Aer Lingus has leased two A321-200s from International Lease Finance Corp. for seven years. The aircraft, powered by CFM56 engines, are to be delivered in April and June. The carrier also took an option from ILFC to lease a third A321 for delivery in 1999.
Lufthansa Cargo said one of its 747-200s has undergone a "first exhaustive overhaul" by Aircraft Maintenance&Engineering Corp. (AMECO) in Beijing. The D check was the first carried out by AMECO on an aircraft from the Lufthansa Group, the carrier said. AMECO is partly owned by Lufthansa's independent aircraft engineering services company, Lufthansa Technik. The overhaul began in early July and the 747 was handed back on time to Lufthansa Cargo on Aug. 25.
Pratt&Whitney Canada's PT6B-37 turboshaft engine has been granted a type certificate by Transport Canada. Agusta selected the engine for its A119 Koala single-engine helicopter, now undergoing flight tests.
American asked DOT for an exemption to begin operating cargo service to Ho Chi Minh City via Taipei under a blocked-space, code-sharing arrangement with China Airlines. FedEx applied for a two-year exemption renewal to provide all-cargo charter service to Vietnam, for which it holds dormant certificate authority. (Dockets OST-97-2823, 2856)
Vanguard Airlines is not stopping service to Minneapolis/St. Paul and San Francisco (DAILY, Aug. 26). The carrier next week is pulling out of Des Moines, Las Vegas, Orlando, Tampa and Los Angeles, and adding service to New York Kennedy.
Delta renamed its packaged holiday division Delta Vacations and is taking a new, tiered approach to vacation marketing. The division, formerly Delta Dream Vacations, will have an identity more closely aligned with other Delta units, such as Delta Express and Delta Shuttle. Delta Vacations is introducing "Simply, Preferred and Ultimate" packages that target different levels of travel experiences and expectations. The carrier is mailing a new brochure to travel agents this week that reflects the changes.
Air New Zealand Limited applied with DOT to extend its U.S. exemption authority to implement some of the new rights created by the open skies agreement signed in June by the U.S. and New Zealand. ANZ currently is authorized to operate from New Zealand, via intermediate points in the South Pacific and Australia to co-terminal points Honolulu and Los Angeles, to Chicago and San Francisco, and beyond to Canada.
Emery Customs Brokers has created a Customs Compliance and Specialized Services Group and named Craig Schau manager. The unit will help importers comply with regulatory requirements of the Customs Modernization Act, which shifts to the importer the legal responsibilities of importing commercial merchandise.
Air France's July traffic increased 7%, following a 2% rise in June. The passenger load factor rose 1.7 percentage points to 77.9% in July. Freight ton kilometers grew 5.5% to 434 million last month.
Sun Country Airlines, Minneapolis, has formed a maintenance services alliance with AirWorks, which has operations in Orlando. AirWorks will provide maintenance labor for Sun Country's fleet of five DC-10 and 11 727 aircraft and Sun Country will provide the facility, training and quality assurance oversight, the charter carrier said. Sun Country will perform its own materials management and maintain its current relationships with component repair vendors and parts suppliers.
Geneva and Zurich airports are introducing landing surcharges linked to gaseous emissions, Geneva Airport officials said yesterday. The surcharge is scheduled take effect in September at Zurich Kloten Airport and in January 1998 at Geneva. The most polluting aircraft of Category 1 - first- generation 747s or 707-300s, for instance - will face a surcharge of 40%. But the most environment-friendly aircraft, such as the A320 family or the 737-400, will be exempted.
Air Transportation Holding Co., Maiden, N.C., announced an agreement to acquire the Simon De-icer Division of Terex, which manufactures, services and supports aircraft de-icers worldwide. Its customers include major passenger and cargo airlines, and domestic and international airports.
National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association will hold its annual safety enforcement law seminar Oct. 29 in Washington, D.C. Board members and senior officials will address the meeting, and FAA and industry officials will speak on administrative law practices and significant cases decided by the board. For more information, call Mark McDermott at 202- 331-1955.
Cathay Pacific is starting what it terms an "unprecedented online promotion," awarding 10 trips for two people to Hong Kong from North America, along with 14 days of unlimited travel in Asia on any of its routes to places like Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. The promotion is the second offering this year through the airline's CyberTraveler program. Winners also receive connecting air transportation from their home cities to New York or Los Angeles. Entries will be accepted until Dec. 15 and prizes will be awarded Jan. 19.
Asiana Airlines has become an A330 customer for Airbus Industrie, ordering six of the aircraft, and has broadened its engine repair and overhaul business with Greenwich Air Services. The Airbus order, comprising three A330-200 aircraft and three A330-300s powered by Pratt&Whitney PW4000 engines, provides for deliveries between the third quarter of 1999 and mid-2001. The Korean carrier also holds commitments for five more A330- 200s and seven more A330-300s, subject to government approval, and it took options for 10 more.
Exxon Co. International said it formed EssoAir International, which will have full commercial responsibility for aviation sales previously handled by affiliates in Europe. All aviation fuel sales and associated administration will be handled at the London-based unit, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of the first quarter of 1998. Esso said the reorganization is aimed at improving service to its European customers.
International Aviation Composites has purchased two acres in the Alliance development for a new corporate headquarters and a facility offering maintenance and repair services on composite components and aircraft and helicopter rotor blades. Construction is to begin this month and completion is scheduled in February. The company supplies leading-edge abrasion strip replacement, composite and metal skin repairs, doubler repairs, full chord skin repairs, non-destructive testing, replacement of damaged parts, refinishing and static balancing.
Continental and Taiwan's EVA Airways yesterday turned their small collaborative cargo agreement into a full-blown international passenger code share. The deal is Continental's first foray into an Asia/Pacific alliance and EVA's first passenger link with a North American carrier. In addition, American will sign a code-share deal with Taipei-based China Airlines within two weeks, a source told The DAILY.
Varig's traffic for July increased 5.3% to 2.4 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The load factor was 66.7% on domestic and 74% on international flights. Freight gained 6.8% in July but rose only 1.5% so far this year. Varig carried 5.64 million passengers so far in 1997, up 3.3%.
Civilian women accounted for 9% of the 1,281 AIR Inc. member pilots interviewed by U.S. airlines during the past 12 months, but only 2% of military pilots interviewed were women. The average civilian interviewed by a major airline had 5,839 hours of experience and the average military applicant had 3,921.
Delta Express has begun a September fare sale to and from Florida with discounts on its lowest fares and a reduction in the advance-purchase requirement to seven days. Sample one-way fares include Nashville-Tampa for $69, Washington Dulles-Fort Lauderdale for $84 and Providence-Orlando for $79.
Three companies announced an alliance they said will offer "one of the most extensive air charter networks in the industry," providing executive aircraft charters throughout North America and Asia, including China. The companies are Hop-A-Jet of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Global Aviation of Singapore and Air Castle of Los Angeles. The group will have a fleet of 17 Learjets and Challengers.
Partisans aiming for a Japan aviation treaty mandating regulated expansion face a new counterweight - Senate observers - at this week's formal negotiations, scheduled today through Friday in Washington. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) invoked a section of the Federal Aviation Act permitting observers from each house of Congress. It is unusual but not unprecedented for congressional observers to attend talks, as happened in open skies negotiations with Germany and earlier U.S.-U.K. talks.
United's petition to halt the transfer of its slots at Chicago O'Hare says a continuation of the practice is an unconstitutional taking of property because DOT has indicated new slots can be created at the high-density airport (DAILY, Aug. 26). A DOT spokesman acknowledged statements made earlier this year by Assistant Secretary Charles Hunnicutt about new- entrant competitive issues, including the possibility that criteria might be expanded for granting exceptional-circumstances exemptions at slot- controlled airports.
