Mexicana appointed Virginia Barclay reservations manager-U.S. and Canada; Jennifer Jenks manager-advertising and sales promotion, U.S. and Canada, and Ivan Parrilla general manager-Puerto Rico.
Midway Airlines reported a 2.2% gain in traffic on 1.3% more capacity for March, and the load factor grew 0.6 percentage points to 67.8%. Midway flew 92.3 million revenue passenger miles and 136.2 million available seat miles. Passengers flown increased 5.5% to 181,200. Year-to-date RPMs climbed 2.8% and ASMs 0.7%, boosting the load factor 1.3 points. Enplanements were up 6.7%.
San Diego Aerospace Museum added Oleg Antonov, glider designer, Charles Kaman, founder of rotor-wing manufacturer Kaman Corp., and Louise Thaden, the fourth woman to earn a transport pilot license in 1926 and winner of the first All Women's Air Derby, to the International Aerospace Hall of Fame.
FAA has approved FASTboot de-icers developed by BFGoodrich's Ice Protection Systems Division for de Havilland Dash 8 100/200/300 and Embraer 120 aircraft. FASTboot versions for the Saab 340 and 2000 aircraft were approved earlier by FAA and made available in January.
GoodSmith&Co. has formed Piedmont Aviation Capital Services LLC (PACS), an aviation financial unit. The Long Beach investment banking company will provide customer acquisition financing and other services in support of the Airliner Sales Division of Piedmont Aviation Services, which is headquartered in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Delta pulled out of its code share with Korean Air following the April 15 crash of an MD-11 freighter after takeoff from Shanghai. The accident is the latest setback for Korean Air and the second time in eight months that a Delta code-share partner has had an MD-11 crash. Last September, a Swissair MD-11 plowed into the waters off Nova Scotia. Delta said its decision to suspend the four-year marketing relationship was based on Korean Air's "operational incidents," including last week's crash.
-- In Federal Register dated April 12...Issued an airworthiness directive on Dornier 328 aircraft requiring lubrication of the engine control push-pull cables...Issued an AD on Boeing 747 aircraft requiring leak tests of the lavatory drain system...Superseded an AD on certain Aerospatiale ATR 42 series aircraft concerning inspection of the main landing gear...Issued an AD on Boeing 747 aircraft requiring replacing the auxiliary power unit fuel boost pump.
DOT, rejecting arguments made by environmental groups, made final last year's tentative decision (DAILY, March 18, 1998) authorizing Hawaiian to serve Maui-Tokyo, and allocated seven weekly frequencies for the service, which Hawaiian plans to begin in January. The Sierra Club Parties argued that the service requires a final environmental impact statement (DAILY, May 6, 1998), and FAA's record of decision on that statement has been appealed to the courts.
Democrats in Utah are optimistic about picking up a House seat because Jim Matheson, son of the late governor Scott Matheson, has declared he will seek the Democratic nomination to run against House Transportation aviation subcommittee member Merrill Cook, a Republican who represents the Second District (Salt Lake City). Cook, voted into Congress in 1996 on his seventh try for elective office, has had internal party and staff problems.
-- S.722 - introduced March 25 by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) - a bill to provide for the immediate application of certain orders relating to the amendment, modification, suspension or revocation of certificates under Chapter 447 of Title 49, U S. Code. Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
Mexicana asked DOT for an exemption to provide scheduled service between Chihuahua, Mexico, and El Paso, Texas, for at least two years. The carrier plans to begin code-share service on the route with Aerolitoral immediately after DOT approves its request. Aerolitoral holds authority for the service, which it operates with Metro III/Merlin aircraft. The carriers applied jointly for authority to code share on a Monterrey-San Antonio routing, for which Mexicana holds permit authority, as well as Chihuahua-El Paso.
UNI Airways of Taiwan purchased one 37-passenger de Havilland Dash 8 Q200 aircraft and took an option for an additional unit. The EVA Airways subsidiary will use the Q200 between Taiwan and Matsu Island. The aircraft will be equipped with performance options to operate on Matsu's short runway.
Last week's decision to offer Europe a commitment and timetable to develop Stage 4 engine noise regulations in exchange for dropping the prospective ban on hushkitted aircraft (DAILY, April 16) came out of a government-only meeting, and U.S. airlines learned of the results only after the fact.Although the airlines oppose any ban, they have what a source described as "real concerns" about pressuring ICAO to rush through Chapter 4 noise rules when the deadline for Chapter 3 does not expire until yearend. Continental keeps using EETCs, gets good rates
AlliedSignal named Robert Johnson president and chief executive of AlliedSignal Aerospace; Steven Loranger president of Engines&Systems; Francis Daly president of Avionics&Lighting; James Taiclet president of Aerospace Services; Lynn Brubaker head of the air transport and regional account team; Robert Ruck head of the business and general aviation team, and Thomas Culligan head of the defense and space team.
In an indication that Taiwan is moving a further step closer to removing restrictions against direct trade with mainland China, officials in Taipei said Taiwan will permit goods from China to be taken to the international airports at Kaohsiung or Taoyuan for transshipment without passing through customs. Taiwan still bans direct cross-strait trade as one of the few bargaining chips it holds in negotiations with mainland China, from which it separated in 1949.
