Rolls-Royce reported yesterday a $75 million order from Continental for RB211-535E4B engines to power five firm 757-200 aircraft. Deliveries will begin in December 1999 to June 2000 (DAILY, Dec. 10).
Midway Airlines posted a 17.7% traffic gain for November on 16.7% more capacity, which raised the load factor to 66.7%. Passengers volume grew 22.9% to 177,000 for the month, and Midway carried 1.8 million passengers during the first 11 months of 1998. It reported a successful Thanksgiving holiday period, operating all 1,200 of its scheduled flights.
AD OPT Technologies of Montreal said it was selected by Sabena to supply crew assignment scheduling software for 2,500 flight crew members. Sabena will begin implementing the software Jan. 1. Earlier this year, the carrier purchased AD OPT's altitude pairing software, designed to improve planning performance. As part of the new contract, Sabena will implement AD OPT's preferential bidding system product.
British Airways has signed a letter of intent with Mercury Scheduling Systems Inc. to equip British Airways Regional with integrated crew management systems for its Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow services, the Vancouver-based software company said. Functions will include 737 and A319 flight and cabin crew assignments - an expansion of a current BA license covering pilot assignments - and an Internet-based crew bidding system. Installation will be in two phases, scheduled for completion in June 1999 and February 2000.
DOT renewed for one year Air Jamaica's exemption to engage in scheduled foreign combination service between Fort Lauderdale and co-terminal points Kingston and Montego Bay, Jamaica. (Docket OST-96-1286)
A House vote Thursday to impeach President Clinton would set the stage for a Senate trial with unpredictable consequences for almost every item on the legislative calendar, including the FAA reauthorization. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has said he prefers a "dual-track" approach to the trial, in which the Senate would consider legislation each morning and conduct Clinton's trial in the afternoon. The Senate has operated this way in recent years to accommodate filibusters without tying up other business.
The Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) union, which helps maintain the nation's air traffic control system, said FAA is rushing an untested main air traffic control computer into service "during the busiest travel time of the year at one of the busiest air traffic control centers in the nation." Michael Fanfalone, union president, said the first Host replacement computers were placed into operation at the New York center over the weekend.
American Eagle launched nonstop service Saturday between Miami and Columbus, Ohio, using 50-seat ERJ-145s. The carrier will offer two roundtrips per day on Saturdays and Sundays during the winter season.
FAA said it plans to fine Northwest $375,000 for "violating maintenance requirements" on a DC-9 and "operating the airplane in an unairworthy condition." The agency said it acted after a review of discrepancy reports filed by pilots who flew the aircraft in July 1997 after a wing spar had been repaired.
Swissair, having suffered what it termed "years of competitive disadvange" with respect to European Union carriers, said it is satisfied with the bilateral agreement negotiated last week with the European Commission (DAILY, Dec. 14). The Swiss government and the EC included aviation in the package deal by which they concluded nearly five years of on-and-off negotiations to balance transportation interests between the two parties.
United and the Air Line Pilots Association have agreed on how to equip the airline's Boeing 777B fleet with crew rest facilities, the last step needed for United to operate the aircraft in the Pacific for the first time. On nonstop flights longer than 12 hours, FAA requires U.S. airlines to have dedicated pilot rest facilities. The 777B crew rest area will be similar to that of United's 747-400s. At the same time, United will add bunks for flight attendants as well, in compliance with their contract.
U.S. Major Carriers Pacific Share of Service Third Quarter 1998 Total Revenue Departures American 709 Delta 919 Northwest 4,851 United 5,699 Total 12,178 Average Number of Seats Per Departure American 232
Air Atlantic Dominicana received a one-year exemption renewal from DOT to operate scheduled foreign combination service between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and co-terminal points Miami, New York/Newark and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Aerolineas Uruguayanas received an initial one-year exemption to engage in charter cargo service between Uruguay and the U.S. and operate other all-cargo charters. Neither carrier will be allowed to conduct U.S.
Air Line Pilots Association said yesterday it will recommend that its members not perform land and hold short operations (LAHSO) after Feb. 19 if FAA cannot adequately address its concerns about the safety of such operations. Both FAA and the Air Transport Association expressed confidence that a resolution of ALPA's concerns can be found before that date.
Passenger volume at the seven U.K. airports operated by BAA plc increased 7.1% year-over-year in November to 8.1 million, BAA reported. More than 7 million of them used the three London-area airports, where Stansted continued rapid growth through development of scheduled service to Europe. Volume at Stansted was up 34.2% to 527,300 for the month and 25.4% to nearly 6.7 million for the first 11 months of 1998. London Heathrow served nearly 4.6 million passengers during the month, up 3.4%, and the total at Gatwick was 1.9 million, up 10.1%.
Air Transport Action Group (ATAG) predicts that 325 million international passengers will travel to, from and within the Americas by 2011, more than double the 1996 total of 154 million. The Americas' traffic will grow 5.1% annually through 2011, according to the forecast. The U.S. is expected to grow somewhat more slowly, at 4.9% per year, but will continue to generate the lion's share of new passengers and account for 240 million of the 325 million passengers in 2011.
The American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) asked the Justice Department yesterday for a full investigation of airlines' selling practices, saying carriers have launched "a systematic campaign to force consumers to buy air travel direct" and circumvent travel agents. "They should not be engaged with processes to interfere with a travel agent's right to do business," ASTA President Joe Galloway told reporters.
The European Union is considering a reprieve for airports and the duty-free industry from its ban on duty-free sales for passengers traveling within the EU, scheduled to take effect July 1, 1999.
The crash Dec. 11 of a Thai Airways A310 was the carrier's sixth fatal accident since it was founded in 1959 and the 12th Thai Airways/Thai Airways International hull loss. The previous crashes killed 279 persons, and fatalities in the Dec. 11 crash totaled 101 as of yesterday. Thailand is rated Category 1 - meeting ICAO standards - in FAA's assessment of civil aviation authorities worldwide.
Kitty Hawk has "temporarily parked" one of two 747-100 passenger aircraft operated by its American International Airways unit pending a decision about whether to sell the aircraft or convert it into a freighter, the company said. This leaves one 747-100 and two L-1011s for Kitty Hawk's passenger charter business. "Kitty Hawk's core business is cargo transportation, and we are taking a hard look at our passenger charter operation and its place within the Kitty Hawk organization," said Chairman Tom Christopher.
France is willing to reduce its ownership share of aerospace manufacturer Aerospatiale, according to Minister of the Economy Dominique Strauss-Kahn. British Aerospace and DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of Germany insist that Aerospatiale be fully privatized if the companies are to merge into a European Aerospace and Defense Company (EADC).
Air Transport Association (ATA) is launching an all-out battle against the Year 2000 computer bug, increasingly concerned that non-airline components of the aviation industry in the U.S. and abroad will not be prepared. Y2K is ATA's number one priority next year. To drive home the point, the association will open a command center in Herndon, Va., in December 1999 with government and manufacturing experts to identify potential problems prior to and during the magic Jan. 1, 2000, date.
American was surprised last week that it its acquisition of Reno Air drew no regulatory objections."That must be the first thing we've ever done that didn't have objections from regulators," Chief Executive Don Carty told employees.
U.S. Major Carriers Change In RPMs, ASMs and Load Factor Third Quarter 1998 Load Factor (%) 1998 1997 Pts. Change Alaska 69.0 70.2 -1.2 America West 71.9 70.5 1.5 American 73.2 72.4 0.8 Continental 75.8 74.5 1.3
Raytheon Co.'s operating performance will be strong once it has assimilated its 1997 acquisitions of Texas Instruments' and Hughes's defense businesses, but the company's debt protection measures will be "under pressure" until assimilation is complete, according to Moody's Investors Service. The acquisitions, for about $3 billion and $9.5 billion, respectively, make Raytheon the top U.S.
