Delta applied at DOT for authority to serve nine Central and South American capitals, Guayaquil, Ecuador, and points in Belize from Atlanta and New York. The request includes markets targeted by Delta for expansion into Latin America announced Wednesday (DAILY, Dec. 11). (Docket OST-97-3218)
...Embraer and Fairchild Dornier are the two remaining contenders to battle Bombardier Regional Aircraft's CRJ-700 for market share, although Embraer would appear to have a full plate with development of its 37-seat RJ135 stablemate for the 50-seat RJ145. That leaves Fairchild Dornier, which says it will make a decision in April on a 70-seat jet. The company says it can have the airplane on the tarmac in 39 months at a cost of $500 million. Favored is a low-wing design with under-slung engines and an interior configuration of five-abreast seating.
Emultek said US Airways has chosen its Rapid Simulation 4 as a computer- based training aid for pilots as part of the carrier's Advanced Qualification Program (AQP). Emultek said its system is being used to develop the new pilot ground-training course as part of the AQP. It said that rapid simulation can be "seamlessly integrated with most major authoring tools." US Airways has created its courseware integrating full free-play Rapid simulations for 737 aircraft.
Mesaba Airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, reported a a 94.9% rise in traffic, a 78.4% jump in capacity, and a 4.5-percentage-point rise in load factor in November 1997 from November 1996. Available seat miles rose from 72.5 million to 129.3 million, while revenue passenger miles jumped from 34.8 million to 67.7 million, with a resulting increase in load factor to 52.5% from 48%. Mesaba operates in 13 markets previously operated by another Airlink affiliate, Express Airlines I, and it recently introduced into service 69-passenger Avro RJ85 regional jets.
"Speculation" is how a Mesa Air Group spokeswoman reacted to rumors that the company might sell its WestAir United Express subsidiary to SkyWest, United's newest Express affiliate. The same rumors have been heard at Mesa, she said, but she said that Mesa continues to resolve its differences with United, including over the awarding of a number of WestAir routes at Los Angeles to SkyWest and unprofitable Denver operations. A SkyWest spokesman said the carrier has "discussed possibilities" with Mesa and WestAir, but that nothing had come from those discussions.
Delta Connection affiliate SkyWest flew 58.8 million revenue passenger miles last month, up 9.3% from November 1996. Capacity rose more slowly - 3.5% to 117.9 million available seat miles - allowing the load factor to increase 2.6 percentage points to 49.8%. Boardings were up 26.1% to 253,932.
United Express affiliate Air Wisconsin will acquire another three 88- seat BAe 146-200 jets, the regional announced this week - giving it 18 of the quadjets, or a 20% increase in its fleet. The first aircraft, delivered this week, will be placed in service between Aspen and Denver. The second aircraft is scheduled for delivery in March and the third in April.
Talking with U.S. and Japanese lead negotiators makes Access U.S.-Japan's Gerald Baliles "confident there is a desire on both sides to finalize an agreement," Baliles told The DAILY yesterday. A deal "will produce huge benefits - there are too many benefits to walk away from it," he said. Access U.S.-Japan is backing regulated expansion between the two countries because of the tangible, immediate economic benefits the group believes will result.
British Airways London Gatwick-based franchise partner CityFlyer Express will increase daily services from Gatwick to Guernsey with the beginning of the summer schedule on March 31, 1998. The carrier will operate four daily flights and also is considering whether to introduce larger aircraft on the route. British Airways' routes operated by CityFlyer Express now link Gatwick with 13 European destinations with a combination of ATR 42s, ATR 72s, and Avro RJ100s.
U.S. Carriers Maintenance Expense Third Quarter 1997 % Of Total Maintenance Operating Expenses Alaska $ 29,743,000 8.40 America West 50,666,472 11.83 American 487,774,000 13.41 Continental 182,574,000 12.31
Mesa posted a 9.3% increase in traffic last month to 111.3 million revenue passenger miles. Capacity climbed 7.1% to 204 million available seat miles, while the load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 54.6%. Boardings were up 3.8% to 501,228.
With the end of the 30-day cooling-off period on the horizon, Skyway and its pilots will resume talks next week in Washington under the auspices of the National Mediation Board. A Skyway spokeswoman said negotiations are scheduled for Dec. 17, 18 and 19. The cooling-off period ends Dec. 20.
USAir Express affiliate CCAIR saw a 7.2% drop in traffic to 11.2 million revenue passenger miles and a 20.1% decrease in capacity to 20.7 million available seat miles in November 1997, compared with November 1996. As a result, the load factor climbed 7.5 percentage points to 54.1%. Nov. 1997 Nov. 1996 11 Mths 1997 11 Mths 1996 RPMs 11,178,066 12,043,634 132,055,514 138,229,396 ASMs 20,677,839 25,872,085 259,827,988 290,661,372
Revenue passenger miles jumped an average of 13.3% in November among 14 regional airlines. That compared with an average increase in available seat miles of only 4.4% - a spread of nearly nine percentage points. Northwest Airlink Mesaba, which is adding Saab 340s and Avro RJ85 quadjets to its fleet monthly, saw its capacity soar by 78.4% on the month, but that was sharply outpaced by traffic, up by 94.4% for a 16.5-point spread.
Negotiators from the U.S. and the Netherlands Antilles initialed an open- skies agreement this week in Washington. The pact, provisionally in effect until formal adoption, includes seventh-freedom cargo rights.
AMR Eagle Maintenance Unit To Perform 'C' Checks On ASA ATR 72s AMR Eagle's Regional Aircraft Maintenance Center Inc. has won a contract to perform "C" checks on 12 of Atlantic Southeast's ATR 72 aircraft, Eagle reported. The value of the contract was not disclosed. The work, which began earlier this month, will be performed at the maintenance unit's 126,000-square-foot facility at the former K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base in Gwinn, Mich.
Major computer reservations systems commenting on CRS rules defended themselves against charges of abusive practices and the American Society of Travel Agents said its members have few alternatives to passive bookings, criticized by America West and others for running up charges without producing paid travel. AMR Corp.'s Sabre Group said there is no need to regulate booking fees, disciplined as they are by an increasingly competitive market. Sabre said it is a "common myth" that carriers cannot control their CRS bills.
CCAIR has signed a memorandum of understanding to lease 20 Jetstream 32EP aircraft from British Aerospace Asset Management. Fourteen aircraft will replace the regional's existing fleet of 14 Jetstream 31s, while six aircraft will be interim replacements for its Shorts 360s, which are being returned to the lessor. Deliveries of the J32EPs are expected to start before the end of the year.
Lockheed Martin, eager to begin overdue deliveries of its C-130J transport to Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., has hopes of obtaining FAA certification for the aircraft next March. Company officials, in Washington last week for a demonstration flight of the stretched C-130J-30, said they were confident the schedule for certification will not slip. Deliveries to the U.K. would begin almost immediately after certification, one official said. The Royal Australian Air Force and the U.S. Air Force are slated to take delivery of their first airplanes in June and July.
Aero International (Regional) partners have abandoned the proposed AI(R)JET project, citing the need for a "more global European approach" to the 70- to 120-seat market segment, which apparently defers to Airbus Industrie. Consortium members Aerospatiale of France and Alenia of Italy backed the program, but it was no secret that British Aerospace - flush with recent success with its Avro RJ85/100 line - balked at the $1.2 billion in development costs to build a new 70-seater. Recent efforts to lure CASA of Spain into the AI(R)JET program also apparently failed...
Alaska Airlines, in a multimillion-dollar order from the Nordam Group, is installing hushkits on its 737-200s, becoming the first carrier in the industry to fly a quiet, all-Stage 3 fleet, the company said yesterday. The low-gross-weight hushkit uses a 12-lobe mixer assembly, developed by Pratt&Whitney. Other modifications include the addition of a spacer between the inlet guide vanes and the fan blades, and the installation of acoustical materials throughout the engine housing and tailpipe to further reduce noise.
Deutsche BA filed a complaint with the European Commission against Lufthansa, accusing it of abusing its dominant position on the Frankfurt- Munich route and using fare reduction systems aiming at driving competitors out of business. British Airways' German subsidiary claims Lufthansa slashed its fares 30% when Deutsche BA entered the market Nov. 24. Lufthansa replied that Deutsche BA is trying to "use the competition authorities...to gain competitive advantages in Germany." It dismissed Deutsche BA's pricing policy as "confused."
The Russian-built satellite navigation system jammer the U.S. Air Force intends to study (DAILY, Dec. 8) blocks satellite signals in four frequencies, affecting military as well as civilian - and Russian as well as U.S. - operations. Specifications for the jammer, offered for sale last summer at the Moscow Air Show, were provided to DAILY affiliate ATC Market Report by Oleg Antonov, chief of Aviaconversiya, the Moscow company that manufactures it.
DOT approved an initial two-year exemption giving Delta authority to conduct foreign combination service between Atlanta and Panama City, Panama, and to integrate the service with its existing certificates, exemptions and routes. Delta plans to operate daily nonstops with 757-200 aircraft, beginning April 4. No fifth-freedom intermediate or beyond rights or limited-entry route rights are included in the exemption.
