Airline chiefs from Delta, United, TWA, Tower Air and Laker Airways wrote DOT Secretary-designate Rodney Slater yesterday urging him to halt American-British Airways alliance proceedings until U.S. authorities can complete a "comprehensive analysis" of its effect on competition. United simultaneously asked DOT for a full evidentiary hearing into competition issues raised by the alliance, with witnesses submitting evidence under oath and subject to cross-examination.
U.S. charter airline Prime Air Inc. has filed for a DOT exemption to operate short-term wet-leases for scheduled operators. The carrier, doing business as TransMeridian Airlines, said it will "continue to concentrate on the charter market. Nevertheless, it has been TransMeridian's experience that there is an increasing demand for sub-service by scheduled airlines that results from, among other things, operational and/or equipment problems or excessive demand.
Guatemalan startup carrier Mayan World Airlines took delivery last week of the first of two ATR 42 aircraft it will use to begin service next month. The regional airline, based in Guatemala City, will serve Flores, a tourist center with Mayan ruins, and intends to operate to neighboring countries in the near future. Aero International (Regional) said 321 ATR 42s and 188 ATR 72s have been sold since the beginning of the program.
Sabena Technics will provide long-term maintenance for Biman Bangladesh Airline's Airbus A310-300 aircraft. The Belgian carrier's maintenance subsidiary will station a team of engineers at Dhaka Airport to carry out line and light maintenance on site and to instruct and assist Biman's staff with heavy maintenance work.
A recent proposal offered by USAir management to its pilots may be tied to giving the employee group a "significant" equity stake in the airline in exchange for substantial wage cuts, BT Securities analyst Vivian Lee said. The proposal calls for mainline pilot wage concessions of 12.5-15% and cuts greater than 30% for pilots of a yet-to-be-formed low-cost subsidiary, she said. "We believe this proposal is tied to a significant equity stake in the company not unlike the United deal," Lee said.
Delta and Aeromexico applied for DOT approval of their code-share/blocked- space agreement to link Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth with Cancun. The airlines want to start to code share March 1 with hopes of receiving DOT's blessing by today. Aeromexico will operate the flights under Delta's DL code.
Gulf Air will sell six 767s and return other aircraft currently on lease in a downsizing aimed at returning the airline to profitability. Following the sale, Gulf Air will retain a fleet of five A340s, 11 767s and 14 A320s. Reducing capacity, the airline is terminating operations to New York, Geneva, Durban and Johannesburg, leaving 50 destinations. Gulf Air is continuing to operate its code share with American on all its flights to London Heathrow, giving its passengers access to direct services to the U.S.
AirFlite, Toyota's fixed-base operation at Long Beach Airport, was awarded contracts by American, to fuel three daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth, beginning Jan. 31, and UPS, to fuel two daily flights. Service to American begins Jan. 31; UPS service is under way.
Swissair became the first airline to operate an aircraft with in-flight gambling for all passengers - a recent MD-11 flight featuring Interactive Flight Technologies' Inflight Entertainment Network, which offers access to up to 20 movies, 60 hours of music, several computer games and casino-style lotto, keno and video slot machines. Following a two-month trial, Swissair will install the system on 16 MD-11s and five 747s.
McDonnell Douglas said yesterday that James Phillips has been promoted to VP-general manager of the MD-95 program at Douglas Aircraft, replacing John Wolf, who is retiring March 28. Jerry Callaghan, now MD-95 program manager-technical, will move up to be second in charge on the MD-95 as development program manager.
India's decision to make it more difficult for international entities to buy stakes in the country's domestic carriers may block the planned joint venture between Singapore Airlines and India's Tata Group conglomerate, which retains backing in some parts of the government. The new carrier, majority owned by Tata, would compete with government-run Indian Airlines.
Airline Employee Placement Service said China Airlines, Malaysian Airlines and Flight Safety International have joined the more than 500 aviation companies using its employee data bank at no cost. The Internet-based employment service, also posts aviation job listings on a daily basis. The Web site is at http://www.aeps.com/aeps/aepshm.html.
Fear of decreasing job security and resentment of mounting profits are driving pilot union dissatisfaction with management during contract negotiations at several carriers, most notably American and United in recent weeks. American's Allied Pilots Association will conduct informational picketing at Dallas/Fort Worth Jan. 28-30 as it prepares to enter supermediation Feb. 10, five days before a possible strike.
Boeing 727 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Third Quarter 1996 B727-200 American Continental Number of Aircraft Operated 81 33 Total Fleet Operations Departures 265 112 Block Hours 644 266 Flight Hours 527 220 Miles 234,972 97,639
Upgrading its civil aviation procedures to comply with International Civil Aviation Organization safety oversight standards regarding air carrier operations, Taiwan expects to correct by March most of the deficiencies cited by the U.S. FAA in its "conditional" rating of Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration operations. A CAA spokesman said the Taiwan cabinet has agreed to fund 32 additional inspectors for aircraft certification and surveillance of operations.
Sabena will drop service between Antwerp and London Heathrow Airport in March, pulling out of Antwerp's Deurne municipal airport. It currently offers the twice-daily service jointly with Deurne-based VLM, which uses a Dash 8 for the Sabena-coded flights. It and VLM compete for Antwerp-London traffic against British Airways subsidiary CityFlyer Express. Sabena carried about 29,000 passengers to London last year from Antwerp.
Boullioun Aviation Services said it has ordered nine more 737s from Boeing for delivery this year and next, adding to an order for eight 737s it placed in 1996. During 1996, the company also acquired a previously unannounced 737-300 from Boeing, and a used 737-300 and a used 737-400 in sale/leaseback transactions. All 20 of the 737-300s/400s have been placed on operating lease with airlines in North American, Europe and China. Three were delivered in December to China Airlines of Taiwan.
SAS posted a 5% gain in revenue passenger kilometers for 1996, increasing traffic in 11 of 12 months. December traffic was up 3%. For the year, SAS flew 19.73 billion RPKs and 19.83 million passengers. Freight was up 5% for the year to 477.4 million freight ton kilometers.
Society of Automotive Engineers and Experimental Aircraft Association have agreed to a partnership intended to enable members of either society to benefit from the technical expertise of both. As part of the pact, SAE and EAA will co-sponsor the biennial General, Corporate and Regional Aviation Meeting and Exposition, this year scheduled April 28-May 1 in Wichita.
Cathay Pacific Airways is offering U.S. travel agents American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer miles for booking groups of 15 to Asia. Agents can earn 1,500 miles per passenger, up to 500,000 miles, for tickets from New York to Hong Kong and other Southeast Asia destinations.
Emirates has completed the retrofitting of its A300-600R and A310-300 fleets with business-class seats that recline more and have more space in front and behind. Pitch has been increased from 40 inches to as much as 52 inches. The carrier has taken delivery of the third of seven 777s.
Midwest Express Holdings named David Reeve president and chief executive of Astral Aviation, the Midwest Express Airlines wholly owned subsidiary that operates Skyway Airlines. Reeve, currently director of flight operations for DHL Airways, will take over March 1.
Flying Colours Limited (FCL) has filed for a foreign air carrier permit and, pending that, an exemption to operate passenger charter flights between points in the U.S. and the U.K. The carrier, founded in January 1996, has applied for corresponding approvals from British authorities. FCL plans to start its U.S. flights around May 1 with twice-weekly service between Manchester and Orlando, using 757-200s. The carrier hopes to receive all necessary approvals by March 10 to permit adequate marketing of the startup in May. (Docket OST-97-2097)
Janes's Air Traffic Control 1996-97, 3rd edition, edited by David Rider. Provides up-to-date, industry-wide intelligence on the equipment, companies, technology and organizations involved in world air traffic control. Jane's Information Group; $295. To order, call 800-243-3852 or 703-683-3700 or visit Internet site http://www.janes.com.
