Aviation Daily

Staff
Negotiators from the U.S. and Peru concluded three days of talks Thursday in Washington and made progress toward open skies, a DOT spokesman said. They will reconvene in Lima in the first half of May.

Staff
Major efforts to improve FAA's safety inspections of startup air carriers - recommended by a special task force following the ValuJet accident in 1996 - have run into delays, according to DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey. They told DOT Secretary Rodney Slater last week that the task force leaders thought most of the recommendations would be implemented within three to six months of their September 1996 report. Twelve of the 31 "most significant" recommendations are delayed, according to the report to Slater.

Staff
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), citing possible metallurgical flaws in some General Electric CF6-50/80 engines, asked FAA Friday to require the company to develop improved inspection techniques, review titanium alloy suppliers' records and conduct a critical design review of the high-pressure compressor Stage 3-9 spools "to assess the overall safety and soundness of the part." NTSB's recommendations result partly from its involvement in the investigation of a Canadian Airlines International 767- 300ER that experienced an uncontained compressor failure duri

Staff
Europe's major airlines "don't want and don't need" a satellite navigation system they fear they will end up paying for, the Association of European Airlines said Friday. The European Commission's proposal to create a European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) "does not have the capabilities to replace existing means of aircraft navigation," AEA said. "Improvements, if any, could be achieved in a much cheaper way." Unveiling EGNOS Jan.

Staff
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Regionals January 1997 to December 1997 Total Total Cost Cents Per Gallons (Dollars) Gallon 1997 February Domestic 1,007,658,829 731,490,006 72.593 International 340,899,107 268,535,213 78.773

Staff
National Coalition for Aviation Education selected Sandra Campbell as the recipient of the 1998 Dr. Mervin Strickler Aviation Education Leadership Award.

Staff
United will "make a few announcements soon on Japan," President John Edwardson told The DAILY, confirming that the airline is nearing a code- sharing pact with an Asian carrier. All Nippon Airways is regarded as the likely choice.

Staff
British Aerospace promoted Melissa Corbin to VP-commercial contracts and Michael Agnew to VP-portfolio management.

Staff
Honeywell said Don Schwanz, president of its Space and Aviation Control division, will sit on the board of governors of the Aerospace Industries Association.

Staff
Air Transport Association named Scott Godfrey director-Eastern Regional office.

Staff
Rolls-Royce sales climbed 11% to a record #4.3 billion (US$7.1 billion) in 1997, with sales in the aerospace businesses growing by 19%, the company reported last week. Rolls said about 75% of its sales were from exports, as it earned 276 million pounds ($455.8 million) before taxes, up 17% from 1996 earnings before taxes of #235 million ($388.1 million). Chairman Ralph Robins said Rolls achieved its highest-ever share of the civil aero- engine market in 1997, but he did not elaborate.

Staff
XTRA On-Line named Bill Diffenderffer chief executive.

Staff
Vanguard named Jim Miller VP-maintenance and engineering.

Staff
Delta plans to code share on Swissair's service from Zurich to Muscat, Oman, starting March 29. Delta offers nonstop code-share service to Zurich from nine U.S. cities.

Staff
Stevens Air Transport appointed Thomas Petrizzio regional sales manager-western region.

Staff
Spirit Airlines does not have its own gate at Detroit Metro Airport and complained last week about passenger facility charges being used to build six more for Northwest, but airport authorities see no foul. Apart from Northwest, "I am aware of no other party that has approached us" with a formal proposal to build more gates, an airport spokesman said.

Staff
Carleton Putnam, former chairman of Delta, died March 5 in Charlottesville, Va. He was born in 1901. In 1953, he merged Chicago and Southern airlines into Delta and became chairman. He remained on the board until his death.

Staff
Daimler-Benz earned 4.2 billion Deutschmarks (US$2.3 billion) before taxes in 1997, up from earnings of DM2 billion ($1.1 billion) in 1996. The company recorded sales of DM122.8 billion ($67.8 billion), as all four divisions reported increases of at least 15%. Operating profit climbed 78% to DM4.3 billion ($2.4 billion). Sales in the Aerospace Division grew 20% to DM15.3 billion ($8.5 billion).

Staff
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey plans to address a meeting of airline chief operating officers when they meet in April at Air Transport Association headquarters in Washington. Garvey wants to emphasize FAA seriousness concerning cooperation in air traffic control modernization efforts. FAA's "immediate focus is on the critical need to replace aging equipment," she says.

Staff
LanChile appointed Carlos Escobar airport manager- North America, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and the Caribbean.

DOT

Staff
Orally approved an initial one-year exemption for Continental Micronesia to conduct scheduled foreign combination service between Guam and Saipan and Niigata and Okayama, Japan, and to integrate the exemption with the carrier's existing certificate and exemption authority... Orally approved a one-year exemption renewal for Japan Asia Airways to conduct scheduled foreign combination service between Nagoya, Japan, and Guam and Saipan...

Staff
Northwest will acquire 979,000 shares of Continental stock - and the majority control it thought it got in January but did not - under a purchase agreement with Barlow Investors III. Shares acquired by Northwest under the new agreement, signed March 2, plus its stake under the earlier deal will give it about 15.4% of Continental's common stock equity and 57.8% voting power, Northwest said in an 8-K filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Barlow stock cost $59.5 million, or $60.82 per share. On Friday, Continental closed at $56.438 per share, up $2.938.

Staff
Export-Import Bank named Robert Morin VP-Aircraft Finance Division.

Staff
Airwork Miami named Herbert Beck northeast regional sales manager- turboshaft engine programs and Robert Swanson regional manager-northwest.

Staff
Exports, fueled by the aerospace sector, now account for one in six new jobs and one in five manufacturing jobs, according to U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. Since 1992, exports have accounted for more than one-third of U.S. economic growth, she said.