A third 717-200 has entered the flight test program, Boeing said yesterday. The aircraft will be used to test performance during takeoff, cruise and landing, certify airplane performance and systems, and evaluate pilot workload and type rating. Six production airplanes are in final assembly at the Long Beach Division and deliveries are to begin in mid-1999.
Sixteen large regional airlines saw revenue passenger miles jump an average of 34.2% in November, versus an average increase in available seat miles of 25.2%. That is a nine-point spread between traffic and capacity growth. United Express Atlantic Coast was the group leader in traffic growth with RPMs up 99.2%, 28.3 percentage points higher than its ASM growth of 70.9%. Air Wisconsin, another United Express carrier, saw its traffic increase 79.5%, a 30.9-point spread over its capacity growth year over year of 48.6%.
American, with its new single-flight mainline-jet service from Boston to New York Kennedy, may be laying a foundation for future service into Kennedy and use of new American Eagle acquisition Business Express. The new service comes on top of one of the few other mainline-jet services operated by United. Eagle currently operates nine daily frequencies in the market, versus 11 trips by Delta/TWA affiliate Trans States and eight by United Express Atlantic Coast.
Atlanta-based Atlantic Southeast, a Delta Connection carrier, will launch nonstop service between the new Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and Atlanta on May 2 using 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet aircraft. VP-Sales and Corporate Communications Sam Watts said the airline will relocate its operations from Drake Field to the new airport and begin service to Atlanta with three daily CRJ roundtrips timed to maximize connection opportunities with Delta. ASA also will offer six daily roundtrips between Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport and Dallas/Fort Worth.
Toronto City Council this week voted to lift the ban on jets at Toronto City Centre Airport (formerly Toronto Island) and to replace the aging ferry between the island and the Lake Ontario waterfront with a bridge. The combination could be expected to be a big draw for U.S. regional airlines, with a dramatic increase in annual passengers at the facility from 115,000 to between 400,000 and 600,000, officials believe. Area residents have long opposed jet operations, which also could be impeded by the lack of an ILS, a 500-foot NDB minimum and the nearby CN Tower.
Engineering definition of the 767-400ER is 90% complete, Boeing said yesterday. John Quinlivan, program manager, said a new interior architecture for the passenger cabin and an updated flight deck have been added to the work statement. He said use of "virtual teams" has "streamlined development of the airplane's new raked (back-swept) wingtip and auxiliary power unit installation in the tail section." The virtual team approach also enabled about 40 employees at the Long Beach Division to review and fine-tune designs without leaving Southern California, he said.
Atlantic Coast Airlines and senior partner United have signed a new, 10-year marketing agreement, and the Washington Dulles-based regional has converted 10 options for Canadair Regional Jets to firm orders. The new aircraft, which bring ACA's firm CRJ orders to 43 aircraft, will be delivered from July 2000 to September 2001. Fourteen aircraft already are delivered and in service. Under the deal announced this week, another 10 options could become available for future acquisitions, bringing total options to 27, ACA said.
International aviation authorities are pressing the U.S. to make a better case that the satellite-based Global Positioning System can be a sole means of navigation, reflecting increasing concerns that the U.S. may have oversold its benefits. A memo circulating in the U.S. and at ICAO headquarters in Montreal says the world body is "in a difficult position" for lack of guidance from the U.S. on the sole-means issue. A high-level meeting was scheduled yesterday at the U.S. State Department to discuss what to do.
DOT has tentatively decided to re-select Gulf Air Taxi to provide subsidized essential air service at Cape Yakataga and Icy Bay, Alaska, for two years beginning Nov. 1, 1998. Based on discussions with the carrier, DOT has tentatively decided to pay Gulf Air Taxi $48,265 annually in subsidy for the new rate term. The carrier uses Cessna 185s and 206s. (Docket OST 1996-2009
American International Airways and Omni Air International have joined the National Air Carrier Association, Chairman Ed Driscoll said. They join Evergreen, Miami Air International, American Trans Air, Tower Air and World.
Settlements of long-standing litigation claims will result in substantial benefits to fourth quarter earnings, which also will get a boost from a reduced tax rate for the full year, Honeywell said. The two items will add about $33 million to net income, the company said, but it expects $44 million in pre-tax charges to offset these benefits and a second quarter pre-tax gain of $6 million from an asset sale. The charges will fund cost reductions and productivity improvements.
Twenty years after U.S. airlines gained the freedom to expand, merge and go after the competition, power is no more concentrated now than it was then, according to an analysis by Northwestern University economics professor Robert Gordon. Many of the airline "myths" that have evolved during the last two decades are unfounded when today's data are compared with those from 20 years ago, Gordon said.
American is trying to persuade DOT to hold Air France's Chicago O'Hare slot request hostage in the U.S. carrier's bid for Paris Orly slots, Air France told the department. Turned down by FAA, Air France asked DOT for O'Hare slots for service from Paris, and American wants DOT to link approval of this to Orly slots for its prospective Los Angeles-Paris service (DAILY, Dec. 14). Both carriers plan to use the slots for 1999 summer service.
International flights by U.S. carriers are smoke-free, but foreign carriers operate 51% of the flights to and from the U.S. Smoking is banned on 67% of all flights to the U.S. from Central America, 55% from Asia, 47% from Europe, 41% from the Middle East and 23% from South America.
The Display System Replacement (DSR) is fully operational at the Seattle air route traffic control center, FAA said yesterday. Dan Antonucci, president of contractor Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management, said the remaining 18 centers should be fully operational by mid-2000. The DSR program, a cornerstone of ATC modernization, is replacing decades-old equipment with a new en route infrastructure that can support more than 200 workstations and 65 operational sectors of airspace in an ARTCC.
American's Allied Pilots Association (APA) says it will not approve a code share between American and Alaska subsidiary Horizon Air because Horizon operates what the pilot contract scope clause defines as large aircraft. The contract permits American to code share with commuter carriers, but Horizon's F-28s are certificated for more than 70 seats, and there are concerns that their maximum gross takeoff weight is higher than the contract allows without an APA exception.
Prospective European Commission restrictions on alliances would reduce pilot jobs and hurt competition, the Association of Star Alliance Pilots (ASAP) told the EC. The restrictions would eliminate about 50 flights per week on eight routes between Copenhagen and Frankfurt and U.S. destinations, and ASAP - representing 23,000 pilots from nine airlines - said this would cost 313 pilot jobs. ASAP commented that European competition is based on alliances, mainly the Alliance for Excellence, oneworld, Wings and Star.
American Eagle will launch jet service Feb. 28 between Long Island McArthur Airport and Chicago O'Hare, augmenting two current turboprop roundtrips with two new roundrips using 50-passenger ERJ-145s. Eagle said the new schedule will accommodate business travelers better and increase connection opportunities at Chicago. The carrier will launch three-per-day nonstop roundtrip regional jet service March 8 between Memphis and O'Hare.
The uncertainties of a 90-day limit on renewal of Air-India's Washington Dulles-Delhi exemption, as proposed by TWA, might make Air-India's code-share relationship with United "untenable," the Indian carrier told DOT. TWA's request - limit the duration of Air-India's exemption while TWA pursues approval by India of third-country code share service with Royal Jordanian (DAILY, Dec. 10) - is "an unwarranted overreaction," Air-India said.
The government of India this week dissolved the boards of both state-owned carriers, Air-India and Indian Airlines, after weeks of disagreement on how to structure the nation's airlines in the future. Acting without the government's approval, the two carriers proposed Dec. 7 to merge and set up a common balance sheet. Earlier, India's Ministry of Civil Aviation called for privatization of each airline separately in an attempt to improve the financial and competitive prospects of both.
Alitalia and KLM already have an alliance web site, just two weeks after the Nov. 27 pact, which they are calling "One Ticket To The World." The airlines say on their www.oneticket.com site they are blending "Dutch pragmatism with Italian warmth."
Fedex Pilots Association negotiators are asking the rank and file to tone down their rhetoric.FPA spokesman Rick Roberts said negative talk is making it tough to convince management the union is interested in an agreement. Roberts told pilots in a recorded message negotiators were "rounding third base and headed toward home plate" a few days ago, "but we've had a foul tip...based on some media comments." Union President Frank Fato asked all candidates for FPA office not to talk to the media until negotiations are complete.
