Chief executive officers of the Star Alliance carriers, meeting yesterday in Sydney for the second anniversary of the partnership and the formal admission of Ansett Australia and Air New Zealand to it, said Star airlines will be ready for Year 2000 operations that they control and will not compromise safety if organizations outside their control fall short.
Eagle USA Airfreight said net income for its second quarter ended March 31 jumped 39% to $5.5 million. Revenues rose 48% to $133.7 million, and operating income increased 38% to $8.4 million. Shipments were up 35% to 324,399, while the average weight gained 14% to 634 pounds.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) have not been able to resolve their differences over adding flights at Washington Reagan Airport and, in the words of one source, "have agreed to disagree" when the committee's two-year FAA reauthorization bill reaches the Senate floor this month. Prospects for the House-Senate reauthorization conference late this month, as the May 31 expiration of the current authorization approaches, are equally uncertain.
AirTran is offering its Grade "A" fares for travel May 10-Sept. 30. A seven day advance purchase is required, and tickets must be purchased by May 20. Some blackout dates apply. Sample one-way fares include $39 Atlanta-Savannah/Hilton Head; $99 Houston-Orlando and $59 Greensboro-Tampa.
FlightSafety said it is building a major aviation training facility at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The two-story building will enclose more than 110,000 square feet on a 6.8-acre site, halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark yesterday approved the settlement deal between Kiwi International Air Lines and FAA that the two sides signed April 17. Under the settlement, Kiwi will begin the process of revalidating its operating certificate on an expedited basis. FAA did not impose any fines or penalties. FAA in March pulled Kiwi's operating certificate, claiming it operated its aircraft in an unairworthy condition, failed to perform adequate maintenance and did not follow up on safety issues that FAA brought to its attention (DAILY, March 26).
Continental Express, the wholly owned regional carrier of Continental, has reported that more than 50% of its available seat miles are provided by the Embraer ERJ-145 regional jet, up from 30% at this time last year. Continental Express later this month will be operating 42 of the RJs, accounting for 54% of its ASMs. It will take delivery of new ExpressJets throughout the year as it moves toward an all-jet fleet, and it will take delivery of its first Embraer ERJ-135, the 37-passenger RJ, in July.
American's lead in Latin America will shrink over time as Atlanta and Chicago "suck up some of the traffic that has traditionally gone through Miami," Merrill Lynch analyst Candace Browning said yesterday at the International Airline CEO Conference in Miami. While U.S. carriers added 21% capacity to Latin America last year - compared with 9% to Europe and minus 5% to Asia - the competition will lower American's market share in the next five years, she said.
A consortium headed by China Airlines (CAL) has submitted a detailed operating proposal and qualifying documentation to Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration in a bid to win operating rights for the Taipei and Kaohsiung air cargo terminals following their first stage of privatization. Other partners include Far Eastern Air Transport, UPS, Everterminal Corp., Taoyuan International Airport Services Co., Taiwan Airport Service Co. and six domestic air freight forwarders.
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.
