Emirates will stop service June 1 between Hong Kong and Manila after the Filipino government unexpectedly withdrew the airline's landing rights. Emirates has been operating a Boeing 777 on the route four times per week. The rehabilitation plan for Philippine Airlines includes clauses asking the government to improve its competitive situation by limiting the operating permits of other airlines.
National Business Aviation Association selected Donald Engen to receive the 1999 NBAA Award For Meritorious Service to Aviation and Paul Stevens recipient of the 1999 NBAA John P. Doswell Award; appointed John Balsiger regional representative for the Midwest Region and Paul Smith regional representative for the Southwest Region. Ohio Aerospace Institute named Jake Breland VP-operations. The International Air Cargo Association selected Ram Menen, Emirates senior general manager of cargo, to chair the President's Council.
Northwest talks with its flight attendants, represented by Teamsters, were recessed last week by the National Mediation Board. Discussions are scheduled to resume June 8-9. Teamsters General President James Hoffa has instructed the union to seek a release from mediation if a tentative deal is not reached by then. The union said talks were recessed when it was apparent to the NMB that the two sides were further apart on wage issues than previously thought. Negotiations have been ongoing for three years.
European airlines have "significantly improved their economic and financial performance since market liberalization and generated new jobs", according to the European Commission in a report unveiled May 21 in Brussels. European Union employment in the air transport industry -airlines, airports, ground handling and maintenance - grew from 435,000 people in 1988 to 489,000 in 1996. In addition, the number of airlines operating scheduled service jumped from 132 in 1992 to 164 in 1998. Many entered and left the market.
Continental Express, which along with start-up Legend Airlines wants to fly interstate out of Love Field, is expanding regional jet service from Love Field to its Houston hub. The airline will increase service from nine to 11 daily flights on July 9 using 50-passenger Embraer 145 regional jets. Continental's mainline operation also will add three daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth from its Newark hub, forming a high-frequency shuttle service.
There are 1,400 city pairs that currently are large enough to be served by regional jets but have no jet service, according to a study by airline consultants GKMG.The study shows that three of the major airlines - United, US Airways and Northwest - have the best opportunities to serve these markets, but all three have RJ flying restrictions in their pilot scope clauses. GKMG will unveil the study Wednesday.
While U.S. airlines were enjoying a perfect safety record last year, elsewhere aviation experienced record hull losses, according to the Aviation Insurance Officers' Association. Cost of hull losses last year reached $890 million, up more than 45% from 1997, according to Avmark Aviation Economist. Fatalities increased 28% to 806, including 214 in the Swissair MD-11 accident.
General aviation manufacturers shipped 479 units - 107 of them jets - in the first quarter, up 5% from the comparable period last year and the highest number in 15 years, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. Billings jumped 49.2% to $1.70 billion from $1.13 billion, the strongest first quarter results in GA history, GAMA said. "The ramp-up in deliveries of new models, strong industry backlogs and the continuing strength of the economy all contributed to record shipments of jets in the first quarter," said GAMA President Ed Bolen.
TWA told DOT yesterday that it should dismiss or "suspend action on the proposed application" by Alitalia, KLM and Northwest an antitrust-immunized alliance "until the fundamental issues of continued immunity for the Northwest/KLM alliance and Northwest's control of Continental are resolved." Alitalia and Continental together hold a 63% share of the U.S.-Italy seats, TWA noted. The applicants proposed their "tripartite" alliance as the key to effecting U.S.-Italy open skies (DAILY, May 13), conditioned by an immunized alliance for Alitalia. (Docket OST-99-5674)
Howmet Corp. is in the final phase of testing an aft engine mount bulkhead for the Boeing 777 engine strut pylon. It is the first time a casting was used for this fracture-critical application and the first use of titanium for this type of component.
United is changing the size of its controversial templates that screen carry-on baggage at many airport security checkpoints. The airline wants to accommodate most garment bags, which cannot pass through the existing templates. Passengers wanted the change. "We listened to our customers, who emphasized the importance of getting reasonably sized garment bags through the templates without having to maneuver them to fit," said Chris Bowers, senior VP-North America.
Express I Airlines, which does business as Northwest Airlink, flew 10.3% fewer passengers in April compared with the same 1998 month. The airline posted a 7% drop in traffic on 12% less capacity, which grew the load factor 2.8 percentage points to 62.3%. Year-to-date, traffic was down 2% and capacity 6.5%, boosting the load factor 2.7 points. Passengers flown declined 7%.
Federal Express and its Fedex Pilots Association yesterday signed their first contract, giving pilots a 17% raise over five years. The contract will take effect May 31. The hard-won deal covers retirement, pay, work rules, scope, scheduling and other issues important to the company's 3,600 pilots. "This is an historic occasion -- a long time in the making," said FPA President Mike Weiland.
Air France is offering summer travelers from New York to Paris three Concorde promotions, including connections to more than 70 destinations worldwide. (1) Passengers who pay the roundtrip business-class fare of $6,380 receive a free Concorde upgrade in one direction and free continuing flights to 64 points in Europe. (2) A roundtrip first-class fare of $8,486 entitles passengers to fly Concorde roundtrip with free continuing fights to 74 cities in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Western Asia.
Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), vice chairman of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, has sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to members of the New York congressional delegation urging support for AIR-21, the Transportation bill that would greatly increase FAA funding. Sweeney says the bill will provide airports in the state with the money to expand and attract more carriers, reducing ticket prices. "We need to bring competition into the intrastate airline industry, so we will not be held hostage by these exorbitant prices," he said.
DOT granted Air Europe, S.p.A., d/b/a Air Europe Italy a one-year initial exemption to conduct scheduled foreign combination service between Pisa/Venice and New York, at a frequency of six weekly roundtrips. Italy designated the carrier for service at the level approved by DOT, consistent with the U.S.-Italy memorandum of consultations, signed shortly after the carriers agreed to open skies pending antitrust immunity for an Alitalia-Northwest alliance (DAILY, Nov. 13, 1998). Northwest, KLM and Alitalia applied jointly at DOT for an immunized alliance (DAILY, May 13).
TWA and its International Association of Machinists union unit will resume contract talks today in Washington, D.C., with the National Mediation Board. The two sides, who entered a 30-day cooling-off period May 11, have agreed to a news blackout.
DOT granted Air Exel Netherlands two-year initial exemption authority to display Northwest's designator code on flights between Amsterdam and Antwerp, Belgium. The Dutch carrier, which has a marketing agreement with KLM, has an exemption to carry Northwest's code on flights between Amsterdam and other points in The Netherlands and between Paris and Eindhoven, Netherlands (DAILY, Sept. 23, 1998). Air Exel, which applied for the Amsterdam-Antwerp exemption in early February, planned to expand its code-share arrangement with Northwest by March 28.
Lufthansa Group Chairman Jurgen Weber is calling for the creation of a transatlantic aviation pact that would move "stalled" liberalization onto a greater stage and for governments on both sides of the ocean not to create legislation that could "shackle a free market regime." On both sides of the Atlantic, "I can see the specter of re-regulation lurking," he said in a speech to the International Aviation Club in Washington yesterday. Weber derided governments - especially in Europe - for not focusing on infrastructure improvements that are desperately needed.
FAA yesterday gave Las Vegas-based startup National Airlines its air carrier operating certificate. The airline was granted its DOT initial certificate of public convenience and necessity in February. National Chief Executive Michael Conway said that with its FAA operating certificate in hand the airline can begin to offer service May 27, as planned. The airline will begin service from Las Vegas to Chicago Midway and Los Angeles first, followed by flights to New York Kennedy June 14 and San Francisco June 24.
The Air Line Pilots Association executive board yesterday approved to send $2 million from its major contingency fund to help finance strategic planning, strike preparation and pilot and family communications programs at Midwest Express. Midwest Express ALPA Chairman Segundo Andrew said he was "gratified" that ALPA is backing his group. "Since the beginning, we have come to the negotiation table prepared to talk, while management has stalled, delayed and generally refused to negotiate in good faith.
Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio received a $9 million grant from FAA to refine a computer software tool that could help prevent uncontained disk failure due to metal defects. Such defects are difficult to spot using current non-destructive inspection methods. The new tool was demonstrated this week to industry and government officials. The National Transportation Safety Board has urged work in this area, particularly following the fatal crash of a DC-10 a decade ago in Iowa.
