The European Regions Airline Association says there should be the "earliest practical establishment" of the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA). According to ERA, the body should: -- have authority for safety-related matters only; -- include EU and non-EU countries; -- promulgate and enforce binding regulations; -- ensure cost-effective regulation by relying on cost-benefit analyses and avoiding duplication of functions by individual member states.
EuroLOT, the regional subsidiary of LOT Polish Airlines, has placed a $30 million firm order for five ATR 42-300 turboprop aircraft and took options on three more. The first three aircraft will be delivered in June and July.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is pointing to the House Budget Committee's majority caucus report on the Clinton administration's fiscal 1999 funding proposal to support its objections to aviation tax increases. AOPA and others also have raised questions over the proposed Transportation Fund For America, which they described as "either a 'slush fund' for non- aviation projects or a new way to play an old game - using a trust fund 'surplus' to mask deficit spending elsewhere."
American and Continental oppose Delta's bid to avoid a DOT proceeding to allocate new U.S.-Japan frequencies that would be exercised this year, a proposal Delta made after concluding that all own-plane 1998 startup proposals can be awarded immediately with frequencies to spare.
Air Canada said 1997 was the best year in its history with record operating and net income. Net profits tripled to C$427 million (US$299 million) from C$149 million ($104 million) a year ago. Part of the gain, C$201 million, came from investments, including the sale of stock in Continental. Air Canada's Star Alliance membership contributed "somewhere north of C$100 million" ($70 million-plus) in revenue last year, said Chief Executive Lamar Durrett, adding that the figure should grow 50% in 1998.
New Regional Aircraft Deliveries, November 1997 Last 12 Months Carrier No. Type Engines Delivery Air Caledonie 1 AA ATR-42-300 PW121 - Air Georgian 1 Beech 1900D PT6A-67D - Air Littoral 1 Canadair RJ CF34-3B1 6 Air Tahiti 1 AA ATR 72-200A PW127E -
Negotiators from the U.S. and Uzbekistan signed an open-skies agreement in Washington last week. Soon to be adopted formally, the pact is a standard open-skies accord with added seventh-freedom all-cargo rights.
The Master Executive Council of the US Airways Air Line Pilots Association unit is asking management to apply to DOT to fly its own airplanes to Japan rather than code share with American or United. The MEC met Wednesday evening to discuss US Airways' Japan code-share applications because an international code share with a U.S. carrier violates the scope clause of the pilots' new contract (DAILY, Feb. 18).
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic November 1997 Revenue Ton Miles (000) November November % 1997 1996 Change Domestic Freight 771,726 748,097 3.2 Mail 162,926 159,227 2.3 Total 934,652 907,324 3.0 International
United will launch newly authorized Chicago-Osaka service July 8 using 747- 400 aircraft. The daily nonstop, an early result of capacity expansion under the U.S.-Japan framework agreement, adds to previously announced Japan service upgrades, which include more than doubling Chicago-Tokyo service on April 5. United operates nonstop service between Osaka and San Francisco, Los Angeles and Honolulu.
Air Wisconsin rescued Mountain Air Express from Chapter 7 liquidation last Friday; the bankruptcy judge in Denver was about to slam the gavel on MAX. It will cost United Express Air Wis $1.5 million and additional payroll costs. The case, to be decided today, raises questions. Air Wis would acquire six Dornier 328 turboprops for a total of 10, but will those 32- seaters profitably serve the 19-seat markets in which incumbent United Express carrier Mesa is losing money?
FAA should not give pilots greater control over their routes until it can demonstrate the safety of the "free flight" plan and resolve potential conflicts among pilots, airline operations personnel and air traffic controllers, according to a panel of the National Research Council. FAA and industry are working on ways to use new technology, such as Global Positioning System navigation and data link, to implement free flight to reduce flight time and emissions and improve fuel economy.
After a survey of airline chief executives, IATA has revised its outlook of world aviation markets and predicts that the economic downturn affecting most of the Asia/Pacific region will lower operating profits by as much as $2 billion this year. Instead of its previous global forecast of a 6.6% average annual growth rate, IATA said aviation will expand 5.4% each year through 2001. As a subcomponent of that total, it has revised its forecast Asia/Pacific passenger growth rate to 4.4%, below the global average and a massive drop from the 7.7% previous growth forecast.
..The situation raises another scenario for "Air Whiskey." The company could acquire financially troubled, publicly held United Express Great Lakes and use that as a means of taking itself - Air Wis - public. Such a move would support the later acquisition of 50-seat regional jets, which would split the capacity difference between the 328s and Air Wis's 80-seat BAe 146s. The United pilots' scope clause limits Air Wis to 18 146s - all of which will be on hand by April - thereby halting the carrier's growth.
SkyWest Wednesday announced a public offering of 1,400,000 shares of common stock at $40.50 per share. The carrier, which is expanding its activities as a United Express affiliate on the West Coast, said it would use the proceeds of the offering "for expansion of operations, including the acquisition of additional aircraft and related spare parts, support equipment and ground and maintenance facilities, and for general corporate purposes." The Robinson Humphrey Co. and SBC Warburg Dillon Read are underwriting the offering.
Tyrolean Airways launched a five-times weekly Canadair Regional Jet service between Vienna and Strasbourg this week. The Austrian airline is expecting tourist traffic to be boosted by this years' celebration of the centenary of the death of Sissi, the spouse of Austrian emperor Franz- Josef, which the Austrian national tourist board is currently promoting extensively. Furthermore, Austria is taking over the revolving presidency of the European Union on July 1.
Qantas pre-tax profits for the six months ended Dec. 31 jumped 20.5% to A$298.9 million (US$200 million), despite a softening of travel conditions to and from Asia. Net earnings increased 9.6% to A$166 million ($111 million) and revenues rose 5.6%. Expenses grew 4.5%. "We are now experiencing the adverse impact of economic conditions in Asia and expect the rate of performance improvement to slow over the next 12 to 18 months," said Chairman Gary Pemberton.
Cincinnati- and Orlando-based Comair has reached a new code-share agreement with Sabena to provide expanded service to Brussels, Belgium, from seven U.S. points, effective April 5. Covered in the pact is service from Dayton and Akron, Ohio; Detroit and Kalamazoo, Mich.; Des Moines, Iowa ; and Lexington and Louisville, Ky. Sabena VP-North America John Lindekens said, "With the increase of Sabena A340 flights between Cincinnati and Brussels to daily on May 15, we will be able to provide more regional passengers with a direct connection to Europe.
Express Airlines I, Northwest Airlines' wholly owned Airlink affiliate, flew slightly more than 23 million revenue passenger miles last month, a drop of 8.9% from January 1997. Capacity fell more slowly - 5.5% to 47.3 million available seat miles from 50.1 million. The resulting load factor - 48.6% - was 1.8 percentage point below January 1997's 50.4%. January 1998 January 1997 Rev. Passenger Miles 23,016,000 25,273,000 Available Seat Miles 47,346,000 50,122,000
Mesa filed 90-day notices of suspension of air service at DOT for its United Express service to Durango, Gunnison, Hayden/Steamboat Springs and Montrose, Colo.; Dodge City, Garden City, Great Bend, Hays and Liberal, Kan.; Farmington and Santa Fe, N.M., and Cheyenne, Gillette and Jackson Hole, Wyo. The carrier said that "as a result of the loss of code sharing with United Air Lines," it intends to terminate service May 18. No other carrier serves Farmington - Mesa's headquarters - or Montrose, Cheyenne, Gillette and the Kansas communities.
Taesa has applied at DOT to operate 108 Miami-Santiago-Buenos Aires and 30 Miami-Montevideo-Santiago-Buenos Aires roundtrips through September, using DC-10-30F aircraft carrying general cargo.
American seeks DOT renewal, "for an indefinite duration," of its code share with South African Airways, under which it displays SAA's code on New York- Los Angeles, New York-Miami and Miami-Los Angeles flights in conjunction with SAA's transatlantic service between South Africa and the U.S. American proposed indefinite-duration renewals last month (DAILY, Jan. 28).
Air New Zealand, smarting from a slackened Asian travel market and the effects of a stronger U.S. dollar, posted a net income of NZ$82 million (US$47.4 million) for the six months ended Dec. 31. Earnings were up 6.9% over the year-earlier period but were lower than the company had expected. ANZ felt traffic fall off on routes to Korea and other Asian nations and also was hurt by the weakening of the New Zealand dollar against U.S. currency. The airline buys aircraft and fuel in U.S. dollars, so both were more expensive.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) discusses rural air service, fiscal 1999 budget proposals and the Airport Improvement Program on this week's Aviation News Today, to be broadcast Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
