Pilots unions, responding to an FAA rule planned for effect July 17, are telling their members to reject land-and-hold-short operations (LAHSO) clearances from air traffic control unless they are sure of having at least 8,000 feet of usable, dry runway. The ruling requires pilots taking the LAHSO clearance to exit the runway at the first taxiway, enabling other aircraft to depart faster after a plane lands.
Aero International (Regional) recently completed a market survey that indicates a requirement for 4,000 regional aircraft in the 40- to 90- passenger range during the next 20 years. Jets and turboprops will share that market on a 50/50 basis, the consortium predicts.
Richard Branson, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic Airways, will discuss open skies, Virgin Express and the proposed American-British Airways alliance in an interview on Aviation News Today, to be broadcast on Washington NewsChannel 8 Sunday from 12:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m.
American and American Eagle may acquire both 50- and 70-seat regional jets, according to intelligence gathered from several industry sources. If so, the likely scenario would be that Eagle pilots would fly the 50-seaters and American pilots the 70-seaters. The arrangement would be an ideal compromise with the American pilots, who gave away the 50-seaters in recent contract negotiations, while keeping Eagle within its scope limits of a 50- passenger overall capacity average and a 70-seat capacity ceiling.
Switzerland's absence from the European Union is increasingly hampering its airlines' ability to compete within a liberalized European aviation environment. Negotiations during the past week between Switzerland and the European Commission failed to yield any progress that would bring Crossair and other Swiss carriers closer to parity with the rest of European aviation, according to a top Crossair official. The talks were critical to Crossair, which has been seeking scheduled service between Switzerland and Italy, Greece and Portugal.
DOT this week boosted the amount and type of Big Sky Airlines service it will subsidize at seven Montana communities. At six points - Glasgow, Glendive, Havre, Lewistown, Miles City and Wolf Point - the department will increase subsidized service to 12 weekly roundtrips from 10 and at a seventh, Sidney, to 17 weekly roundtrips from 10. The agency will pay an annualized subsidy rate of $4,793,361 for the service, and Big Sky will upgrade its aircraft to 19-seat Metro IIIs from relatively old, 15-seat Metro IIs. The term of the new rates runs from Oct.
AirTran Airways reported a 5.9% decrease in May revenue passenger miles to 78.8 million from 83.7 million in the same 1996 month. Capacity fell 6.1% to 117.3 million available seat miles from 124.9 million, resulting in a load factor gain to 67.2% from 67%. For the first five months, traffic was down 4.4% to 401.1 million RPMs from 419.6 million, and ASMs declined 2.7% to 596 million from 613.6 million. The load factor fell 1.2 points to 67.2%.
Several aviation associations came out in strong support of President Clinton's nomination of Jane Garvey to be FAA administrator - except for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, which criticized the selection of Garvey and that of George Donohue, a pilot and AOPA member, as deputy administrator.
Canadian startup WestJet Airlines posted a 24% rise in May traffic on 11.6% more capacity, which produced a load factor of 71.2%, up 11.1 percentage points. The results are the first year-over-year traffic figures for the year-old airline. Calgary-based WestJet, which operates five 737s and 290 weekly departures, will add service next week to Abbotsford/Fraser Valley.
Delta Connection Atlantic Southeast saw its traffic fall 0.4% to 82.5 million revenue passenger miles last month from May 1996. Capacity was up 2.2% to 158.2 million available seat miles, generating a LF decline of 1.4 percentage points to 52.1%.
United will begin the only transcontinental nonstop service to Bradley Airport in Windsor Locks, Conn., June 15 from San Francisco. Introductory fares are $349 roundtrip from June 15 through July 15 with a 14-day advance purchase. Mileage Plus members will receive double miles.
International passenger traffic of IATA airlines improved by more than 9% in April on 6% more capacity. The data were identical for the first four months of 1997, IATA said. Average load factors for April and January- April rose two percentage points to 70%. Freight traffic grew 9% in April and 10% in the four months. Total traffic, passengers plus freight, rose 9.2% on a capacity increase of 5.5%.
In a report to Congress Wednesday and in congressional testimony yesterday, FAA said it will achieve staffing goals for the New York-area air route traffic control center and New York terminal radar approach control (Tracon) facility by the end of fiscal 1998. The staffing goals for the New York area are set out in a memorandum of understanding between FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Reno Air's May traffic rose 0.5% to 257.4 million revenue passenger miles from 256.2 million in May 1996. Available seat miles decreased by 2.5% to 384.8 million for a load factor gain of 1.9 points to 66.9%. Reno carried 457,707 passengers during the month, up 5.3%. For the first five months of the year, traffic rose 7.5% to 1.232 billion RPMs and ASMs 9.2% to 1.878 billion from 1.720 billion, dropping the load factor one point to 65.6%. It carried 2,172,771 passengers, an 11.1% gain from the same period last year.
"No comment at this time" was the response from Atlantic Coast Airlines when queried about reports that it will wet-lease some or all of its new Canadair CRJs to Midway Airlines for operation out of its Raleigh/Durham hub. ACA continues to seek United approval to operate the 50-seaters in the United Express livery, but United's pilots have reportedly drawn a line in the sand: United pilots will fly all jets. ACA has said it would operate the jets with or without United's sanction.
Lufthansa and private French regional carrier Air Littoral will link their frequent flyer programs next month and launch code-share operations in September under a marketing cooperation agreement signed yesterday in Paris. Based in Montpellier and Nice, Air Littoral flies to 26 destinations in southern France and the Mediterranean region using Canadair Regional Jets, ATR 42-500s and Fokker 70s. Lufthansa will be Air Littoral's general sales agent in Germany, Spain and Italy, and the French carrier will sell for Lufthansa at its 29 sales locations in France.
Termination of Jetstream 41 production by British Aerospace has led to speculation in Europe that the action may open the door for an invitation to Saab to join the Aero International (Regional) consortium. Saab was rumored to have been approached by AI(R) in the past about joining in the 70-seat regional-jet program as well as adding the 34-seat 340 program to the AI(R) portfolio to replace the J41. The highly successful Saab 340 could be considered as a competitor to the 46-seat ATR 42, but sources indicate it would be targeted at a somewhat different market.
SkyWest Airlines' passenger load factor fell 2.1 percentage points in May to 49.6% from 51.7% in May 1996 as traffic rose 2.6% to 63.4 million revenue passenger miles but capacity jumped 6.8% to 127.8 million available seat miles. Passenger enplanements rose 4.1% to 237,514. May 1997 May 1996 5 Months 1997 5 Months 1996 RPMS 63,360,629 61,771,624 301,427,428 280,236,050 ASMS 127,758,770 119,595,087 611,002,670 545,576,240
Atlantic Southeast flight attendants rejected a tentative agreement reached between the carrier and their union, the Association of Flight Attendants, AFA announced yesterday. Approximately 80% of those voting turned thumbs down on the deal.
Reps. Mac Collins (R-Ga.) and Jennifer Dunn (R-Wash.) agreed yesterday to withdraw proposed amendments to House Ways and Means Chairman Bill Archer's (R-Texas) revised aviation tax package, leaving in place a proposal that increases the airline industry's tax burden by about $3 billion. The Archer plan announced Monday would have increased taxes by about $4.5 billion. The modified Archer proposal, which eliminates the taxation of the domestic portion of international flights, would reduce that increased burden by more than $1.5 billion (DAILY, June 12).
Iberia reported a net pre-tax profit of 1.2 billion pesetas (US$8.4 million) in the first five months of 1997, compared with a loss of 5 billion pesetas ($35 million) in the same period of 1996. "This is the first time in Iberia's recent history that net profits are recorded in this period," the airline said yesterday in Madrid.
TWA's recommendation that DOT cut the number of CRS simulations in the American-BA alliance proposal - to reduce paperwork - may have come too late to make much of an impact. DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Murphy said his department's request for documents from the prospective partners has produced "15 boxes, and counting." Data collection continues.
Saying FAA's lack of leadership has reached "a crisis point," House Appropriations transportation subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) yesterday commended the nomination of Jane Garvey to be FAA administrator and called on her "to clean up the mess at FAA as soon as possible." He suggested that Garvey and Deputy Administrator-designate George Donohue may be particularly effective because they do not spring from the FAA culture. Nevertheless, Wolf again chided the Clinton administration for taking so long to replace David Hinson.
American Eagle's four airline subsidiaries flew a collective 218.9 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 2.3% decline from May 1996. Capacity fell 2.7% to 355.6 million, pushing the LF down 0.3 percentage points to 61.6%. May 1997 May 1996 5 Months 1997 5 Months 1996 RPMs 218,946,000 224,111,000 1,027,775,000 1,081,810,000 ASMs 355,602,000 365,430,000 1,743,209,000 1,873,036,000 LF (%) 61.6 61.3 59.0 57.8
