Eagle USA Airfreight opened new customer service and terminal facilities in Boise, Idaho; Harrisburg, Pa.; Reno, Nev., and South Bend, Ind. The company previously used local agents in these markets.
The Teamsters union contract at UPS that becomes amendable July 31 is for drivers, sorters, loaders and related personnel, not the mechanics, whose contract runs until July 31, 2001 (DAILY, June 26).
Haiti Civil Aviation Authority awarded Data Systems Analysts a contract to upgrade its air traffic messaging to conform to international air transport and telecommunications network initiatives. When the upgrade is completed later this year, the MEVA satellite network will interconnect Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network users with the U.S. FAA.
Delta applied yesterday at DOT for approval of a code-share/blocked-space agreement with China Southern Airlines announced in April (DAILY, April 3). China Southern plans to operate between Los Angeles and Guangzhou, starting July 20, and Delta to code share on the route beginning in late October.
AAR Corp. posted record fiscal fourth quarter sales of $163.5 million, up 18.4% from the same period last year. Net income rose 41.7% to $7.1 million. Sales for the fiscal year grew 16.7% to $589.3 million, while net income was up 43.8% to $23 million. During the year, the company acquired Cooper Aviation Industries and formed Turbine Engine Asset Management, an engine parts joint venture with General Electric.
European Union Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert refused yesterday to comment officially on reports that Boeing may alter its exclusive contracts with three U.S. airlines but let it be known unofficially that long-term contracts are not the commission's only objection to Boeing's planned merger with McDonnell Douglas.
DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead has been asked to investigate possible cost overruns and technical problems in the Wide Area Augmentation System contract. The request came from Rep. Frank Wolf, (R-Va.), chairman of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, who said he had learned of "disturbing technical problems and unbudgeted cost growth" in the FAA program.
British Airways Engineering has signed a five-year agreement to provide total engineering support to Swiss World Airlines, the government-backed long-haul airline due to start this fall from Geneva. BA Engineering will support the carrier's 767s.
DOT orally approved combination frequencies for Delta and Continental between the U.S. and Russia, using up all available frequencies and granting requests to the only two carriers that applied for them.
The Teamsters union, in an effort to pressure Southern Air Transport management to agree to work rule changes, is using scare tactics directed at military personnel and their dependents at Scott Air Force Base, Ill.
Electronic Data Systems has secured a contract to supply Britain's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) with an advanced satellite-based air traffic control system that promises to reshape the flow and pattern of aircraft movements between Europe and North America. The #53 million deal, signed yesterday, is the first to be awarded by Britain's Labor government under the "Private Finance Initiative," whereby no public-sector capital investment is involved.
New Aircraft Orders And Options March 1997 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del.Dates # Type # Type Air China 5 777-200 - TBA 98-99 3 747-400 - 2 747- 400CO - Air France* 3 A320-200 - CFM56-5B3 May-Jun97 2 A340-300X - 10 777-200IGW 10 777- 200IGW
Cargo Airline Association elected Asa Hemperley, senior VP-corporate affairs, Southern Air Transport, to a two-year term as chairman. Gilbert Mook, senior VP-air operations division, Federal Express, was elected vice chairman.
United and the Association of Flight Attendants recessed contract talks in Hawaii and will resume no later than July 10. The recess was requested by the independent mediator, who has implemented a news blackout. AFA said Wednesday its Negotiating Committee was prepared to leave before last Sunday for lack of progress. But "late into the night" Sunday, United made "significant movement" in its compensation proposal, a Master Executive Council official said.
The City of Austin, Texas, opened yesterday a $20 million air cargo facility at the new Austin-Bergstrom Airport, and the first commercial all- cargo operations were conducted by Federal Express, Burlington Express and United Parcel Service. The former Bergstrom Air Force Base is slated to replace Robert Mueller Municipal as the city's commercial airport in the spring of 1999.
A panel of business and airport officials told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee yesterday that federal action may be needed to ensure mid-sized communities enjoy the benefits of competitive air service, but economists attacked government data supporting that view and joined United in warning against government interference.
American is improving the handling of its cargo, which accounted for nearly $700 million in revenue last year. President Don Carty says that during a 10-week period ending May 31, the volume of mishandled cargo decreased 41% overall. Miami improved the most, reducing mismanaged shipments 64%, followed by New York Kennedy, down 50%.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic The Year 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) American Trans Air 5,292 15.20 1,652 8,744,582 Carnival 2,196 12.76 1,184 2,599,799
BMW Rolls-Royce signed an agreement yesterday with the Chinese Gas Turbine Establishment and the German Aerospace Research Institute to explore the aerodynamics in the high-pressure turbines of advanced jet engines. The main purpose of the research project is to identify the influence of the shape of the high-pressure turbine blades on aerodynamic performance. The results will be used for optimization of turbine aerodynamics, which could lead to less fuel consumption and reduced exhaust emissions.
The Transport and General Workers Union, representing British Airways' flight attendants, voted by a 3-to-1 margin yesterday to allow 24- or 48- hour strikes over pay issues. The vote is the first move taken by several BA groups that could disrupt operations. The TGWU said 6,400 members of its BASSA flight attendant group have voted to give BA seven days' notice of possible strike or other job action, saying the airline refused to negotiate pay issues.
World Airways has hired William Lange as executive VP-operations. He most recently was the principal of Aero Initiatives, a consulting firm, and before that worked as executive VP and chief operating officer of Jetstream Aircraft. He also worked for Pan Am, Pan Am Express and American.
Russian government is seeking private investors for 34 of 63 state-run airports, including two in the Moscow region, according to Yuri Baranov, head of the Department of Investment Policy at the Russian Federal Aviation Service (FAS). The two Moscow airports are Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo. The privatization plan was conceived as a way to finance the more than $5 billion needed to upgrade the facilities to international standards, Baranov told a recent FAS-sponsored airports conference in Moscow.
UPS's Teamsters union unit is holding rallies to seek better wages and benefits while supporting the pilots union's efforts to secure a pay increase. The union is rallying in Phoenix today to ask for more full-time jobs, and plans other demonstrations. It said "83% of the jobs created at UPS since 1993 have been part-time positions. Wages for part-time workers have been frozen at $8 [an hour] since 1982." The mechanics contract becomes amendable July 31.
Continental, yielding temporarily to the political muscle of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, has suspended its New York advertising campaign (DAILY, June 25) "pending a meeting between the airline and the Mayor's office to discuss the Mayor's objections to the airline's ad campaign promoting service for Newark International Airport."
