Aviation-Related Bills Introduced In Congress February 24-May 23 - H.R.823 - introduced Feb. 25 by Rep. Van Hilleary (R-Tenn.) - to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to reinstate the aviation trust fund excise taxes and to suspend the 4.3-cent general revenue portion of such taxes during the reinstatement period. Referred to Ways and Means.
Spain's Air Europa, which has grown in Europe to more than 1,000 flights per week, is adding scheduled service to its two U.S. gateways. The carrier will increase New York-Madrid flights July 16 to daily from six weekly flights and will add service from Madrid to Miami, first rising to three weekly flights July 13, then possibly to five per week later this year. "We have no plans to add additional U.S. gateways; our current focus is to look for addition code share partners and interline agreements," said Angel Garay, deputy manager, North America.
Opponents of the American/TACA code share are more alarmed than ever now that they have reviewed confidential documents in the case. As interested parties, Delta, United and Continental have access to documents that American/TACA are not required to post in the public dockets, including internal memorandums, strategic assessments and commercial data. The carriers have filed two sets of responses - redacted comments for the public record and full comments to DOT.
The 76 Russian civil aviation officers attending the Second Russian- American Aviation Conference last week in Annapolis, Md., chose to fly Finnair rather than Aeroflot, the Russian press noted. Russian daily Komsomolskaya Pravda reported there were 137 empty seats on the Aeroflot Airbus aircraft that landed in Washington on the eve of the conference.
DOT issued its Brazil cargo charter allocations for the charter year beginning in July, awarding more than half the 750-flight pool to three of 10 competing carriers - Southern Air Transport, 180; Florida West, 145, and Air Transport International, 83. Atlas Air, 35, and Arrow Air, 29, also received allocations in the tentative decision, but Millon, Tower Air, ABX, Fine and World Airways received none. Any of them can apply for ad hoc charters on a first-come, first-served basis from the 278 that remain available, however.
United Parcel Service increased its service to Japan yesterday and indicated it wants to broaden its collaboration with Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) once the U.S. and Japan reach a new aviation agreement. Yesterday's service launch begins five 747-100 freighter flights per week between Chicago O'Hare and Tokyo Narita airports with an intermediate stop in Anchorage, replacing 767-300 service between Tokyo and Anchorage. UPS said it will expand its interline freight agreement with NCA to include cargo from Osaka and Tokyo to Chicago and vice versa.
Cathay Pacific has postponed for one day the planned restart of operations of its 11 A330s, grounded for 10 days due to Rolls-Royce engine problems. The airline expects to announce a new flight schedule today pending the results of final testing. Short-haul testing has been completed, but a planned long-haul Hong Kong-Bangkok test flight was delayed a day because of an unrelated avionics issue. "All the modifications have been signed off by regulatory authorities, so pending final testing we expect to have the aircraft flying shortly," said spokeswoman Diana Fung.
Delta Express has cut summer fares to Florida from all service points. Tickets require a seven-day advance purchase and must be booked by June 24 for travel through Sept. 7. Blackouts apply July 2-7 and Aug. 28-Sept. 2. Delta Express operates 128 flights a day among 15 cities. Sample one-way fares include Boston-Orlando for $89, Washington Dulles-Fort Myers, $99, and Providence-Orlando, $79. The lowest fare, $19, is for Orlando-West Palm Beach. Delta Express will add two daily nonstops between Philadelphia and Tampa Sept.
ValuJet is considering a ValuJet Flightlink bus service to connect passengers from outlying areas in Georgia with Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, and it may announce the service today. A company spokesman said yesterday the carrier continues to look for ways to increase market share and ridership levels. Bus service is one option, he said. "If you look at smaller markets throughout this country" and the lack of competition, "ideas like this certainly seem to make sense."
Delta told DOT it is prepared to compete with ValuJet or any other carrier, but it opposes any "government handout" that would be represented by the cost-free award of slots to that carrier at New York LaGuardia. Countering ValuJet arguments that Delta enjoys a monopoly in the Atlanta-New York market, Delta said they ignore competitive services from several New York- area airports. The carrier quoted the president of the Borough of Queens, who said there are more than 40 nonstop roundtrips, plus numerous one- stops, by seven carriers between Atlanta and New York.
Nav Canada said yesterday it has begun a 60-day period of formal consultations with the aviation community on proposed user charges, which will be phased in over two years, beginning Nov. 1. Initial consultations will focus on fees for aircraft weighing more than 5.7 metric tons, about 12,500 pounds. The introduction of fees for aircraft weighing 5.7 metric tons or less will be deferred until Nov. 1, 1998, because setting fees for these aircraft requires separate analysis and consultation, Nav Canada said. Consultations will take place early in 1998.
Eurocontrol approved Bulgaria Sunday as its 26th member nation, adopting "fast-track" procedures reflecting what the Brussels-based air safety group said was Sofia's rapid progress in reforming its air traffic control sector. Bulgaria applied for membership in February and will be integrated technically into Eurocontrol's route charges system next Jan. 1.
American's traffic rose 3.7% in May on 1.7% more capacity, which pushed the load factor up 1.3 percentage points to 69%. Domestic traffic improved 2% on 0.9% more capacity; Latin America traffic grew 10.4% on 6.4% more capacity; Pacific traffic rose 0.7% on 4.5% more capacity, and Atlantic traffic increased 6.9% on 0.9% more capacity. Load factors for all sectors improved, except for the Pacific, which fell 2.8 points to 73.4%. In the first five months of the year, American's Pacific division shrank 3.2%, while traffic fell 5.3%.
Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs, Fourth Quarter 1996, Dollars Per Block Hours, A320-100/200, A300-600, F100, F28-4/6000 Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Fourth Quarter 1996 Dollars Per Block Hours A320-100/200 America West Northwest United Average Crew Cost $318 $587 $629 $531 Fuel&Oil 592 585 598 591
Western Europe is the most common international destination for U.S. business travelers, according to a survey by Runzheimer International. Of 107 corporate travel managers, 92% said their employees travel internationally to Western Europe, 81% said Canada and 76% said Asia. The total exceeds 100% because of multiple answers.
Congressional tax staffers have given House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer (R-Texas) another draft proposal aimed at raising the same amount of money as the existing aviation excise taxes (DAILY, May 29). Archer plans to complete work on his committee's portion of a budget reconciliation bill as early as next week. Meanwhile, the National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC) has asked Congress, as part of the budget reconciliation process, to accept special budget treatment for aviation revenues and spending.
Air New Zealand and Canadian Airlines formally ended their alliance yesterday. The six-year relationship, which encompasses service between Auckland and Toronto and Vancouver, will end Oct. 26. The move follows the establishment of relations between ANZ and United, which conflicts somewhat with Canadian's long-standing partnership with American.
Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1996 A320-100/200 America West Northwest United Number of Aircraft Operated 25 50 35 Total Fleet Operations Departures 126 192 118 Block Hours 320 540 386 Flight Hours 279 462 342
The European Union should take the same fiscal approach on fuel in aviation as in other transport modes, according to environmental lobbying group European Federation for Transport and Environment (EFTE). It called for an aviation fuel tax based on the energy intensity or carbon content that at least equals the average tax applied to petroleum products in the domestic sector, with refunds on fuel used for international flights outside the EU. Tax issues, long dormant, are rising again on the EU's agenda of issues.
Charter airlines and other operators using noisy aircraft are chafing under new regulations against nighttime movements of such aircraft at Brussels Airport International. The Belgian Association of Tour Operators (ABTO) says the restrictions "pose serious logistical problems" for its members, but in fact they will have minimal impact on operations at BAI, affecting little more than 1% of its aircraft operations. Thus they will provide minimal noise relief as well.
Kiwi International Air Lines is charging $69, $89 or $129 per flight, depending on destination, for travel in June. Tickets must be purchased three days in advance but no later than June 6. Travel must begin by June 18. The lowest fares are for Chicago-Atlanta and Atlanta-Orlando flights.
FAA proposed a $68,000 fine against Aerovias Colombianas (ARCA) for failing to comply with an FAA airworthiness directive during a 14-month period in 1992-93. The carrier, whose operating certificate was suspended in January by the Colombian government, is said by FAA to have operated about 686 DC- 8F-55 flights without installing a main cargo door vent system, required by an AD to prevent inadvertent opening of the door in flight.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners has authorized payment of $3 million to the Linden Economic Development Corp. if Linden Airport takes certain steps to curtail airspace conflicts that cause airline flight delays at Newark Airport during inclement weather.
Lufthansa has given Uwe Hinrichs and Ulrich Wachter responsibility for passenger sales and operations in the U.S. and Canada, and in Central and South America, respectively.
