National Air Transportation Association this week asked the California Senate to reconsider the state's proposed Petroleum Release legislation, which it said "imposes potentially devastating penalties to California's aviation-transportation network, especially small aviation businesses, for accidental petroleum spills." The measure could force California's aviation businesses to choose whether to continue operations under the specter of penalties up to $500,000 per day, according to NATA President James Coyne.
Virgin Atlantic began its second daily nonstop flight between London Heathrow and Los Angeles this week. Last month, Virgin launched Newark- London Gatwick and Miami-Heathrow service, and the carrier now has 80 weekly U.S.-U.K. flights.
Aero Club of Washington criticized the Air Traffic Control Association and the National Aeronautic Association for the content of ads in their publications from the National Air Traffic Controllers Association soliciting individual and corporate memberships. J. E.
Contract talks between Atlantic Coast Airlines and the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association are in recess until further notice by the NMB. Neither ACA nor the NMB said much about AMFA's claims that 100% of its members rejected a tentative contract this week. AMFA, which wants to be released from mediation, has much to say about the NMB, however. Still stinging from a loss to the Machinists Union at United where it was refused re-election, it says new NMB Chairman Ernest DuBester worked for a former IAM law firm and the NMB seems "above the law."
Montpellier, France-based regional airline Air Littoral is considering setting up a hub at either Toulouse or Bordeaux in 1998 to serve the Spanish market. The private carrier already has established a hub in Nice to serve Italy.
National Transportation Safety Board staff may be close to a recommended probable cause on USAir Flight 427, NTSB Chairman James Hall said yesterday. The accident near Pittsburgh Sept. 8, 1994, is the agency's oldest open accident investigation and prompted renewed calls for better flight data recorder data.
Conquest Airlines expects to resume scheduled service Monday following an 11-day hiatus due to lapsed hull and liability insurance. The carrier yesterday was awaiting DOT approval to resume service following notification that the insurance had indeed been renewed. Service was suspended at noon July 3. The Austin-based independent operates seven 19- passenger Fairchild Metro IIIs from its hub to Abilene, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen, San Angelo, San Antonio and Tyler. The carrier was merged into the former Air L.A. in 1995, retaining its name.
FlightSafety International's Canadair Regional Jet full-flight simulator has received Level "D" certification from FAA, FlightSafety said. The simulator, located at FlightSafety's Airline Training Center near Cincinnati, was designed and built by the FlightSafety Simulation organization in Tulsa. It is intended for use by pilots at Delta Connection Comair and other CRJ operators.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Revenues and Expenses The Year 1996 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Carrier Revenues Change Alaska 1,228,163,000 12.57 America West 1,712,045,761 10.92 American 10,394,633,000 (4.31) Continental 4,621,700,000 9.56
Alaska Airlines will add service Nov. 8 to the Mexican resort areas of Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo and Puerto Vallarta with nonstops Los Angeles and one- stops from San Francisco, Seattle and Portland.
US Airways Express affiliate CCAIR said its passenger load factor increased 3.2 percentage points last month to 55%, as revenue passenger miles dropped 6.5% to 13.1 million and available seat miles declined 11.8% to 23.8 million. Passenger boardings dipped 5.5% to 70,993. June 1997 June 1996 6 Months 1997 6 Months 1996 RPMs 13,093,029 13,998,051 70,511,868 73,949,617 ASMs 23,812,886 27,004,927 144,695,992 153,541,446
Uzbekistan Airways has taken delivery of its first RJ85 jet from Aero International (Regional) (AI(R)). The aircraft will be used domestically, serving Bukhara and Samarkand. AI(R) claimed the RJ85 will be the first regional jet to be certificated in the Commonwealth of Independent States and "once the process will be completed later this year, it will open the way for further sales in this vast and developing region." AI(R) said 89 RJ85s have been delivered worldwide.
United's June traffic grew 1.7% on 4.4% more capacity, which lowered the load factor 1.9 percentage points to 75.4%. The Pacific division suffered the largest downward swing with a 3.8% drop in traffic and a 6.7% gain in capacity, which caused the load factor to tumble eight points to 72.3%. North American traffic rose 1.4% on 2.1% more capacity, and the load factor fell 0.6 points to 75.7%. Atlantic division traffic increased 17.6% on 18.5% more capacity, which caused a slight decline in the load factor to 85.7%.
Former Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) will receive the Knight Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in a ceremony at the U.S. Capitol July 24. The medal, to be presented by German Transport Minister Matthias Wissmann, is for Pressler's work in obtaining the U.S.-German open skies agreement, initialed in February 1996.
British Airways operated 25% more flights yesterday than Wednesday and expects to reinstate 20% more today, according to Director of Operations Mike Street. A total of 1,009 cabin crew reported for work Wednesday and 1,600 yesterday - leaving only 250 officially on strike and l,700 reporting sick. The normal sickness rate for this time of the year is about 700 for all cabin crew members.
Former National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Carl Vogt was elected to the board of American Science and Engineering, which manufactures inspection products using patented technology to detect plastic explosives and illegal drugs. Vogt is a senior partner in the Washington law firm of Fulbright&Jaworksi and a member of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security.
Illustration: Graph: CAL Express Wage Comparison Continental Express pilots - locked in contract negotiations with their employer - are claiming their wages after three years are 50% below those of their peers at other regional airlines and even lower for those flying regional jets. They say they pay $10,000 up front for their own training with no assurance of winning a $13,000 job, which is more than $3,000 below the federal poverty level for a family of four, and that they must work for at least six months before they are eligible for health insurance.
Cargo traffic increased 9.6% in May and is continuing to rise at a 10.8% annual average rate, according to the Air Transport Association. International growth is greatly outpacing domestic, rising 16.1% compared with 4.6%, ATA said. ATA President Carol Hallett predicted another profitable year.
Unisys Corp.'s Aircare program, which develops software for airlines that pool enhancement costs, plans to provide its members with a "low-cost" electronic ticketing system. Iberia tested the system during the first quarter and has implemented it permanently. Antonio Bugallo, Iberia's director of systems, said the electronic system cost was one-tenth that of previous methods. Unisys said the next development phase for the electronic ticketing solution will include enhanced fraud detection and prevention, and third-party check-in.
Southwest traffic in June rose 2.8%, but capacity swelled even more, up 8.2%, which lowered the load factor 3.6 percentage points to 66.5% from 70.1%. During the first six months of the year, traffic rose 7.1% on 8.5% more capacity, which depressed the load factor 0.8 points to 63%. Southwest, which carried 24.8 million passengers in the January-June period, is on a pace to reach 50 million by yearend. June 1997 June 1996 6 Months 1997 6 Months 1996
Airlines have complied with an airworthiness directive FAA issued in January requiring inspection of teflon sleeves around wire bundles in 747 fuel tanks. In the July 9 issue, The DAILY quoted Guy Gardner, FAA associate administrator for regulation and certification, as saying the airlines had not complied.
Polish airline LOT launched a fully-owned regional subsidiary, EuroLot, and leased it eight ATR-72 turboprops for initial operations totaling 200 weekly services between Warsaw, Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan, Wroclaw and Szczecin. Later, EuroLot intends to add two to five 30- to 40- seat regional aircraft, and it plans international service to Vienna, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Riga, Vilnius and Lvov. LOT's domestic operations are losing money, but EuroLot says it may break even in 2000 or 2001 with growth in Poland and improved airports.
