Officials of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association announced yesterday the establishment of the National Aviation Research Institute, an organization charged with promoting the consideration of human factors in development of technology, programs and procedures for air traffic control. NARI is a not-for-profit corporation that will seek grants and industry, government and academia sponsorships for research, and offer active controllers to participate in studies and act as consultants.
USAir sued its major alliance partner British Airways yesterday for breach of contract, and American and BA for seeking to undermine USAir's competitive position through the proposed BA/American alliance and attempting to limit competition in the U.S.-U.K. market.
Vanguard Airlines is offering double credit to its frequent flyer program members until Dec. 19. One flight will count as two, so passengers earn a free trip after four roundtrips or eight one-way flights instead of the normal eight roundtrips or 16 one-way flights. The free flight is good for one year.
House and Senate negotiators have agreed in principle to reinstate the aviation excise taxes, but the duration of the taxes was unresolved late yesterday. The House version of the small business-tax relief bill (H.R.3448) includes no aviation tax provision, but the Senate bill would renew the taxes through April 15, 1997. House conferees on H.R.3448 proposed yesterday to accept aviation tax reinstatement through Dec. 31, 1996. Taxes would take effect seven days after enactment, and tickets purchased before then would not be taxed.
Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) will release The Minority Traveler Report Aug. 6. The study, which TIA said is the first of its kind, examines the travel habits of the three largest minority groups in the U.S. - African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In RPMs And ASMs Per Employee First Quarter 1996 Revenue Available Passenger Seat Miles Miles Total (000) (000) Employees American Trans Air 2,465,762 3,370,491 3,358 Carnival 766,274 1,189,274 1,243
ValuJet probably would not have been forced to shut down last month if it had not experienced the May 11 crash that focused "intense" media attention on FAA's oversight of its maintenance problems, Anthony Broderick, former deputy administrator for regulation and certification, said yesterday. In his first media interview since leaving the agency June 30, he said FAA is too politicized; many of its budget problems stem from DOT, not the White House or Congress, and the agency no longer benefits from being part of the cabinet department.
The proposed American-British Airways alliance cleared an important hurdle yesterday as the British House of Commons Transport Select Committee opposed referring the proposal to the U.K. Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC). While the committee has no jurisdiction over the proposed alliance, its recommendation will influence the U.K. Office of Fair Trading's decision on whether the U.K. MMC should investigate it. Over a two-week period, the panel conducted public hearings featuring testimony from the alliance partners as well as representatives from major U.S.
Continental is proposing to begin service to Lisbon, Portugal, as its eighth destination in Europe from Newark. Subject to government approval, the carrier said it will begin the service May 1. It also announced plans to expand seasonal service to Dusseldorf to daily nonstop flights on Feb. 28, 1997. It will operate 757s to Lisbon.
Supporting DOT's tentative decision to impose sanctions on Japan Airlines in response to Japan's refusal to allow Federal Express to operate new beyond-Japan services, the Economic Strategy Institute is urging the department "to pursue these sanctions towards the goal of a long-term solution to the air service conflicts that have disrupted transpacific operations for years." DOT has proposed prohibiting JAL from transporting on its scheduled Japan-U.S.
San Francisco budget analyst Harvey Rose told his Board of Supervisors that San Francisco Airport should raise by 25% the amount of non-aeronautical revenue it pays into the city's general fund. Under a 1981 settlement agreement with the airlines serving San Francisco, the airport, grandfathered under federal airport revenue diversion law, makes annual service payments equal to 15% of its non-aeronautical revenues - about $16.9 million a year. The agreement and the payments expire June 30, 2011.
Arrow Air said it is adding a second L-1011 freighter to its fleet, replacing a DC-8 aircraft on its daily San Juan-Atlanta flight. The L- 1011s also will replace DC-8s on Miami-Cali-Medellin-Miami charter service Arrow operates four days a week. Ed Lesko, VP-sales, said favorable experience with Arrow's first L-1011 freighter prompted the carrier to acquire a second.
FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring inspection of some Hartzell propellers used on smaller and older types of commuter aircraft, such as DC-3s (STC modified), Shorts SD3s and Twin Commanders. FAA has reviewed and approved Hartzell's alert service bulletin, which contains a list of affected propellers and describes inspection procedures. The AD requires the inspections within 10 hours' time in service. FAA said it received a report of an inflight blade separation on a Shorts S312 in the U.K.
Air U.K. has applied for authority to add service between Amsterdam and London City Airport to its existing code-share operations with Northwest. Air U.K. also seeks renewal of its authority to other code-share services it operates for Northwest between London Gatwick and Glasgow, Scotland, via the intermediate point Edinburgh, Scotland; and Amsterdam, on the one hand, and Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Humberside, Leeds, Bradford, London Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Southampton and Teesside, on the other.
EVA Airways is seeking the renewal of its exemption to operate scheduled combination services beyond its authorized U.S. points to and from Panama City, Panama. The Taiwanese carrier currently serves Panama City beyond its authorized U.S. points - Guam, Honolulu, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York. (Docket OST-95-336)
Delta's average load factor on the 2,617 flights it operated during the weekend was 79%, with Orlando's 91% on Sunday in the lead. The heavy loads may have contributed to the fact that 600 of the flights were at least 45 minutes late. Passengers searching for their tickets were not a factor in delays - Delta says more than half of passengers who are eligible for electronic ticketing are using it.
American and its Allied Pilots Association are taking a breather from their mediated contract negotiations in Orlando. APA said the two sides are in recess, studying current proposals, before making a final push toward a new contract when talks resume Aug. 14 in Washington.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund - Income Statement October 1, 1995 - May 31, 1996 Current Month RECEIPTS (Revenues) Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas $ 0.00 Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. 351,712,000.00 Use of International Travel Facilities 18,446,000.00
DOT has consolidated the complaints of Northwest and United against the government of Indonesia, and has asked for comments on them. Both carriers asserted that Indonesia has refused to authorize their proposed Osaka- Jakarta services, in violation of the U.S.-Indonesia Air Transport Agreement. In its complaint, Northwest proposed sanctions that would require Garuda Indonesian Airlines to cancel its five weekly U.S.-Indonesia flights.
SBS International said it was contracted by Hawaiian Airlines for its Preferential Line Construction System, which will build monthly schedules for about 300 pilots and 500 flight attendants. The system has a revamped bid entry interface for crew members to enter their preferences, and it provides more options for crew members and crew schedulers, SBS said.
United has filed a complaint against the government of Indonesia under the International Air Transportation Fair Competition Practices Act of 1974 for refusing to grant the carrier's proposed service between Osaka and Jakarta. (Docket OST-96-1586)
Business Travel Contractors Corp. said it supports a proposal by the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) to enable travel agencies to become allied members of the association. NBTA will vote on the proposal at its annual convention Aug. 4 in Dallas. BTCC President Kevin Mitchell said, "BTCC participants believe we need a return to industry-mindedness, and we need barriers that cause costly mistrust in the industry removed. There is too much work to be accomplished on too many problems to allow divisiveness any longer."
Air Jamaica has restructured its executive management and President David Taylor resigned last week, effective immediately, to facilitate the changes, said Chairman Gordon Stewart. Albert Chappell became executive VP and chief operating officer, and in the interim, he also will be responsible for finance and other corporate functions. He was most recently VP-airports at Canadian International Airlines and is a former president of Air Atlantic.
Although its investigation is still under way, the National Transportation Safety Board said FAA should examine the "processes used by Volvo and Pratt&Whitney that allowed a fan hub to be placed in service with anomalies that led to the failure of the hub on Delta Flight 1288." The July 6 takeoff accident at the Pensacola, Fla., airport led to two deaths when debris from the fan hub breakup of the JT8D-200 engine on the MD-88 penetrated the passenger cabin.
