The three potential major U.S. airline alliances proposed this year - two as recently as last week - raise different issues and will be examined on their merits, according to DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Murphy. American-US Airways, Delta-United and Northwest-Continental "each presents a slightly different set of circumstances," the latter alone involving an exchange of equity given Northwest's plan to buy into Continental, Murphy told The DAILY. "There are ownership issues there.
Great Lakes Aviation began United Express service between Denver and 14 points formerly served by Mesa. Preparing for its expanded flight schedule, Great Lakes has taken delivery of four Beech 1900D aircraft from Mesa and will acquire an additional 11 1900Ds from Mesa under an agreement with Mesa and Raytheon Aircraft Corp. Great Lakes will standardize its 19- seat fleet to the 1900D, which has a stand-up cabin, and phase out its 1900Cs.
Delta Chief Executive Leo Mullin said that although Delta has hit "some labor snags" in building an alliance with United, the talks are "constructive" and are moving forward. Speaking at the International Airline CEO Conference yesterday in Orlando, he added that one proposal still being considered by Delta management is to put a pilot on the carrier's board.
Vanguard announced summer fares throughout its route system. Sample fares include Kansas City-Chicago Midway, $29, Chicago-Pittsburgh, $49, Kansas City-Denver, $59, Dallas/Fort Worth or New York Kennedy to Chicago, $69, Chicago or Kansas City to Myrtle Beach, $89, Pittsburgh or New York to Minneapolis or Atlanta-Denver, $99, Denver-Myrtle Beach, $109, and Pittsburgh to Denver or Dallas/Fort Worth, $119. Service to Myrtle Beach begins May 21. The nonrefundable fares are based on roundtrip travel with an overnight stay and require a 14-day advance purchase.
SimuFlite said pilots training at its Dallas/Fort Worth center have the opportunity to attend an optional course providing instruction in avoiding controlled flight into terrain accidents.
Michigan's state attorney general joined 10 other states in an amicus brief supporting an antitrust case against Northwest stemming from its 1987 merger with Republic Airlines. Midwest Machinery Co. contends the merger led to illegal concentration of services at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Attorney General Frank Kelly said yesterday Michigan faces the same "stranglehold" on competition under Northwest as Minnesota. The case was dismissed in U.S. District Court, District of Minnesota, but is being appealed in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, St. Louis, Mo.
Austria, Germany and The Netherlands renewed their call for the unilateral introduction of a kerosene tax inside the European Union, at an informal meeting of European Union Environment and Transport Ministers last weekend in Chester. European Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock replied that their demand is "not realistic." The kerosene tax issue must be addressed globally, within the International Civil Aviation Organization, he said. The meeting in Chester produced no concrete results.
International Lease Finance Corp. reported pretax income of $131.9 million for the March quarter, up 53.5% from the same quarter in 1997. Revenues for the first quarter were up 16.2% to $483.1 million.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater assured Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) last week that U.S. officials from DOT and State and Justice departments were taking a stand against sharp restrictions the European Commission might try to impose on airline alliances. Slater's April 23 letter, which echoed remarks made last week by DOT Assistant Secretary Charles Hunnicutt, came in response to a March 10 query McCain sent to Slater.
THY Turkish Airlines placed orders for two more A340-300s, bringing its total orders to seven for the four-engine aircraft, five of which are in operation.
US Airways is beginning hourly service between Boston Logan Airport and Washington/Dulles on June 1. The carrier will add eight flights, more than doubling the number of flights in the market.
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport debuted last week what it described as a first - "a suite of private, fully equipped offices for business travelers." Laptop Lane Ltd., the Seattle company that developed the concept, said it will open a second in June at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport. Negotiations are under way to have a Laptop Lane in nine airports by yearend.
Correction: House Transportation aviation subcommittee hearing on international agreements and the impact of alliances meets Thursday, April 30, in Room 2167 Rayburn at 9:30 a.m. An incorrect date was given April 27 in The DAILY.
Trimble Navigation said Royal Air Maroc has become the first 737 operator to obtain FAA certification for the Honeywell/Trimble HT9100 Global Navigation Management System.
Aircraft Parts International, Memphis, a subsidiary of First Aviation Services, said it will open a new distribution center in Calgary by May 1. The new facility will provide 24-hour service seven days a week.
Lufthansa carried 8.8 million passengers in the first quarter of 1998, 10.5% more than in the same period of 1997, the German group said Friday in Frankfurt. The seat load factor increased 0.7 percentage points to 68.3%. Lufthansa's regional subsidiary, Lufthansa CityLine, posted the highest growth, as its passenger numbers jumped 23.2% to 900,000. But Lufthansa Cargo recorded a 2.5% drop in volume, to 151,248 metric tons.
Pilots at American have given management until May 6 to come up with an agreement that will guarantee them a proportionate share of transborder block hours in the carrier's code-share pact with Canadian Airlines or pull American's codes from some Canadian flights.
Delta filed a 30-day notice advising DOT that it intends to code share on Austrian's nonstops between Vienna and Delhi, India, beginning about June 1. DOT approved blanket authority for the carriers April 30, 1997. Delta holds one of four available code-share designations, with no limit on frequencies operated, for service to India.
Arrow Air said yesterday it has entered an agreement with the U.S. Attorney in Miami in which it "pleaded guilty to six counts of falsely certifying the origin and airworthiness of certain aircraft parts." The Miami-based cargo carrier agreed to pay $3 million in fines to the U.S. and provide $2 million to the Center for Aerospace Safety Education, associated with Emory-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Olympic Airways is close to "self destruction," as the Greek carrier's cockpit and cabin crew were scheduled to go on staggered strikes this week, Chairman Theodoros Tsakiris warned in an open letter to the airline's 7,200 employees, published last weekend in the Greek press. Workers oppose a restructuring program adopted earlier this month by the Greek Parliament. Pilots have been working to rule for the past three weeks, causing the cancellation of a dozen flights daily.
Northwest pilots will conduct informational picketing at Honolulu Airport on Thursday to protest the slow pace of negotiations. Pilots are upset over management's continued requests for concessions. The picketing is scheduled to coincide with Golden Week, a traditional holiday in Japan. Pilots also picketed in downtown New York last Friday.
Advances in aviation technology over the past 30 years have achieved a 10- fold reduction in the accident rate, halved fuel consumption and cut aircraft noise, according to Airbus Industrie. Adam Brown, VP-forecasting and strategic planning, said it is time the "record was put straight" on these issues, acknowledging that perhaps aircraft manufacturers had failed to spread the word.
