Senior members of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee responded cautiously yesterday to Clinton administration plans to turn FAA's air traffic control operations into a performance-based organization (PBO). Ranking Democrat James Oberstar (Minn.) pronouncing himself "highly skeptical" of the plan, which recast ATC into a service organization with measurable performance goals on which pay and promotion would be based.
Mesa Air Group may become the first regional to operate both the Canadair and the Embraer 50-seat regional jets. The DAILY has learned that the Phoenix-based company is negotiating to acquire 20 ERJ-145s as well as 20 of the smaller 37-seat ERJ-135. Mesa currently operates 20 Canadair Regional jets with an order backlog of 12. According to sources, the company would transfer its existing America West Express CRJs operating at Phoenix to its US Airways Express operations on the East Coast and equip America West Express with the new ERJs.
Aero Systems Engineering (ASE) , St. Paul, Minn., ended 1998 with its sixth consecutive profitable quarter and rebounded from a 1997 loss, $401,000, to net income of $665,000 for the year. Sales for the quarter were down from the year-earlier period, $7.65 million vs. $8.56 million, but increased 9% for the year, to $27.2 million.
Nearly five years of acrimonious negotiations ended yesterday when Federal Express pilots ratified their first contract with the company. The five-year agreement, which becomes effective May 31, was approved 2,516-395, a margin of 87%-13%. Fedex Pilots Association President Frank Fato called ratification "an historic occasion for FedEx's more than 3,600 pilots" and said scheduling improvements, pilot oversight and work rule changes have mitigated most of the problems of the previous tentative offer, which members voted down.
FAA issued a final rule revising emission standards for jet aircraft engines to meet the current standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization for oxides of nitrogen and carbon monoxide. The final rule also revises test procedures for gaseous emissions. The agency said this means an emission certification test that meets U.S. requirements also will meet those of ICAO.
Don Carty, chairman and chief executive of American Airlines, recently spoke before the International Aviation Club of Washington, D.C., and his speech will be the subject of Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Chicago officials hatched plans yesterday to build two new terminals at O'Hare Airport, adding more than 20 large-aircraft gates at a cost of $1 billion. Mayor Richard Daley said Chicago must compete with improvements at other airports, including a new billion-dollar terminal at New York Kennedy. O'Hare's heating and refrigeration plant would be demolished and relocated to make way for one of the new terminals. The other new terminal would be built east of the current Terminal 5.
On-demand air taxis may be the "wave of the future" for small-community air service, predicts Michael Boyd of The Boyd Group. He calls it the "fourth tier of air service." Boyd said that passengers are willing to drive for jet service and that regional jets will be focused on "regional" airports. The demise of 19-seaters will eliminate service to many smaller communities, except EAS subsidy markets. "Small jets are expensive. They need more revenue than most small airports can generate." Cities served by 19-seaters are unlikely to see small-jet service, he added.
SkyWest and Midway Airlines revealed this week strategies that will take them through the next year despite a projected industry downturn. Speaking at the Robinson-Humphrey Regional Airline Conference in New York, SkyWest President and Chief Executive Jerry Atkin said multiple code shares with Delta and United, a clearly defined business strategy and strong earnings momentum, plus the sale of the Scenic Airways operation helped make 1998 a profitable year.
Boeing 727-200 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Third Quarter 1998 B727-200 American Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 78 31 129 Total Fleet Operations Departures 273 105 683
Honeywell's Space and Aviation Control, Phoenix, will combine its two commercial aviation businesses, Air Transport Systems (ATS) and Business and Commuter Aviation Systems (BCAS), into a single unit known as Commercial Aviation Systems, Honeywell said this week. ATS develops avionics and aviation services for the airline and air transport markets, and BCAS provides avionics and services to the corporate business jet and regional air carrier markets.
DOT and FAA were putting the final touches yesterday on the Clinton administration legislative proposal, previewed Wednesday by DOT Secretary Rodney Slater (DAILY, Feb. 4).Sources said DOT will send the package to Congress on Monday.
U.K.-based Brymon Airways' passengers rose 38% in the first nine months of the current financial year. Brymon, a British Airways subsidiary, operates BA services throughout the U.K. and to Ireland, the Channel Islands and Paris. The company, which employs more than 550, also operates an offshore air charter business from Aberdeen. The airline forecasts yearend passenger growth of 43%, about 840,000.
Regional jets will comprise 55% of total regional airline seats and about 75% of capacity by the end of 2003, according to industry analyst James Parker, managing director of Atlanta-based Robinson-Humphrey. Although the RJ market will be saturated by then, growth will continue as RJs are used in new medium- and long-distance service to major airline hubs and 70-seat RJs upgrade capacity in higher-load-factor markets now served by 50-seat RJs. Major airlines will continue to shift markets to their lower-cost code-sharing regional partners, Parker predicts.
Asserting an immediate, urgent need to turn FAA air traffic management into a performance-oriented, user-fee-based system, DOT Secretary Rodney Slater said yesterday the administration will press its plan forward during the "window of opportunity as the Congress prepares to act on aviation legislation." The proposal likely will be transmitted to Congress today, a DOT spokesman told The DAILY. In a speech to the Wings Club in New York, Slater said that having "reformed our personnel and acquisition practices...we need to finish the job.
Revima will maintain and service landing gear and auxiliary power units of high-capacity aircraft - 747s, DC-10s and MD-11s - operated by KLM and the Dutch carrier's affiliates under a 10-year contract. The French company, owned 70% by Sogerma and 30% by Air France, said the contract is priced in euros.
Swissair has won the tender for the purchase of French airline AOM, the Swiss airline announced Tuesday in Zurich. AOM, which was put up for sale last summer, is currently owned by the troubled French state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais. Swissair will take 49% of the airline's capital, while French financial partners will own the rest. The operation now must be examined by French and European competition authorities.
Joseph Civiletto will become president and chief operating officer of American Aircarriers Support, Fort Mill, S.C., on Feb. 8, the company announced. He has been chief financial officer of Aviation Sales Co., Miami, Fla.
Airlines buying Boeing aircraft can take advantage of a type of aircraft loan previously available only in Europe - one that Airbus has used to gain market share in several critical jet sales. The newly available tool is likely to lower LanChile's payments on two Boeing 767-300s by $100,000 per aircraft per month. "For four to five years, Airbus has had a tremendous advantage over Boeing in terms of the financing they can offer to customers," said Skip Stern, managing director of CIBC World Markets, which pushed for the change and arranged the landmark LanChile deal.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In Revenues And Expenses Per Employee Third Quarter 1998, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total (000) (000) Employees AirTran Airlines 115,079 120,377 2,489 Aloha 58,020 55,551 2,265
Air Canada, losing money and reeling from a pilots strike last year, will lay off 1,275 staff this month as part of several fleet and structural initiatives to boost profit margins and streamline the company. Another 450 positions will be eliminated by yearend. The airline yesterday posted a net loss of C$16 million (US$10.6 million) for 1998 and an operating profit of C$144 million ($95 million). The 13-day pilots strike in September cost Air Canada C$155 million ($103 million) in net income.
DOT Inspector General office's criticism of FAA's financial oversight of Denver airport spending "seems unfair to me," Lee Marable, chief counsel for Denver International Airport, told The DAILY. The IG's office completed an audit saying local officials had inappropriately spent about $1.2 million for non-airport uses associated with the disposal of Denver Stapleton, and had undercollected another $1.2 million available to it (DAILY, Feb. 2). FAA declined comment.
Ranking House Transportation aviation subcommittee member William Lipinski (D-Ill.) said yesterday in a Chicago Tribune op-ed article that slot controls should be eliminated at Chicago O'Hare to increase competition and improve service without harming safety. DOT's Patrick Murphy said recently slot controls and perimeter rules no longer are needed for aviation purposes. Lipinski questioned the need for O'Hare slot controls when DOT studied the matter in 1995, but the issue is gaining momentum in the "Year of Aviation."
FAA is reducing spending by more than $30 million during the current fiscal year, affecting maintenance and certification work, the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association said yesterday. Quoting "a highly placed FAA source," PAMA said the cutback will eliminate about 200 man-years of work through Sept. 30, the end of fiscal 1999, and reduce the agency's work on equipment certification, airline surveillance and maintenance.
A strike by Finnish air traffic controllers is costing Finnair about $3.6 million per week, Finland's flag carrier said yesterday in Helsinki. Finnish ATC engineers, on strike since the beginning of the week, pledge to continue their action until they obtain a pay increase of 20%. ATC operations are currently being staffed by Finnish civil aviation executives. Ninety percent of domestic flights were canceled on Monday and Tuesday. Most international flights operated on Monday, while 20% were canceled on Tuesday. The strike has caused public outrage in Finland.
