Raytheon Aircraft received an order from Proteus Airlines in Lyon, France, for 10 Beech 1900D turboprops in a contract Raytheon valued at about $50 million, including aircraft, training, spares and technical publications. Proteus is expected to take delivery of the first aircraft this month with the rest to be shipped through the third quarter of 1998.
British Airways issued a contract to Oxford Air Training School, part of CSE Aviation Group, to train about 80 cadet pilots per year for two years. The contract is the "largest ever" of its kind, said the school's VP- marketing, Peter Moxham. Paul Douglas, a senior BA pilot responsible for cadet pilot training, praised CSE for continued high training standards and said BA needs more pilots because of booming business and better fleet utilization.
FAA will report today to House Appropriations transportation subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) on Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System human factors tests conducted last week at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. The tests identified 99 issues that need work, none of them show-stoppers.
DHL International said it will add nine Airbus A300B4-200 converted freighters to its European fleet over the next year. The first aircraft arrived yesterday in Brussels.
Aermacchi is another example of switching focus to commercial projects. It contracts with Fairchild Dornier to build the cockpit and forward fuselage of the 328 series and assemble the complete fuselage except for the tail cone and empennage that is built by Dornier Luftfahrt in Germany.
Southwest took delivery of Boeing's first 737-700 Wednesday, nearly two months late because of the manufacturer's production problems. Southwest has ordered 63 of the aircraft.
American's Miami hub will endure competition from several U.S. hubs, including one it may not expect.New Latin American service is planned from Atlanta, Chicago and Houston, and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport is promoting itself as the fastest-growing gateway that will reduce Miami's Latin America domination.
Western Pacific founder Ed Beauvais has sold 600,000 shares of common stock in the bankrupt carrier, netting about $300,000.A Wall Street source said Beauvais' action may lead other investors to sell, fearing that the outcome of Smith Management's reorganization will render the stock worthless.
Friends of American employees will pay at least 50% more to fly than they do now, effective Jan. 1 under a new rate structure that has raised the hackles of the airline's unions (DAILY, Dec. 10.) American President Don Carty said the employee travel program is a money-loser and defended the increase in travel costs for employees and their friends - despite record profits - as necessary to stay competitive. "Any number of things can quickly turn our present good fortune to ashes," Carty said.
Bombardier Aerospace is preparing for the first flight of its 70-seat de Havilland Dash 8Q Series 400 this month. The Canadian manufacturer unveiled the regional turboprop last month at its de Havilland facilities in Downsview, Ontario. Rollout comes two and one-half years after the program's official launch, with certification scheduled in first quarter of 1999. The flight test program, which will occur at the Bombardier Flight Test Center in Wichita, Kan., will involve four aircraft over the next year.
Regional Airline Association's list of the top 20 regional airlines for the third quarter, as ranked by enplanements, can be seen above. Also tabluated are third quarter traffic statistics (DAILY, Dec. 17)
Sen. John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) discusses air service issues and domestic competition 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.
Continental will expand service from its Houston hub in 1998 with the addition of four international routes, one intrastate route and expanded service to five other destinations. In April, Continental will add daily flights to Tampico, Mexico, and four weekly flights to Veracruz and, subject to government approval, Merida. In June, the carrier will add three daily ExpressJet flights to Amarillo and, subject to government approval, two daily flights to Calgary.
Air Transport Association expects load factors as high as 84.8% as 33 million travelers take to the air this holiday season. The prospective passenger volume is up 1 million from last year, the result of a strong economy. Today through Sunday will be the busiest days, ATA believes. Load factors are predicted to reach 83.9% today and peak at 84.8% Sunday, 3 percentage points higher than last year, said an ATA spokeswoman.
New breed of airframe component manufacturer is emerging with the downsizing of military business in the post-Cold War era. Companies that have traditionally thrived on military business are in the hunt for civilian and commercial contracts. Example is OGMA of Portugal, a government-owned heavy maintenance and overhaul facility for Lockheed C-130 and P3 aircraft that was made a public limited company in 1994 and charged with making a profit. It recently contracted with Italy's Aermacchi to produce fuselage shells for the Fairchild Dornier 328/328JET...
Frontier Airlines may have Embraer RJ145s in its future. Wexford Management LLC, The Greenwich, Conn.-based investment manager that recently committed up to $15 million to Frontier, coincidentally has 20 RJ145s on order plus 20 options - the largest RJ order by a leasing company (DAILY, Oct. 10). Frontier says it is more intent on first adding six 737s to its fleet of 13. Then it may take a look at some regional markets, such as those it abandoned in Montana and North Dakota, which might be able to support the 50-passenger jets.
The integrated product team working on the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) needs to come to terms more precisely on the number of satellites needed to support WAAS, according to FAA acquisition chief George Donohue. The satellites are geostationary spacecraft similar to the two Inmarsats contracted by FAA to carry L-1 signals on a transponder. The satellites would provide ranging information and broadcast the correction signal.
Raytheon Chairman Dennis Picard yesterday announced completion of the company's merger with Hughes, a $9.5 billion transaction that created one of the largest industrial corporations in the U.S. Picard also announced formation of Raytheon Systems Co. and named William Swanson as chairman and chief executive. It will be headquartered in the Washington, D.C., area and include Hughes defense operations and operations that were part of Raytheon Electronic Systems, Raytheon TI Systems and Raytheon E-Systems.
U.S. Regional Airline Industry Passenger Traffic Activity - Third Quarter 1997 48 STATES/HAWAII/PUERTO RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS Third Third Percent Qtr 1996 Qtr 1997 Change Revenue Passenger Miles 3,680,779,295 4,109,145,140 11.6 Available Seat Miles 6,863,325,525 7,082,804,679 3.2 Passengers Enplaned 15,807,789 17,428,006 10.2
Members of Switzerland's national Alpine skiing team will no longer look like large chunks of cheese next year. Swissair will be their main sponsor, succeeding the Swiss cheese commercial union, which provides them with outfits simulating Emmenthal or Gruyere cheese. Swissair signed a four-year contract that begins in 1998.
Icelandair has begun selling tickets as low as $298 roundtrip for service from Boston, New York, Baltimore/Washington, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale to Europe. The fare is for travel between Jan. 7 and Feb. 28.
Formal U.S.-Japan aviation talks ended in Tokyo yesterday amid signs that the two sides are on track to an agreement that might be concluded during the next round in Washington, expected to start Jan. 20. Informal contacts may continue today. The compromise involving diversion of FedEx slots at Tokyo Narita Airport appears to be "the only way out," a source familiar with the talks said, and most major international U.S. carriers are comfortable with the proposal. Negotiators are trying to iron out details on a temporary loan of unused FedEx slots to other U.S.
A Kuwaiti conglomerate has become the first announced customer for an Airbus corporate jetliner. Mohamed Abdulmohsin Al Kharafi signed a contract for an A319CJ powered by IAE V2500 engines. The aircraft will seat as many as 30 passengers. Airbus said it has seven other commitments from customers in Europe, North America and Asia.
