The Community of Sioux City, Iowa, and businesses and other municipalities in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota applied at DOT for an exemption for four slots at Chicago O'Hare Airport for two daily nonstop roundtrips. Noting DOT's award of slots to Savannah, Ga./Hilton Head, S.C., and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.
U.S.-Pacific airline capacity will grow faster than any other U.S.-based world market, according to an analysis by Salomon Smith Barney. Forecasting 10% growth in the first quarter and 13% during the first nine months, excluding Hawaii, the company attributed much of the increase to Asian carriers, including China Airlines, All Nippon Airways and Cathay Pacific. But adjustments may trim the forecast.
United Express will introduce service between Denver and Amarillo, Texas, through affiliates Great Lakes Aviation and Air Wisconsin. Beginning May 18, Great Lakes will offer three daily roundtrip flights in the market using 19-seat Beechcraft 1900 turboprop aircraft, and beginning June 10, Air Wisconsin will operate two daily roundtrips using 32-seat Dornier 328 turboprops.
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) told DOT Secretary Rodney Slater it opposes the DOT Inspector General's proposed regulation of travel agent override commissions as potential anticompetitive. In a letter to Slater, ASTA said DOT should "concentrate on real issues," such as air traveler rights and providing comparative schedule and fare information to consumers.
Continental will begin daily nonstop 737-700 service between Cleveland and San Juan Dec. 16. The airline currently serves the route once a week, on Saturdays. Cleveland service complements Continental's daily nonstops to San Juan from its Newark and Houston hubs.
House and Senate budget negotiators were deadlocked yesterday over whether House conferees will accept sense-of-the-Senate language saying no additional funding firewalls should be enacted for transportation activities, congressional sources said.
Raisbeck Commercial Air Group said FAA granted it a supplemental type certificate for a Stage 3 noise reduction system designed for the heaviest Boeing 727 takeoff weight, more than 200,000 pounds. Raisbeck said the STC completes its Stage 3 offerings for all takeoff weights, providing Stage 3 certification noise levels at takeoff, sideline and approach that are "well below" hushkitted airplanes of the same weight.
FAA yesterday ordered a one-time inspection of the center fuel tank wiring and an electrical bonding test of tank components on 248 Boeing 747s. The agency overrode Boeing objections that the requirement to inspect the center fuel tank wiring and components was initiated as a voluntary inspection to collect data necessary to assess the in-service condition of the fleet.
Boeing is offering a new main-gear wheel and carbon brake designed for the 767-200/300 by French manufacturer Messier-Bugatti, the U.S. company said yesterday. "Our airline customers told us they wanted a second option for 767 brakes," said Dan Mooney, Boeing's 767 chief project engineer. He said the Messier-Bugatti brakes are equivalent in performance to AlliedSignal brakes introduced last year. Either suppliers' wheel and brake system can be installed on any carbon-brake-equipped 767.
PS Group Holdings said US Airways exercised lease termination rights by purchasing and then reselling five of six BAe 146 aircraft to PS Group Inc. The airline "continues to indicate that it might exercise its lease termination rights on the last remaining BAe 146 aircraft leased from PSG, perhaps as early as the third quarter," said the company.
Atlas Air said yesterday it has placed $543 million in Enhanced Equipment Trust Certificates as permanent, long-term financing for four new 747-400 freighters scheduled for delivery this year and a fifth freighter to be delivered next year. The funds will be held in escrow until the aircraft are delivered to Atlas, said Steven Nevin, chief financial officer. Placement agents were Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, BT Alex. Brown, CIBC Oppenheimer and ING Barings.
Regional Jet Aircraft Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day, Year Ended Third Quarter 1998 Canadair RJ145-200 Atlantic Southeast Midway Total Number of Aircraft Operated 3 6 10 Total Fleet Operations Departures 22 15 38
Moody's Investor Service yesterday revised its long-term outlook for TWA to negative, saying the airline's lack of profitability, limited access to liquidity and highly leveraged financial picture make it "particularly vulnerable" to an economic downturn or fuel price increase. Although the airline has sought to improve yields and lower costs, Moody's noted that the company's cost structure is "relatively high compared to the U.S.
Spirit Airlines, which announced recently it will offer daily nonstop roundtrip Detroit-Los Angeles service and is eyeing Central America and Caribbean routes later this year, is expanding carefully and with an eye toward profit. The L.A. service, which starts June 17, is an example of how Spirit maximizes efficiencies - it takes advantage of the change in time zones by flying on an evening schedule that allows the aircraft to be in service the next day. "Our costs to develop the service are very, very low," said President, Chief Executive and founder Ned Homfeld.
Tower Air flew 299 million revenue passenger miles in March, 24.1% more than the same month last year, on 390 million available seat miles, up 22.6%, increasing the load factor 0.9 percentage points to 76.7%. Total block hours flown declined 5.6% to 4,016 and passengers carried grew 36.4% to 120,000. Year-to-date RPMs and ASMs each gained 13.1% and the load factor was unchanged. Passengers carried grew 26.8% while block hours dropped 8.4%.
FAA will announce shortly decisions on a revised schedule for the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) and on which color display will be selected for the 173 Tracons and 190 military facilities that will be equipped with the system, the agency said yesterday. Competing for the color display are Raytheon's early display configuration (EDC), which is part of the original STARS program, and Lockheed Martin's common automated radar terminal system (ARTS).
FAA has approved Kitty Hawk's floor modification kit for Pemco and AEI 727-200 aircraft converted for cargo operations, the company said yesterday. Tom Christopher, chairman, said the kit terminates an airworthiness directive on the cargo floor strength of converted aircraft and upgrades the average weight to 6,000 pounds per cargo position.
Emirates and Air Lanka have agreed to code share on Emirates' twice-weekly Colombo-Singapore and Colombo-Jakarta flights. Air Lanka already operates five weekly flights to Singapore, and the code share will enable it to offer daily service. Jakarta is a new destination for Air Lanka. In addition, Emirates is starting new daily flights from Dubai to Zurich via Istanbul, using A310-300s, and adding frequencies to Hong Kong.
Pemco World Air Services delivered a 737-800 to International Lease Finance Corp. following an avionics upgrade and interior modifications. ILFC will lease the aircraft to China Hainan Airlines.
A House Transportation Committee source yesterday called the fiscal 1999 FAA funding formula set by appropriations conferees - 15% from general revenues and 85% from the aviation trust funds - an "aberration" that was done "without our consultation." The source said the committee will try in this year's FAA reauthorization conference to restore the 30-70 split that prevailed in fiscal 1998.
Summary of U.S. Regional Jet Operators Scheduled Services as of Second Quarter 1999 Code Share Active In Aircraft Carrier Partners Aircraft Fleet Orders Air Canada Canadair 24 0 Air Wisconsin UA Canadair 4 5 American Eagle AA Embraer 25 102
Royal Nepal Airlines (RNA) canceled its 58 daily flights, 52 domestic and six international, as a strike by its pilots entered a second week. Captain Bijaya Giri, president of the Nepal Airline Pilots Association (NAPA), said the strikers are protesting RNA's one-year wet-lease contract with China Southwest Airlines for a 757-200 aircraft. The pilots say they will stay out on strike until Royal Nepal terminates the wet-lease and returns the aircraft. The wet-lease took effect March 10, and NAPA served notice for the strike a week later.
