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.
U.K.-based Jersey European Airways ordered a few of every regional aircraft Bombardier makes in an unusual 15-plane deal this week. The order includes three 37-seat Dash 8-Q200s, four 50-seat Q300s, four 78-seat Q400s and four 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets. The carrier currently operates five Fokker F27s and three Shorts 360s, which the new aircraft will replace. It also operates 15 BAe 146 quadjets. Barry Perrott, the airline's CEO, said the ATR turboprops also were evaluated, but the Q400 filled the role for a larger aircraft on shorter routes.
Big Sky Airlines last month moved its Dallas/Fort Worth ground operations into Terminal E, where customer service and ramp operations are handled by Delta personnel with dedicated ticket, gate, ramp and office space for Big Sky, the regional said. Big Sky before Feb. 21 shared space in Terminal B. Big Sky last year was named to take over essential air service previously conducted by Aspen Mountain Air in several Texas, Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma markets.
Merpati Nusantara, which was grounded last August due to the regional financial crisis, has resumed operations. Operating four F28s and two MD90s, it is offering domestic services to seven major cities and regional flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Baru and Kaohsiung, abandoned last year by Garuda Indonesia. Merpati has recalled 1,500 staff members who were stranded when the airline suspended operations.
Varig will announce in the next few days that it will cut service to several international points because of the economic crisis in Brazil and the subsequent weakening of traffic from the country. Service to Washington, Atlanta, Orlando, Zurich and Porto, Portugal, will be suspended. Washington was served via Atlanta and Orlando via a tag flight from Miami. "Clearly it's driven by the economic crisis," said Varig spokesman Jeff Kriendler. There has been an increase in travel from the U.S. to Brazil but not enough to offset the lower Brazil-originating traffic.
Propelled by growth in FedEx's most profitable businesses, FDX yesterday reported net income of $78 million in its third fiscal quarter, which ended Feb. 28, and declared a two-for-one stock split. The company said results were held down by $81 million it paid out during the quarter - $52 million in domestic and $29 million in international operations - for contingency measures it took last year when FedEx pilots threatened to strike.
BAX Global unveiled BAXMart, an Internet-based system for ordering, managing distribution and delivering seafood. The company is testing the system with selected suppliers and distributors and expects to make it available widely late in the spring.
British Airways franchise partner CityFlyer Express is adding another ATR 72 to its fleet in April. With the arrival of two more British Aerospace Avro RJ100s from August and its five ATR 42s, the carrier will operate a total of 18 aircraft on its European route network this summer.
Embraer CEO Mauricio Botelho says the Canadians are "throwing fireworks in the sky, making a big noise," over the Brazilian ProEx interest-rate equalization program that was last week deemed unacceptable by the World Trade Organization. The WTO also found two Canadian programs unacceptable - the Technology Partnerships Canada (TPC) program, used for product development, and the Canada Account, used in some financing schemes. "I think they are very much exaggerating their position," Botelho said.
Raytheon has completed a successful bench test of its new Distributed Flight Data Acquisition Unit (DFDAU) flight data recording system at a Raytheon Aircraft facility in Wichita, the company said. Following ground and flight testing, the company expects FAA certification of the system by yearend. Raytheon Aircraft plans to install the system in its Beech 1900D 19-passenger regional aircraft.
Last month's pilot sickout will reduce American's first quarter pretax profits by more than $200 million, up from the airline's earlier estimate of $150 million. Business travelers have been slower to return than expected, American said. The cost of the labor dispute will outweigh the reason for it. American paid $124 million for Reno Air in December, and the quickly finished transaction set off concern among pilots that American would run Reno as a separate low-fare airline.
Jersey European Airways will end what is probably the world's shortest jet route this fall when it begins taking delivery of four new 78-seat Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 turboprops. The carrier currently operates a BAe 146 quadjet between Birmingham and the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey. The Guernsey-Jersey segment is 23 miles with a scheduled block time of 15 minutes. Actual flight time is considerably less. The flights will be replaced by Q400s operating from Birmingham to each island independently (story below).
Fairchild Dornier 328JET will come out 1,740 pounds lighter than originally planned in terms of maximum gross takeoff weight (33,510 pounds) when certificated this summer. It was to have been a 35,250-pound MGTW airplane, which proved impractical due to airframe changes and the need to stick to the development schedule. The company will proceed with a 34,510-pound MGTW airplane, however, giving it an 890-pound improvement in payload with no increase in fuel.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater indicated to a House subcommittee yesterday that Year 2000 computer compliance in European air traffic control is moving along, but some problems exist in China and smaller countries. Asked at a House Appropriations transportation subcommittee hearing whether DOT will publish a list of foreign countries prepared for Y2K computer changes, Slater replied, "We will definitely be meeting our responsibility in that regard." He said in the countries where U.S.
The House Transportation Committee has not decided what action to take on the 60-day Senate extension of the FAA authorization, a committee source said yesterday.The source said the committee still is focusing on the House Budget Committee's fiscal 2000 budget resolution, which will be on the House floor, and its implications for taking the aviation trust funds off budget, as Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) has proposed in his committee-approved five-year reauthorization bill.
Britten-Norman plans to re-enter the U.S. market with its Islander line of twin-engine piston- and turbine-powered utility and commuter aircraft. Until recently, the U.K.-based manufacturer was owned by Pilatus of Switzerland and focused its marketing efforts on the military and utility markets. The eight-passenger aircraft was popular in the early 1970s, particularly for short-range scheduled service in the Caribbean and related markets. Wings Airways of suburban Blue Bell, Pa., long served Philadelphia Airport with frequent flights, overflying traffic gridlock.
