's pitch and roll, was identified and apparently rectified before the plane left Stansted.
A new study of the international air freight and express industry by Air Cargo Management Group found the growth rate for express shipments was low in 1999 for the second year in a row. The study showed, however, that a gradual shift in shipment mix -- more packages, fewer documents -- is providing a "vibrant growth for the express industry on a tonnage basis."
Lowestfare.com appointed April Merenda VP-sales; David Lovely senior director-marketing and communications, and Steve Druckman senior director-business development.
Traffic in the regional airline industry jumped 24% in the third quarter 1999 to 5.94 billion, according to statistics from AvStat Associates in Washington, the Regional Airline Association said. Capacity climbed 15.1% to 8.99 billion, which grew load factor 5 percentage points to 65.4%. Passenger enplanements reached nearly 21 million a 7.7% increase over the same quarter 1998. For the first nine months of 1999, regional airlines carried 57.9 million passengers, RAA reported.
Legend added Carol Roudebush, VP-sales and marketing; Wendy Cook, account executive-sales and marketing; Kimberly Plaskett, manager-marketing and corporate communications; Joe Moses director-engineering and maintenance programs; Robert Achenbach controller; Jim Hughes chief of airline security, and David Coward director-team resources.
U.S. Carriers Maintenance Expense Third Quarter 1999 Major Carriers % Of Total Maintenance Operating Expenses Alaska 38,850,000 9.65 America West 75,303,943 15.08 American 478,345,000 12.36 Continental 217,258,000 11.20 Delta 345,157,000 9.81
U.S. Carriers Labor Expense Third Quarter 1999 Major Carriers % Of Total Labor Operating Expenses Alaska 136,224,000 33.84 America West 119,248,566 23.88 American 1,237,747,000 31.98 Continental 512,182,000 26.40 Delta 1,121,979,000 31.88
British Airways traffic was down 6.4% in December on 0.5% greater capacity as holiday traffic between Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 plummeted 35%. The airline further warned that "millennium travel patterns will hurt January's results." Passenger load factor was down 3.8 percentage points to 61.1%.
United launched a new U.S. advertising campaign Saturday using key terms such as "Feel United," "Be United" and "Worlds United." The carrier claims the new television spots are a "bold departure" from other airline advertising using an "emotional sell." The new commercials, produced by Minneapolis-based Fallon McElligott, recognize the strength of the word "united," the airline said, and the "equity that particular word carries back to the brand." The airline will begin a domestic print advertising campaign today in newspapers around the U.S.
Atlantic Coast posted a 12.5% gain in traffic and 13.4% more capacity in December, compared with the same 1998 month, depressing load factor 0.5 percentage points to 52.8%. Passengers flown gained 14.8%.
Great Lakes Aviation's traffic dipped 6.6% and capacity 14.2% for December, compared with the same 1998 month, which boosted load factor 4.1 percentage points to 50.6%. Passenger boardings rose 4.6%.
U.S. and the Slovak Republic initialed a full open-skies agreement Friday in Washington after two days of negotiations. The bilateral is provisionally in force immediately, allowing U. S. and Slovakian carriers to serve each other's countries on their own or under code share, with full open skies to be completed in phases. This is the U.S.'s 41st open-skies pact, following the Dominican Republic and Portugal in December.
Southwest named Greg Crum VP-flight operations and chief pilot, effective immediately. Crum's primary responsibilities include supervising Southwest's flight operations department, and he also is charged with developing and implementing safety policy and procedures. Crum replaces Paul Sterbenz, who retired last month.
Mesaba Holdings reported a 24.8% jump in traffic and 23.2% more capacity, which pushed load factor up 0.7 percentage points to 55.2%. Passengers flown gained 14.7%.
Stacie Soumbeniotis, a member of the House aviation subcommittee staff, has been named Democratic staff director on the subcommittee. Soumbeniotis joined the staff in January 1999 as Democratic counsel after serving in FAA's Office of Chief Counsel. She fills the vacancy created by the departure of Paul Feldman, who left last month to become FAA's representative to the European Union.
Ansett International will suspend the three-times-weekly Sydney-Taipei service Feb. 12 because of declining yields. An Ansett official said the airline is losing heavily on the route, launched in 1995. As a result of the suspension, 15 staff members will lose their jobs.
Alaska Airlines has increased its domestic U.S. liability limit for lost or damaged baggage from $1,250 to $2,500 per ticketed customer traveling within the U.S. The increase began yesterday.
China Southern Airlines, the country's largest airline, launched scheduled service between Guilin, China, and Seoul, South Korea. The new Airbus A320 service operates every Saturday, and is the 38th international route for China Southern Airlines and the second route to South Korea.
Sabre Airways, U.K.-based charter carrier, is converting two 727-200s to the Super 27 configuration, BFGoodrich said. This will bring to 64 the number of re-engining kits that have been sold to 23 operators, the company said. The kits include JT8D-200 engines.
