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.
U.S. and Australian negotiators plan to meet Feb. 8-10 in Honolulu to discuss open skies for passenger services. The two countries agreed to unrestricted cargo operations this month (DAILY, Dec. 16). U.S.-U.K. talks are scheduled Jan. 4-5, a DOT spokesman confirmed, stressing that that restoration of Pittsburgh service is at the top of the agenda for the U.S.
Democrats base hopes of taking control of the House on the 24 open seats, of which 19 are Republican. Open seats - those with no incumbent - are considered ripe for party switches. Democrats need to pick up five seats to take control. If they regain the House in 2001, ranking House Transportation Democrat James Oberstar (Minn.) would replace Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) as chairman. It would mean no change in aviation policy since both agree on the need for guaranteed and increased infrastructure funding.
Asiana signed a deal with CIT Aerospace to lease one new Airbus A321 powered by IAE V2500 engines. The aircraft is scheduled to be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2000.
The National Mediation Board has placed talks between Northwest and its flight attendants on an indefinite hold following failed negotiations earlier this month. Northwest told union negotiators that they will "never have an industry-leading contract" and refused to continue negotiations until the union comes down on its demands or the NMB orders them resume talks, Billie Davenport, president of the Teamsters Local 2000, which represents Northwest flight attendants, said in message to rank-and-file.
