FAA said nearly 50% of 737s subject to an earlier order now have new rudder power control units (PCUs). Newer 737s are manufactured with a redesigned unit, so nearly 60% of the 737 fleet has new PCUs, the agency said. The redesigned PCU eliminates the possibility of a "rudder reversal," which the National Transportation Safety Board is studying in its investigation of the crash of a USAir 737 Sept. 8, 1994, near Pittsburgh that killed all aboard. All affected 737s must have the new PCU by Aug. 4.
Senate Transportation aviation subcommittee Chairman Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), up for re-election next year, finished under 50% against four potential challengers in Democratic-commissioned polls this month. Although Gorton led, his showing cheered Washington state Democrats. Failure to score above 50% in an early poll by someone who has held office for more than 10 years is considered a sign of potential vulnerability. CQ on Politics, The Congressional Quarterly weekly, rates Gorton's chances as "medium risk."
FAA - In Federal Register dated March 12...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Airbus A300 and A300-600 aircraft requiring replacement of the rivets attaching the pressurized floor panel to certain gantries....Issued an AD on Airbus A310 and A300-600 aircraft powered by General Electric engines requiring flow checks of the hydraulic pump drain system...Issued an AD on Shorts SD3-60 aircraft requiring inspections for corrosion or wear of the shear decks of the stub wings in the main landing gear...Issued an AD on certain Douglas DC-10 aircraft requiring inspection
S.603 - introduced March 11 by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) - a bill to promote competition and greater efficiency of airlines, to ensure the rights of airline passengers, to provide for full disclosure to those passengers and for other purposes. Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.
European Union member states are to make final decisions by June on design, organization and development schedule for the Galileo global navigation satellite system.Within the constraints of interoperability with Global Positioning System-IIF satellites, Galileo is intended to exploit state-of-the-art capabilities for development of new applications and a more robust overall GNSS.
DOT invited carriers to apply for U.S.-Russia passenger, code-share, all-cargo and overflight frequencies made available through bilateral annexes initialed in January. A total of 33 weekly passenger frequencies are available - 26 immediately and seven more on July 1, 2000 - with code-share service counting as half a frequency for a U.S. carrier whose foreign partner operates the flight. Also available are seven additional all-cargo frequencies, as of July 1, 2000; 14 Europe-Southeast Asia overflight frequencies through Jan.
Bullet trains in Japan are due to be replaced, starting next year, with the Nozomi, capable of traveling at 280 kilometers per hour, compared with 210 km/hour for the Shinkansen bullet trains. The new train will cut travel time on its main route, Tokyo-Osaka, by 30 minutes to two hours.
Northwest appointed John Parker VP-information services, Tom Bach VP-domestic revenue management and area marketing and James Cron VP-planning, Airlinks and scheduling. All appointments were effective Friday.
DOT - Approved a Travel Charter International charter using an Allegro MD-83 or 727 for three roundtrips carrying 165 passengers on Detroit-Liberia, Costa Rica-Detroit and Detroit-Cancun-Detroit routings April 14-23...Approved a Vacation Travel International charter using an Allegro MD-83 or 727 for two roundtrips carrying 165 passengers on Chicago-Cancun-Chicago and Kansas City-Cancun-Kansas City routings March 13-26...Approved a Troya Tours charter using an AeroMexico MD-82 for 105 roundtrips carrying 142 passengers on Mexico City-Monterrey-Las Vegas routings March 18-
US Airways is considering a plan to wet-lease an aircraft and crew for the first year of its newly slotted Charlotte-London Gatwick service while it awaits delivery of its first A330. The carrier says a wet-lease is one of several options for operating the daily service, but it would require approval of its Air Line Pilots Association unit. Master Executive Council Chairman Chris Beebe met with management last week.
AeroPeru Chief Executive Jaan Albrecht has sliced the carrier's debt from $174 million to less than $60 million in just over a week in an effort to make the airline more attractive to investors. AeroPeru shut down for at least 60 days on March 14 to restructure its debt and create a more viable franchise. Albrecht has returned the carrier's fleet of three 757s, four 737s and three 727s to lessors ILFC, Ansett Worldwide and Pegasus with no penalities.
America West and its flight attendants, negotiating Friday against a midnight EST expiration of their cooling-off period, were optimistic that they could resolve their contract dispute and avert a CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) campaign by the Association of Flight Attendants. A spokesman for the union told The DAILY the union was "remaining upbeat and positive."
Jet fuel spot prices inched up to $0.36 per gallon during the first two weeks of March, according to BT Alex. Brown. But the price remains 18% below that of the year-earlier period, when jet fuel averaged $0.44.
Boeing Friday rolled out the first FedEx MD-10 freighter at its Long Beach, Calif., facility. The instrument panel on the aircraft is identical to the Boeing MD-11's and pilots can receive a single certification to operate both types. FedEx launched the MD-10 program in September 1996 with an order for 60 conversions. FedEx later increased its commitment to the program to 79 orders with options for 40 more. FedEx, which operates 26 MD-11s, is scheduled to receive three more before Boeing halts production on the trijet next year.
UPS says all its services are now available for payment in euros, "an unmatched position in the industry in Europe." The company says more than 2,000 customers switched to the euro in January, 5,000 have scheduled their changeovers and more than 2,200 download euro rate information from its web site each week. UPS currently invoices in 10 languages and 15 currencies in Europe.
TWA's flight attendants are members of the International Association of Machinists. Their union affiliation was incorrectly identified March 19 in The DAILY.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), whose district includes Wichita, complained to DOT Secretary Rodney Slater at a House Appropriations transportation subcommittee hearing last week that diverting FAA certification funds (DAILY, Feb. 4) is slowing down certification of made-in-Wichita products, including two new composite-rich aircraft from Raytheon, four new models from Cessna and a new-design Learjet. Tiahrt warned Slater that if DOT cannot find certification money administratively, Congress will legislate it.
Tarom has taken delivery of four more ATR 42-500 turboprops, part of a nine-aircraft deal signed in 1997. The Romanian carrier already operates two ATR 42-300s and two ATR 42-500s. Delivery of the remaining ATR 42-500 aircraft on order is scheduled the end of this year and in the first half of 2000.
America West and its flight attendants union still were talking yesterday, but a lottery of possible CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) activity hit its high-volume and top business and vacation destinations. Locations for CHAOS in the absence of a deal by 10:01 Mountain Standard Time last night include Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, New York, all Florida and Mexico destinations, all eastbound flights, all flights in and out of Las Vegas, flights to Dallas, Minneapolis, Columbus, and all Continental code-share cities.
