Sichuan Airlines and China Southern are acquiring Airbus aircraft as the carriers revealed they will take some of the 30 A320s/A321s ordered by China last week (DAILY, May 16). Sichuan, which operates three A320s on lease from ILFC, will buy two A320s directly from Airbus, becoming a new Airbus customer. China Southern will take three A320s, increasing its fleet of the type to 20, the largest in China.
Fifty members of the House - 47 Democrats, two Republicans and one Independent - asked President Clinton Friday "to quickly appoint a committed, experienced aviation safety advocate" as FAA administrator. Saying Congress eliminated FAA's dual charter last year, the legislators said, "It is disturbing to us that despite this clear mandate, the FAA's record is still inconsistent, at best." They cited FAA's slowness in implementing regulations on fire suppression and detection systems.
Alaska Airlines began serving Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the Russian Far East last week, its fifth destination in the region. Flights leave Anchorage at 2 p.m. on Thursdays and arrive the next day at 6:30 p.m. after a stop at Petropavlovsk. The return segment leaves at 12:10 p.m. Mondays and arrives the preceding day in Anchorage at 11:15 p.m. after stopping in Magadan. Direct flights are scheduled from Seattle. Alaska operates the service with MD-80s.
Increasing privatization of state-run airlines poses a new challenge for the financial community. Some managements "have never had to sell [market ] their carrier and are unprepared to talk about their future," said Tom Gallagher, managing director-global airlines for CIBC Wood Gundy. "Airlines need to share the evolution of their plans with financiers, vendors and strategic partners."
- In Federal Register dated May 9...Proposed to supersede an airworthiness directive on Twin Commander 500, 680, 690 and 695 aircraft, increasing the applicability of a requirement to replace certain nose landing gear drag link bolts...Proposed an AD on Lockheed L-1011-385 aircraft requiring inspections of the elevator assembly...Proposed an AD on certain Saab SF340A, 340B and 2000 aircraft requiring repetitive operational tests of the pitch trim system of the elevator trim-tab of the flight control unit.
US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association unit says it is making progress in talks with management on work rules for what it calls US2, the low-fare, short-haul response to low-cost competition.Negotiations continue tomorrow and Wednesday. The union, protesting pilot furloughs expected in June, is encouraging pilots to show up in uniform Wednesday at the US Airways shareholders meeting in Philadelphia.
Aero International (Regional) will go to open procurement for its proposed AI(R) 70, called the "AI(R) Jet." Production of major components will not be limited, or necessarily awarded, to member companies British Aerospace, Aerospatiale of France and Alenia of Italy, said AI(R) Marketing President Jean-Michel Leonard. In addition, AI(R) - now a pure marketing and sales organization - will take charge of design and production of the new 70-passenger aircraft. And AI(R) will manage and operate the individual manufacturing facilities from its Toulouse base.
Russian aviation officials in charge of air traffic control modernization were told this week to stop their bureaucratic battles and get going on improving aviation safety in Russia before it is too late.
Atlas Air applied for authority to wet-lease aircraft to Brazilian carrier Aerolinhas Brasileiras (ABSA). Atlas wants to start the service soon and asked DOT to waive the 45-day notice requirement. ABSA currently is conducting DC-8 charter flights to link Miami, Manaus and Sao Paulo. Atlas will provide a 747 and crew to ABSA for charters between Brazil and the U.S., most likely from Miami but possibly other points.
Fairchild Dornier might announce as many as 20 orders for the new 32- passenger Fairchild Dornier 328JET at the time of next month's Paris Air Show. Meanwhile, the U.S./German venture continues to define the configuration for the proposed 50-passenger Do 528JET. According to Project Director Earl Robinson, the 328's existing fuselage would be stretched by 10 feet fore and eight feet aft of the wing and its existing high wing replaced with a swept low wing and under-wing-mounted turbofans with a rule-of-thumb ground clearance of 40% of engine inlet diameter.
Boeing 727 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1996 B727-200 American Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 81 33 129 Total Fleet Operations Departures 265 110 654 Block Hours 643 257 1,141 Flight Hours 528 215 924
Atlantic Coast Airlines will increase its Washington Dulles-New York LaGuardia service May 15 by two daily roundtrips to seven daily roundtrips, using Jetstream 41 aircraft.
Air Line Pilots Association said its membership reached 46,721, a record, in April. The number of apprentice members - pilots employed less than a year - increased 50% since April 1996, evidence of hiring at the 44 U.S. and Canadian ALPA airlines.
Regional airlines continue to have problems with the FAA's new pilot record-sharing requirements. Not only has the agency lagged in its response to airline requests for pilot records, but some companies have been reluctant to give pilot information to prospective employers. The issue is particularly troublesome for regionals because some airlines are experiencing a pilot turnover rate of up to 30%. RAA President Walt Coleman said the association wants an interpretation that would enable airlines to hire and train pilots pending receipt of such records.
AI(R) will go to the Paris Air Show with the "authority to offer" the AI(R) jet to customer airlines, although the project is still not officially launched, said AI(R) Senior VP-Sales and Marketing Jeff Marsh. Engine selection for the aircraft still is the most intense activity concerning the project. Jetstream 41 production, on the other hand, is being monitored on a month-to-month basis; "We will not build the aircraft on speculation," added the former British Aerospace executive.
London City Airport has concluded a deal with Air UK Engineering for the latter to provide line maintenance services at the airport. The contract, which went into effect May 1, calls for the provision of regular maintenance checks on aircraft for all operators at London City as well as oxygen/nitrogen suppliers and towing/recovery assistance. Eleven airlines operate from LCA to 18 European cities. Avis Rent-A-Car also recently opened its first facilities at the airport with a team of six full-time positions.
Birmingham Airport passenger traffic rose 8.6% to 420,562 in April, compared with the same month last year. Scheduled passenger traffic accounted for 75% of the growth, with gains mainly on four routes - Amsterdam 27%, Brussels 24%, Lyon 20% and Copenhagen 19%.
The Chinese government, represented by China Aviation Supplies Import and Export Corp. (CASC), signed a firm order contract with Airbus to acquire 20 A321s and 10 A320s in a transaction the manufacturer valued at $1.5 billion. The deal, signed before the leaders of France and China, marks the first time the Chinese have ordered the A321. The order also piggybacks on an April 1996 order by China for 20 A320s. Neither the engine choice for the order nor which Chinese carriers will operate the planes has been decided.
Corporate Express Airlines, Nashville, Tenn., signed with British Aerospace Asset Management Inc.-Turboprops (BAe-AMT) to lease four more Jetstream 32 turboprops, bringing its fleet to 10 aircraft. The additional 19-seat aircraft will be delivered by July, BAe-AMT said. Corporate Express will begin serving Greensboro, N.C., June 15.
Flight attendants for Kiwi International Air Lines ratified an 18-month contract last week, the airline said this week. The Transport Workers Union passed the proposed contract by more than a 2-to-1 margin. Details of the contract were not disclosed. The flight attendants are the only organized labor group at Kiwi. "We were pleased with the speed of negotiations and outcome of the contract," said President Jerry Murphy.
AlliedSignal won a contract from Bombardier to supply its RE220 auxiliary power unit for the 70-passenger Canadair Regional Jet Series 700. The agreement is the second such contract from Bombardier - AlliedSignal also supplies the RE220 for the Global Express long-range business jet - but it is the first application of the APU in a commercial airliner. Under the agreement, AlliedSignal is a risk-sharing partner in the CRJ-700 program and will supply the complete APU system, including the air inlet, exhaust systems and the mount system.
Pan Am is extending its Early Bird sale until May 20 because of record call volume by passengers booking tickets. The sale offers discounts from regular unrestricted fares as high as 64%.
FAA yesterday proposed a $67,000 civil fine against US Airways for its failure to comply with an engine airworthiness directive. The case involves operation of a DC-9 in August 1996. FAA said the carrier operated the aircraft for 67 flights without complying with Airworthiness Directive 95-12-19, which was implemented to prevent fan blade failure. US Airways has 30 days to respond to the civil penalty.
SkyWest Airlines posted last month a 10.1% traffic increase to 60.8 million revenue passenger miles from 55.2 million in April 1996 as capacity rose 12.9% to slightly more than 124 million available seat miles. The load factor dipped 1.3 percentage points to 49% from 50.3%. Enplanements were up 10.4% to 229,191. April 1997 April 1996 4 Mths 1997 4 Mths 1996 ---------------------------------------------------------- RPMs 60,787,188 55,228,469 238,066,799 218,464,426
