Romania-based Tarom said a request by Romania for bilateral talks eliminates the need to take punitive action against the carrier, as suggested by Delta. Tarom, seeking to renew its U.S. authority, has said its own-aircraft service is not the equivalent of extensive code-share proposals (DAILY, May 2). Delta wants to operate third-country code shares to Bucharest with Austrian and Swissair, and in a May 16 filing it said efforts to secure Romanian approval had failed.
Great Lakes Aviation expanded its service during the holiday weekend in its return from a voluntary suspension of operations May 16 at the urging of FAA, which expressed concern about the safety of the carrier's fleet. Great Lakes said it was resuming service yesterday to Traverse City, Mich., after restoring service during the weekend to Lansing, Mich., and Decatur, Ill. Last week the carrier said that, operating as United Express, it was resuming service to five cities in Iowa and Illinois.
Colombian cargo carrier Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos (Tampa) wants DOT to confirm that it can carry certain personnel on flights to the U.S. U.S. cargo carriers appear to have that authority, and Article 8 of the U.S.-Colombian bilateral dictates "fair and equal" opportunities for airlines of both countries, Tampa said. It also cites U.S. FARs, stating that U.S. cargo carriers can transport certain persons without complying with Part 121 passenger-carrying regulations.
Allison Engine Co. said its 250-C47M engine, which powers the McDonnell Douglas MD600N helicopter, has received its type certificate from FAA. The engine features a full-authority, digital electronic control for lower pilot workload and reduced operating cost.
Fortis Aviation said it has arranged the purchase by American International Airways of three 747-200 Combi aircraft now owned and operated by Middle East Airlines. AIA will take delivery of the first in June and the remaining two in August and September. The three aircraft will be converted to full freighter configuration and bring the number of 747s AIA operates to 11.
Air France's fiscal 1996/97 results, to be unveiled tomorrow, "contain an excellent surprise," said Deputy Managing Director Denis Olivennes in an interview with French newspaper Journal du Dimanche. "Air France is at break-even," he said. Earlier, airline Chairman Christian Blanc forecast a 200 million French franc (US$34 million) loss in the fiscal year that ended April 30 and a return to profit the following year.
Kapers, Swissair's cabin crew union, has protested the posting of attendants from Thailand, South Korea and India on Swissair flights. Last week, Swissair replaced about 120 Swiss cabin crew members with Asian recruits on services to Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei and Seoul. Kapers, accusing the airline of delocalizing jobs, said the move would badly affect imminent pay and conditions talks. The union also said it is unacceptable that Swissair is unwilling to limit the number of foreign-based cabin crew or to negotiate their conditions of service with the union.
Northwest applied for third-country code-sharing to South Africa with partner KLM. Northwest would market U.S.-originating passage on KLM flights from Amsterdam to Johannesburg and Capetown. The carrier said it has been waiting to offer service to Johannesburg for four years.
Horizon Air will inaugurate nonstop flights between Seattle and Medford, Ore., Aug. 3 and start a shuttle schedule to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Seattle. The carrier also will increase nonstops to Redmond/Bend, Ore., from Seattle to three a day. It will operate the Seattle-Medford service twice a day with 37-seat Dash 8 aircraft. It will operate 16 flights a day in the Seattle-Vancouver market, departing on the hour from Vancouver and the half-hour from Seattle.
Northwest is offering discounts of up to 50% on summer travel in the 48 contiguous U.S. states, and reduced rates to Alaska, Hawaii and Canada. Fares are on sale through May 30 for travel through Oct. 8.
Cathay Pacific Airways and Hong Kong Dragon Airlines (Dragonair) voluntarily grounded their 15 A330-300s powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines last Saturday, after recurrent engine gear box problems raised larger safety concerns in Hong Kong. Cathay's 11 A330s experienced two inflight shutdowns within three days. Dragonair grounded its four A330 twinjets. The Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department recommended that Garuda Indonesia, the only other airline operating Trent-powered A330s, follow the Cathay/Dragonair stand-down decision.
Air Transport Association will propose during the next several months a way to finance airport infrastructure that takes into account the needs of all interests, including the small airports that depend on the Airport Improvement Program, Ed Merlis, ATA senior VP for government affairs, told the Aero Club of Washington yesterday.
Hughes Aircraft's air traffic division has completed integration acceptance tests on a new flight and radar data processing system and workstations at Jarkarta's Area Control Center. The tests, which were finished May 7, one month ahead of schedule, will be followed by a demonstration of the system's operational readiness in June. The equipment is part of a wider automated air traffic control system that Hughes is installing in the Jakarta region, including 70 workstations and computers, radar systems, communications towers and meteorological equipment.
TWA told DOT it wants broader access to confidential documents in the American-British Airways alliance case, including some it maintains are clearly in the public domain. The latter include schedule and traffic information, "the essence of merger cases." If all such data are reviewed under confidentiality procedures, designated parties can examine the materials only at DOT or at American and BA offices and will be unable to make copies. TWA wants the department to clarify exactly what will be covered by confidentiality.
Boeing 767, Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day, Fourth Quarter 1996, B767-200, B767-300 Boeing 767 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1996 B767-200 American Delta TWA Number of Aircraft Operated 30 15 11 Total Fleet Operations Departures 51 65 26 Block Hours 337 164 146
Pilot unions at Air France and its regional unit, Air France Europe (AFE), terminated their strike Friday evening, when they agreed to reopen talks with management. AFE pilot unions "suspended" action, which started a month ago, while their Air France colleagues concluded a four-day strike initiated by the new, hard-line leaders of Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL), the French flag carrier's dominant pilot union. SNPL's radical bureau, confirmed on Friday by a vote of confidence, does not rule out further action, however.
Arrow Air said yesterday it has agreed to sell its authority to operate two weekly scheduled all-cargo flights between the U.S. and Argentina to FedEx, contingent on approval by DOT and the companies' boards. Jon Batchelor, Arrow president, said the sale "fits within Arrow's long-term growth plans and has no impact whatsoever upon our ability to operate charter services to Argentina."
DOT and the State Department said yesterday they have not yet responded to Japan's proposal for a new round of formal bilateral talks. Transport Minister Makoto Koga said Friday it was time to cut a deal (DAILY, May 27).
Denver-based Maverick Airways suspended all scheduled service yesterday for financial reasons, and President and Founder Cody Dickroeger was asked by the board to resign. He also will relinquish his seat on the board. VP-Operations Alan Willis has been named interim president of the airline, which has been operating since January. A Maverick spokesman said the suspension of operations was based solely on traffic and revenues being lower than expected.
German airport company Flughafen Frankfurt AG plans to purchase 50% of Dusseldorf Airport in an attempt to bar foreign competitors and as a first step toward setting up a German airport system. Frankfurt Chairman Wilhelm Bender said last week his company will make an offer before the June 4 deadline. Frankfurt's supervisory board, scheduled to meet June 2, will discuss the purchase of the stake in Dusseldorf held by the North Rhine Westphalia state government. The other half of the airport is owned by the City of Dusseldorf.
Autonomous airport authorities and a cooperative approach to airspace management are among recommendations from a May 12-23 International Civil Aviation Organization meeting on problems of safety, regularity and efficiency of flights in African airspace. The meeting, conducted in Nigeria, was attended by 350 people from 55 states from the Africa-Indian Ocean region and elsewhere.
Teledyne Controls said it has completed the design requirements for the next generation of air-to-ground communication systems. The company said it will deliver a communications management unit (CMU) for certification and first installations to Boeing and McDonnell Douglas for Saudi-ordered 747-400s and MD-90/MD-11 aircraft in late 1997 and for Braathens 737- 600/700 aircraft in the first quarter of 1998.
U.S. and New Zealand are holding open skies talks in Washington today and Thursday.U.S. officials have long planned to include New Zealand in its Asian open skies initiative but have waited for a new government there to prepare for the deal.
