National Air Transportation Association, saying "aviation requires a highly reliable precision system navigation mix that provides redundancy in case of unforeseen problems," is urging DOT not to dump Loran-C. The system is "most compatible with, and can enhance, [GPS] satellite technology while remaining an independent system," NATA said. Several user groups have made similar appeals to federal radionavigation policymakers but have received no response.
Midway Airlines priced its initial public offering Friday at $15.50 per share, raising $65 million. It intends to use the funds to pay for its regional jet expansion, which began during the summer. The airline has 10 Canadair RJs on order, of which the first two will be delivered next week.
Russian aircraft are used just 750-900 hours annually, compared with 4,000- 4,500 hours for western aircraft, according to a Salomon Brothers' study. With fuel consumption 30% higher than western aircraft, the Federal Aviation Service of Russia expects 70%-80% of Russian-built aircraft to be taken out of service by 2001.
European Regional Airlines Operating Results The Year 1996 Average Passenger Load Factor 1995 1996 January 48.5 46.6 February 49.4 48.9 March 52.8 54.1 April 56.7 55.7 May 55.1 55.8 June 58.2 58.3 July 58.8 57.1 August 59.1 58.0
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater will get a letter this week from aviation and marine groups telling him that DOT's federal radionavigation policy is "broken and the whole process should be reviewed." The groups believe officials in charge of the policy have been intransigent and unresponsive to DOT's constituency.
The pilots union for Aeroflot Russian International Airlines plans to go on strike Friday unless its demands for increased salaries and a review of pensions paid to former pilots are met, according to Vladimir Bochkarev, president of the union, based at Moscow Sheremetyevo II Airport. He said last week that unless management backs down, Aeroflot's pilots will strike from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. The union accused the carrier of reducing staff to cut costs to the point where flights are less safe.
Northwest traffic for November rose 9.6% to 5.5 billion revenue passenger miles on 7.7. billion available seat miles, up 3.7%, which raised the load factor 3.9 percentage points to 71.3%. It showed sizable gains in both domestic and international markets. Domestic traffic was up 9.1% on 2% more capacity, pushing the load factor 4.5 points to 67.9%. International traffic rose 10.6% on 6.4% more capacity; the load factor was up 2.8 points to 76.3%.
Lufthansa signed an deal to buy 10 A340-600s, becoming a launch customer for the long-haul, stretched version of the A340-300. The aircraft, launched last June along with the A340-500, will be powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The German carrier also is ordering five 747-400s from Boeing for delivery between 2000 and 2003, bringing its 747-400 fleet to 37.
US Airways is cutting winter fares in more than 2,000 markets. Sample roundtrip fares include $298 for Philadelphia-San Francisco, $358 for Hartford-Las Vegas, and $358 for Pittsburgh-Denver. Fares require a 30-day advance purchase and a Saturday stay. Travel must occur between Jan. 6 and March 11.
Charlotte-based CCAIR, which flies as US Airways Express, has completed a private placement of 545,000 shares of the company's common stock at $2.75 per share, to be used toward leasing 20 Jetstream 32EP aircraft from British Aerospace Asset Management. Another portion will be used to boost working capital. The private placement was arranged by Barlow Management, Inc. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with BAAM for the aircraft. Fourteen Jetstream 32EPs will replace the existing fleet of 14 Jetstream 31s.
The City of San Diego last week filed a preliminary application at FAA to privatize Brown Field Airport through a 50-year lease. The city and Brown Field Aviation Partners (BFAP), which would develop the general aviation facility into a cargo airport, are negotiating a final agreement and expect to complete it by August. Under the plan, the day-to-day operation of Brown Field would be carried out by existing employees, who would remain city employees but whose salaries would be covered by BFAP.
Negotiators in Bucharest initialed a U.S.-Romania open-skies agreement that will be phased over four years; its terms are provisionally in effect until formal adoption. During the transition, limits include some restrictions on third-country code sharing for U.S. carriers - similar to the U.S.-Czech open-skies pact - and some limits on Romanian route rights.
Air France posted a 3.7% traffic gain in October to 6.125 revenue passenger kilometers, while capacity rose 3% to 7.963 billion available seat kilometers. The load factor increased 0.5 percentage points to 77.1%. Freight ton kilometers climbed 7% to 449 million.
Air France is beginning a broad campaign worldwide to project its French heritage, in a move diametrically opposed to the approach of rival British Airways, which has moved away from its U.K. roots. Air France has adopted a new brand and is rolling it out on a global scale, a move it never before attempted. "Before, the corporate posture has been to focus and nourish from a local perspective," Jim Lawrence, senior VP-marketing, The Americas, told The DAILY.
Air France's Concorde operation, using five active aircraft with the Paris- New York route at its core, receives more than 500 requests a year to operate charter flights. Even charging about $80,000 per block hour, the French flag carrier said it cannot fulfill all requests. "There's clearly too much interest in Concorde," said Frank Debouck, Paris-New York route manager.
Leaders of UPS's pilots union met Friday with newly appointed VP Robert Lekites to "bring [him] up to speed on the negotiations," said Independent Pilots Association President Bob Miller. He said Lekites did not negotiate on behalf of the company but had requested a union briefing "because he had not heard it before, and that is exactly what we did." Lekites is an operational manager and not involved in labor, and he does not negotiate contracts, Miller said.
Crossair ordered four RJ100s from AI(R), with two to be delivered in 1998 and two in 1999. The order brings Crossair's RJ fleet to 20. Sabena regional carrier DAT has 23 RJs, making the SAir Group the largest RJ operator.
