Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) is encouraged by the European Union's delay of restrictions on hushkitted aircraft, but he won't withdraw the House-approved bill introduced in February to revoke U.S. landing rights for the Concorde. "My bill is still very much alive and will remain so until this issue is finally decided," Oberstar said.
Air Line Pilots Association is pressing FAA Administrator Jane Garvey to enforce an existing rule on rest requirements and to move forward with revisions to current rules "that have been stalled in bureaucratic limbo since 1995." ALPA President Duane Woerth made the comments in a letter to Garvey following a meeting about rest rules and other safety issues. He asked Garvey for specific dates by which FAA will enforce the current rule and take action on the years-old rulemaking.
Midway Airlines reported a 0.4% drop in traffic and a 0.8% decline in capacity for April 1999, which pushed the load factor up 0.3 percentage points to 69.8%. Passengers flown grew 2.2%.
Ailing Air-India, in drastic efforts to cut losses, introduced a voluntary three-day working week and set up up a Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) to reduce its work force. Workers also have the option to take long leave without salary. The carrier has dropped several European routes and closed its Manchester and Rome stations. According to Marketing Director Jeetender Bhargava, workers who opt for VSS will be compensated. The airline wants to shed at least 1,000 of its 18,500 workers.
Brussels-based Virgin Express Holdings, plc. reported a 21% rise in scheduled revenues to 38.6 million euros (US$41.2 million) and a 24% jump in total revenues to 54.1 million euros ($57.7 million). Total revenue increases were fueled by a 16% increase in capacity on a 3-percentage-point increase in the load factor to 70.8%. Unit revenues for scheduled service improved 3.8% in the first quarter to 5.56 euro cents (5.9 cents) per available seat kilometer. Scheduled passengers and flights flown jumped 23.7% and 19.8%, respectively, from the first quarter 1998.
The American Society of Travel Agents praised DOJ's pursuit of American for alleged predatory practices against three small carriers as "breaking new ground in the quest to protect the American traveling public from predatory acts by entrenched hub-dominated airlines." ASTA said the action is important to the public, the industry and travel agents. Dallas-based Legend Airlines, which has a long-running legal battle with American over Legend's plans to launch service from Love Field, also applauded DOJ's actions.
Fedex Pilots Association is telling pilots who fly to China to exercise caution in the wake of political upheaval there. The union advises pilots to stay in their hotels, avoid crowds and stay alert to changing conditions. The union said airports remain open, but several cities have closed U.S. embassies.
Berlin Tegel Airport was shut down for nearly half a day last week after an unexploded 1,000-pound World War II bomb was discovered off the end of the main runway. Markings showed it was a German munition, and several other unexploded bombs were found. More than 10,000 passengers were inconvenienced during the shutdown.
Ten aviation groups signed a letter authored by the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association supporting legislation to curb what they described as "FAA's abuse of its emergency authority to revoke pilot certificates." While AOPA is concerned with pilot certificates, the legislation, introduced by Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.), also applies to other types of certificates, including airline operating certificates. It provides the right to appeal to the National Transportation Safety Board within seven days of an emergency revocation.
American Society of Travel Agents President Joe Gallaway feels vindicated by the recent J.D. Power&Associates study showing half of frequent flyers are dissatisfied with airline service. Airlines "repeatedly deny there is a customer service problem" while "evidence to the contrary continues to mount," he said.
United and Gulfstream International have expanded their code-sharing agreement to include five daily flights Gulfstream offers between Florida and Paradise Island in the Bahamas - two flights from Miami and three from Fort Lauderdale. United expects the Paradise Island expansion, which was effective Saturday, to generate another 4,000-5,000 customers a year.
DOT approved America West's code-share arrangement with Air China, subject to the removal of exclusivity provisions. The authority enables either carrier to code share with U.S. or Chinese carriers not designated for U.S.-China combination service. The carriers plan to code share from Air China's two U.S. gateways, with America West displaying Air China's designator code between Los Angeles and San Francisco and 12 U.S. points served by America West (DAILY, March 10).
LanChile's net profits for the first quarter jumped 46% to $31.8 million from $21.8 in the first quarter of 1998. After a lackluster last half of 1998, LanChile's net margin rose to 10.4% from 7.8%. Part of the profit came from the airline's sale of 30% of its holding in data network provider Equant NV, bringing in $13.1 million. LanChile also experienced a one-time $2 million loss from the devaluation of the Brazilian currency. Total revenue increased 9.6% to $305.7 million.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has warned local carriers that it will shut them down if they continue to violate safety regulations. CAAC Director Liu Jianfeng said that although no major accidents occurred in 1998, there were several incidents. Citing the findings of an investigation of a China Eastern Airlines incident, in which an A320 lost its nose wheel after takeoff from Shanghai for Osaka last November, Liu said the pilots were not aware of the event. "This is a clear case of a relaxed attitude," Liu said.
A "strong majority" of North Texas residents want the fight between the City of Dallas, Love Field and the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Authority to stop, according to a survey of Dallas and Tarrant County residents conducted by the Association for Sensible Aviation Policies, which supports Love Field interests. The survey found that nearly 73% of Dallas and Tarrant County residents polled agree with DOT that restricting operations at another airport is not a legitimate aim for DFW and want the airport to stop using public dollars to sue the City of Dallas.
America West applied for exemption to provide service to Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester, U.K., and Dusseldorf and Frankfurt, Germany, from Newark. The carrier wants to link its service to Newark from Phoenix and the West Coast with the U.S.-U.K. and U.S.-Germany service, to be operated by Continental under code share. (Docket OST-99-5613)
ARINC and the Dutch National Aerospace Laboratory (NLR) recently demonstrated technologies crucial to the future air navigation environment - VHF Digital Link Mode 2 (VDLM2) and satellite communications in an CNS/ATM (Communications, Navigation, Surveillance/Air Traffic Management) environment. This first step toward the future environment was accomplished under the European Commission fourth European Framework Program's Airborne Air Traffic Management System.
Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee plans to hold hearings on predatory pricing practices by established carriers in the airline industry. While no date has been set, an aide to Sen. Herbert Kohl (Wis.), ranking Democrat on the subcommittee, said the antitrust staff wants to hold the hearings next month. The panel unveiled its plans late Thursday, the same day the Justice Department filed a lawsuit against American charging it with monopolizing service at Dallas/Fort Worth. Subcommittee Chairman Sen.
Flight Safety Foundation's offer of an aviation safety audit for on-demand air charter providers was not a hit with the National Air Transportation Association. "This is an industry already heavily regulated by the FAA and subject to numerous audits," said NATA President Jim Coyne. Fatal accidents in this group over the past 10 years has been "statistically insignificant."
