Challenging DOT's tentative allocation of 67 summer-season Chicago O'Hare-London roundtrip frequencies to United, American said it "disagrees with the outcome of the department's balancing test" for deciding the issue. In its tentative order, DOT said more competition at London Heathrow outweighs American's proposed daily London Gatwick service, which the carrier would operate for about three months during the seven-month season (DAILY, March 26).
Aerospace exports, imports and the trade surplus reached record highs last year, according to the Aerospace Industries Association's Aerospace Research Center. Exports rose by $14 billion to $64 billion and imports by $5 billion to $23 billion, AIA President John Douglass reported. The surplus, $41 billion, was up $8.7 billion from 1997. "Our legislators and government regulators need to remember that this $41 billion trade surplus is the largest in our national economy," Douglass said, contributing to "an all-time low" in the overall trade deficit.
U.S. and Argentine aviation officials, negotiating for four days last week in Buenos Aires, "made progress on all outstanding issues" that stand in the way of a U.S.-Argentina open-skies agreement, according to a DOT spokesman. The next round of talks is scheduled April 27-29 in Washington. Argentine President Carlos Menem visited the U.S. in January, and he and President Clinton urged their negotiators at the time to conclude an open-skies pact during the March meeting (DAILY, Jan. 13).
United and Aeronautical Radio Inc. (ARINC) have demonstrated that the flight management system in the airline's 747-400s will be able to communicate with ARINC's ground-based systems after Dec. 31. The companies used test facilities to conduct the experiment, so that current systems in operation would not be disrupted. The demonstration included the Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS), the global air-to-ground data link.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) ordered the island's airlines to complete all reprogramming and testing of computer systems for full compliance with Year 2000 date change requirements by the end of September. Carriers that miss the deadline face severe penalties, not yet specified, a CAA spokesman said.
General Electric said its CF34 engine, which powers the Canadair Regional Jet, passed three million flight hours recently with an inflight shutdown rate of one event per 228,200 hours. Shop visits averaged one every 17,300 hours.
Executives at Kiwi International Air Lines believe their carrier is caught in the middle of an "apparent rift" between DOT and FAA over the airline's March 23 shutdown. In a letter to DOT Secretary Rodney Slater and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey, Kiwi Chief Executive Eugene Gillespie asked the two officials not to hold hostage 80,000 travelers booked on Kiwi because of "what appears to be bureaucratic infighting." Gillespie indicated that FAA blindsided Kiwi by revoking its operating certificate, since the airline received no feedback from a recent safety inspection.
Northwest and Air China applied jointly at DOT for an exemption for Northwest to carry mail between New York Kennedy and Beijing and Shanghai, and for a statement of authorization for Air China to display Northwest's code on flights between Beijing and Shanghai and New York and Chicago O'Hare. Northwest holds economic authority to provide the service from Chicago. The carriers, which want to launch their mail code-share arrangement May 1, asked that the exemption be effective for two years and the code-share authority last indefinitely.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets, O&D Passengers, Third Quarter 1998 1998 1997 Average Mkt. Mkt Passengers Top Carrier Rank Rank City-Pair Per Day (% Share) 1 1 Los Angeles - New York 9,074 American (31.0) 2 2 Chicago - New York 8,255 United (34.9) 3 4 New York - San Francisco 6,769 United (39.7)
The aviation trust fund amendment added to the Senate version of the fiscal 2000 budget resolution (DAILY, March 30) had the backing of Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) and Appropriations Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska).
Access Air's charge of predation against Northwest, Delta and TWA is the first in which a major did not follow a price increase by the startup, noted David Ulmer, Senior VP of Roberts Roach&Associates. The three majors matched Access's $198 introductory fares, but did not raise them when Access did. "You have to assume your fares are going to be matched in the marketplace," Ulmer said of the Access strategy.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Under 750 Miles O&D Passengers Third Quarter 1998 Short 1998 Non- Average Haul Mkt Stop Pax Top Carrier Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day (% Share) 1 2 Chicago - New York 723 8,255 United (34.9) 2 5 Boston - New York 183 6,393 Delta (40.4)
A Thai Airways International fleet rationalization study carried out four years ago has not reduced costs as planned, apparently because the airline's attempts to carry it out were turned aside within the Thai government. The carrier commissioned U.S. aviation consulting company Avitas in January 1995 to carry out a study of reducing the number of aircraft types in its fleet - then 17, including the Boeing 777, which was on order - and the number of engine types, then seven.
India's Income-Tax Department has launched a full-scale investigation of allegations that Asiana Airlines violated tax laws by "suppressing" salaries drawn by the Korean carrier's foreign employees working in its country office in New Delhi, opened two years ago. ITD sources said yesterday Asiana is one of nearly 40 foreign-based multinational companies - more than half of them headquartered in Southeast Asia - being investigated in an attempt to determine the salary structures of their India-based foreign employees, to determine amounts retained in home countries.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is urging members to write Congress in support of the recent budget compromise between House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) and the Republican leadership concerning aviation funding.The deal "shows there is now a real chance to unlock the aviation trust fund surplus and spend aviation taxes on aviation programs," said AOPA President Phil Boyer.
Measures taken March 1 by Boeing Co. to simplify the design and production of airplanes have "stabilized quickly" and caused few problems for users, the company reported. The initiative, Define and Control Airplane Configuration/Manufacturing Resource Management, represents the beginning of a system that eventually will become Boeing's single source of data on airplanes and airplane parts, the company said. Boeing said it also integrated four commercial software programs to replace more than 450 computing systems.
Responding to the outbreak of a viral epidemic that has claimed more than 60 lives in Malaysia and is believed to be responsible for at least one death in Singapore, Taiwan's cabinet-level Council of Agriculture ordered that customs and quarantine procedures at the island's two international airports be tightened.
An act of Congress has once again caused wide divisions between FAA and the international aviation community, prompting the agency to extend for 60 days, until May 24, the deadline for comments on its almost unanimously opposed security program for foreign air carriers. The delay was sought by the British government and Air Canada, and opponents of the proposed rule include Japan, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, Airports Council International and the Association of European Airlines. Air Canada pointed out that, as noted by the U.K.
DOT yesterday made final, over the objections of Delta and United, its tentative award of seven U.S.-Brazil combination frequencies to Continental for Houston-Sao Paulo nonstop service (DAILY, Jan. 4), with Delta's New York-Sao Paulo as backup. Continental's five-year experimental certificate will have an expiration date for service launch of Dec.
Continental and American applied for new U.S.-Russia third-country code-share opportunities, with 26 weekly frequencies available now to U.S. carriers (DAILY, March 22). The carriers seek to amend pending applications. Continental asked to consolidate its application to code share with Air France between Houston and Newark and Moscow and St. Petersburg (DAILY, Jan. 27) via Paris on seven weekly roundtrips to each Russian point, noting that it would also offer routings to Russia from Miami.
United Express carrier Great Lakes Aviation reported a $53,000 net loss for the fourth quarter of 1998, an improvement over its year-earlier loss of $5.6 million. Revenue jumped 81.1% to $31.5 million in the quarter and 36% to $114 million for the year as Great Lakes created a 23-city operation in Denver. It took over most of former United partner WestAir's flying in Denver on April 22, 1998, incurring "substantial start-up expenses" during the first six months of operation.
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast yesterday announced plans to implement jet service eight times daily in the Washington Dulles-New York LaGuardia market. Effective May 4, ACA will run 50-seat Canadair regional jets on the route, replacing turboprops. The move counters US Airways jet service in the market. In addition, United will increase its Dulles-LaGuardia frequencies from three to eight daily on April 4. United and ACA combined will be able to offer hourly service on the route from 6:30 a.m. until 9:30 p.m.
Traffic has risen lately in several Asia regions, Merrill Lynch notes.Japan Airlines' January domestic and international traffic grew 3% and 6% respectively. Tourist arrivals in Australia rose 2.1% in December; Qantas traffic gained 2.5% in January and Lufthansa's traffic to Asia was up 12.2%.
TWA yesterday proposed to spend $28.8 million to buy back senior secured notes due in 2003 in a move that will allow the airline to sell and lease back four Boeing 767-200s. TWA will sell the aircraft collateral securing a portion of 11 3/8% notes and all of the collateral for 10 1/4% notes. Following the sale, TWA will lease back the aircraft with no interruption in service. "This will be a cash-positive transaction" for the airline, said spokesman Jim Brown.
The U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services declared its operational ATC systems ready for the Year 2000 date change yesterday, capping a three-year, #10 million (US$16 million) effort in which it tested about 700 systems and corrected them as necessary. The declaration followed a major test in which engineers set the date and time of 27 ATC systems and 30 computer system interfaces to Dec. 31, 1999, and allowed them to run over the millennium date change.
