Eurocontrol will conduct an international conference Feb. 17-19 in Brussels to review airborne collision avoidance system (ACAS) implementation in Europe's airspace, scheduled to start in 2000. Tailored to European Civil Aviation Conference member states, the meeting will review ACAS implementation requirements, controller and pilot training, and avionics installation, certification and maintenance. On Jan.
Jules Rondepierre has been named senior VP for commercial sales by Brazilian manufacturer Embraer. He is former senior director of sales for Airbus North America and is based at the company's Fort Lauderdale Embraer Aircraft Corp. subsidiary. Reporting to Rondepierre are Jim Beard, VP- Europe, the Middle East and Africa, based in Paris; Mark Hale, VP-the Americas, and Peter Obeysekere, VP-Asia and Australia. Beard recently joined Embraer from Saab, where he handled the American and Northwest accounts.
Airbus Industrie said it has signed an agreement with Finavitec to explore cooperative opportunities in industrial activities, saying that "both parties recognize mutually beneficial opportunities in integrating Finavitec into the Airbus network of partners and subcontractors." Following an evaluation of Finavitec industrial facilities, the companies will form a joint task force to assess the areas in which Finavitec could best meet the needs of Airbus. Finavitec previously worked with Saab and McDonnell Douglas.
Pearljet Corporation of Australia has placed an order for one new 19- passenger Metro 23 and an option for a second. The firm order will be delivered in December.
Little more than a week after its members approved a contract with United, the Association of Flight Attendants will recount ratification ballots today in Washington. The recount was requested by a group of United attendants who were unhappy with the election results, AFA said. AFA spokeswoman Jane Goodman did not know who wanted the recount or why but said "AFA is a very democratic union," and a request for recount by even one flight attendant is enough to make it happen. Of the 19,000 flight attendants who cast ballots, 51% voted for the contract and 46% against.
Aer Lingus will serve Newark from Dublin and Shannon year-round, beginning April 15, 1998, a year earlier than expected. The carrier inaugurated service to Newark in June, promising to fly the route through mid-October for the next two summers using A330s. Aer Lingus, which stopped service Oct. 12, opted for year-round flights after "passenger numbers and consumer response far exceeded our expectations," said Jack Foley, executive VP- North America.
Air China, the only airline allowed to fly the Chinese flag, will offer stock for the first time at exchanges in China and overseas, China Daily reports. The 43-year-old airline is China's largest civil aviation company. The move mirrors action by domestic competitors China Eastern in February and China Southern in July, both of which listed on Hong Kong and New York exchanges. Air China President Yin Wenlong said the initial offering was needed to combat domestic and international competition.
Boeing 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Second Quarter 1997 B737-300 America West Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 40 65 13 Total Fleet Operations Departures 258 275 71 Block Hours 498 702 129
Some of the nation's largest freight carriers have formed a national trade association to represent the interests of unionized Less Than Truckload (LTT) carriers. The Motor Freight Carriers Association is designed to give unionized carriers a greater voice in public policy and economic issues. Founding members include ABF Freight System, Consolidated Freightways, Roadway Express and Yellow Freight System. Members include A-P-A Transport and New Penn Motor Express.
Nav Canada board named John Crichton acting president and chief executive following the departure of Kenneth Copeland, who resigned to pursue "entrepreneurial opportunities." Nav Canada last week released its operating plan, including safety management and upgrading and streamlining operations.
International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations, meeting in Luxembourg with Mady Delvaux, chairman of the European Transport Council, stressed the need for frequency spectrum protection to ensure the safety of future satellite navigation. Frequency allocation will be discussed at a meeting of the World Radio Conference next month.
Laker Airways has asked DOT for two-year exemption authority to operate scheduled combination service linking Orlando and Fort Lauderdale with Toronto using two dormant frequencies, once allocated to TWA, that reverted to the department. "TWA has authorized Laker to state that TWA has no objection" to Laker's request, the filing said. The carrier wants to select Orlando and Fort Lauderdale as U.S. points under the U.S.-Canada air transport agreement. Starting Dec.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. yesterday reported a net profit of $323 million or $3.55 per share, well above the consensus Wall Street estimate of $3.29 per share. Group revenues increased 5.2% to $4.8 billion. The company pointed to strong systemwide September results, big gains at the Miami hub and improvements in international yields as some of the reasons for the positive results. Airline Group pre-tax earnings reached $443 million, producing a pre-tax margin of 10.1%.
British Midland Chairman Michael Bishop said "unjustifiably high" airport charges in Europe are preventing further reductions in air fares and damaging the long-term health of the airline industry. Speaking at an Airports Council International conference this week in Venice, Bishop said the absence of any real competition between airports eliminates the incentive to reduce costs.
Christian Blanc, who resigned as chairman of Air France Group following a disagreement with France's newly elected left-wing government, is moving into the retailing and computer sectors. French retailing group Carrefour said this week in Paris that Blanc will become a member of its board in April 1998. Blanc recently became a member of the supervisory board of French computer services group Cap Gemini Sogeti.
TWA and Ukrainian International Airlines have asked DOT for permission to code share on a Donetsk/Kiev-Paris-New York/Chicago routing. Ukrainian, which operates four weekly nonstops between Kiev and Paris, wants to connect them with TWA's Paris-New York Kennedy and daily Kennedy-Chicago O'Hare flights.
Alaska Airlines and its pilots union have agreed tentatively on a 5 1/2- year contract offering improved retirement benefits and wages in return for increased productivity and staffing, and scheduling flexibility.
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and the Dutch government have won a small victory in keeping control of noise rules at the airport. Three lawsuits against the government were thrown out, according to wire reports, as environmental groups did not prove actions at Schiphol were illegal. The court found the government has taken action to ensure noise levels next year will not exceed limits.
The Air Line Pilots Association unit of Atlantic Southeast Airlines will re-enter contract negotiations with management next week, but union officials are not optimistic they can resolve disputes in time to avoid a November strike. The National Mediation Board will continue negotiations until the end of this month under NMB member Magdalena Jacobson, who will decide at that time whether negotiations have reached an impasse. If NMB releases ASA and the union from negotiations into a 30-day cooling-off period, the pilots will call a strike during the holidays.
Sabre Group Holdings yesterday posted a third quarter net profit of $56 million, a 10.3% increase over pro forma results for the same 1996 period. Revenue jumped 11.9% to $456 million and operating income reached $88 million. The pro forma results comparison includes contracts Sabre signed with American July 1, 1996, and Sabre's 1996 reorganization. Without the comparison, third quarter net earnings grew $11 million, or 24.5%.
Travel agents are accusing Southwest of a "sneak attack" - offering a fare sale exclusively to customers who book through its Internet site, which does not pay commissions. Beginning tomorrow, Southwest will offer discounts on nonstop flights from Houston for travel Nov. 4-Jan. 5 to customers who buy tickets via the web site. Fares start at $30 one-way based on roundtrip purchase.
Continental and Virgin Atlantic will share the responsibility of filling aircraft from six U.S. cities to London beginning Feb. 2, 1998. Continental, fresh from code-share approval (DAILY, Oct. 9), said it will offer six new flights to its passengers. It will sell seats on Virgin- operated flights between Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Washington Dulles, New York Kennedy and Newark and London Heathrow; between Newark, Boston and Orlando and London Gatwick, and seasonal service between Orlando and Manchester.
AlliedSignal Electronics&Avionics said it was selected to provide avionics to carriers ACES, TACA and United. ACES ordered enhanced ground proximity warning systems (EGPWS), solid state flight data recorders, cockpit voice recorders and aircraft communications addressing and report systems. TACA will receive EGPWSs for four new A320s. United placed an $8 million order for solid state cockpit voice recorders for its entire fleet.
FAA said World has agreed to a $610,000 fine for nine cases "involving violations of U.S. aviation-security regulations." The agency said eight of the nine cases involved a wet-lease agreement between World and Malaysia Airlines. FAA alleged that the aircraft violated security regulations in 1996 while conducting flights in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, and in Belfast. FAA said it could "not discuss details of the security violations," none of which occurred in U.S. airspace.
The European Commission decided yesterday to shelve complaints against Athens Heraklion Airport dating from 1994. Several airlines charged that Greek flag carrier Olympic Airways was abusing a dominant position there, providing poor ground-handling service at "non-transparent" prices. The EC closed the infringement procedure it initiated at the time, finding that Olympic's service shows improvement. Greek authorities launched construction to upgrade the airport's east terminal, and on Jan. 1 a second operator will offer passenger-handling services, the EC said.
