Orally approved an exemption for Singapore Airlines to conduct scheduled combination service from points behind Singapore via Singapore and intermediate points to points in the U.S. and beyond, scheduled cargo service between the U.S. and beyond points, and charter operations, as envisioned under this year's open skies agreement with Singapore...Orally approved an exemption for American International Airways permitting it to delay startup of approved, scheduled all-cargo service between the U.S.
Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will discuss next year's Airport Improvement Program reauthorization, passenger facility charges and airline competition legislation on this week's Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
FS Air, Anchorage, Alaska, has filed an application for renewed authority to provide subsidized scheduled essential air service to Seward, Alaska. The carrier, which serves the point from Anchorage and has four years' experience on the route, asked for an annual subsidy of $73,499.00, but said it hoped "to fly this route without a subsidy in the near future. Continuity in marketing and in service, will help this route grow." (Docket OST-97-2942)
Memphis-based Northwest Airlines regional subsidiary Express Airlines I flew 32.3 million revenue passenger miles last month, an 18.2% drop from October 1996. But capacity dropped 27.9% to 51.6 million available seat miles, driving the load factor up 7.5 percentage points to 62.6%. Fellow Northwest Airlink carrier Mesaba Airlines took over flying for Express I at Minneapolis/St. Paul effective Aug. 1.
DOT granted Viscount Air an exemption from rules requiring revocation of certificate authority after ceasing operations for a year, giving it until April 30, 1998, to resume service. Viscount holds certificates issued in April 1995, to conduct interstate and foreign combination charter service. Operations after January 1996, were under bankruptcy protection, and Viscount stopped all airline service in October 1996. On Oct.
Ward Air has been tentatively re-selected by DOT to serve Chatham and Funter Bay, Alaska, from Dec. 1, 1997, through Nov. 30, 1999. The department proposes to continue to pay the carrier an annual subsidy of $9,187 for the service, which it provides from the state capital, Juneau, using Cessna 185 aircraft. (Dockets OST 97-(46478)
Atlantic Coast Airlines Thursday exercised options for 12 additional Canadair Regional Jets - six firm and six conditional - on the strength of senior-partner United's pilots this week approving the use of RJs by United Express carriers (DAILY, Nov. 19). The order will bring ACA's CRJ fleet to 24 with 24 options. Delta Connection Comair also converted 12 CRJ conditional orders Thursday in a move that will grow its twin-jet fleet to 80. The conditional orders were contained in an order for 30 last May. Comair still has options for an additional 45 CRJs.
Business Express wants to outfit all its aircraft with 16g seating, and has placed an order with B/E Aerospace for 36 shipsets and options for another 20. Delivery and installation are scheduled between January and March. The initiative "will make Business Express Airlines one of the first carriers in the nation to be in total compliance with new safety requirements expected from the FAA next year," the regional said. Busex operates 39 Saab 340 aircraft.
Great Lakes Aviation has filed with DOT a notice that it will drop service at Mount Vernon, Ill., Feb. 16. Great Lakes is the only carrier serving the point. Great Lakes, which operates two daily flights to O'Hare with Beech 1900s, noted that the elapsed flying time on the route is about two hours, whereas "St. Louis International Airport is about a 90-minute drive from the Mount Vernon area." It also said it was "hampered in its efforts to improve its schedule offering to serve even the local market between Mount Vernon and Chicago by the lack of O'Hare slots."
Atlas Air has been notified by the National Mediation Board that the Air Line Pilots Association has filed an application for a determination of representation of the cargo carrier's pilots, Chairman Michael Chowdry said yesterday. Chowdry said he was "disappointed at this development.
British Airways is closing one phase of its Business Efficiency Program - major restructurings and division selloffs - and will seek the remaining #400 million of its #1 billion savings target from better use of assets and improved third-party contracts.
British Airways' announcement Monday that it will revise travel agent commissions - reducing its costs - drew a variety of responses from U.S. travel agents, one of whom described the action as a "sneak attack." John Melchior, managing director of international operations at Woodside Travel Trust, the world's largest travel management partnership, said BA did not advise agents or consult with them in advance. "The agency community certainly realizes that this will impact their business significantly," he said.
Korean Air, promoting itself more actively in the U.S. lately, operates to more cities in China from the U.S. - Beijing, Shenyang, Qingdao, Shanghai, Harbin, Tainjin, Shenzhen, Sanya and Hong Kong - than any other airline in the world.
CCAIR has named Carletta Sullivan VP-employee resources. Sullivan joined the carrier in January 1993 and served most recently as director of employee resources.
Load factors for domestic regional airlines increased an average of 3.56 percentage points in October year-over-year. Based on a sampling of 15 of the nation's largest regional carriers, October load factors averaged 55.78%, up from 52.22% the previous year. Northwest Airlink Express Airlines I led the pack with a 62.59% load factor in and out of its Memphis hub, a 5.17- point increase. Delta Connection Comair tied with 62.59%, but was up 5.14 percentage points.
Sabre Group and Japan Airlines have completed a joint development project enabling JAL to use Sabre's WorldFare pricing system as its own internal fare system. WorldFare is now the exclusive pricing system for 116 JAL reservations and corporate offices worldwide and 6,900 travel agency locations that subscribe to Axcess, the largest computer reservations system in Japan.
Portland-Seattle was the largest single regional market in the U.S. for the second consecutive year during 1996, according to statistics gathered by AvStat Associates of Washington, D.C., for DAILY sister publication Business&Commercial Aviation. The market, which generated 584,268 O&D passengers, down 0.1% on the year, is dominated by Horizon Air. Los Angeles- San Diego moved up from third to second with 540,482 enplanements, up 7.1%, while Dallas/Fort Worth-Houston Hobby jumped from 24th to third with 503,428 passengers, up 119.6%.
Germany's regional government of North Rhine-Westphalia granted final approval this week of selling its 50% share in the publicly owned Dusseldorf Airport to a consortium comprising the German industrial group, RWE, and Air Rianta, Ireland's airport operator. The German-Irish consortium will buy the stake for 353 million Deutschmarks, defeating a bid by a consortium of Germany's Harpen Group and Airport Group International of the U.S. The city of Dusseldorf will retain control of the remaining 50% of airport shares.
Northwest's board has waived the right to push back for four years the delivery of one of two 747-400s it is scheduled to receive in March 1999. The carrier has a firm order for four 747-400s powered by Pratt&Whitney engines, two for delivery in 1999 and two in 2002. It has the right to slide either or both of the 1999 deliveries back to 2003, and it said it expects to decide on the second "slide" early next year.
Fine Air Services' objection to the Federal Express-Florida West International route transfer is based on factual and legal errors, FedEx and FWIA told DOT. The department recently renewed FWIA's temporary U.S.- Colombia all-cargo certificate authority and approved the sale of the authority to FedEx.
New Aircraft Orders And Options August 1997 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Dates # Type # Type Aer Lingus* 2 A321-200 - CFM56-5 4/-7/98 - - Air Cairo 3 TU204-120 - RB211-535E4 98- - -
Although the National Mediation Board has released Skyway Airlines and its Air Line Pilots Association unit into a 30-day cooling off period, the union and the company want to continue negotiations and avoid a strike. NMB released the parties Wednesday after the union rescinded a proffer of arbitration it made on Monday. The cooling-off period ends at 12:01 a.m. on Dec.
Used Jet Aircraft Deliveries August 1997 Carrier # Type Engines Previous Operator Air One 1 737-200 ADV JT8D-15 Lufthansa Air Philippines 1 737-200 JT8D-7B United Air UK Ltd 1 Fokker 100 Tay620-15 KLM Airborne Express 1 767-200 CF6-80A All Nippon AirTran Airways 1 737-200 ADV JT8D-9A(H) Gecas
Mesaba's order for 22 Saab aircraft announced this week comprises 19 new 340BPlus and three used 340A aircraft converted from options (DAILY, Nov 20). The order nearly doubles the new units called for under the 22 options taken in March 1996 and shrinks the used-aircraft portion to three. The 22 options placed in March 1996 called for 10 new 340Bplus aircraft and 12 used 340As - the options were in addition to a firm order for 30 new 340Bplus aircraft and 20 used 340As.
Aloha Airlines is seeking federal mediation in contract talks with its Air Line Pilots Association unit, and ALPA is labeling the request "a delaying tactic." Aloha's fleet comprises 17 Boeing 737s, and its pilots have been working without a contract for nearly a year, ALPA said.
