Air Transport Association is organizing for early-1998 launch an Aviation Safety Alliance of airlines and manufacturers, aimed at putting industry in the forefront of safety-related research - and at conducting education/public relations campaigns. Already signed as airline representatives on a 15-member board are CEOs Gordon Bethune of Continental, Bob Crandall of American, Bill Franke of America West, Gerald Greenwald of United, Herb Kelleher of Southwest and Fred Smith of FedEx. Another member is former NTSB Chairman Carl Vogt.
The European Union's competition authorities will examine the privatization of Dusseldorf Airport and a joint bid by German and Irish companies to buy a majority stake in the airport. The European Commission will decide later whether to launch a deeper investigation into the deal. The examination centers on a bid last month by a consortium led by German construction company Hochtief in conjunction with Air Rianta for a controlling stake in Dusseldorf.
European Regional Airlines Growth in Operations Turboprop vs. Jet The Year 1996 Turboprop 1995 1996 % Change January 171 175 2.3% February 160 170 6.3% March 180 175 -2.8% April 168 178 6.0% May 191 189 -1.0% June 193 193 0.0%
U.S. Air Force Research Lab, Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., has confirmed that it will buy eight copies of the Global Positioning System/Glonass jammer, first displayed publicly at the Moscow Air Show last summer. The Air Force plans to study the jammers to learn how to defeat them if a situation demands it.
Northwest and key government figures, at a meeting last week called by FAA Assistant Administrator Bradley Mims, urged carriers to join efforts to collect and distribute excess food to charities that feed the needy. Northwest has had such a program since 1991. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman is leading the initiative, and the FAA meeting is part of DOT Secretary Rodney Slater's response.
Delta is opening enrollment to new Atlanta and Cincinnati SkyMiles members for its annual weekend travel program, Escape Plan '98. Membership provides up to 50% off the lowest 14- or seven-day advance purchase, non- sale, coach-class fares for roundtrip travel. Every Sunday after 12:01 a.m. Delta offers members at least six destinations for the coming weekend based on seat availability, and up to four international travel weekends during the membership year.
Orally approved an initial two-year exemption for Balair/CTA Leisure to conduct charter combination operations between points in Switzerland, via intermediate points and points in the U.S. and beyond, and other charters pursuant to 14 CFR Part 212...Approved three roundtrip charter passenger flights by American Trans Air between points in the U.S. and Brazil Dec. 21-23, Jan. 13 and Feb. 9...Approved eight roundtrip charter cargo flights by Atlas Air between points in the U.S. and Brazil Dec.
US Airways' traffic in November fell 1.1% on 4.9% less capacity, improving the load factor 2.7 percentage points to 68.9%. The systemwide load factor was the best for any November in the airline's history. Domestic traffic, which represents 91% of its total, fell 2.1%, while domestic capacity dropped 6.3%. International traffic rose 11.3% on 11.1% more capacity. Despite its international expansion, the carrier's average passenger journey fell 0.9% to 682.1 miles. Nov 97 Nov 96 11 Mths 97 11 Mths 96
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.
