Air Canada's plans for taking over rival Canadian Airlines includes redeploying Canadian's fleet and streamlining service on many routes, the airline said last week. Air Canada said some underused aircraft will be reallocated to serve growing transborder markets. The airline also plans to use dormant authorities for Vancouver-Shanghai, Vancouver-Mexico City and Montreal-Milan, and expand service on other routes, such as Montreal-Rome.
Bombardier Aerospace won European Joint Aviation Authorities approval for its newest regional turboprop, the 66- to 78-seat Q400, with Denmark and Sweden becoming the first European nations to issue type certificates. The Q400, launched in June 1995 after years of study, is expected to receive FAA certification shortly. Transport Canada awarded its type certificate earlier this year. Approval followed a flight test program that began in January 1998 in Downsview and moved to the Bombardier Aerospace Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kan.
Debis AirFinance of Amsterdam has placed a $100 million order for CFM56-5B engines to power 10 firm-ordered Airbus A320 family aircraft scheduled for delivery beginning in 2003. Debis AirFinance is a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler and major German banks.
Korean Air's invitation to join a global alliance with Delta and Air France likely will be delayed following last week's cargo crash outside London Stansted Airport. The Korean Air Boeing 747-200 freighter went down minutes after takeoff on its way to Milan Malpensa with 64 tons of cargo. All four crewmembers died in the crash. "We will wait until authorities determine the cause of the crash before we do anything," a Delta spokesman told The DAILY.
AccessAir manages to cling to life following a bankruptcy judge's approval of a $1 million loan plan from the State of Iowa last week. The grounded airline plans to use the interest-free loan, backed by Ruan Center Corp., to pay owed employee wages and insurance bills and begin limited charter flights. Airline officials still plan to restart scheduled service early next year following a financial reorganization.
Cessna has delivered to the Mexican air force the first five of 73 single-engine Cessna 182 Skyplane aircraft to be used for reconnaissance flights in the country's war against drugs, such as spotting drug plantations for destruction. Delivery should be completed by February in what is the largest sales contract ever for Cessna outside the U.S., representing more than 8% of the annual 182 Skyplane production.
Futura International Airways has taken delivery of its first 737-800. The aircraft, powered by CFM56-7 engines, is on lease from GE Capital Aviation Services. The Palma-based carrier will phase out its fleet of 737-400 aircraft.
Delta plans to place its code on Air France flights from Paris to Bamako, Mali, with continuing service to Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, beginning Feb. 1 on the French carrier's Airbus A310. Delta said it "continues pursuing new opportunities to serve Africa with its global alliance partner Air France and South African Airways." Delta "will pursue any opportunity for third-country code sharing to Africa," a Delta spokesman said, adding that the carrier would approach Nigeria to explore opportunities to serve Lagos.
Iberia's traffic grew 10.3% to 2.9 billion revenue passenger kilometers in November, and freight volume rose 9.4% to 73.9 million ton kilometers. The airline carried 1.77 million passengers, down 0.3%.
IBM signed partnership with China's Civil Aviation Computer Information (CACI), a subsidiary of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, to power the e-business web site TravelSky.com for travel information and transactions. TravelSky.com, currently available in Chinese, provides flight and travel information for more than 25 Chinese airlines, enabling passengers to make travel reservations online. "This web site is a milestone for the airline industry in China," said Chen Gang, e-business project team leader of CACI.
Preliminary traffic figures for 1999 point to a 5% increase in scheduled passengers from 1998, according to ICAO. International scheduled traffic rose by 6%. This follows a significant slowdown in 1998, when total traffic rose barely 1%, and compares with average traffic growth of about 7% over the previous six years.
Singapore Airlines has exercised options for 10 777-200ERs, bringing Boeing's total orders for 1999 to 378 airplanes. Boeing said the Singapore order brings total 777 orders to 446.
The authors selected the following events because of their significant effect on aviation during the 1990s from a North American perspective. Comments and background on each item follow the list. 1. Rise Of Southwest The helplessness of major carriers to stop the inexorable rise of Southwest and its European clone, Ryanair, and the failure of other startups or majors to emulate the low-cost, high-profit Southwest model. 2. Change In Players
FAA said it is encouraging the development of tests and inspection systems, technology and techniques that "identify or characterize" wiring flaws that "may impair the safe and effective transmission of electrical power and signals." It said the proposed systems should exhibit potential utility for either infrequent comprehensive examinations or more frequent focused inspections in an airline maintenance environment.
A House-Senate report directs FAA to task the National Academy of Sciences "as soon as practicable" with analyzing ways to privatize the air traffic management function within FAA. The appropriations conference report on fiscal 2000 transportation funding says FAA should start the process "as soon as practicable," and defer significant investment in system upgrades until the analysis is complete.
DOT - Approved a one-way scheduled flight by Lloyd Aero Bolivian carrying 409 passengers on a Washington Dulles-Miami-Santa Cruz, Bolivia-Miami routing Dec. 20...Approved an JTB World Vacations Western Japan charter using an All Nippon Airways 767-300ER for nine roundtrips carrying 210 passengers on a Kansai-Saipan-Kansai routing Dec. 25-Jan. 7...Approved a Gremix Investments Ltd. charter using a First Air 727-100 for one roundtrip carrying 73 passengers on a Toronto-Minneapolis/St. Paul-Los Cabos-Minneapolis/St. Paul routing Dec. 28-Jan. 4...Approved an Ah Wee Tours Ltd.
Nigeria's Murtala Mohammad Airport, in Lagos, meets international security standards, DOT Secretary Rodney Slater announced last week, paving the way for the resumption of service between the U.S. and Lagos. Safety considerations will be dealt with separately. U.S.-Lagos service was discontinued Aug. 11, 1993, because of lax security measures, and authority held by U.S. and foreign carriers to serve the U.S. from Lagos was suspended.
