Phoenix is the new likely home for Farmington, N.M.-based Mesa Air Group (DAILY, June 19). CEO Jonathan Ornstein this week said he also is looking at Kansas City, Philadelphia and the Washington, D.C., area. They make interesting negotiating points in dealing with Phoenix, but Ornstein, a native New Yorker, long since became a Southern Californian, and Phoenix is a closer fit to his personal life style.
First Rolls-Royce-powered A330-300 made its first flight Wednesday, beginning a flight test program scheduled to result in type certification by yearend. The aircraft flew in Airbus livery from Toulouse, France, for four hours and 30 minutes.
Midwest Express will introduce nonstop weekend Omaha-Orlando service Dec. 5. It said it will be the only carrier offering nonstop service in the market.
DOT and Carlson Travel Group d/b/a Carlson Travelit entered a consent order assessing the company $40,000 in compromise civil penalties for violating advertising regulations. Carlson did not include ad valorum taxes in Detroit Free Press ads between April 1997 and February 1998 promoting fares from Detroit to various destinations, including Hawaii, Barbados and Jamaica. Carriers and travel agents may state per-passenger taxes and fees separately.
DOT granted new two-year exemption authorities to Asiana Airlines and Korean Air reflecting the open-skies U.S.-Korea bilateral completed in April. Each carrier may conduct scheduled combination service from points behind South Korea via South Korea and intermediate points to points in the U.S. and beyond. (Dockets OST-98-3940, 3899)
United Express partner Great Lakes Aviation said it wants to restore essential air service between Decatur, Ill., and Chicago O'Hare and improve service to O'Hare from Mattoon and Mt. Vernon, Ill. Fellow United Express carrier Atlantic Coast this week filed to offer three roundtrips between Savannah, Ga./Hilton Island, S.C., and O'Hare (DAILY, June 25). Great Lakes filed an application with DOT to make O'Hare slots available for the service, which envisions service to Mattoon and Mt. Vernon, rather than Springfield, behind Decatur.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized a 15-year contract yesterday with a unit of BAA USA, the U.S. subsidiary of U.K.-based airport operator BAA plc, to develop and manage retail and food/beverage operations in Terminals A and B at Newark Airport. BAA Newark, the subsidiary formed to manage the development, plans to expand concession space by 25,000 square feet and increase the number of sites by more than 20%. It will receive a percentage of gross sales revenue plus an incentive bonus based on performance.
CCAIR expects to earn a net profit "approximately three times greater" in its second quarter, which will end June 30, as it did in the first quarter, when it earned $549,000 (seven cents per share), President and Chief Executive Kenneth Gann told stockholders. For the three months ended June 30, 1997, CCAIR earned a net profit of $18,303. Gann attributed the anticipated earnings improvement to strong summer demand - advance reservations were up about 12% year-over year - and cost savings from a recently completed fleet restructuring.
FAA will meet its July 1999 target for initial operating capability of the Wide Area Augmentation System, an FAA official said yesterday, but achieving full operational capability as a sole means of navigation in late 2001 "is not going to be easy." The official, Carl McCullough, product lead for Global Positioning System programs, told the RTCA Spring Forum in Washington, D.C., that FOC will require additional satellites and ground stations and "may not be affordable." He added, however, that "you are going to like Phase One" of WAAS.
Billings, Mont.-based Big Sky Airlines has added Spokane, Wash., to its list of non-essential air service (EAS) routes, Executive VP Craig Denney said. Until recently Big Sky has been entirely dependent on EAS for its operations, but last October it began adding service to four non-EAS Montana points - Great Falls, Helena, Missoula, and Kalispell. It added Spokane earlier this month, its first out-of-state route.
Aspen Mountain Air, Grand Prairie, Texas, will discontinue tomorrow service from Austin to Abilene, Beaumont, Corpus Christi and Tyler, Texas. The four routes "fell short of the goals set," said Aspen Mountain Air President Patrick Imeson.
London City Airport is seeking tenders by July 31 for a new passenger handling agency. Airport officials said it was necessary to ensure that airlines "have a choice of good quality handling services." The move was prompted by the approaching expiration of one of London City's existing handling contracts, as well as the EU's directive to liberalize ground- handling services at major European airports. London City Airport authorities expect to make a decision by the end of August, followed by the start-up of the new agent on Nov. 1.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic The Year 1997 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 745 5.74 1,096 816,730 9.07
Corporacion de la Aviation Cubana S.A. (CACSA) of Cuba will acquire four ATR 42-300 aircraft from the French-Italian consortium ATR, ATR announced. The four ATR 42-300s will be delivered to Aerocaribbean and Aerogaviota airlines this year.
Aloha Airlines says it will be the world's first regional carrier to equip its fleet with automatic external defibrillators. Aloha has purchased ForeRunner AEDs from Heartstream at a total cost of $51,000 and expects to install them on its 17 737s by November, following AED training for inflight personnel.
Eurocontrol reported successful flight demonstrations in May and June of real-time four-dimensional (time-plus-position) trajectory display in the cockpit. The feasibility trials were part of Eurocontrol's PHARE (Program for Harmonized Air Traffic Management Research) project with the national aviation research agencies of France, Germany, The Netherlands and the U.K., which seeks to demonstrate advanced integrated air/ground air traffic management technologies for 2010 and beyond.
The results of political maneuvering on DOT's competition policy should be revealed this morning as the House Transportation Committee marks up legislation, including FAA reauthorization and the Airline Service Improvement Act. Democrats and Republicans met yesterday morning on the issue and DOT Secretary Rodney Slater met with Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) in the afternoon. Observers believe some kind of study is likely, although its role in altering or killing the policy will depend partly on how long it takes and who will conduct it.
Thai Airways intends to phase out its 11 remaining expatriate pilots over the next 18 months and make its pilot corps all-Thai for the first time since the airline was founded. Thai believes it will save millions of dollars annually by releasing the more expensive foreign pilots. The carrier needs about 40 new pilots annually to satisfy growth objectives.
Carriers opposing the American-British Airways alliance, replying to comments at DOT, added the Justice Department's analysis to their list of objections and insisted that a full oral evidentiary hearing is required to settle factual disputes. DOT originally proposed a hybrid hearing without adversarial cross-examination before Assistant Secretary Charles Hunnicutt. The deadline for replies was Tuesday, and now DOT will examine the filings and decide which procedure to use.
Southwest is offering sale fares for travel on July 4, starting at $29 one way for Los Angeles-Oakland, Dallas Love Field-Houston Hobby, St. Louis- Chicago Midway and Baltimore/Washington-Manchester, N.H. Travelers can fly between San Diego and Reno or Tahoe for $39, between San Jose and Seattle for $49 and between Los Angeles and Chicago Midway or Houston Hobby for $99. The fares are available through July 3.
International Brotherhood of Teamsters lost its attempt to organize mechanics and related employees at Express Airlines I yesterday, the National Mediation Board said. Only 35 of 90 employees eligible to vote favored IBT representation. Express President and Chief Executive Philip Trenary said he was "gratified by the results of this election." Express flies as Northwest Airlink.
A four-hour strike by Italian civil aviation personnel yesterday caused the cancellation of about 300 flights at Italian airports and stranded some 50,000 passengers, an Italian airport source estimated. Details of the conflict were not described. Unions are negotiating wages and working conditions with civil aviation authorities. Another strike is scheduled tomorrow at Milan's Malpensa and Linate airports.
Aerolineas Argentinas will begin nonstop 747 service July 1 from Miami to Cordoba, operating four times weekly to Argentina's second-largest city. Aerolineas is the first carrier to serve the route nonstop.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, a United Express regional, asked DOT yesterday for slot exemptions to operate three daily Canadair RJ flights between Savannah, Ga., and Chicago O'Hare. The service would start Nov. 3. (Docket OST-98-3982)
