Europe's aerospace industry agrees that it has lost ground to its U.S. competitors in many respects, according to "1998 Vision in Manufacturing," a study issued this week by Deloitte&Touche.
The rate of fatal approach and landing (ALA) accidents in the 18 European members of the Joint Aviation Authorities is 10 times lower than in non-JAA European nations, according to a report presented this week at a seminar in Amsterdam sponsored by Flight Safety Foundation. The fatal ALA rate for Western-built large commercial jets was highest for African operators, at 2.43 per million flights, followed by South/Central America operators, 1.65 per million.
Gulfstream International, operating as Continental Connection, will launch Fort Myers service May 1 with two daily roundtrips to Miami and three daily roundtrips to Tampa, the regional announced. The carrier will use Beech 1900 aircraft for the service.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines will launch daily 737 nonstop service April 13 between Omaha and Minneapolis/St. Paul with fares starting at $59 one way. Frontier's service challenges Northwest and Northwest Airlink, whose coach fares start at $109 one way. Frontier's introductory fare is available for booking by March 31 for travel through Sept. 11. After March 31, the lowest fare will be $69 one way. Frontier currently has four daily departures from Omaha, three of them to Denver and one to Bloomington- Normal, Ill.
The American-British Airways alliance must undergo "significant" changes if it is to receive immunity from U.S. antitrust laws, Justice Department antitrust chief Joel Klein said yesterday. Klein's remarks, in response to reporters' questions during a break in yesterday's Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee hearing on international alliances, underlined remarks in his prepared testimony pointing to anticompetitive elements of the alliance, as proposed, that have been identified by others including the General Accounting Office.
DOT's plan to shift increasingly to user fees to fund FAA operations was look its lumps at yesterday's Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee hearing. Subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) told Secretary Rodney Slater that "this senator is not interested in enacting user fees," and that their absence will create "holes in the budget" that will need to be filled. "We face the real possibility of transportation budget shortfalls," he said, asking Slater if he was preparing Fiscal 1999 budget amendments to propose if user fees are not approved. Sen.
KLM has introduced cabin crew of Indian origin on its Amsterdam-Mumbai roundtrip flights, consistent with its new policy to offer route-dedicated services to cater to customers' needs, airline officials said yesterday. Initially, three Indians have joined the nine-person crew.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries December 1997 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Canada 2 A319 CFM56-5A5 21 Air Portugal 2 A319 CFM56 - Airworld 3 A320-200 CFM56-5B4 1
Mexicana posted a 9.4% traffic gain in February on 13.2% more capacity, which forced load factor down 2.2 percentage points to 61.9%. International and charter traffic rose 9.7% on 21.3% more capacity, forcing the load factor down 6.6 points to 61.9%. Domestic traffic grew 8.7% on 0.9% more capacity, boosting the load factor 4.4 points to 61.9%.
Canadian Airlines will offer its first daily Toronto-London daylight flight as part of its summer schedule. It also will add frequencies to London from Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary. New Asia/Pacific service from Vancouver includes flights to Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing and Auckland. The carrier is increasing service to Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. This summer's schedule will add 30% capacity to its U.S. transborder service, 20.6% to China and 44.9% to the U.K.
Proteus Airlines of Lyon, France, has taken delivery of the 300th Beech 1900D turboprop, Raytheon Aircraft said. Proteus has placed an order for 10 new 1900Ds, and when all 10 have been delivered this fall, the carrier will be the largest 1900D operator in Europe, Raytheon said.
After nearly a decade of handwringing by aircraft and engine industry executives over whether regional jets would overtake turboprops, it appears the market is beginning to vote substantially in favor of the jets, says a new investment report by Merrill Lynch VP Byron Callan and subsequent analysis by DAILY affiliate Aerospace Propulsion OrderBook.
Finnair will enter its summer season with substantially increased capacity as well as its London-Helsinki and London-Stockholm with British Airways (DAILY, March 2). Finnair also has marketing arrangements with BA partners LOT and Iberia, and starting March 29 it plans to increase Helsinki-Warsaw frequencies and launch Helsinki-Barcelona nonstops. With improved service to Riga, Vilnius, Budapest, Prague, Tallinn, Brussels and Bergen, Finnair will increase overall capacity 7%.
Mesaba Airlines and senior partner Northwest will continue seasonal ski flights at Aspen/Snowmass into the summer, operating one daily roundtrip in the Minneapolis-Aspen market June 1-Sept. 8. Mesaba will use its BAe RJ85 aircraft, configured for 16 first-class and 53 coach seats. Barry Hofer, Northwest's manager-North American route planning, said the new service "capitalizes on the area's growing popularity for conferences and summer hiking and biking adventures."
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group and the Indian Institute of Technology have signed a memorandum of understanding on joint research programs in aerospace engineering. Boeing will sponsor student research in aerospace engineering through a Boeing Research Fellowship and work with IIT on aircraft technologies research and development.
Boeing Enterprises signed an agreement by which Boeing will invest $10 million in RADA, an Israeli-based company that provides avionics test equipment and electronic systems. The investment will make Boeing RADA's largest single stockholder.
American Society of Travel Agents has made its World Wide Web site (www.astanet.com) more user-friendly and added interactive features. ASTAnet provides an index of ASTA member travel agents to help customers find an agent, and it can link on-line consumers and agents. It also allows consumers to share their travel experiences and information about destinations.
...Launch of the 70-seat Fairchild Dornier 728JET - an all new five-abreast design with low wing and underslung engines - could come as early as the Berlin Air Show in May. The company is in discussions with Crossair of Switzerland and Lufthansa CityLine for 140 to 160 aircraft, including 55- and 90-seat derivatives, and with other European airlines for between 40 and 60. All are seeking the commonality of a single family to replace their existing turboprop and regional-jet fleets. The 728 is due out in 2001 and the 55- and 90-seaters in the 2003-2004 time frame.
Pilots at Federal Express have no plans to use UPS's Independent Pilots Association contract as a model for a new agreement, FedEx Pilots Association President Mike Akin told The DAILY yesterday. Last week, FedEx pilots rejected a tentative agreement that had been approved by the FPA leadership, and IPA ratified its contract on Tuesday. Akin said FPA conducted a straw poll of its members last Thursday to find out why they voted the contract down, and it is conducting a mail survey as well.
Belgian consumer groups are threatening action against the airports of Brussels and Charleroi to protest what they consider lax noise standards. Residents adjacent to Brussels South Charleroi Airport want a halt to night flights and training flights, and municipal authorities of Woluwe-St.- Pierre, a Brussels borough close to Brussels Airport International (BAI), say the airport is not monitoring or enforcing noise rules for older aircraft.
Foreign ownership of Yangon Airways which, with Air Mandalay, is a 49/51% joint venture majority-owned by Myanmar Airways, has shifted with the withdrawal of the Thai partner. The departing company's place has been taken by Singapore-registered Mayflower Holdings, which is related to the Mayflower Bank in Myanmar. Air Mandalay and Yangon Airways, which operate tourist flights in Myanmar, have been hit by a downturn in business. Yangon has suffered more because it does not have the international sales network of Air Mandalay. Both airlines must charge U.S.
The head of a major airport who also served on the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC) told a House panel yesterday he is disappointed that FAA is considering support of "consensual" passenger facility charge increases as a major part of an airport funding initiative. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee Wednesday that FAA may support an increase in the statutory $3 cap in cases where airlines and airports agree (DAILY, March 19).
The Swedish regional carrier, Malmo Aviation, will offer a new service linking London City Airport to Gothenburg, starting March 30. Gothenburg is the last scheduled destination approved before London municipal authorities decide on the airport's application to increase its total annual air transport movements.
