Congressional testimony by FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and National Civil Aviation Review Commission Chairman Norman Mineta will be shown this week on Aviation News Today, to be broadcast Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Horizon Air will use FlightSafety International's Dash 8 full-flight simulators in Seattle and Toronto over the next six years under a new contract, FlightSafety announced. The Seattle, Wash., Alaska Air Group subsidiary carrier, is taking delivery of 25 Dash 8-200s to complement its Dash 8-100s.
Vanguard Airlines posted a 27.41% decline in traffic and a 31.01% drop in capacity for February 1998 from February 1997, which pushed the load factor up 3.05 percentage points. Vanguard reported 49.4 million revenue passenger miles and 80.3 million available seat miles. The load factor was 61.53% Year-to-date, Vanguard's RPMs fell 23.93% and its ASMs 30.97%. which caused the load factor to go up 5.48 points. A Vanguard spokeswoman said the drop in traffic and capacity was the result of reducing flying time to increase reliability and ontime performance.
The U.S. has informed the U.K. and the Gatwick Airport slot coordinating committee that "we intend to see the [U.S.-U.K. bilateral] agreement is honored" with respect to US Airways' attempt to gain slots at Gatwick for service from Charlotte, DOT Secretary Rodney Slater told the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday. The carrier filed an unfair-practices complaint last week, and DOT invited comment on whether the U.K. was violating the bilateral.
Worried about increasingly restrictive rules on nighttime aircraft movements at Europe's airports, courier express companies and their clients are organizing a public information campaign in Brussels. PLANE - Platform for Logistics and Aviation Networks in Europe - will stage public debates throughout 1998 on economic and market effects of regulations on night flying, emissions and aircraft movements.
Crash at sea Wednesday of a Saab 340B in Taiwan was only the second fatal crash of the type since deliveries began in 1984. Three people were killed in a 1994 landing incident at Amsterdam involving KLM Cityhopper. Thirteen, including five crew, perished Wednesday two minutes into the Formosa Airlines flight from the northern city of Hsinchu. Saab has dispatched a team of investigators to the scene, and Taiwanese authorities have grounded the airline, which also operates Dornier 228s, Fokker 50s and Fokker 100s. It had seven 340s.
FAA is considering "consensual" increases in passenger facility charges - increases agreed to by specific airports and the airlines that serve them - as one solution for airport funding needs, Administrator Jane Garvey told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee yesterday. The panel focused on FAA budget reauthorization and the recommendations of the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC), whose chairman, Norman Mineta, also testified.
FAA rated Washington Consulting Group "exceptional" in oral presentation, past performance and key personnel, and "good" in written responses and relevant experience, during the source selection in which it chose Lockheed Martin Services Inc. over WCG for the NAS Implementation Support Contract (NISC II), according to Judge Stephen Daniels's recommendation that FAA deny WCG's protest of the award (DAILY, March 13).
Citing incidents involving a Reno Air MD-83 and a Centennial Airlines MD- 80, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended that FAA determine whether safety shields for Pratt&Whitney JT8D-200 engines cover a large enough area and provide enough impact resistance. The board said high- pressure turbine parts were "liberated" from the engine of a Reno Air aircraft and impacted the shield, buckled its support and shifted it from its normal position.
Austrian Airlines (AUA) reported that its operating profit in 1997 surged 250% to 354 million Austrian schillings (US$27.6 million) from ATS102 million ($8 million) the year before. AUA's cumulative improvement in its operating result equals ATS1.1 billion ($85.9 million) over the past four years. Passenger volume in 1997 rose 11.4% to nearly 4 million passengers. AUA attributed most of the improved results to higher productivity. The AUA Group's final annual results and consolidated figures will be published April 15.
AirTran is launching a frequent flyer program that gives passengers the option of redeeming awards on 14 competing airlines. The Orlando-based low-fare airline, with its limited 38-city route network, is offering a free trip on another U.S. airline to passengers who fly six roundtrips in AirTran's business class or 12 roundtrips in economy. Since AirTran does not have relationships with other carriers, it will book the free trips on its own in the open market.
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore) wants FAA Administrator Jane Garvey to "examine the crucial issue of the lack of Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) coverage for aviation workers" who have had to "fight for basic safety and health protections for over 20 years." DeFazio, a member of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, said FAA "has failed to make a serious effort to address occupational safety and health issues outside the area of crash survivability" since 1975, when it claimed jurisdiction over crewmember health and safety.
DOT is inviting parties to comment on US Airways' complaint that the U.K. is violating its bilateral obligations by failing to ensure that US Airways has the Gatwick slots it needs to operate authorized Charlotte-Gatwick service, while permitting monopoly British Airways service on the route to continue. Parties may file comments until March 23 and replies by March 25. (Docket OST-98-3615)
AirTran reported a 35.7% increase in traffic and a 44.8% rise in capacity, which depressed the load factor 3.8 percentage points in February from the same 1997 month. AirTran reported 212.3 million revenue passenger miles, 377.5 million available seat miles and a 56.2% load factor. Passenger enplanements rose 24.8% to 333,854. Year-to-date RPMS jumped 48.9% and ASMs 48%, lifting the load factor 0.2 points. Passenger enplanements were up 37.1%.
German tour operator Germania flew a 737-700 nonstop from Seattle to Berlin, setting a distance record of 4,511 nautical miles and breaking the international record in its weight class. The previous record, 3,385 nm, was set in 1993 by an MD-83. The aircraft is the first of 12 737-700s Germania has on order.
Continental will announce a regional jet order within two weeks, Chief Executive Gordon Bethune said yesterday. The carrier is considering Dornier 328s and Embraer RJ135s. Continental Express operates Embraer RJ145s.
United will announce today that it is starting a second international bank of flights at Washington Dulles on June 10. The move links international service from Frankfurt and Paris with 11 U.S. markets via Dulles, in a bank beginning at 7 p.m.
U.S.-Taiwan open-skies agreement, provisionally in place since February 1997, was signed yesterday by representatives of the American Institute for Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office.
Moody's Investors Service yesterday placed Japan Airlines' credit rating under review for a possible downgrade, a further indication that the airline's prospects are worsening. Moody's action, affecting 570 billion yen ($4.45 billion) in debt, came a day after JAL's announcement (DAILY, March 18) that it will undertake a massive restructuring and write off $763.8 million in losses. The writeoff is in addition to $453 million in deficits from earlier this decade and comes after Standard&Poor's put JAL on credit watch March 13.
The Sabena Group's operating income rose 16% from 61.8 billion Belgian francs (US$1.73 billion) in 1996 to BEF72 billion ($2.05 billion) last year. Reporting final figures for the year yesterday, the group said pre- tax earnings totaled BEF616 million ($17.2 million), up from a BEF3.48 billion ($97 million) deficit in 1996. Sabena's total consolidated operating profit in 1997 was a modest BEF9 million ($252,000), versus its BEF4.28 billion ($120 million) loss in 1996. Sabena management attributed the improvement to higher load factors and strict cost control.
United will begin installing boarding pass readers in 50 stations over the next year. Travelers insert boarding passes into the reader, which transmits their seat assignment to the customer service representative at the podium. This will help the representative perform flight reconciliation and expedite bag matches, reducing departure delays. The readers are expected to curtail ticket and frequent flyer fraud and denied boardings, United said.
Air Canada has decided to keep 25 DC-9s and update them to Stage 3 noise rule standards. The carrier planned earlier to retain 15 of the aircraft but increased the number because of traffic growth since the U.S.-Canada open transborder agreement.
