National Air Transportation Association said it disagrees with a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation calling for terrain awareness and warning systems (TAWS) on all turbine-powered aircraft seating six or more passengers. VP Andrew Cebula said that the benefits of such a requirement for aircraft operated under Part 135 and Part 91 have never been analyzed. The importance of an analysis is "heightened by the costs small operators would incur with a TAWS requirement," he said.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, which flies in the eastern and midwestern U.S. as United Express, officially opened its regional airline concourse at Washington Dulles Airport on Sunday. The 70,000-square-foot facility was built specifically to accommodate regional jets and other ACA aircraft. The concourse has 12 gates, each with three separate doors, for a total of 36 aircraft positions, occupied solely by ACA/United Express. The "A" concourse, located in the midfield area, is connected to "B" concourse by a sky bridge.
Team of Lucas Aerospace, Solihull, England, and Pfalz-Flugzeugwerke, Speyer, Germany, was selected by DaimlerChrysler Aerospace Airbus, Hamburg, Germany, to supply the cargo mechanical system for the new Airbus A340- 500/600.
Pilots of Northwest subsidiary Express I ratified a six-year contract on Friday on the first vote. The agreement was unusual in the airline business since it was finalized 17 months before the expiration of the company's existing contract. Most labor accords are reached after the existing contract expires. The new agreement took effect May 1 and will expire April 30, 2005.
New York-based New Air Corp. filed Friday with DOT to launch commercial service in January using its just-ordered fleet of Airbus A320s.The company expects to announce the airline's name shortly.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association reported that, as of May 1, it is no longer necessary to file a flight plan for visual flights between Austria and Germany.
Federal Election Commission's recent report on 1997-98 congressional election cycle fundraising shows that former House aviation subcommittee member Jon Fox (R-Pa.), loser in a close race last year, raised $688,512 from political action committees. His PAC total was 18th-highest in the House. More remarkable is the showing of Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), who rated 33rd on the PAC list with $631,760 even though he won both the Republican and Democratic nominations for re-election and was unopposed.
In Federal Register dated April 23...Issued an airworthiness directive on Boeing 737 series aircraft requiring inspections for cracking in the aft pressure bulkhead...Issued an AD on Boeing 747 aircraft with certain General Electric or Pratt&Whitney engines requiring inspections of the nacelle struts...Proposed an AD on British Aerospace Jetstream series aircraft to require inspecting the nose wheel steering system...Proposed an AD on de Havilland DHC-2 aircraft to require inspecting the rear fuselage bulkhead...Proposed to supersede an AD on Fairchild SA226/227 ai
US Airways, MetroJet and regional partners have added flights in 15 markets currently served by Atlantic Coast Airlines from Washington Dulles. Merrill Lynch said most of MetroJet's aircraft for this year - 47 of 54 - have been allocated. "We think we've seen most, if not all, of US Airways' Dulles market adds for 1999," Merrill Lynch said, adding it will watch traffic trends at Dulles closely in the June and September quarters.
Access Air appointed district sales managers Lisa Rudolph, Des Moines, Iowa; Robert Spear, Los Angeles; Karen Fels, Peoria, Ill.; Danette Bloomer, Moline, Ill., and Joseph Aron, New York. Airborne Express named Rosalie Wolf to the board. AirTran appointed Kevin Healy VP-planning. Alaska Air Group named Keith Loveless general counsel and VP-legal and corporate affairs. Delta promoted David Bushy to senior VP-flight operations and William Wangerien to VP-operational planning, control and reliability.
An Air Transport Association task force is drafting guidelines, with input from the Defense Department and DOT, for use by U.S. carriers in reviewing the safety of their foreign code-share partners. The foreign carriers, whose civil aviation authorities are assessed by FAA, in many cases fly to the U.S., an ATA spokesman pointed out. The task force, responding to concerns raised by DOD, is working to establish a means for U.S. carriers to perform a review of their foreign partners in a "standardized way," he said.
SkyWest Airlines ordered 10 more 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets valued at $230 million, Bombardier Aerospace announced Friday. The transaction brings the airline's firm CRJ orders to 45, 10 of which have been delivered. SkyWest also has 35 options. The airline plans to place the regional jets with code-sharing partner Delta on its Salt Lake City hub. Ron Reber, executive VP, said that "as Delta continues to refine its operation at Sale Lake City, the Canadair Regional Jet will provide for improved schedule and equipment utilization."
In the latest setback for Philippine Airlines, major creditor Export-Import Bank of the U.S. said it is withdrawing its support for the carrier's restructuring. Ex-Im Bank is upset that major shareholder Lucio Tan assumed the job of chief executive, according to the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission. Tan took the position a few weeks ago, even though creditors had asked to approve major management changes.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association does not share FAA's sanguine view of Year 2000 readiness. "No one knows what to test, where to test it, how to test it or who has already tested what," the union says. "It is difficult to prepare the aviation industry for what may or may not become a crisis when no one knows what to even expect."
U.S. and Argentine aviation officials concluded talks Friday in Washington, having met for an additional day beyond their planned schedule of three days, with a commitment to meet May 19-20 in Washington "with the intention of successfully concluding the negotiations," according to a DOT spokesman.
Services for Thomas O'Leary, former official of the Civil Aeronautics Board, Mohawk, Pan Am and TWA, will be held May 11 at 10:45 a.m. at the Fort Myers Chapel, Arlington, Va.
Air Transport Association named Don Collier VP-engineering, maintenance and materiel. General Aviation Manufacturers Association selected Chance Bentley, Utah State University, to receive the 1999 Dr. Harold S. Woods Award for Excellence.
A Lufthansa order for 60 firm Fairchild Aerospace 70-seat 728JETS plus 60 options ( DAILY, April 30) is worth more than $600 million to General Electric, whose CF34-8D turbofans will power the aircraft. The 14,000-pounds-thrust-class engine also will power other members of the 728JET family - the 90-passenger 928JET and the 55-passenger 528JET.
Midwest Express shareholders have re-elected four members of the carrier's 11-member board - former Kimberly-Clark executive James Grosklaus, Midwest Express Chairman Tim Hoeksema, law partner Ulice Payne and SH&E Chairman David Treitel. Midwest Express will observe its 15th anniversary on June 11, and regional subsidiary Skyway Airlines celebrated 10 years in February. As part of the anniversary celebration, Midwest Express will hold an on-line ticket auction June 4-11.
European airport movements rose 5.4% and passenger totals 8% in the first quarter, according to Airports Council International-Europe. Aside from the transfer of operations to Milan Malpensa from Linate, London Stansted posted the biggest year-over-year gain, with 52.7% more passengers. Little Rome Ciampino registered a 23.8% gain, Palma de Mallorca 21.9%, Dublin 18.1% and Brussels 16.8%.
International tour bookings are falling off because of the NATO air war in Yugoslavia, AAA said Friday, but AAA travel agency bookings to other areas are increasing and cruises are up 15%. "When a crisis occurs in one area of the world, it's natural for people to avoid that area," said Mark Brown, executive VP-AAA association and club services. "This natural tendency...doesn't mean that people stop traveling. Travel to western Europe and domestic destinations should be unaffected."
