Negotiators concluding a meeting in Portland, Ore., yesterday achieved a breakthrough, finding enough common ground to commit to formal negotiations they hope will lead to a new U.S.-Japan bilateral this fall. Details are sketchy and differences remain, but the approach includes a transition with increasing liberalization "that does not yet reach open skies," a government official said, although the end-point objective remains open skies.
FAA yesterday ordered an increase in the information collected by flight data recorders and gave airlines up to four years to comply. The agency said the new rule addresses several National Transportation Safety Board recommendations and estimated that it will cost industry about $316.3 million. The rule will require retrofit of some existing aircraft during major maintenance checks during the next four years without disruption to the flying public, said Guy Gardner, associate administrator for regulation and certification.
American Eagle's four regional carriers flew a collective 226.4 million revenue passenger miles in June, a 1% drop from June 1996's 228.6 million. Capacity, however, declined 4.8% to 346.8 million available seat miles from 364.5 million, pushing the load factor up 2.6 percentage points to 65.3% Passenger boardings were off 2.1% to 1,067,203. June 1997 June 1996 6 Months 1997 6 Months 1996 System RPMs 226,425,000 228,636,000 1,254,199,000 1,310,446,000
DOT has called for proposals from airlines to provide essential air service to Page, Ariz., filling the temporary vacuum left by Great Lakes Aviation, which shut down involuntarily in May and has not yet reinstituted service at Page. (Docket OST-97-2694 (45031))
Industry officials, families of victims and a crash survivor speaking at yesterday's Family Assistance hearing in Washington grappled with the problem of coping with the flood of telephone calls generated by an aviation disaster, forcing airlines to balance swift notification against the risk of inaccuracies. The DOT/National Transportation Safety Board-led Task Force on Assistance to Families of Aviation Disasters will issue a report by this fall (DAILY, July 9), and members agreed to meet again for two days, starting Aug. 14.
Sabena said it generated strong traffic growth for the first six months of this year as passenger boardings rose 29% from 1996 levels from 2,390,632 to 3,075,237, . Passenger volume on European services improved the most at 32% and on routes to Africa 17%, while Japan travel fell 14%. Growth according to ticket class was mixed, however. While the number of economy-class tickets grew 41%, business-class seats rose only 1% for the period, reducing overall revenue per kilometer, Sabena said.
The European Commission did not request the sale of Douglas Aircraft following a Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, and such a divestiture would not make the merger acceptable to the EC, a spokesman for European Union Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert said yesterday in Brussels. The prospect of a Douglas sale was raised Wednesday when the Bloomberg business news service quoted William Baer, director of the U.S.
Great Lakes Aviation slowly continued to add flights last month following its service suspension in May, but traffic still was down 74.9% to 6.8 million revenue passenger miles as capacity dropped 80.2% to 11.8 million available seat miles from year-ago level. The load factor increased 12.1 percentage points to 57.8%, and passenger boardings declined 70.3% to 27,277.
Regional Airline Association has reported flat traffic results for the first 1997 quarter. Quarterly statistics, prepared for RAA by AvStat Associates of Washington, D.C., show revenue passenger miles for all regional carriers grew at only 1.5% to 3.36 billion while available seat miles increased slightly faster, 1.9% to 6.62 billion. The airlines' average load factor dipped 0.4% to 50.8%; passenger enplanements were down 0.5% to 14.4 million. The average departure carried 13.6 passengers, up 0.4%, and the average trip length was 233 miles.
DOT has confirmed in writing an earlier, oral action activating a certificate for Jim Air. The carrier operates one nine-seat Piper Chieftain aircraft. (Docket OST-96-1676)
Raisbeck Commercial Air Group, which six months ago offered a Stage 3 program for the 727-200, now is offering the program for the 727-100 after receiving a supplemental type certificate from FAA. No hushkits or engine modifications "of any type" are required, VP Jeffrey Lown said yesterday. The Raisbeck Noise Abatement System is available as a kit for $695,000 per airplane, well below the $2 million for the light FedEx kit or $3 million for the heavy kit. The maximum takeoff and landing weights for the 727-100 remain unchanged.
DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead will be interviewed this week on Aviation News Today, to be broadcast Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 from 12:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
System One Amadeus has signed a multi-million dollar agreement to become the primary global distribution system for HFS Travel Group, a tour wholesaler with properties in 85 countries. Group President Frank Terranova said Amadeus's global presence is "critical to our future success and growth." The group is a subsidiary of travel industry supplier HFS, whose products include Avis Preferred Holidays, Days Inn, Ramada, Howard Johnson, Super 8, Travelodge and Resort Condominiums. System One Amadeus, owned equally by Amadeus, Continental and EDS, is the U.S.
Delta intends to offer passengers city travel guides to its top 24 destinations. The first issue, featuring Salt Lake City, will be introduced in August at 17 cities. Delta will provide the guides at the departure points to the featured city. Young&Associates will produce the guides.
Atlantic Coast Airlines has completed the financing for an 85,000- square-foot, $10 million aircraft maintenance hangar to be built at Washington Dulles Airport, the carrier said. ACA this spring announced its intention to build the facility with the help of a Governor's Opportunity Fund grant for Loudoun County, Va., bringing about 300 new jobs to the state. (DAILY, April 18). The airline will relocate its overnight aircraft maintenance facility from Lynchburg, Va., when it takes occupancy of the Dulles facility next March.
The House Transportation aviation subcommittee approved yesterday a modified version of legislation (H.R.2005) to exclude aviation accidents from the provisions of the Death on the High Seas Act (DHSA) and adopted as introduced a bill (H.R.2036) to reauthorize the war-risk insurance program for five years. H.R.2005 as introduced June 25 by Rep. Joseph McDade (R- Pa.) would have clarified that the DHSA does not apply to aviation accidents that occurred after Jan.
Total traffic and capacity operated in international scheduled airline service increased in 1996, while profits declined, according to IATA's latest World Air Transport Statistics report. IATA said total traffic rose 8.4% and capacity 7.9% in 1996 over 1995 and it predicted gains of about 7.9% and 7.5%, respectively, for 1997. IATA members posted a collective pre-tax profit of US$4 billion in 1996, compared with $5.1 billion in 1995.
Northwest's Air Line Pilots Association has requested help from the National Mediation Board to reach a contract that has been in negotiation since last August (DAILY, July 7). Northwest declined to file jointly with ALPA. "The past 11 months have seen little or no progress on substantive contract issues and this lack of progress dictates we move on to the next phase of negotiations," said Steve Zoller, chairman of the Master Executive Council.
El Al has begun to renew nearly all of its fleet as part of an airline-wide restructuring under its now-firm plan to privatize by the end of 1998, the carrier's president, Joel Feldschuh, told reporters yesterday in New York. Feldschuh said El Al will not push for Sabbath-day operations before privatization, smoothing the way for amicable government-airline agreements to sell it. The airline will renew large, medium and small aircraft in its fleet.
Delta Connection affiliate Comair Holdings posted a 17.4% traffic increase last month to 158.2 million revenue passenger miles from 134.7 million in June 1996. Available seat miles were up 11%, pushing the load factor 4.5 percentage points higher to 64.4%. Passenger boardings rose 12.9% to 466,739. June 1997 June 1996 6 Months 1997 6 Months 1996 RPM 158,150,000 134,687,000 836,197,000 733,172,000 ASMs 245,675,000 221,313,000 1,463,694,000 1,292,146,000
Mesa Airlines begins Monday a route from Wichita to Little Rock, Nashville and Tupelo, Miss. The odd routing is being started at the instigation of Tupelo, which wanted Nashville service and "put its money where its mouth is." The city is guaranteeing three daily Beech 1900D roundtrips. The service will be operated in Mesa livery by Wichita-based US Airways Express carrier Air Midwest. The Wichita-Little Rock segment, with two daily roundtrips, is expected to be supported by Raytheon Aircraft of Wichita, which has a facility in Little Rock (See item below).
Atlantic Southeast, a Delta Connection affiliate, flew 82.3 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 3% increase from June 1996. Available seat miles increased 2.1% to 153 million; as a result, the load factor inched up 0.4 percentage points to 53.8%. Passenger boardings rose 2.2% to 339,084. June 1997 June 1996 6 Months 1997 6 Months 1996 RPMs 82,348,478 79,967,464 446,142,804 440,000,919 ASMs 153,036,466 149,876,264 895,288,496 886,463,134
Express Airlines I flew 42.4 million revenue passenger miles in May, up 9.5%, as capacity gained 0.5% to 70 million ASMs. The LF climbed five points to 60.5%.
Air Wisconsin flew 54.8 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 14% increase from June 1996, as capacity gained 4.4% to 78.5 million available seat miles. As a result, the load factor jumped 5.8 percentage points to 69.8%. Enplanements were up 8.2% to 161,953. June 1997 June 1996 6 Months 1997 6 Months 1996 RPMs 54,821,000 48,087,000 295,599,000 248,470,000 ASMs 78,528,000 75,190,000 471,635,000 476,850,000
Independent Federation of Flight Attendants, while no longer recognized as the collective bargaining agent for TWA, has an executive board of five and counts several hundred rank-and-file flight attendants as members (DAILY, July 9). The board is in communication with members wishing to maintain their status, said current IFFA Secretary/Treasurer Barry Schimmel. In the same story, the phrase "Continental is supportive of the IAM" referred to the carrier's management.
