Des Moines Airport wants six New York LaGuardia slots for Midwest Express to restore single-plane access to the market. The community lost the service when AccessAir stopped flying in late November (DAILY, Nov. 30), which was "a tremendous blow to the business community of Des Moines and Iowa," the airport said. Midwest Express would "fill this critical void" with three daily Des Moines-LaGuardia flights, two via Indianapolis possibly starting in March and one nonstop to complete the service pattern by June.
In Federal Register dated Dec. 13...Issued special conditions on the CASA C-295, which will have an automatic takeoff thrust control system...Superseded an airworthiness directive on Airbus A300/A310/A300-600 aircraft concerning tests of the free-fall control mechanism of the landing gear...Issued an AD on Douglas MD-11 aircraft to require inspection of the tail tank fuel transfer pumps... Issued an AD on Fokker F27 aircraft to require removing the tapered nylon shims under the seat rails at certain stations...
Aviation Safeguards of Florida pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FAA regarding alleged background checks for jobs requiring access to secure areas of Miami International Airport, the DOT Inspector General said last week. Guillermo Blanco, former general manager of the firm's Miami operation, pleaded guilty earlier to 22 counts of making false statements concerning fictitious background checks and was sentenced to five years and three months in prison, the IG said.
To upgrade its fleet, 60-year old British West Indies Airlines (BWIA) has invested $325 million in six twin-engine Boeing 737-800s. Also, its aircraft are featuring a new livery with the entire fuselage painted in dark green and the words "West Indies" prominently displayed on the upper side. An abstract rendering of the company logo dominates the tail section.
AeroMexico traffic for November soared 23.4% on 12.5% more capacity, and its passenger count rose 16.9% to 751,251. In the first 11z months of 1999, traffic grew 12.7% to 11.1 billion revenue passenger kilometers, while capacity was up 11.0% to 16.7 billion RPKs.
Honeywell has entered a venture with Coherent Technologies Inc. (CTI) to develop and market a new hybrid system that will provide warning of all types of atmospheric turbulence. Frank Daley, president of Honeywell Commercial Electronic Systems, said that by "using a combination of microwave radar and infrared radar, the new system will detect every type of turbulence from rough air in thunderstorms to clear air turbulence."
Chalk's Ocean Airways, formerly known as Chalk's, will begin service Friday under new ownership and on a route accessible only by seaplane. Since Paradise Island Airport closed in September, visitors have had to travel there via Nassau. Chalk's twin-engine turbo-powered seaplanes will enable customers to fly direct. Owner Jim Confalone said the airline is taking on a new look with completely refurbished aircraft and interiors, including air conditioning. Terminals will feature a VIP concierge environment similar to an upscale hotel lobby.
United Technologies Corp. acquired all the shares of Great Lakes Turbines, the Mus-kegon, Mich., company that supplies and services components for small gas turbine engines. The business, which includes a parts distribution operation, will be integrated into the operations of Pratt&Whitney Canada's Service Centers.
U.S. is scheduled to sign its 39th open-skies pact tomorrow, when DOT Secretary Rodney Slater meets with Dominican Republic President Leonel Fernandez.Slater, noting that the accord builds on agreements with the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, called the Dominican Republic "one of our most important aviation partners in the Caribbean."
Great Lakes Aviation will lease additional office and building space adjacent to the maintenance and office complex under construction at the Cheyenne Airport, effective Jan. 1. The building contains about 46,000 square feet of space. Great Lakes plans to accelerate the previously planned relocation from Spencer to Cheyenne of its Raytheon/Beech 1900 ground and flight training and its finance and human resources departments. It will relocate roughly 35 positions by mid-February.
Boeing Commercial President Alan Mulally, in a change of corporate policy, yesterday revealed that the company has 163 unannounced aircraft orders valued at more than $9 billion. Previously, Boeing did not reveal unannounced orders. The customers will remain unnamed until they announce their own orders, Mulally said. The company unveiled an order from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) for 15 767-300ERs and five 747-400 freighters valued at $2.6 billion.
China Eastern Airlines and Air France have signed an agreement to operate code-share service between Shanghai and Paris. Effective Jan. 7, there will be 10 nonstop flights a week between Paris and Shanghai, with Air France operating four, one of them on code share, and China Eastern six. The Shanghai-Paris route also will receive 10 flights, with each carrier offering five, including two on code share. Air France will use the 777-200, while the Chinese carrier will fly A340-300s. The service was launched in June 1998.
Calgary-based WestJet plans to expand its route network to include cities in eastern Canada because of changes in the airline industry. "The airline industry in Canada is undergoing restructuring and consolidation," said WestJet President and Chief Executive Steve Smith. "We feel that a window of opportunity now exists for us to connect eastern Canada with WestJet's western Canadian network." The airline will continue to expand its fleet, adding five aircraft in 2000.
Airbus Senior VP-Commercial John Leahy denied a report in The DAILY that Malaysia Airlines expects the manufacturer to buy back Boeing aircraft to close a sale. "We don't buy back Boeing aircraft," he said. "I will confirm that we are in discussions with MAS and other airlines in Asia to place the A340-500/600." MAS, which flies Boeing 777s, insinuated that Airbus would repurchase the aircraft and potentially its 737s as part of a package to sell A340s and A320s to the carrier (DAILY, Dec. 14).
The gradual transfer of flights from Linate to Milan's new Malpensa Airport was suspended by the Italian government, which faced opposition from the European Commission, airlines, Italy's environmental minister and Malpensa residents. Some 60 daily frequencies were due to be transferred yesterday and another tranche would have followed Jan. 15, leaving only Rome-Milan flights in Linate, according to Italian Transport Minister Tiziano Treu. The second transfer phase was contingent on environmental protection measures in Malpensa.
Mesaba Holdings has named Robert Weil, former managing director, finance-ground operations at Northwest, VP-finance and chief financial officer, effective Jan. 17. Weil will be responsible for overall leadership of finance, accounting, investor relations, market planning and purchasing.
An experimental Ilyushin Il-114T regional turboprop freighter crashed Dec. 4 just after takeoff from Moscow Domodedovo Airport. Witnesses said the airplane climbed only about 30 meters and then crashed 400 meters from the end of the runway. Five of the seven crewmembers were killed in the accident, while the captain and flight engineer were seriously injured and hospitalized in intensive care. Airport officials reported strong cross winds at the time.
SAS ordered four Airbus A330-300s and six A340-300s yesterday to replace its Boeing 767 fleet on intercontinental routes. The aircraft will be delivered between 2001 and 2004, and SAS holds options on seven additional Airbus aircraft. "The order secures and develops our position as an intercontinental airline," President Jan Stenberg said.
Jet Aviation is now operating from its new base at Dallas Love Field, the former Jet East facility that Jet Aviation agreed to buy earlier this year. The transaction closed in October and the new Dallas base "will greatly enhance our global ability to provide world-class service to our growing customer base," said Thomas Hirschmann, chairman and chief executive of Jet Aviation.
Continental and KLM signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday to begin code sharing on flights beyond hubs on both continents and to share marketing initiatives. The cooperation is seen as "another step toward building a strategic global alliance" among Continental, KLM, Northwest and Alitalia, the airlines said. The pact includes frequent flyer cooperation and reciprocal lounge access. Continental and KLM will implement the MOU in the second quarter of 2000. "This was the first step," said a Continental spokesman.
U.S. and Australian representatives agreed to unrestricted bilateral cargo operations by all-cargo carriers of both countries during discussions this week in San Francisco. Talks on open skies for passenger services are planned for early next year.
