Federal Express hasn't lost any business yet despite the threat of a Fedex Pilots Association strike in December. A FedEx spokesman confirmed that service levels remain "exceedingly high." FedEx told its pilots last week it needs a contract commitment to head off defection among jittery customers who want assurance that their packages will be delivered during the holidays (DAILY, Nov. 3).
Air Traffic Control Association named John Richardson, director of Computer Sciences Corp.'s software development and design group, recipient of the Clifford Burton Medallion lifetime achievement award.
National Air Transportation Association has asked FAA to revisit "outdated sections" of the rules on weather reporting and runway requirements for on-demand air charter carriers. For these operators, FAA requires approved weather reporting at the airport for an instrument landing and the runway must allow a full stop within 60% of the effective length of the runway. NATA President James Coyne said technological advances in weather reporting and operational experience show it is time to change the rules.
TWA Chief Executive Gerald Gitner is calling for Washington and Brussels to end antitrust-immune trans-atlantic alliances because they are "licenses to plunder the marketplace." In remarks prepared for an airline forum in Cannes, France, Gitner said open-skies agreements that permit antitrust-free alliances "allow the participants to engage in forms of price-fixing, schedule coordination and capacity pooling that would otherwise be illegal - and that remain forbidden to other competitors."
Spencer, Iowa-based Great Lakes Aviation reported a 59.2% growth in traffic on 57.9% more capacity in October 1998 from October last year, boosting the load factor 0.5 percentage points to 51.3%. Great Lakes flew 24.5 million revenue passenger miles and 47.8 million available seat miles. Passenger enplanements jumped 63.8% to 85,773. Year-to-date RPMs climbed 19.3% on 5.8% more ASMs over the first 10 months last year, causing the load factor to increase 5.8 percentage points. Passenger enplanements grew 23.4%.
GB Airways ordered nine A320 family aircraft for delivery between 2001 and 2003. GB Airways, which operates as a British Airways franchise carrier, took options on five more A320s. All will be powered by IAE V2500 engines.
Lufthansa subsidiary LAGS (USA) has exercised an option to increase its interest in Hudson General LLC from 26% to 49%, the U.S. company said. The exercise price was $29.6 million. Hudson General, through Hudson General LLC, in which it now has a 51% interest, provides services at airports in the U.S. and Canada.
New York-based Eastwind Airlines will expand to New York LaGuardia Airport Nov. 23 with a flight from Greensboro, N.C. The service will provide an early morning departure and evening arrival to support local businesses.
US Airways Chairman Stephen Wolf said the airline will build an Airbus crew training center at Charlotte Douglas Airport. The facility, which has the support of state and local officials, will have two bays for flight simulators, a classroom and computer center. It will be linked to the existing training facility at the airport, which has five simulator bays. The cost is estimated at $12 million but does not include new simulators and other equipment.
Canada's single-carrier designation policy is putting United at a "severe disadvantage, and it's no longer just an internal Canadian policy but impacts the Star Alliance," according to a United official involved in Canada-U.S. aviation liberalization talks Nov. 4-5 in Ottawa. Canada assigns markets to Canadian Airlines and Air Canada and allows both carriers to fly the same market only if passenger volume exceeds a certain number within a year.
Air Macau has opened a new route from Macau to Haikou City in southern China. The weekly flight began this week using an Airbus A321. The carrier recently began the Macau-Sanya City route, also to southern China.
U.S. airline capacity has grown just 1.2% in the first nine months of 1998, down from 1.6-4% in each of the last four years, according to Merrill Lynch. In the current quarter, airlines begin adding domestic capacity after a recent international capacity focus, and the increase for the quarter will be 2.4%. In 1999, U.S. growth is forecast at 5.4% despite a slowdown at American.
DOT made final its allocation of 97 additional Chicago-London winter-season frequencies to United and 32 to American, dismissing American's objection that United's service, with smaller-capacity aircraft, gives it an advantage. United countered that American could use larger aircraft on its frequencies. The final order brings parity to the carriers' total holdings - 422 frequencies for American and 421 for United.
DOT - Approved, for an indefinite period, authority for Transbrasil to display Delta's code on flights between Rio de Janeiro and Recife on a blind-sector basis...Approved a Vacation Express charter using an Allegro 727 or MD-83 for 148 roundtrips and a one-way flight carrying 173 passengers on Charlotte-Cancun-Charlotte, Charlotte/Atlanta-Aruba-Atlanta/Charlotte, Charlotte/Atlanta-Liberia, Costa Rica-Atlanta/Charlotte, Cincinnati/Louisville-Cancun-Louisville/Cincinnati, Charlotte/Atlanta-Aruba-Atlanta/Nashville and Nashville/Atlanta-Aruba-Atlanta/Charlotte routings Dec.
United, bucking the trend of carriers pulling service to the Far East due to the economic crisis in the region - particularly in Thailand - applied at DOT for allocation of seven U.S.-Thailand combination service frequencies. The carrier plans to begin service Dec. 15, using 747-400 aircraft, from San Francisco to Bangkok via Hong Kong, carrying fifth-freedom traffic between the two Asian points. The U.S.-Thailand aviation agreement limits U.S. carriers to a total of 31 fifth-freedom weekly combination frequencies, 14 of which are allocated.
KLM posted an overall 3% rise in October traffic on 4% more capacity, edging the load factor lower to 79.4% from 80.1%. But the airline reported a 7% rise in Asia/Pacific traffic and a load factor gain to the region of 3.2 percentage points, from 78.9% to 82.1%. KLM also experienced traffic gains in the Middle East/South Asia (up 17%) and Europe (up 7%). Traffic to North America fell 4%, as capacity fell 2% and the load factor decreased to 81.6%.
KLM leased a new 767-300ER from International Lease Finance Corp. for delivery in February 2000. Powered by General Electric engines, the aircraft will be KLM's 12th 767, all leased from ILFC.
Rep. Steve Largent's (R-Okla.) candidacy to be House Majority Leader in the new Congress could put in the No. 2 House leadership position a congressman with American as the largest employer in his district. The carrier's national flight reservations facility is in Tulsa and its maintenance depot is at Tulsa Airport.
HeavyLift Volga-Dnepr received DOT approval for an emergency cabotage flight to transport the 76-foot Rockefeller Plaza Christmas tree from Cleveland to New York. The tree is to be felled Nov. 10 in Ohio and erected Nov. 11, and the carrier told DOT air transportation is "integral" to maximizing the tree's "shelf life." DOT said its approval prevents undue hardship to Rockefeller Plaza's holiday event.
National Transportation Safety Board wants FAA to require "explicit agreement" between its Flight Standards and Air Traffic Services offices for approval of charted minimum instrument altitudes under certain conditions. The recommendation follows an Atlantic Southeast Airlines flight that descended below the minimum instrument altitude. The pilot climbed to a safe altitude after a ground proximity system warning.
