Southwest told Wall Street analysts yesterday its bookings for soon-to-start Islip, N.Y., service are running ahead of its startups at Providence and Manchester, two wildly successful East Coast expansion sites.Southwest, which expects to grow East Coast capacity roughly 30% this year, will take delivery of 32 737-700s and is kicking the tires of four used 737-300s.
The European Union's attempt to impose ramp checks on foreign aircraft suspected of non-compliance with international safety regulations was declared "null and void" yesterday because of a British-Spanish dispute dating back to the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The proposed legislation, drafted after a 1996 crash off the coast of Dominican Republic that killed 176 European passengers, was opposed by Spain last December.
The last of 44 ARSR-4 air route surveillance radar systems for FAA and the Defense Department is being installed at Ajo, Ariz., Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector said yesterday. The ARSR-4, designated AN/FPS-130 by the U.S. Air Force, is the only joint-use, three-dimensional long-range surveillance radar system of its kind, the company said. It is being used by FAA for en route air traffic control surveillance and by the Air Force for peacetime air sovereignty and drug interdiction.
United supported DOT's plan to develop Alaska's international aviation service by waiving designation or frequency limits for operations via Alaska in future bilateral negotiations, but it told DOT it cannot support unilateral foreign carrier access for the sake of "benefits that may accrue to the state of Alaska." DOT is setting an "unacceptably low standard" when it bases its proposed expanded extrabilateral authority for foreign carriers to serve additional U.S.
Delta said yesterday it will acquire ASA Holdings, parent company of longtime Delta Connection code-share partner Atlantic Southeast, for about $700 million in cash. Delta said there will be no integration of pilot groups or seniority lists and the carriers will continue as separate entities. The deal is subject to regulatory approval, and Delta officials emphasized that it is not a merger. Under the agreement, a Delta subsidiary will make a tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of ASA Holdings common stock for $34 per share in cash.
Pressing its complaint against prospective European Union hushkitting rules, Northwest told DOT it should take "should take firm and immediate steps to preserve the integrity of the ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization] standard" on hushkitted aircraft. The U.S. aviation industry is united against the non-addition rule, which Northwest says is targeted at U.S. aircraft (DAILY, Feb. 9).
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater and Mexican Secretary of Communications and Transport Carlos Ruiz Sacristan signed an agreement on Monday expanding U.S.-Mexico aviation services under terms negotiated Jan. 25-26 in Zihuatanejo, Mexico (DAILY, Feb. 1). The signing was timed to coincide with President Clinton's meeting in Merida, Mexico, with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo.
Midwest Express reported a 19.5% gain in traffic on 11.8% more capacity for January, compared with January a year ago, growing the load factor 3.7 percentage points to 57.4%. Midwest Express flew 124.5 million revenue passenger miles and 216.7 million available seat miles. Passengers enplaned increased 16.5% to 137,496. Skyway RPMs grew 8.9% to 5.3 million while ASMs dropped 5.5% to 12.2 million, boosting the load factor 5.7 points to 43.5%. Passengers flown increased 11.3% to 24,513.
House Transportation Committee sources are confident they can avoid a replay of last year's inability to go to conference on a full-year FAA authorization, settling for a six-month compromise written into the end-of-the-session omnibus appropriations bill.Sources say the problem last year was then-Speaker Newt Gingrich's accommodation of House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde, who opposed the Senate's bid to increase slots at Chicago O'Hare Airport, in his district.
US Airways Shuttle pilots conducted informational picketing at Washington Dulles and Washington Reagan National last week to protest lack of progress in achieving pay parity. Shuttle pilots say they receive pay on average 28% less than their peers who perform similar work.
The House Transportation Committee late Thursday approved unanimously a bill prohibiting flights of the British-French supersonic Concorde in the U.S. if the aircraft does not comply with Stage 3 noise limits. The prohibition would go into force if the European Union adopts noise regulations that could prohibit some U.S. hushkitted and re-engined commercial aircraft from operating in European airspace. The Concorde bill was introduced in the House by Rep.
Airline expansion and global coverage by a multitude of carriers has made flight frequency the most important criterion for travelers, according to BT Alex Brown analyst Susan Donofrio. "The carrier with the most flight service to the most cities should win the most customer loyalty" and wind up with a higher revenue share in those cities, she said.
US Airways Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council last week refused management's request to declare February a critical crew shortage month for DC-9 captains at Boston, Washington Reagan and Pittsburgh, and DC-9 first officers at Boston. By contract, the question goes before the union because the request is the fifth in 12 months. US Airways declined to comment.
United will add a second daily flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong from June 10 until Sept. 7 to handle an increase in seasonal traffic. The flight will operate with a Boeing 747-400. While traffic has been affected by Asia's recession, United said demand during the summer months is an exception. "Past travel trends during this period show that customer demand in this market is continually strong for United," said Don Curran, VP-Pacific South, in an internal communique.
-- S.379 - introduced Feb. 4 by Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) - a bill to authorize the DOT secretary to implement a pilot program to improve small-community access to the national transportation system. Referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. -- H.R. 603 - introduced Feb. 4 by Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) - to clarify the application of the Act popularly known as the "Death on the High Seas Act" to aviation incidents. Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
Finland's civil aviation authority is having trouble with the European Commission, which demanded recently that it harmonize landing charges for domestic and international flights. Charges for domestic services currently are lower, and the commission sees this as an indirect subsidy of Finnair, which operates almost all of them.
National Business Aviation Association named Jeffrey Gilley NBAA manager-airports/ground infrastructure, succeeding Elmer Haupt, who will retire March 31.
American's pilot sickout cost parent AMR Corp. four times the price of the Reno Air acquisition as of Friday, according to Merrill Lynch. In addition, the loss of investor confidence in AMR resulted in a combined loss of $2.5 billion in market capitalization last week. Like several Wall Street firms, Merrill Lynch lowered its first quarter and 1999 earnings forecast for the company.
American's Cargo Division set a tonnage record during a 777 test flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to London, loading 93,130 pounds of freight. The airline carried perishables, computer parts and oil-drilling equipment, and it squeezed 8,668 pounds into the aft bulk area.
Midwest Express pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, asked the National Mediation Board to mediate "stalled" negotiations on an initial contract, begun last August. Midwest Express spokeswoman Lisa Bailey said the company was surprised and disappointed that the union sought mediation so soon.
FAA ordered repetitive inspections and eventual replacement of the aft strut insulation blankets on next-generation 737s with improved blankets. The agency said the order is intended to prevent damage to the blankets "which could result in exposure of the lower surface of the strut to extreme high temperatures, consequent creation of a source of fuel ignition, and increased risk of a fuel tank explosion and fire."
Philippine Airlines last week received approval from the Filipino Securities and Exchange Commission to sell P442 million (US$11.5 million) worth of assets to pay off certain debts. The money is needed to pay foreign and domestic creditors, including Chase Manhattan Asia, Guy Saget, Bontable Agencies, Enceltrade, AMI and Fine Organics Corp. Three-quarters of the airline's $2.2 billion debt is to foreign firms. Two major creditors, Export-Import Bank of the U.S.
