DOT's Office of Inspector General, voicing misgivings about FAA's past problems with complex software acquisitions, next week will look into the agency's efforts toward establishing a Free Flight regime. The investigation will emphasize cost, schedule, software development and human factors issues of Phase 1 of the program. The OIG said it also will evaluate progress FAA is making in setting up a new Free Flight program office.
American, in an about-face, withdrew its objections to Air France's request for slot exemptions at Chicago O'Hare. A spokesman at American declined to explain the carrier's change of heart on the Air France application. American, which had asked DOT to link approval for Air France with the grant of American's request for slots at Paris Orly, had charged that Air France has influence over slot allocation at Paris airports, where slots are administered by a former Air France employee, who plans to return to a position with the French carrier (DAILY, Dec. 21, 1998).
National Air Carrier Association Chairman Ed Driscoll said NACA has opened its membership to associate members and AAR Corp. has become the first member in the new category. NACA's membership comprises American International Airways, American Trans Air, Evergreen International, Miami Air, Omni Air, Tower and World Airways.
Delta is expanding electronic ticketing to European destinations over the next few months, beginning Monday with Amsterdam. E-ticketing will be available to Milan, Rome and Athens Feb. 15 and to Barcelona, Madrid and Moscow Feb. 22. It will be available to Istanbul March 1, to London and Manchester March 22, Stockholm and Vienna March 29 and Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart April 5. Delta will introduce e-ticketing to other destinations in Europe and to Latin America and Asia later this year.
Moody's Investors Service cited Bombardier Inc.'s diversification and strong market positions yesterday as it assigned an A3 issuer rating to the company and an A3 rating to its proposed $500 million notes due 2002. Even though some of Bombardier's businesses are cyclical and the rapid growth of the Bombardier Capital Group finance unit in new markets creates uncertainties, the company's diversification and a "huge backlog" in aerospace and transportation create a favorable outlook, Moody's said.
Boeing said yesterday that its 757-300 has been awarded a type certificate and production certification by FAA and that the Joint Aviation Authorities of Europe recommended type validation. JAA's 29 members will award the actual type certificates. Condor will receive the first airplane in March. Donald Riggin, manager of the FAA Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, said the 757-300 is the "first Boeing model worked under a formal agreement known as a Project-Specific Certification Plan.
Delta has garnered support from eight governors and public and private groups in 13 states - mostly in the Southeast, but also Utah and Oregon - in its bid for seven newly available U.S.-Italy frequencies. Delta proposed Orlando-Atlanta-Rome service.
Spanair is close to a decision to acquire 45 aircraft - double the size of its current fleet - in an attempt to increase its competitive edge in southern Europe. The airline will negotiate a deal in time for its March 19 board meeting, and Director General Carlos Bravo told reporters that despite heavy campaigning from both Boeing and Airbus, the decision has not been made. Bravo, who had dinner Monday night in Madrid with Boeing, hosted Airbus representatives Tuesday at Spanair's Palma headquarters before talking with reporters.
House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) late next month may introduce a multi-year aviation bill that will go into funding levels and other issues, congressional sources said yesterday. A committee aide said the bill - its duration has not been settled - would deal with a number of subjects, including safety initiatives, collision avoidance systems on cargo airlines, whistleblower protection for FAA and airline employees, national park overflights and bogus parts.
Augsburg Airways of Germany reported its first profit ever for the year 1998, when it achieved passenger growth of 86% for a total of 574,292 passengers carried. The airline more than doubled its revenues to 146 million Deutschmarks (US$87.6 million) from DM70 million ($42 million) and predicts revenues of about DM160 million ($96 million) for the current year. Olaf Dlugi, managing director, sees 1999 as a year for consolidation and modernization.
Used Jet Aircraft Deliveries October 1998 Carrier # Type Engines Previous Operator Aero Control 2 727-200 JT8D-9A Olympic Air Afrique 1 A310-300 PW4152 Air Charter Air Afrique 1 737-300 CFM56-3C1 EasyJet Air Aruba 1 DC-9-30 JT8D-9A Continental Airbus Industrie 1 A300B4-200 CF6-50C2 Thai Airways
FAA will sponsor an international conference Feb. 2-4 to discuss inflight operations in icing conditions. The conference will be an open forum to exchange information and address National Transportation Safety Board recommendations on inflight icing and the status of FAA's Inflight Icing Plan. Participants will include representatives of the NTSB, European Joint Aviation Authorities, civil aviation authorities, International Civil Aviation Organization, NASA, manufacturers, airlines and weather experts.
Boeing took in $5 billion more in 1998 than the Big Three airlines combined - $56.2 billion in revenue vs. a total of $51.2 billion - but its net earnings, $1.1 billion, were about the same as Delta's and $200 million less than either United's or American's.
Continental put in its bid for one of three third-country code shares available under the recently adopted annexes to the U.S.-Russia bilateral (DAILY, Jan. 27), requesting an exemption to operate service with Air France between Houston and Newark and Moscow and St. Petersburg as a new competitor in the U.S.-Russia market. Continental filed to withdraw its applications, under Docket OST-97-3092 and undocketed applications with affiliate Continental Express, for an exemption and authority to code share with Aeroflot.
U.S. aviation negotiators met with officials in three African nations during the past several days to present the U.S. open-skies program and answer questions and concerns. A first round of formal open-skies talks with Tanzania went well, according to a DOT spokesman, who said progress was made and negotiations are expected to move ahead, although a date for the next meeting has not been set. The U.S.
US Airways Express said it will increase service at Washington Reagan Airport Feb. 3 with two daily nonstop regional jet flights to Knoxville and a second daily nonstop turboprop flight between Knoxville and Philadelphia. Knoxville-Washington service will be operated with 50-seat Canadair RJs and Knoxville-Philadelphia with 32-seat Dornier 328s. The airline also will add two daily Greenville-Spartanburg-Washington nonstops Feb. 3, using 328s.
China Airlines, Mandarin Airlines and Formosa Airlines are drafting a plan that reportedly calls for completion of their merger by Aug. 1. Sources in Taipei say that, under the terms of the plan, CAL will give up its key Taipei-Kaohsiung domestic route to concentrate on international flights, including Taipei-Canada and Taipei-Australia routes currently operated by Mandarin. Mandarin and Formosa will merge into a single unit to be called Mandarin Airlines. The new Mandarin, a subsidiary of CAL, will operate domestic service.
House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) is in a bargaining mood as he begins his attempt to take the aviation trust fund off budget.Higher passenger facility charges, airline competition measures and FAA reform short of privatization are on the table, Shuster told the Aero Club of Washington yesterday. So is Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain's (R-Ariz.) bid to relax the Washington Reagan perimeter rule, which Shuster still opposes.
U.S. Major Carriers Financial Results Third Quarter 1998 Third Quarter 1998 Operating Operating Revenues Expenses (000) (000) Alaska 448,964 369,567 America West 489,308 447,861 American 4,272,361 3,717,056 Continental 1,934,309 1,776,875
Boeing officials reported profits for the fourth quarter of 1998 and the full year yesterday, compared with losses during both periods in 1997, but they said the company still needs to improve profit margins. The profit margin for Boeing Commercial was zero for 1998, but Debby Hopkins, the corporation's new chief financial officer, said she expects a commercial profit margin of 2% to 3% this year and 4% to 5% in 2000. Hopkins said this year's profit margin will not be satisfactory.
DOT, during talks last week with Russian aviation representatives, adopted annexes to the U.S.-Russia bilateral that provide long-sought third-country code shares for U.S. carriers and include first-time overflights and expansion of routes and frequencies. U.S. carriers may implement a total of five such code-share arrangements - three immediately, with two more available Jan. 22, 2000. Each U.S.
PROS Strategic Solutions yesterday announced the appointment of Bert Winemiller as president, chief executive and board member. Winemiller previously was president of American Business Information and senior VP for Automatic Data Processing. Houston-based PROS is a leader in revenue management science.
DOT believes slot controls and the Washington Reagan perimeter rule no longer are required for aviation reasons, according to recent comments by Patrick Murphy, deputy assistant secretary. But DOT is not pushing for their abolition since they serve other purposes and Congress may decide their fate, he told The DAILY yesterday.
Atlas Air reported record fourth quarter net income of $18.1 million, up from $9.1 million in the 1997 period. Operating income was $47.1 million, up from $27.8 million, while revenues rose to $145.5 million from $120.9 million. For the year, net income was $46.2 million, up from $23.4 million; operating income was $135.8 million, up from $83.1 million, and revenues were $422.2 million, up from $401 million.
Eight air traffic organizations have signed bilateral agreements establishing the terms of cooperation in support of the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS). European Space Agency (ESA) Director General Antonio Rodota signed bilateral pacts with agencies representing Spain, Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K., Norway and Switzerland. EGNOS aims to provide Global Positioning System/Glonass satellite-based augmentation services to aviation, maritime and land users in the European region.
