AeroVIP, a newly formed Argentine carrier, will lease three Jetstream 32EPs from British Aerospace Asset Management-Turboprops, to be delivered by the end of next month. AeroVIP will be the first airline to operate the Jetstream 32EP in South America, BAe-AMT said. The Enhanced Performance Jetstream 32EP program was announced last month at the National Business Aviation Association 50th Annual Meeting and Convention in Dallas. U.S.
Reno Air reported a 5.1% increase in traffic for September 1997 over September 1996, to 253 million revenue passenger miles, and a 2.5% increase in capacity to 406 million available seat miles. The load factor moved up 1.5 percentage points to 62.4%. Year-to-date traffic was up 6.1% this year over last, capacity rose 5.3% and the load factor gained 0.6 points to 68%.
Avatar Alliance appointed Michael Mayer director-international sales, John Knapp manager-international sales and Brian Postel director-sales, North America.
British Airways traffic for September increased 4.2% on 7.5% more capacity, forcing the load factor down 2.4 percentage points to 75.2%. Premium traffic rose 1.2% and economy traffic increased 4.8%. Cargo volume was up 12.1%. Intercontinental traffic improved 4% on 6.9% more capacity and U.K.-Europe traffic 5.4% on 9.6%. Subsidiaries Deutsche BA, Air Liberte and TAT experienced a 117% traffic rise on a 112% capacity increase.
DOT made final its determination that Austin Express is fit to provide scheduled passenger service, and it issued the carrier a commuter air carrier authorization. Austin Express must notify DOT if it wants to increase its fleet beyond six aircraft.
Germany's Eurowings will take four BAe 146s on lease from British Aerospace Asset Management-Jets (AMJ) and extend leases on three other aircraft in a deal worth nearly $30 million, BAe-AMJ said. The deal, announced by Eurowings Chairman Reinhard Santner at the 1997 European Regions Airlines General Assembly at Baveno, Italy, calls for the airline to acquire two series 200 aircraft and two series 300s for deliveery in November and December. Lease terms are for five and one-half to six years.
All U.S. majors and national airlines and all but a few U.S. cargo and major foreign airlines met the Dec. 31, 1996, interim compliance deadline for either phasing out 50% or more of their Stage 2 aircraft or achieving a fleet mix that is 65% or more Stage 3, according to information supplied to DOT and FAA and included in a 1996 progress report to Congress. As a group, aircraft operators operating at U.S. airports, including small U.S. and foreign airlines and non-airline operators, achieved a 75.5% Stage 3 fleet by Dec.
The two Koreas concluded an agreement last week that permits civil aircraft to use air routes between North Korean- and South Korean-controlled airspace, the first of its kind since the Korean War. Discussions were held under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Asia/Pacific regional office in Bangkok. After formal signing later this month, it becomes effective Feb. 28, 1998.
Thai Airways has sold three DC-10-30ER aircraft to Euro Aircraft Trading Co. in the U.K. for $27 million each. The sale eliminates the DC-10 from Thai's fleet.
United has established 68% as its goal for flight departures within five minutes of schedule, a standard that might help its on-time arrival statistics. During the past 10 years, United has been last among the majors.
Mesaba Airlines, fresh from signing a 10-year contract to continue its Airlink operations with Northwest, will get additional revenue based on the number of revenue passengers enplaned for the larger carrier (DAILY, Oct. 10). The carriers said in June they intended to extend the agreement, under which Northwest will buy all of Mesaba's capacity at a predetermined rate. Mesaba plans to keep growing with the purchase of six Saab 340s due for delivery next May. "We will continue to transition to an all-Saab 340 fleet," said spokesman Warren Wilkinson.
Shanghai Airlines will become the first Chinese carrier to operate the next-generation Boeing 737. Under a lease agreement with ILFC, the carrier will receive its first 737-700 next spring for use on burgeoning routes in eastern China. The -700s will be configured for eight seats in first class and 124 in economy. The carrier's current fleet includes six Boeing aircraft - two 737-300s, two 757-200s and two 767-300s.
Venezuela is blocking Continental and Delta from flying to that country, as permitted by the bilateral, in an effort to change FAA's Category 2 safety rating. American already is flying its approved Dallas/Fort Worth-Caracas route, an expansion of its existing service to Venezuela. Last week, U.S. officials were trying to resolve the issue before Sunday, when President Clinton was to arrive in Venezuela as part of his first state visit to South America.
ERA Director General Mike Ambrose said at Baveno Thursday that most of the problems faced by the organization's 70 airline members are related to policies of the various European governments. "Safety has become more unfocused and we fear now that the regulations formulated by the regulatory section of the European Union are diluted or distorted by arbitrary social conditions [labor unions and governments]. I don't want to see safety become a political football in Europe as it has in the U.S."
A majority of Continental's pilots union board voted Wednesday to tap members' salaries to create a $1 million "hostage fund" for pilots who may be laid off or fired as a result of strike activities.
Air France and Jersey European Airways have increased the size of their franchise partnership, adding Paris-Birmingham, Paris-Glasgow and Birmingham-Glasgow to their shared routes. The two carriers currently share Toulouse-London Heathrow and Lyon-Heathrow. The new agreement takes effect Oct. 26, with Jersey's BAe 146s painted in Air France's colors and equipped with the French carrier's "Club" business-class features.
Morlaix, France-based Brit Air has converted two options for Canadair Regional Jet Series 100 aircraft to firm orders, the 12th and 13th CRJ aircraft for the carrier. Brit Air has nine of the 50-passenger -100s in service. Deliveries of the carrier's 10th and 11th aircraft, purchased in July, are set for next month and January 1998. Brit Air said it will use its latest acquisitions on routes under its recently signed franchising agreem,ent with Air France. Brit Air earlier this year became the launch customer for the 70-seat CRJ 700.
Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R-Kan.), a member of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, will discuss congressional action on the fiscal 1998 DOT spending bill, including the agreement to increase service at Dallas Love Field, in an interview on this week's Aviation News Today, to be broadcast Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1 :30 p.m.
...Embraer also announced a major sale of EMB-145s to Wexford Management LLC. The Greenwich, Conn., financial house ordered 20 of the 45-passenger regional jets with options for an additional 20. The deal, signed yesterday, represents the first major regional jet order by a leasing company. Wexford, which is a combination of several investment partnerships formed from 1994 through early 1996, owns real estate, aircraft, cable systems and certain operating businesses...
Midway Airlines, ordering 10 CRJs this week, is shopping its only A320 to any airline willing to assume the last two years of its lease.Lack of fleet commonality is the reason. Midway's core aircraft is the 98-seat Fokker 100.
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Large Regionals September 1996 - August 1997 Total Total Cost Gallons (Dollars) 1996 September Domestic 1,068,178,267 729,839,815 International 389,850,411 291,529,745 System Total 1,458,028,678 1,021,369,560
Granting applications by Pan Am and Carnival for exemptions and route transfers under their shareholder-approved merger may ease Carnival into bankruptcy and deny creditors access to attachable assets, Pan Am stockholder Richard Bartel said this week in filings with DOT. In effect, the department would facilitate "the stripping of assets from Carnival Air Lines, Inc., which is explicitly anticipating a bankruptcy filing...leaving creditors...without a viable estate from which to recover," Bartel said.
