Pratt&Whitney says a new burner for its JT8D-200 engine "exceeds all ICAO standards for new production engines and qualifies for the Swiss Class 5 emission category." Kits will be available in the fourth quarter. Pratt also said Aloha selected its Columbus center to overhaul and repair JT8D engines.
Despite Airbus's delay in launching the A3XX, plans to run a core engine technology demonstrator for the giant aircraft this October remain on track, according to Bruce Hughes, president of The Engine Alliance, a joint company of GE Aircraft Engines and Pratt&Whitney. The two rivals are sharing the $1 billion cost to develop a new 67,000- to 80,000-pound-thrust turbofan, the GP7200, for the proposed 555-passenger aircraft. "We're not discouraged by the adjustment in Airbus's timetable.
Shuttle America, the Connecticut-based regional airline, is adding one new destination, Long Island/Islip, to its markets and three new nonstop routes - Norfolk to Trenton, Hartford/Springfield and Long Island - and a systemwide refinement and improvement of its service. Changes are effective July 13. The six-month-old Windsor Locks company also will add service to Norfolk/Virginia Beach/Williamsburg and improve its business schedules in Hartford/Springfield, Buffalo, Wilmington, Albany and Trenton.
Air Canada introduced two daily code-share services between Canada and Helsinki, Finland, with Star Alliance partners SAS and Lufthansa. Effective June 10, Air Canada and SAS started code shares on five flights a week to Helsinki via Copenhagen, and yesterday Air Canada launched code-share service with Lufthansa to Helsinki, via Frankfurt. Danielle Poudrette, VP-marketing for Air Canada, said the new service enables the carrier to offer a wider choice of flights and gives it the option of using Copenhagen or Frankfurt as hubs to North America and Europe.
Aviation Management Services was retained by Uruguay to develop a program to upgrade its governmental aviation safety oversight program to meet International Civil Aviation Organization standards. Bob Booth, chairman of AvMan, said the company will audit existing aviation safety oversight programs, determine which areas need reform and assist the government in making the changes. The U.S. FAA has designed Uruguay's safety oversight as Category 3 - not meeting ICAO standards - and no flights by Uruguay flag airlines are allowed to U.S. airports.
Virgin Express's traffic in May increased 9.8% on 7.7% more capacity, driving up the load factor 1.3 percentage points to 79.2%. The airline carried 254,545 passengers last month, up 23.9%
British Airways will take 13 of the 27 check-in desks available at Paddington Station in West London, due to open June 23. About 60,000 passengers a year, including those of oneworld partners Canadian Airlines and Qantas, are expected to use the facility.
The House yesterday overwhelmingly supported House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster's proposal to take the aviation trust funds off budget and establish firewalls to prevent the accumulating billions of dollars in aviation taxes from being used for other purposes. The key vote came when the House rejected an amendment sponsored by Appropriations Chairman C.W. (Bill) Young (R-Fla.), Budget Chairman John Kasich (R-Ohio) and Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer (R-Texas).
IATA 1998 Regional Traffic Flows Passenger Passengers Change Kilometers Change (000) % (millions) % Scheduled Services -- International Within North America - International 13,477 0.0 26,628 -3.7 North America -- Central America 18,901 2.7 41,161 10.8
Lufthansa Technik said it is under contract to an unnamed Saudi customer to complete the interiors of a Boeing 777-200 and two Boeing Business Jets. "We have already converted all the standard Boeing and Airbus models into VIP aircraft, but the 'triple seven' is a real challenge for us in view of the owner's time frame," said Jurgen Wilken, senior VP marketing.
Business aircraft manufacturers will produce nearly 4,900 business aircraft worth $62.4 billion between 1999 and 2008, the Teal Group predicted in its annual World Military and Civil Aircraft Briefing, issued yesterday at the Paris Air Show. The forecast notes an 800 aircraft-unit improvement over last year's prediction of 4,100 aircraft valued at $53 billion between 1998 and 2007.
WestJet Airlines' traffic gained 48.4% in May and capacity 38.5%, boosting the load factor 4.7 percentage points to 70.6%. Year-to-date, the Calgary, Alberta-based carrier reported a 47.6% jump in revenue passenger miles on 43.8% more available seat miles, growing the load factor 1.8 points.
Northwest seeks a DOT exemption to integrate certificate authority for two routes between the U.S. and Asian points, including behind, intermediate and beyond points, to "maximize its operational flexibility." The carrier wants to integrate its authority on Route 129, between points in the U.S. and Japan/Philippines/Hong Kong/Thailand/Malaysia/Indonesia/Taiwan/Korea/Singapore, and Route 378, between points in the U.S. and China. (Docket OST-99-5831)
Vietnam Airlines suspended flights to Moscow because of a drop in traffic. The carrier operated one weekly Ho Chi Minh City-Hanoi-Moscow flight that carried 1.1 million passengers through May, a 3% increase from last year. "Russia is a destination that has become highly unprofitable," a spokesman said.
Mexicana is expanding services to and from Los Angeles July 8, offering a sixth nonstop from Los Angeles to Mexico City and a second daily flight between Los Angeles and Los Cabos. Mexicana will add a daily nonstop to Leon and one daily direct flight to Cancun. The carrier has a code-share arrangement with United at Los Angeles.
Atlanta-based Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta, reported a 14.5% rise in traffic on 17.4% more capacity in May, which forced down the load factor 1.4 percentage points. Passengers flown gained 5.3%. Year-to-date traffic climbed 18% and capacity 21.4%, lowering the load factor 1.5 points. Passenger boardings grew 11.4%.
In skirmishes leading up to tomorrow or Thursday's House vote on taking the aviation trust funds off budget, three chairmen of major House committes warned in a letter to Republicans that AIR-21 would cut into the planned Republican tax reduction.Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) sent four "Dear Colleague" letters this year pushing AIR-21, warning sharply in the last one against "disinformation" on AIR-21.
Midway Airlines ordered 15 Boeing 737-700 aircraft with options for 10 more. It also will lease two 737-700s from GE Capital Aviation Services. The aircraft, to be delivered between 1999 and 2002, will be used to add capacity in the carrier's major markets. Steve Westberg, chief financial officer, said the 737s are expected to cost about the same to operate as the F100s, "gaining us the equivalent of 30 free seats per trip." Other orders announced in Paris:
In an eleventh-hour move designed to improve chances for House passage of AIR-21, the Transportation Committee bill that would take aviation trust funds off budget, Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) will offer a manager's amendment on the House floor that will delay the bill's elimination of slot restrictions at Chicago O'Hare and New York Kennedy and LaGuardia airports, committee sources said. The move is intended to sway votes in the New York and Illinois congressional delegations when the House votes, probably on Thursday.
Major carriers face a situation of "be careful what you wish for" in the Justice Department's recent antitrust enforcement action against American, Patrick Murphy, DOT deputy assistant secretary, told the American Bar Association's Air and Space Law Forum in Chicago. Carriers, which opposed DOT's proposed competition guidelines as reregulation, said government action on competition in the airline industry should be initiated by Justice, which filed an exclusionary behavior suit against American.
Garuda received approval for $281 million in financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank for 11 Boeing 737s that the carrier had been leasing for $346 million. The airline signed a deal to purchase 17 Boeing aircraft in 1996, and took six 737s in 1997 and five in 1998. When the economic crisis hit the region and local traffic plummeted, however, the airline determined it could not afford the remaining six aircraft.
Sun Country Airlines has booking capabilities through Worldspan and Sabre computer reservations systems, the carrier said yesterday. The airline will offer booking capabilities through the Amadeus system within the next month. Passengers also can book through the carrier's Internet site. Officials said the airline will pay travel agencies commissions of 10% plus overrides based on volume.
Alitalia plans to replace six Alitalia Express ATR 42-300s with six Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets, and took options for 10 more, the company said yesterday in Paris. The aircraft most likely will be flown on the Rome-Milan and vicinity routes, said Alitalia spokeswoman Marta-Marie Lotti. Alitalia Express operates nine ATR 42-300s and four ATR 72-210s.
Spirit Airlines hopes to open two gates at Detroit Metro Airport by late November. The airline paid "cash on the barrelhead" for the gates, said Vice Chairman Mark Kahan, noting that no passenger facility charge funds or bonds were used for the gates.
