DOT deferred through June 3 the period for taking action on United's complaint against the European Commission and the national authorities of Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden (DAILY, July 9, 1998). The department granted United's request for an additional deferral of the statutory deadline by which DOT must respond to the carrier's complaint seeking redress against actions proposed by the EC against the carrier's alliances with Lufthansa and SAS (DAILY, March 2).
National Transportation Safety Board, citing four recent fatal accidents and numerous others, recommended yesterday that FAA require retrofit of all cockpit voice recorders (CVR) after Jan. 1, 2005, with units capable of recording the last two hours of audio. The board also wants the digital CVR to be fitted with an independent power source that engages automatically and provides 10 minutes of operation whenever aircraft power to the recorder ceases.
KLM has taken delivery of its first 737-800. The carrier had nine Boeing aircraft on order, five 737-800s and four 747-400s, and it plans to lease a 767-300ER from International Lease Finance Corp.
An economic downturn will hit the U.S. and Europe just as the latest order cycle is winding down, but the biggest impact will be on orders for new widebody aircraft, according to CFM International President Gerard Laviec. Laviec told reporters Monday in Evendale, Ohio, that he expects a transatlantic fare war as more capacity moves to the Atlantic from Asia, the first area to experience the economic crunch.
Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Airlines reported a 23.2% jump in traffic on 26.6% more capacity for February 1999, compared with the same 1998 month, lowering the load factor 1.5 percentage points to 58.1%. Midwest Express flew 134.1 million revenue passenger miles and 231 million available seat miles. Passenger boardings grew 19.9% to 147,853. RPMs for affiliate Skyway grew 12.4% to 5.9 million on 12.4 million ASMs, down 0.4%, boosting the load factor 5.4 points to 47.3%. Passengers flown jumped 14.2% to 27,019.
The Master Executive Council of US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association unit is expected to vote today on a tentative interim agreement between the company and its Shuttle pilots covering pay, retirement and job security improvements and additional growth opportunities for mainline pilots. The MEC, conducting its first-quarter meeting in Charlotte, N.C., has asked for more information on how the interim agreement will help Shuttle pilots reach pay parity.
Virgin Atlantic reduced ticket prices last weekend on long-haul routes, including London-New York service priced #2 less than that of archrival British Airways. "We'll never be beaten by BA on price and we always offer better quality," said Virgin chief Richard Branson.
AirTran will allow passengers to use cellular phones aboard aircraft and in the jetway when aircraft doors are open. The pilot can allow the use of cellular phones after the doors are closed but the aircraft still is on the ground and clear of the runway. These changes do not apply to laptop computers, portable audio players, electronic games or any other electronic device.
FAA is going ahead with a rulemaking that would require a collision avoidance capability for cargo aircraft, but the agency is not committed to any particular kind of system.The Air Line Pilots Association wants the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System and cargo carriers are testing Automatic Dependent Surveillance-B. FAA, drafting the proposed rule, has no estimate of when it will be completed and ready for public comment.
DOT dismissed United's complaint against the Russian Federation and terminated its proceeding after the carrier withdrew its complaint (DAILY, Feb 18). DOT initiated the proceeding in September 1997 in response to United's complaint that Russia had violated the U.S.-Russia bilateral (DAILY, Sept. 22, 1997). In 1995, Russia forced United to end its U.S.-Frankfurt-Moscow code-share service with Lufthansa, which United expects to be restored following a Germany-Russia pact. (Docket OST-97-2888)
FAA has posted its updated National Airspace System (NAS) plan, Version 4.0, on its web site. Version 4.0, approved in January, provides a three-phase modernization program centered on development of a Free Flight regime in which pilots have flexibility to choose the most efficient, economical routes to their destinations.
French bank Paribas will seek investors willing to take control of Air Afrique under a privatization plan accepted by the 11 African states that own the carrier. The countries tabled plans last November to reduce their share to 51%, but no investor showed interest. Four months later, the council of ministers representing the 11 government-owners accepted in principle a reduction of their joint stake as low as 22% - a decision called "salutary and courageous" by Tidjane Sylla, Senegal's transport minister and chairman of Air Afrique.
The largest U.S. airlines have reduced the "most egregious" forms of competition against small carriers during the past year, but moves toward consolidation bear watching, DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Murphy said yesterday.
US Airways posted a 2% increase in systemwide traffic on 4.5% more capacity for February 1999, compared with the same 1998 month, which depressed the load factor 1.7 percentage points to 66.5%. The airline flew 3 billion revenue passenger miles and 4.5 billion available seat miles. Domestic RPMs dropped 0.2% to 2.6 billion and ASMs grew 2% to 4 billion. International RPMs jumped 23.7% to 324.6 million but ASMs rose 29.7% to 501.5 million.
DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead recommended to a key House subcommittee yesterday that FAA defer software decisions on the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) until the military system is completed and that the agency fund a backup for the Global Positioning System (GPS) for the next 15 years because GPS will not be in place until 2015. Mead made these recommendations to the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee in a hearing on the $10.1 billion fiscal 2000 FAA budget and on air traffic control modernization.
Rolls-Royce said its pre-tax profits climbed 18% to a record #325 million ($522.2 million) in 1998, as sales rose 10% to #4.33 billion ($6.96 billion). Rolls's order book grew 30% to a record #10.4 billion ($16.71 billion), with another #2.2 billion ($3.53 billion) announced but not included. Strong orders from Europe and the Americas caused the Asia/Pacific share of orders to drop to 13%. "Rolls-Royce has entered 1999 in a strong position ...," Chairman Ralph Robins said.
Iberia and British Airways' German subsidiary, Deutsche BA, will code share between Madrid and Munich, beginning June 17. Iberia, which entered into an alliance with BA and American recently, currently operates two daily services between Madrid and Munich. Deutsche BA will launch a third frequency.
Grupo Taca signed a five-year agreement to use Airline Automation Inc.'s Predator automated flight firming application. Predator assigns ticketing time limits to travel agency passenger name records and monitors compliance with the airline's ticketing time limit rules. PNRs not ticketed within the time limit are canceled by Predator, returning the seat to availability inventory.
Association of Canadian Travel Agents voted to support the Genesis computer reservations system and the Canadian Standard Travel Agent Registry, the Genesis proponent in Canada.
Worldspan's Worldspan Go! Internet-based technology platform, providing links to travel supplier databases worldwide, is available in Canada, the computer reservations system company said yesterday. With dedicated Internet access, Worldspan Go! offers worldwide electronic mail and fax communications through a single integrated system. It also provides enhanced connectivity to more Canadian tour operators, enabling agents to link quickly to the operator's own Internet-based system to check real-time pricing and availability or to book products.
United, seeking to avoid fines similar to those levied recently against Delta and Northwest, is reinforcing the rules of how and when to disclose code-share information to passengers. "In light of the recent fines handed out to Delta and Northwest, we distributed another reminder to employees who make reservations," Teri Hartwig of United's Reservations Planning, said in an internal communique. The carrier code shares on 13,000 daily flights and has not been fined in 10 years. The DOT policy took effect in 1987.
America West asked DOT for authority to code share with Air China on flights between Air China's two U.S. gateways and 12 U.S. points served by America West. America West wants to display Air China's code on flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco and Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington. Air China has underlying authority to serve the markets, America West told DOT.
American Trans Air posted a 15.9% rise in systemwide traffic on 15.7% more capacity for February, compared with the same month last year - 844.4 million revenue passenger miles and 1.2 billion available seat miles. Passenger boardings climbed 17.4% to 588,566 and block hours grew 12.3% to 13,853. Scheduled service RPMs jumped 18.6% to 481.9 million on 19.4% more ASMs, 633.9 million, depressing the load factor 0.5 points to 72.9%. The carrier boarded 358,928 passeners, up 21.7%, and flew 8,973 block hours, up 17.7%.
DOT granted TWA a waiver of the dormancy condition on its seven U.S.-Japan frequencies (DAILY, Feb. 18) through June 1, 2000. The carrier requested the waiver because the slots it needs at Tokyo Narita Airport are not available, and "economic conditions in Asia make it necessary to begin its service during the next peak season." DOT granted similar waivers to American, Continental Micronesia and Delta (DAILY, Feb. 3). (Docket OST-98-3419)
