Rolls-Royce broke ground recently on a major new facility at Derby for the manufacture of high-technology turbine blades. The 41 million pound (US$65 million) facility, which will employ 250 people, is expected to begin production next year. The 10,000-square-meter building will be constructed to accommodate and incorporate all people and machine tools required for the job. Colin Green, director-operations for Rolls-Royce, welcomed the development of the new facility.
Boeing officials said they have decided on the firm design configuration for the 747-400X, the company's competitor against the Airbus A3XX, and will offer it in both passenger and combi versions with first deliveries targeted for October 2000 and June 2001, respectively. The company is exploring options for a freighter version of the 8,869-nautical-mile-range aircraft. Boeing also rolled out its newest airplane, the 757-300, during the weekend as launch customer Condor Flugdienst announced it is ordering one more after earlier ordering 12.
Aviation Industry Stock Performance, May 1998 Closed Closed Monthly Change Symbol 5/29/98 4/30/98 ($) (%) Majors Alaska Air Group ALK 46.313 56.188 (9.875) (17.6) America West (Class B) AWA 28.313 30.250 (1.937) (6.4) AMR AMR 153.938 152.500 1.438 0.9 Continental (Class B) CAI.B 56.563 58.750 (2.187) (3.7)
America West has asked DOT to "decide the contentious and complex booking fee issue in a vacuum, prematurely, before completion of the comprehensive review and before the Department has even proposed...what the CRS regulatory scheme should be as a result of that review," Amadeus charged in a recent DOT filing. Galileo said America West "provides no good reason why the Department should begin considering issues on a piecemeal basis, rather than continuing with its comprehensive review of CRS issues."
Challenge Air Cargo asked DOT to reinstate for its use the 0.5 frequency for scheduled all-cargo service that reverted to DOT due to dormancy. The carrier, which was awarded the frequency in February 1997, said it now has firm plans to operate an additional narrowbody flight in the Miami-Manaus market, beginning June 6.
Contract negotiations between Northwest and its Air Line Pilots Association unit came to a standstill following a weekend of rejected offers and counteroffers, including one by the company to negotiate pay scales annually. Northwest ALPA spokesman Paul Omodt criticized management for sending to the media copies of a letter sent Sunday by Northwest Senior VP- Corporate Affairs Ben Hirst to union leadership expressing disappointment about the talks' outcome.
Senate Governmental Affairs international security, proliferation and federal services subcommittee will hold a hearing today on S. 2082, a bill introduced by subcommittee Chairman Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) that would give the Postal Rate Commission jurisdiction over international rates and services. United Parcel Service has criticized what it believes are unfair competitive advantages enjoyed by USPS, and UPS Chief Executive James Kelly is one of the scheduled witnesses. Room 342 Dirksen, 2 p.m.
Total traffic within the Asia/Pacific region improved 8.1% in fiscal 1997 and is strongest in short-haul markets, according to data from the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA). Passengers traveling within the region constituted 74% of traffic carried by member carriers last year. One emerging trend is that Japanese passengers now are a smaller percentage of the total and there are greater percentages from Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea.
International Association of Machinists (IAM) told DOT its proposed airline competition policy singles out new carriers for special treatment, undermining the fortunes of union members who made enormous sacrifices when major carriers were struggling financially. The "ill-conceived" regulations threaten to "destabilize the industry, punish carriers that pay industry-standard wages and jeopardize the margin of safety," IAM said. DOT wants to adopt the regulations to protect new entrants and niche carriers from predatory activity.
Forty-eight House members, nearly all of them Democrats, sent letters last week to the chief executives of US Airways, American, Delta and United asking them to delay implementing any part of their respective alliances until DOT has time to review them. The group did not send a letter to Northwest and Continental on their planned alliance because Northwest's acquisition of Continental stock triggers Justice Department antitrust review, seen by the group as a more intensive scrutiny than what DOT will conduct for the other two.
United received an amended exemption renewal, through March 20, 2000, to provide scheduled combination service between any point in the U.S. and Nairobi, Kenya, via any point in Germany under its code share with Lufthansa. DOT dismissed the portion of the request covering service between the U.S. and Lyon, France, which is encompassed in U.S.-France authority granted United recently under Docket OST-98-3732.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) and Canadian Airlines International have expanded service between the Philippines and Canada as their code share begins. PAL now operates three weekly flights from Manila to Vancouver, while Canadian is maintaining its two weekly Vancouver-Manila flights via Hong Kong. The two carriers began code sharing yesterday, and on June 28 PAL will add a fourth Vancouver nonstop.
Delta filed an amendment to its application, filed last fall (DAILY, Nov. 26, 1997), for certificate authority that would enable it to use requested New York-Brazil frequencies. The amendment would make the request for authority part of the 1998 U.S.-Brazil combination service proceeding instituted recently by DOT (DAILY, May 21). Seven frequencies become available for use by designated U.S. carriers Oct. 1.
European Union Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert will visit Washington Thursday and Friday to meet with government officials on a variety of competition issues. Van Miert meets Thursday with Attorney General Janet Reno, Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein and Federal Trade Commission Chairman Robert Pitofsky, and Friday with U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. On the first day, Van Miert and U.S. officials will sign a Positive Comity Agreement, which builds on antitrust cooperation mechanisms established in 1990.
The government of Mexico is mediating negotiations between AeroMexico and its Unionized Association of Flight Attendants, which represents the 1,033 unionized cabin crew of the country's largest airline. Aero-Mexico Senior VP-U.S. Division Harald Bomberg said negotiations with the union broke down Sunday at 5 p.m., and the government stepped in soon after, ordering the flight attendants back to work to ensure that all service would operate as scheduled.
United pilots and flight attendants who live in California are being urged by their unions to vote "no" today on Proposition 226, the Paycheck Protection Act, which restricts labor's ability to spend money to elect pro-labor candidates. In a recorded message, United's Association of Flight Attendants blasts it as "a fraudulent sham by a cabal of union- busting zealots," and cautions members that it is supported by chief executives, "labor-hating right-wing loonies, and Newt Gingrich....Kill it in California before it spreads."
Federal Express has dropped its May 15 application for an exemption to permit scheduled all-cargo service between the U.S. and Costa Rica. The company told DOT it will "restructure" its planned operation and submit another exemption request when it is prepared to begin direct service to Costa Rica using its own aircraft. (Docket OST-98-3856)
SkyWest Airlines began service yesterday as a United Express carrier serving San Francisco Airport and 11 surrounding communities. By July 1 its schedule will increase to 162 flights to 13 destinations. Yesterday's launch was the final phase of United's West Coast strategy for its express service. United and SkyWest began their partnership in October, when SkyWest started service as a United Express carrier at Los Angeles.
Air France will resume negotiations with pilot union representatives today, the second day of a strike that disrupted much of its operations yesterday and threatens to disturb transportation for the World Cup soccer tournament, which will be hosted by France beginning June 10. The French flag carrier, which normally would have carried 100,000 passengers on Whit Monday, operated 10% of its long-haul service, 17% of short- and medium- haul departures from Roissy Charles de Gaulle and 25% of short- and medium- haul departures from Paris Orly Airport.
Alaska Airlines has begun summer nonstop service between Spokane and Los Angeles. Alaska is offering an introductory fare of $98 each way on all direct and nonstop flights between the cities. Tickets must be purchased 14 days in advance, and travel must be completed by Sept. 12. An overnight stay is required. Through July 31, members of Alaska's frequent flyer program can earn double miles on all direct Spokane-L.A. flights. Connecting service requiring a change of plane is not included.
Continental applied for an indefinite-duration exemption to provide scheduled U.S.-Africa combination service under a third-country code share with Air France, which would operate flights between France and Africa on a blind-sector basis.
City of Chicago Department of Aviation proposed a resolution at an Airports Council International World Security Committee conference May 29 in Geneva, Switzerland, calling for a worldwide ban on key-ring pistols and similar disguised weapons that could pass without detection through airport security screening systems. Key rings are routinely passed around metal- detection devices and the key-ring guns contain so little metal, some security experts are concerned they could not be detected even if sent through the devices.
SkyMall has entered a joint marketing venture with Catalog City under which the two companies agreed in principle to promote each other and their respective catalog offerings and participate in joint sales ventures. They will launch a co-marketing relationship over the World Wide Web, and eventually feature each other's home pages on their respective web sites.
