United's UAL Services unit will perform B- and C-checks on the charitable ORBIS flying eye hospital. The company agreed to provide $40,000 in maintenance services plus 1,500 hours of volunteer labor, the equivalent of a B-check, every year. Every three years, it will provide $120,000 in services plus enough volunteer hours to do a C-check. The company also provides ORBIS a full-time volunteer mechanic.
Delta will launch nonstop shuttle service between Washington Reagan and Boston Logan airports on June 1. The carrier plans departures every hour during the business day, using two Delta 727 aircraft and one Canadair Regional Jet operated by Delta Connection partner Comair. Future expansion plans for the route call for hourly service operated by Delta Shuttle aircraft.
Attorneys for the City of Fort Worth have filed suit against the Texas state attorney general opposing his opinion that the city must give Legend Airlines certain public documents that Legend requested in 1997 under the state Freedom of Information Act. The city refused to provide the documents because Legend refused to pay a $7,500 deposit the attorney general later ruled the city could not require. The city has filed its petition with the Texas District Court.
America West's March traffic grew 5.9% to a record 1.48 billion revenue passenger miles in March, the second consecutive month in which the carrier set a record. But capacity rose even faster, 7.8%, which resulted in a load factor decline of 1.2 percentage points to 67.9%. Year-to-date traffic was up 10.4% on 7.7% more capacity, boosting the load factor 1.5 points to 63.7%.
Canadian North - now Northern, owned by Air NorTerra Inc. - has added service between Ottawa and Iqaluit, the capital of Canada's newest territory, Nunavut, in conjunction with code-share partner Canadian Airlines. The new three-times-weekly service will double to six per week in the fall. The route was added to meet increased demand for passenger and cargo services between northern and southern destinations and to help develop the new territory. Flights operate Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, initially with two-class 737-200s.
The National Transportation Safety Board and the International Transportation Safety Association will conduct an international symposium on transportation recorders and the expanded use of data they collect May 3-5 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. The symposium is intended to bring together for the first time professionals from all transportation modes to share information and experiences in investigating accidents and improving safety and efficiency.
American Trans Air reported a 13.2% increase in systemwide traffic on 11.1% more capacity in March, flying 1 billion revenue passenger miles and 1.32 billion available seat miles. Block hours gained 12% to 15,423 and passenger volume climbed 16% to 690,189. Scheduled-service RPMs grew 18.6% to 582 million and ASMs 14.2% to 707 million, boosting the load factor 3 percentage points to 82.3%. Block hours in scheduled service increased 16.3% to 10,093 and passengers 22.7% to 459,632.
FAA has targeted regional turboprops in its notice of proposed rulemaking that would require damage-tolerance-based inspections for Parts 121/129/135 multiengine aircraft after their 14th year in scheduled service and every five years thereafter. The inspections include records reviews to "ensure that the maintenance of these airplanes' age-sensitive parts and components has been adequate and timely (DAILY, April 7). Specifically cited were the Beech 99/1900/1900C and 1900D. The 99s have a design life goal of 46,000 hours and the 1900-series 45,000 hours.
Atlantic Southeast will bring Canadair Regional Jet service to Daytona Beach and Melbourne, Fla., and Islip, N.Y., as part of its summer schedule, the airline announced. At Daytona Beach, ASA will offer three daily flights with RJs to Atlanta, introducing one flight June 1 and another two flights July 1; at Melbourne, the regional will operate four daily flights, launching two flights to Atlanta June 1 and two more July 15, all with RJs; at Islip, ASA will inaugurate service Aug. 1 with three daily flights to Atlanta with RJs.
New Regional Aircraft Deliveries December 1998 Last 12 Months Carrier No. Type Engines Delivery Air Guadeloupe 1 ATR 42-500 PW127E 1 Air Guadeloupe 1 Do 228-212 TPE331-10GP-511 1
Northwest launched a ConnectFirst Asia program, which allows travelers purchasing business-class tickets for connecting-flight itineraries from the U.S. to Asia to upgrade to first class. Customers may book a first-class seat if space is available when purchasing a qualifying published World Business Class fare. The ConnectFirst Asia transpacific itinerary must contain at least one connection in the U.S. or Japan. The program is valid on one-way and roundtrip qualifying itineraries, including flights by most alliance partners and Northwest Airlink.
DOT is not "preparing any overarching policy" on exclusive code-share agreements, a department spokesman said in response to United and Northwest concerns (DAILY, April 8).Although the department has rejected a number of exclusive code shares, "that's based on the substance of those cases," not on a broad policy shift. Responding to petitions, DOT is re-examining rejections of United-ANA and Northwest-Air China exclusivity, and "we are very shortly going to answer them," the spokesman said.
...Inspections would be required for an estimated 2,850 airplanes age 15 years and older. FAA assumes that where the potential compliance cost would exceed 50% of the group value, inspections and procedures would not be developed and implemented and the related costs would not be incurred. Instead the model-groups would be retired or transferred out of scheduled service, resulting in a 50% loss in their economic value. That action would not ground the aircraft, but simply preclude their use in scheduled passenger service (see NPRM story to follow).
National Air Transportation Association has criticized a recent FAA interpretive rule that relieves air traffic control of one responsibility related to reading back clearances. Specifically, NATA complained about FAA's finding that, if a pilot were to read back transmitted information incorrectly, ATC is not responsible for correcting the error.
The load factor posted by Spencer, Iowa-based Great Lakes Aviation fell three percentage points last month to 45% from 48% in March 1998, as revenue passenger miles rose 37% to 21.1 million but capacity jumped 46% to 46.8 million available seat miles. Enplanements were up 54% to 81,133. Great Lakes Load Factor Falls Three Points March 99 March 98 3 Mths 99 3 Mths 98 PRMS 21,069,000 15,374,000 58,186,000 42,184,000 ASMs 46,801,000 32,045,000 135,479,000 93,098,000
The Government Flying Service of Hong Kong this week unveiled its two new special purpose Jetstream 41 aircraft, targeted for maritime patrol duties. The two 41s replace two Beech Super King Airs, British Aerospace said. The two aircraft were the last new Jetstreams to be delivered, BAe said.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines experienced a 20.1% rise in traffic on 27.3% more capacity for March 1999 compared with March last year, depressing the load factor 3.3 percentage points to 54.1%. ASA, which is being taken over by senior code-sharing partner Delta, flew 102.5 million revenue passenger miles and 189.4 million available seat miles. Passengers flown increased 12.5% to 374,955. ASA Load Factor Dips More Than Three Points March 99 March 98 3 Mths 99 3 Mths 98
Fortis Aviation Group has reached an agreement to lease two used Shorts 360-300 (serial numbers 3732 and 3735) turboprops to RAS Fluggesellschaft mbH of Dusseldorf, Germany. The aircraft were manufactured in 1988.
Delta's Washington-Boston shuttle additions (see Page 58) means there will be 54 daily departures in the cutthroat Northeast corridor market, 30 of them from Washington Dulles and 24 from Washington Reagan. Add to this Southwest's 11 daily flights from nearby Baltimore/Washington Airport to Providence and eight daily to Manchester.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, which operates as United Express, posted a 38.6% gain in traffic to 80.1 million revenue passenger miles and a 35.6% jump in capacity to 140.3 million available seat miles for March 1999 compared with March 1998, boosting its load factor 1.3 percentage points to 57.1%. Atlantic Coast Sees Jump In March Traffic March 99 March 98 3 Mths 99 3 Mths 98 RPMs 80,111,000 57,802,000 208,605,000 139,596,000 ASMs 140,331,000 103,500,000 396,140,000 284,981,000
Appleton, Wis.-based United Express affiliate Air Wisconsin flew 102.3 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 93% increase from the march 1998 figure. Capacity, meanwhile, grew 79.5% to 155.5 million available seat miles from 86.7 million, which boosted the load factor 4.6 percentage points to 65.7%. Enplanements were up 76.4% to 322,341. Air Wisconsin Load Factor Jumps 4.6 Points March 99 March 98 3 Mths 99 3 Mths 98 RPMs 102,258,000 52,970,000 255,148,000 141,155,000
British Airways's traffic increased 9.6% in March but did not keep pace with capacity, up 10.5%, causing the load factor to decline for the third straight month. In March, the load factor fell 0.7 percentage points to 73.1%. Premium traffic was down 0.2% while non-premium leisure traffic rose 11.4%. BA's intercontinental traffic rose 10.1% and capacity increased 11%, causing a load factor decline of 0.6 points to 75.7%. U.K./Europe traffic grew 6.9% on 8.6% more capacity, lowering the load factor 1.0 point to 63%.
