FAA said it plans to fine International Total Services (ITS) of Cleveland $157,000 for allegedly violating federal anti-drug and alcohol misuse prevention programs. ITS is a contract security vendor that provides passenger screening services to airlines throughout the U.S. FAA alleges ITS at many locations, and involving many employees, had not received verified negative pre-employment drug test results or return-to-duty drug tests.
American, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, will unveil plans today for a new $1 billion terminal at New York Kennedy. The project is expected to create at least 1,000 construction jobs.
United's stock price dropped after its announcement of interest in America West, "but not as much as it should have," according to Donaldson, Lufkin&Jenrette analyst Jim Higgins. "The risks outweigh the rewards." If low-fare America West operated with United's higher costs, Higgins estimates the effect would be $200 million negative for United.
Boeing moved to settle for $15 million two nationwide class-action lawsuits that alleged employment discrimination, the company reported Friday. Attorneys for Boeing and the plaintiffs filed a motion in federal court seeking preliminary approval of a consent decree pending notice to the class members and a fairness hearing. For purposes of the consent decree, the court has been asked to certify a nationwide settlement class that in general includes all African-American employees throughout Boeing's U.S.
DOT - Approved an initial two-year exemption for American to provide scheduled combination service between Los Angeles and Nadi, Fiji, which American plans to use under code share with Air Pacific Limited...Approved a one-year exemption renewal for Harlequin Air Corp.
General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a biting criticism of FAA's management of modernization of air traffic control systems and expressed doubt that the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) "can perform as originally intended" as the sole means of navigation for a given operation or phase of flight.
Pilot hiring broke all records in 1998, according to AIR, Inc., as 14,143 pilots found jobs compared with 11,936 in 1997. Of the 1998 total, 3,646 went to work for major carriers, 4,698 at nationals, 2,573 at jet operators, 2,256 at non-jet carriers and the rest at helicopter, startup and other carriers.
Sen. John Rockefeller IV (W.Va.), the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee's new ranking Democrat, says the panel may have no choice but to approve a six-month extension of FAA programs as the House Transportation Committee has done.
American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and the Coalition for Travel Industry Parity (CTIP) want lawmakers to introduce a new version of the Consumer Access to Travel Information Act, one with more teeth. ASTA and CTIP are launching an aggressive legislative campaign aiming to create a national commission, independent of DOT, to investigate certain alleged airline anti-competitive practices. Last year's act contained a directive to the DOT secretary to investigate certain airline practices that ASTA and CTIP labeled anti-consumer and anti-competitive.
Southwest thinks it will not suffer from American's acquisition of Reno and may benefit from it, according to Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly. Predicting a "neutral at worst" effect, Kelly said American likely will reduce service at some points as it realigns hubs, opening up opportunities for Southwest.
Reorganization of the Clacton Sector, which provides London area air traffic control services for flights to and from central and northern Europe, has eliminated outbound delays and reduced inbound delays more than 20%, according to U.K. National Air Traffic Services. The sector is one of Europe's busiest and has been swamped by rapid growth of low-cost airlines operating at Stansted, Luton and London City airports, NATS said. It became the country's worst air traffic bottleneck last summer - 10% of flights in U.K.
Status is quo on Love Field at DOT, deputy assistant secretary Pat Murphy told the American Bar Association Friday. "We continue to work with the applicants, we continue to work with FAA, and we continue to get sued."
Some transatlantic alliances "appear more and more like cartels, as a market-control mechanism," European Union Transport Commissioner Karel Van Miert told the American Bar Association Air&Space Forum Friday, and the view that alliances are a "panacea...amuses" him. The transatlantic market is "still far from a liberalized market," he said, and instead of the promised "fierce competition," he sees carriers being forced out of markets by code-sharing partners.
United Shuttle plans to introduce two-end deplaning in several of its western markets. In tests conducted in Los Angeles and San Francisco this month, the operation succeeded in getting passengers off the airplane faster and more conveniently and improved on-time performance. Two-end deplaning enables passengers seated in the front of the aircraft to exit as usual, while those in the rear leave by the back door, go down a flight of stairs into a Commute-a-Walk, a covered portable walkway that extends to the rear of the aircraft, and enter the terminal.
Flight attendants at United are considering filing a grievance because the carrier is installing a rest facility on its new 777s for pilots but not for flight attendants. Management recently asked United Association of Flight Attendants President Kevin Lum to help with an in-house article on cultural changes at United since employee ownership. Lum saw no change for cabin crew - "Whether it's water, crew meals or crew rest, flight attendants continue to be second class and second rate."
America West pilots want to be part of any merger talks with United, Delta, Continental or any other airline that comes courting. America West's Air Line Pilots Association unit said Friday it wants management "to make them participants in the process." Darcy Pierce, vice chairman of the America West ALPA Master Executive Council, said the union has formed a merger committee and has been developing its own sources of expertise on the merger aspects of airline economics.
Frontier has prepaid in full the balance of a senior secured note with Wexford Management LLC, an investment firm. Wexford loaned Frontier $5 million in December 1997, with no obligation to pay until 2001. The remaining balance paid was $943,135. At the same time as the prepayment, the airline announced the resignation of Arthur Amron, who represented Wexford on the board. The company does not intend to replace him, leaving the board with six members.
