Boullioun Aviation Services this week placed its first order for Airbus aircraft - 15 A320s and 15 A319s valued at $1.3 billion. Boullioun has purchase rights for additional aircraft and the option to switch among the A320, A319 and A321. Robert Genise, president, said deliveries will be made between February 2002 and November 2006. Boullioun and its affiliate Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, in which Boullioun has a 35.5% share, have a combined portfolio of 45 aircraft and almost 100 aircraft on order, including options.
Brazil has removed its last rule requiring airlines to receive approval for fare pricing. The change is the final step in a yearlong deregulation effort.
House Transportation Committee yesterday passed a bill just introduced to extend the Airport Improvement Program through Sept. 30 (DAILY, Jan. 6). AIP currently is set to expire March 31.
AlliedSignal is realigning its aerospace business to strengthen market and customer focus, simplify business structure and reduce costs, said Lawrence Bossidy, chairman. He said the move is expected to save up to $50 million a year and will have a positive effect on free cash flow in 1999. The company named Robert Johnson, president of Electronic&Avionics Systems, president-marketing sales and services; Frank Daly, VP-commercial air transport avionics, to succeed Johnson, and Joseph DeSarla, senior VP-operations for Aerospace Equipment Systems, president of AES.
United Express Air Wisconsin, in its December announcements of new Canadair Regional Jet services from the Denver hub, appears to be reflecting the network of the original Denver-based Frontier Airlines - Madison, Memphis, Jackson, and Fargo. Look for markets like Rockford, Shreveport and Toledo in the future. United says its new expansion will be at its Washington Dulles hub, which it cut back several years ago, opening it up to Express carrier Atlantic Coast. That means Denver will now be open to Air Wisconsin and perhaps other CRJ operators.
DOT sources said it was "absolutely untrue" that FAA is about to downgrade the safety status of commercial aviation in Bolivia and Argentina. Bob Booth, president of Miami-based Aviation Management Services, suggested recently the downgrade might occur (DAILY, Jan. 6). "There is nothing in the offing," one DOT source said. "Bolivia is Category 2, Argentina is Category 1, and they will remain so."
LucasVarity plc said it is in "preliminary discussions" with a number of companies "in connection with a wide range of strategic alternatives." It said the discussions include "joint ventures, acquisitions, dispositions, alliances and mergers or other combinations." It said, however, that "there can be no certainty any of these conversations will result in a definitive agreement." LucasVarity, which designs, manufactures and supplies advanced technology systems, products and services in the aerospace and automotive industries, said the talks are part of an "extensive
Kenneth Button, professor of public policy at George Mason University, discusses the benefits of hub airports and airport cities on Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
President Clinton's impeachment trial may lead to another six-month authorization for FAA, Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee chairman Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) suggested yesterday.FAA is operating under a six-month authorization expiring April 1, and Gorton told The DAILY the Clinton trial "will probably result in our doing another short-term extension" because it will delay action on FAA by "as many days as it takes."Gorton and Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) recently proposed a plan to settle impeachment in a week without a full trial.
United Express carrier Air Wisconsin will launch regional jet service between Jackson, Miss. and Denver on March 1. Air Wisconsin, based in Appleton, Wis., will operate two daily flights with 50-seat Canadair Regional Jets.
Fedex Pilots Association leadership is setting up road shows to explain the tentative contract deal to the rank and file. Meetings are scheduled Jan. 12 at Tokyo Narita, Jan. 13-14 in Subic Bay, Jan. 17 in Anchorage, Jan. 20-21 in Indianapolis and Jan. 24 in Memphis. FPA plans to videotape the larger shows and play the tape on its web site. The ratification vote is scheduled Feb. 4.
DOT has made final a tentative decision to select Great Lakes Aviation once again to provide subsidized essential air service at Ironwood, Mich./Ashland, Wis. Great Lakes will receive $357,588 annually for the Beech 1900 service, which links the points with Chicago. The department rejected a request from Gogebic-Iron Airport that Great lakes be required to modify its schedules.
FAA said yesterday it plans to fine Nissan Chemical Industries of Tokyo $265,000 and Wurth USA of Ramsey, N.J., $110,000, alleging that both offered improperly prepared hazardous materials for shipment by air. FAA said Nissan Chemical offered 14 20-liter steel drums containing flammable liquid to Canadian Airlines for transport from Tokyo to Orlando. The barrels also were only a passenger aircraft, when U.S. rules require they be shipped on cargo aircraft, FAA said.
Delta's traffic rose 3.7% last year on 2.4% more capacity, pushing up the load factor 0.9 percentage points to 72.7%. The airline set another world record by carrying 105 million passengers, up from last year's record 103 million. Delta transported an average of 288,740 passengers every day in 1998. In December, traffic grew 1.5% on 3.1% more capacity, lowering the load factor 1.1 points to 68.2%. Domestic traffic fell 0.7% on 0.8% more capacity, forcing the load factor down 1 point to 68.5%.
U.S. National, Regional and Cargo Carriers Advertising Expense Third Quarter 1998 National Carriers % Of Total Advertising Operating Expenses AirTran Airlines 3,575,001 2.97 Aloha 1,284,447 2.31 American Trans Air 3,579,225 1.71 Frontier 1,291,038 2.74
Mexicana asked DOT for exemption from high-density slot restrictions at Chicago O'Hare so it can continue operating its daily Mexico City-Chicago roundtrip during the summer season. The carrier has operated the flight "for many years." DOT most recently granted Mexicana winter season slots for the service after FAA turned down its request (DAILY, Oct. 29). FAA has told Mexicana that requests for summer season slots exceed the slots available.
In a move to preserve federal grants, Jefferson, Colo., County Commissioners Tuesday lifted a ban on applications for scheduled service at Jeffco Airport, northwest of Denver. The ban, in place since 1995, was the subject of a Part 16 complaint filed by Texas businessman John Andrews and the county had until Jan. 25 to address concerns in that complaint or face possible loss of federal grants.
Delta announced yesterday that it will end one of its few flights to Asia with the Feb. 14 cessation of MD-11 service from Portland to Seoul. Instead, the carrier will rely on its four-year-old alliance with Korean Air, a boost for the struggling Asian carrier. "The downturn in the Asian economy and Korea in particular has had a profound negative impact on the economic viability of Delta's Seoul flight," said David Zielke, district sales manager in Portland.
The total number of passengers who traveled through London City Airport in 1998 reached 1.4 million by the end of December - a figure in line with the airport's target and 17% up on 1997. In December, more than 112,000 people flew through the airport, making it the 18th month in succession when more than 100,000 passengers travelled through London City. London City Airport's managing director, Richard Gooding,predicted further growth for 1999.
Snecma Services and Praxair said they are considering a joint venture that could lead to the "creation of a new state-of-the-art aircraft engine component repair center." If negotiations are successful, the parties will establish a company that will own and operate the facility near St. Etienne, France. It would service customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, concentrating initially on compressor components for CFM56 engines. It would later expand to include GE90 engines.
DOT has made final its tentative decision last month to grant commuter authority to New Mexico-based Edelweiss Holdings, Inc. d/b/a Edelweiss Air d/b/a Rio Grande Air.
Crossair, the highly successful Swiss regional, has projected 1998 revenues of about $732.3 million. Revenues for the first three quarters were up 16% versus an increase in operating costs of only 9%. As a result, the company is projecting a 66.6% increase in employee profit sharing, from $8.8 million in 1997 to $14.6 million. Crossair ended the year with 74 aircraft, having added five Saab 2000s, two Avro RJ100s and two MD-80s (for charter services).
Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) investigators believe that Embraer's EMB-120 aircraft had not met FAA certification standards at the time of the Jan. 9, 1997, Comair EMB-120 crash in which all passengers and crewmembers were killed. The turboprop has shown a "demonstrated history in icing conditions that indicated the aircraft did not meet the requirements of FAR Part 25," the union said in the January issue of Air Line Pilot magazine, which is distributed to members and others.
Delays in scheduled-service arrivals and departures at London's five airports increased year-over-year in the third quarter of 1998 and the average delay got longer, the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) reported. The ratio of scheduled flights at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City that were on time - within 15 minutes of schedule - dropped to 65% from 71% in the third quarter of 1997. The average delay increased from 13 minutes to 16 minutes.
Continental Express reported that its December load factor jumped 3.4 percentage points to 58.6% - its highest December load factor ever - as revenue passenger miles rose 39.6% to 143.1 million and available seat miles climbed 31.5% to 244.3 million available seat miles.
