DOT announced this week a permanent ban on carrying chemical oxygen generators as cargo aboard passenger airplanes. A temporary ban issued May 23 limited the canisters to compartments in freighter aircraft that have crew access during flight. The final rule from the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) and from FAA also applies to foreign air carriers that operate in the U.S. and to any person who offers the oxygen generators as cargo.
Status of Airline Labor Contracts, As of January 2, 1997 Flight Mechanics/ Clerical/ Airlines Pilots Engineers Attendts Dispatchers Related Persnl Agts ABX IBT(7/31/95) -- -- -- -- -- In mediation Alaska ALPA12/1/97 -- AFA3/14/99 TWU2/9/02 IAM9/1/97 IAM /20/99 Aloha ALPA(11/30/96 -- AFA8/31/98 TWU12/31/97 IAM10/31/97 IAM10/31/97 In negotiation
Even though Korea is one of the five countries with which the U.S. wants to launch open skies in Asia, an increasing number of objections are being filed at DOT against conduct by the Korean government. This week, United filed in opposition to Korean Air Lines' bid for extra-bilateral service between Seoul and Kona, Hawaii, saying the U.S. risks giving Korean carriers much of the authority they desire before it secures open skies access for U.S. carriers.
New Aircraft Orders And Options, September 1996 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del Dates # Type # Type Air Berlin 1 737-400 - CFM56-3C1 - 2 737-400 - Air Pac 3 737-700 - CFM56-7 98- - - Alaska 12 737-400 - CFM56-3C1 Jun97-99 2 737-400 -
Continuing an established trend, air freight grew faster than any other mode of cargo transport in China during the first 10 months of 1996 and outpaced the growth of passenger transportation, according to the State Statistical Information and Consultancy Service Center. About 947,000 tons of freight was transported by air, 15.5% more than during the same period in 1995, and the growth of passenger transportation was moderate by comparison, 10.4%. Total freight volume stood at 2.2 billion tons in the 10-month period, unchanged from the year before.
Continental has appointed Michael Campbell senior VP-human resources and labor relations, effective yesterday. Campbell joins Continental from the law firm Ford&Harrison, where he was a founding partner. He has represented the airline industry for more than 20 years in labor and employment matters, Continental said, including contract negotiations, arbitrations and union organizing campaigns.
The aviation excise taxes lapsed at midnight Dec. 31, setting the stage for another draw-down of the aviation trust fund surplus. FAA estimates that the uncommitted trust fund balance will be exhausted by early July unless the taxes are renewed before then. The taxes also lapsed at the end of 1995 but were reinstated through Tuesday under legislation signed by President Clinton on Aug. 20.
The Korea Airport Construction Authority selected a consortium led by Korea's Hanjin Engineering&Construction to build the main passenger terminal for the new Inchon International Airport, now under construction near Seoul. Hanjin Engineering&Construction is part of the Hanjin Group, which owns Korean Air. Other consortium members are Korean companies Samsung Corp. and Daewoo Corp., and Fluor Daniel Inc., Irvine, Calif. The Korean firms will be responsible for construction, and Fluor Daniel will provide construction management.
PATS Inc., Columbia, Md., said it has designed, fabricated and documented the first auxiliary fuel system for the 767 and expects an FAA supplemental type certificate for it in mid-January. Boeing commissioned the system, which has completed testing at Jet Aviation's Basel, Switzerland, facility, in a corporate-configured 767-200ER. The auxiliary fuel system provides 4,000 additional gallons of fuel, enabling the aircraft to fly nonstop from Saudi Arabia to California.
America West said it will open two more overnight maintenance shops and lease one additional spare aircraft. The shops will be located at John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif., and Columbus, Ohio, where the carrier maintains a hub with daytime maintenance operations. The two new shops will enable America West to perform routine maintenance on four to six more airplanes per night, the carrier said.
Workers are making "good progress" assembling the four wing panels of the first MD-95 test aircraft, according to a Douglas Aircraft official. Steve Fisher, director of program and production definition, said that although Douglas is manufacturing the initial MD-95 wing set, later sets will be produced in Korea by Hyundai Space and Aircraft Co., one of 15 global supplier-partners on the program. The next step will be to "stuff" the wing boxes' wing fuel systems and install fixed leading edges, trailing edges and flight control systems, Fisher said.
DOT's Enforcement Office filed a motion Tuesday for summary judgment against AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Sabre computer reservations system in the Preference MAAnager Case (DAILY, Nov. 14). The add-on software to Sabre permits travel agents to list American and American Eagle flights preferentially, an ability the Enforcement Office says violates bias-display rules.
Two French companies, Aeroports de Paris and Sode Changes, won contracts to design a terminal building at the new Pudong Airport in Shanghai. An international selection committee chose the two French firms over four competitors from Europe and America.
Machinists union Air Transport District 143 in St. Paul, Minn., which represents employees at eight aviation companies, announced that Keith Foster is the new president of the 30,000-member district. He replaces Marvin Sandrin, who has become special grand lodge representative in the union's International Transportation Department. Foster, who has been the general chairman for the district since 1987, moves into the president's position in accordance with the bylaws.
Rockwell Avionics&Communications received a supplemental type certificate from FAA for the Collins AMS-850 avionics management system on a Beechjet 400A, making "primary means satellite-based navigation a reality for business aircraft."
China, the European Union and Europe's major aerospace companies will spend $3.5 million in 1997-98 to implement the EU-China cooperative program in aeronautics, Geoff Shuman, deputy secretary general of the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA), said in Beijing.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp. used its corporate jet last month to make the first transoceanic flight using combined Global Positioning System and Glonass satellite navigation technology. An Ashtech GG24 GPS&Glonass receiver board, packaged in a 1MCU sensor feeding into Universal's UNS-1D flight management system, was used on the Bombardier Challenger aircraft in a seven-hour, 10-minute flight from Shannon to Teterboro.
Airlines will be very active at the bargaining table this year, negotiating labor contracts on the heels of a healthy return to profits and several major aircraft orders. From a management standpoint, the coming year could prove to be a rough one for carriers that hope to whittle away at labor costs, or at the very least keep them stable, considering that 1997 is expected to be even better financially than 1996.
Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar has promised a compromise on the Meigs Field issue whereby Meigs would remain open for seven years, but thereafter, the City of Chicago and the Park District could "unilaterally determine the fate of the airport." Edgar noted that Mayor Richard Daley in 1990 signed a grant contract pledging to keep the airport open for 20 years. "There are 14 years remaining on that commitment, and I am proposing what I believe is a reasonable compromise to release the city from its commitment in half that time," he said.
China Northwest Airlines will acquire 10 A320 airliners as the next major step in its fleet expansion program. The purchase is part of a 30- aircraft order placed with Airbus Industrie last April by China Aviation Supplies Corp., and the European consortium expects a further commitment this year. China Northwest, a new A320 customer, will be the third Chinese operator of the aircraft, after Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Deliveries to China Northwest will take place between 1997 and 2000.
Asiana Airlines of Korea has ordered General Electric CF6-80C2 engines valued at $175 million to power three 747-400s and two 767-300s scheduled to enter its fleet beginning in 1988. Asiana placed options for three more 747s and two more 767s with the GE engines.
Civil Aviation Administration of China has scheduled the 1998 China International Airport Facilities and Air Service Exhibition for May 12-15, 1998, at Beijing. Airport equipment, airplanes, air service products and gifts, and land shopping products will be displayed.
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group will move its headquarters from the current site on the south end of Lake Washington in Renton to a new building in Longacres Park, a 12-acre site near SeaTac Airport. The 300,000-square-foot building will house executive offices, sales, contracts, legal, human resources, marketing and communications. Design will begin in January, site preparation will follow in April and completion is scheduled for October 1998.
FAA, following a recommendation of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, is acquiring 54 explosives detection systems from InVision Technologies under an initial $52.2 million contract. The CTX-5000 SP systems are to be delivered over 12 months, starting this month. FAA has an option to buy additional units that would increase the value of the contract to $110.9 million. The CTX-5000 SP, developed with FAA support, is based on CAT scan technology - using X-rays, it maps objects inside baggage for analysis by a computer.
The Canadian province of Alberta yesterday dropped its aviation fuel tax to 1.5 cents per liter from five cents a liter, dropping fuel prices there "below all provinces west of the Maritimes," according to the government. A slightly smaller reduction had been slated for January 1998, but the reduction was accelerated "in light of developments at Canadian Airlines."
