John Crichton, chairman of Nav Canada and president of the Air Transport Association of Canada, will discuss foreign overflight fees and Canada's transition to a private air traffic control system on this week's Aviation News Today, to be broadcast Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 from 12 :30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and 1:30 to 2 p.m.
Atlantic Southeast posted last month a 2.3% increase in revenue passenger miles to 77.5 million as capacity rose 0.5% to 150.9 million available seat miles. As a result, the passenger load factor gained 0.9 percentage points to 51.4% from 50.5%. April 1997 April 1996 4 Mths 1997 4 Mths 1996 RPMs 77,543,431 75,810,981 281,342,001 277,211,450 ASMs 150,908,436 150,150,586 584,083,380 581,866,296
The regional aircraft manufacturing industry will earn profits consistently in the long term only if its players are willing to consolidate assets, according to Saab AB President and Chief Executive Bengt Halse.
Mountain Air Express (MAX), moving with parent Western Pacific June 29 into the Denver market, could be entering a higher competitive league at DIA. At least two of the markets planned for MAX are Denver-Albuquerque and Denver-Salt Lake City. Both markets are currently heavily populated by jets. In the Albuquerque market, United operates nine weekday roundtrip flights and Frontier two. In the Salt Lake City market, United flies seven roundtrips, Delta six and Frontier three - heavy competition for a 30-seat turboprop.
Era Aviation, an Alaska Airlines code sharer, will begin 18-passenger Twin Otter service in June between Anchorage, Alaska and Seward on the Kenai Peninsula. The new route is the second addition for the Anchorage- based carrier this year. Era also is adding service to Whitehorse in the Yukon later this month. Era said it will take advantage of a soon-to-be installed global positioning system instrument approach at Seward.
Midwest Express regional subsidiary Skyway Airlines will begin service June 15 between Milwaukee and Marquette, Mich., operating six nonstop flights each weekday and reduced service on weekends. The regional, which operates 19-passenger Beech 1900D aircraft, will be the only carrier providing nonstop flights to the Upper Peninsula point from Milwaukee.
Travel Industry Association (TIA) said its 1997 Discover America International Pow Wow scheduled May 31-June 4 in Nashville will include 11 news conferences by travel firms describing new developments in international travel and tourism. Conferences scheduled include Northwest President John Dasburg, June 2 at 9:30 a.m.; Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau, 11 a.m.; TIA/Office of Tourism Industries forecast for U.S. inbound travel, 2:30 p.m.; U.S.
United's Association of Flight Attendants is taking three weeks off from accelerated contract talks to study a "comprehensive company proposal." The AFA has complained for months that United had offered no substantive proposal. AFA said both parties are satisfied with recent progress, and talks will resume in Honolulu early next month.
Lufthansa is on course to complete its privatization program by June or July, assuming timely approval of legislation providing for it by the German parliament. One result of privatization will be issuance of all future equity stock in the form of registered shares to ensure compliance with bilateral aviation agreements, Klaus Schlede, deputy chairman and chief financial officer, said in Frankfurt. Speaking at a news conference on 1996 financial results (DAILY, May 8), Chairman Jurgen Weber said:
Saab AB President and Chief Executive Bengt Halse this week stressed the importance for a manufacturer to add value to an aircraft transaction in order to close the deal. He said Saab closed a sale of Saab 2000s to SAS - which he character-ized as a hard-nosed negotiator - only when the manufacturer agreed to take some responsibility for maintenance. SAS, which ordered four aircraft with options for two, is using them as replacements on some formerly F28 and DC-9 routes. Halse was speaking this week at the AIAA Global Air&Space '97 conference.
TWA disputes Continental's claim that its new Newark-Lisbon service is the first daily, year-round nonstop in the New York area. TWA has been operating service to Lisbon since May 4, 1946.
The balanced budget agreement hammered out last week by the White House and congressional leaders assumes $8 billion-$10 billion more in transportation budget authority over five years than the President's budget, but aviation may get little, if any, increased funding. At an Appropriations transportation subcommittee hearing yesterday on infrastructure financing, Budget Committee Chairman Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said his committee's budget resolution will provide for "a rather substantial increase" over the President's budget.
National Transportation Safety Board issued data and group investigation summaries yesterday for the continuing inquiry on Comair Flight 3272, an Embraer Brasilia that crashed near Detroit Jan. 9 on a flight from Cincinnati (DAILY, Jan. 10). The cockpit voice recorder transcript suggests only about 20 seconds elapsed between the crew's first mention of trouble and the tape's end, the likely moment of impact. Engine and other sounds suggest noticeable problems about 10 seconds earlier.
Taiwan's ministry of economic affairs will not allow the Aerospace Industry Development Corp. (AIDC) or the Taiwan Aerospace Corp. to invest in mainland China's AE-100 program to develop a 100-seat jetliner. The Taiwanese companies had planned to invest as much as US$110 million in the project, in which China, AI(R) of Europe and Singapore's aviation industry will participate.
Delta has introduced summer fares for the U.S. and Canada, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, on tickets purchased by May 20 for travel through Oct. 8. Several major U.S. carriers have matched. Sale fares require a seven-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. Examples of Delta's fares include Atlanta-Miami and Washington-Albuquerque roundtrips for $178, Atlanta-Portland and Atlanta-San Francisco for $318, and Salt Lake City-Honolulu for $516. Several restrictions apply to Florida travel.
Great American Airways, grounded by FAA April 13, is asking a federal court to order the DOT Office of the Inspector General to return to the company records seized late last month by DOT OIG agents. The Reno-based carrier, which filed for Chapter 11 protection April 18, also is appealing its emergency certificate suspension to both the National Transportation Safety Board and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit (DAILY, April 15).
SunJet is offering four roundtrip tickets for the price of three in all markets. The "Four Pack" will be on sale through Dec. 14 for travel completed by Dec. 15 and requires all four passengers to travel together.
Air France plans to start serving Shanghai next April and increase service to Beijing during 1998, the China Daily News reported. The carrier, which currently operates four weekly Paris-Beijing nonstops, declined to comment on the report.
American and Boeing have restructured their November order that keeps American as an exclusive Boeing customer through 2018. American lost a few 1998 delivery positions due to delays in completing and ratifying an Allied Pilots Association contract, and it is holding off a decision on which version of the 777 it wants now that Boeing is offering two new ones. Chairman Robert Crandall said the new deal "has all the same benefits as the one announced last November" - American gets "fleet-planning flexibility" and Boeing can improve planning and cut costs.
The ninth annual Greater Washington Aviation Open (GWAO), held this week to benefit the Corporate Angel Network (CAN), raised $50,000, the largest single amount since the event began. The first GWAO raised $7,000 for CAN, a program that uses corporate aircraft to transport cancer patients free to treatment facilities across the nation. To date, GWAO has raised more than $250,000 for the charity.
Northwest traffic rose 5.6% in April on 4.8% more capacity, which edged the load factor up 0.5 percentage points to 71.4%. International traffic increased 5.1% on 5.4% more capacity, lowering the international load factor to 73.4% from 73.6%. Domestic traffic rose 5.9% on 4.4% more capacity. Cargo ton miles were up 1.4% to 176.4 million. For the first four months of the year, Northwest's traffic grew 6.3% on 4.1% more capacity. April 97 April 96 4 Mths 97 4 Mths 96
The National Civil Aviation Review Commission (NCARC) will set forth a "firm plan" for funding FAA, its executive staff director, David Traynham, said yesterday. Speaking at an Air Traffic Control Association symposium in Arlington, Va., Traynham said the commission is "a negotiating commission" and "there is a good chance for a consensus." The commission, which is reviewing how FAA costs are allocated and how to finance the modernization and operations of the air traffic control system, expects to issue its final report by Labor Day.
American is improving inflight meals on domestic flights in premium and coach classes by redesigning lunch and dinner entrees and upgrading its Bistro service, in which customers pick up bags of food on their way onto the airplane.
