FAA authorized 13 commercial air carriers to operate aircraft on "extended overwater operations" of up to 162 miles off shore without required life rafts, pyrotechnic signaling devices and emergency locator transmitters, according to the DOT Office of Inspector General. The IG said that while FAA can issue exemptions and deviations for certain of its safety-related regulations, "none of the 13 carriers was able to demonstrate" that search and rescue availability in the overwater areas "provided equivalent levels of safety."
DOT issued a show-cause order yesterday allocating 22 Tokyo Narita Airport slots to four U.S. carriers - Polar Air Cargo, 16; United Parcel Service, two; Delta, two, and American, two. American's slots are for the winter season only. Continental/Continental Micronesia, TWA and Hawaiian sought slots unsuccessfully. The cargo slots enable Polar to enter the market. Polar and UPS will be able to fly four weekly roundtrips in beyond-Tokyo markets.
DOT Inspector General's office will start an audit of checked baggage security in the U.S. on Aug. 17. The IG will assess how well carriers are implementing passenger profiling and baggage screening requirements, and the extent to which FAA is enforcing compliance.
U.S Major Carriers Productivity, In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee, First Quarter 1998, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total (000) (000) Employees Alaska 346,826 324,319 8,237 America West 474,176 426,352 11,455
Frontier inaugurated twice-daily 737 nonstop Denver-San Diego service July 23, offering introductory fares starting at $149 each way. The new route expands Frontier's service to 15 cities in 12 states. The carrier served San Diego from mid-1996 through November 1997, when United and the now- defunct Western Pacific added flights and the market became "supersaturated with service," said spokesman Bob Schulman. Overcapacity "has since diminished," Schulman said.
Durham, N.C.-based Midway Airlines reported record second quarter profits, the highest quarterly earnings in the company's history and its seventh consecutive profitable quarter. Midway's second quarter net income jumped 35% to $5.3 million while revenue rose 18% to $55.7 million on 13% more seat capacity. Total operating expenses were up to $46.2 million. Year- to-date operating revenues were $106.2 million while expenses were $90.2 million.
Boeing said yesterday that U.K. carrier EasyJet has ordered 15 next- generation 737-700s valued at $650 million and taken options for l5 more. The transaction brings EasyJet orders to 27 aircraft, including 12 737- 300s, the first of which is scheduled for delivery next month, Boeing said.
Correction: Litton officials said yesterday that some of the company's LTN-72 and LTN-92 inertial navigation systems will need a software update for the year 2000, but none of them will have to be replaced (DAILY, July 16).
Chautauqua Airlines will introduce three nonstop J-31 flights per weekday between Newark and Harrisburg, Pa., on Sept. 9, with continuing service to Hagerstown, Md. On Sundays there will be two Harrisburg nonstops and one Hagerstown one-stop. The US Airways Express carrier is offering introductory fares to Harrisburg and Hagerstown of $99 one way based on roundtrip purchase, through Oct. 12.
Atlas Air yesterday took delivery of the first of 10 747-400 freighters powered by General Electric engines. Four more will be delivered this year, four next year and one in 2000. Atlas has options for buy four more in 2000 with six additional options available after that. President Michael Chowdry sees "significant opportunities" for companies with modern freighters when Stage 3 noise rules are in full effect at the end of 1999 and when non-compliant freighters will have to be grounded.
LanChile will begin twice-daily service between Santiago and Cordoba, Argentina, on Aug. 3, with provisions for connections from Miami and Los Angeles. Last month, Aerolineas Argentinas said it will serve Cordoba nonstop from Miami (DAILY, June 25).
DOT could "significantly enhance" retrieval and use of documents if it developed a system allowing full-text searches using Boolean terms and connectors available in Internet search engines and the Lexis/Nexis and Westlaw systems, Delta told the department. Responding to DOT's request for input on its plan to provide for electronic submission (ES) of information to DOT's central dockets management system (DMS) (DAILY, May 22), Delta noted DOT's "significant progress" in making available on its Internet website the text of all documents filed with the Dockets Section.
FAA Technical Center, Atlantic City, N.J., observed its 40th anniversary last week. The former National Aviation Facilities Experimental Center was established in July 1958 by the Airways Modernization Board. It became the Tech Center in May 1980.
Supporting applications by FedEx, Gemini Air Cargo, Emery and Fine Air for broad all-cargo certificate authority, Northwest told DOT it should grant requests for service to countries that "clearly allow unlimited designations...and unlimited frequencies for U.S. air carriers." Northwest cited Canada, Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, the U.K.
Japan Airlines took delivery yesterday of its first 777-300. The carrier has ordered five of the aircraft, powered by Pratt&Whitney engines. JAL was a launch customer for the airplane, which recently received FAA approval for 180-minute extended-range, twin-engine operations.
TWA is launching year-round daily service to Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and seasonal five-times-weekly flights to St. Martin/St. Maarten in the Netherlands Antilles, as part of expanded service to the Caribbean this winter. Service will begin Dec. 27 from New York Kennedy Airport. The new routes, both served by 757-200 aircraft with first-class sections, will represent TWA's fourth and fifth Caribbean points. The carrier also flies to Montego Bay, Jamaica; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Councils at United and Delta will meet at ALPA headquarters in Reston, Va., Sunday and Monday to discuss the impact of the alliance pending between the two carriers. This is the first time the two MEC's will hold a joint meeting. The MEC leaders are expected to discuss commercial agreements, government issues and scope clause terms.
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays is offering a fall program featuring free air fare or hotel room, complimentary car rental upgrade and two-for-one offerings to popular Hawaiian destinations, saving customers up to $320. Bookings are for travel Sept. 8 through Oct. 31. Specials include travel aboard American Trans Air from Los Angeles and San Francisco and at least seven nights at one of a number of selected hotels.
LanChile will merge its two airline subsidiaries, Fast Air and Ladeco, in order to lower its cost structure. The company's board of directors agreed last week that Fast Air will be absorbed by Ladeco, the former LanChile domestic rival, which has been focused on domestic passenger and cargo service since LanChile acquired it. Fast Air is an international air cargo carrier. "This change does not alter our commitment to the cargo business," said LanChile Chief Executive Enrique Cueto.
Southwest and America West are backing DOT's authority to adopt predatory behavior guidelines but told the department last week it should take broader action to safeguard competition in the face of dominant major market power and unfair practices. Both are members of the Air Transport Association, and are taking different positions than ATA's flat opposition to the rules. Southwest is neutral on the proposal, saying its content will neither hurt nor help it.
Japanese carriers expect word from the Ministry of Transport by mid-August about how Tokyo Narita Airport slots will be allocated among domestic carriers. All Nippon Airways, considering new U.S. service, is searching for the right slots.
United is asking employees to act more like passengers and use or cancel seats when traveling on the carrier. Non-revenue "positive space" travel costs United more than $88 million annually, with most coming from employees scheduling business travel on heavily booked flights and not showing up. "We have saved these seats for United's highest-revenue customers who may need to make a last-minute booking," said Greg Taylor, VP-revenue management, in an internal communique.
American and US Airways will launch the first phase of their marketing agreement by enabling their frequent flyer members to claim awards for travel on both airlines beginning Aug. 1 (DAILY, July 16). The carriers also have entered reciprocal deals for use of their American's Admirals Club and US Airways Clubs, beginning Aug. 1. American has 47 clubs, including facilities in Latin America, Europe and Japan, and US Airways operates 26 clubs in the U.S.
Transaero of Russia recently became the first airline to fly through the northern Cross-Polar Corridor Russia has opened to foreign airlines. In a route from Moscow via Krasnoyarsk and Toronto to Newark, Transaero became the first to use the new Siberia corridor, designed to speed trans-Asia travel. After the four-hour trip to Krasnoyarsk, the Transaero DC-10-30 took 11 hours to cross the polar region to Toronto, followed by a one-hour trip to Newark. The air corridor is expected to save time, fuel and costs on certain flights from the U.S.
Singapore Airlines has set up a special-purpose company in the U.S. to purchase and lease back one Boeing 747-400 aircraft for five years. The new company is Sansome Planes II L.P. The transaction was arranged by Babcock&Brown and is the sixth time SIA has worked with the San Francisco-based company, which worked as financial adviser.
