Last week's tentative contract agreement between American and the Allied Pilots Association union leaves many pilots unhappy, even though they get a pay increase. American pilots are fuming that APA negotiators agreed to permit American Eagle pilots to fly regional jets. A recent APA online discussion of the agreement included an informal poll in which most participating pilots said they will vote against ratification.
FAA has approved what manufacturer AlliedSignal claims is the world's first operational precision runway monitor (PRM) and the only FAA-certified solution for parallel runway approaches. The system, installed at Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, uses a monopulse secondary surveillance radar that scans between five and 10 times faster than conventional surveillance radars, displaying each aircraft and updating position and speed every second. Controllers can monitor the progress of each aircraft in real time, issuing directions as needed to maintain safe separation.
Japan's International Cooperation Agency (JCIA) recommended that Vietnam develop a new international airport at Hanoi and convert the current airport at Noi Bai to domestic service. Completing a feasibility study for Vietnam's Civil Aviation Administration Authority, JCIA said the new airport should be constructed south of Noi Bai, which is about 40 kilometers from central Hanoi.
Ghana Airways is requesting renewal of its existing exemption authority to provide scheduled combination service between Accra, Ghana, and New York. The carrier currently operates twice-weekly service on the route with its own DC-10-30 aircraft and crews and with a DC-10-30 wet-leased from Skyjet, a Belgian carrier. (Docket 0ST-95-622)
Aviation Sales Company appointed William Alderman senior VP-corporate development. CA One Services appointed Leon Watkins coordinator-airport relations.
America West launched a fare sale within a sale that reduces prices to as little as $39 one way. The sale is for travel taken Sept. 7 through Feb. 13, but the best fares are for travel Dec. 3-18. Some carriers matched in competitive markets. One-way fares generally are priced at $50 to $175, based on roundtrip purchase. Tickets must be purchased by Sept. 13 and within 72 hours of making a reservation.
Lufthansa Cargo officials announced an order yesterday for five MD-11 freighters plus options for another seven, in a deal McDonnell Douglas officials valued at $1.3 billion. The aircraft will be powered by General Electric engines, said Douglas, which valued the engine order at $350 million with options. Wilhelm Althen, chairman of Lufthansa Cargo, said the order is subject to approval from his board and the board of Deutsche Lufthansa.
GE Engine Services President Bill Vareschi said the engine manufacturer wants to expand its burgeoning support services to cover airframe maintenance as well as engine repair and overhaul - if it can find a suitable partner. Choosing his words carefully as word circulated at the Farnborough Air Show that GE intends to move into airframe maintenance, Vareschi made clear that the company will enter the market only with care.
Brit Air, based in Morlaix, France, signed an order for three Canadair Regional Jet aircraft valued at $60 million. Brit Air currently operates six CRJs.
USAir recorded a 6.6% gain in scheduled revenue passenger miles for August on a capacity decrease of 0.4%, pushing the load factor up 4.9 points to a record 74.1%. Domestic RPMs increased 3.4% on 3.4% less capacity. USAir's international RPMs rose 51.1% in August following the startup this year of service to several new European destinations. The number of passengers boarded rose 2.6% in August but dropped 1.9% for the first eight months. USAir's total capacity fell 7.6% so far this year, compared with the same 1995 period.
A Continental Express decision to order the EMB-145 rather than the Bombardier's Canadair Regional Jet or Saab's high-speed turboprop 2000 was based partly on the Embraer aircraft's profit potential on short-haul as well as long-haul routes, Continental Express said (DAILY, Sept. 4). The deal, worth a minimum of $375 million and perhaps as much as $3 billion if all options are exercised, was consummated following an intense competition with Bombardier and its CRJ and, to a lesser extent, the Saab 2000.
USAir has formed an 11-member employee task force to do something about its customer service. The panel intends to make recommendations on minimizing customer/employee conflicts to a steering committee by the end of the month. The task force was commissioned by President and Chief Operating Officer Rakesh Gangwal.
..."Jetprop" is the new marketing emphasis for the Saab 2000 in an attempt to convince government agencies and potential customers alike that the aircraft offers jet performance. The phrase is not just a sales gimmick, the company maintains. FAA slaps the same icing rules on all turboprops with boots, even though the 2000 spends the same amount of time in icing as pure-jet aircraft, having the ability to climb to 31,000 feet almost as fast as a jet. During its recent North American sales tour, the 2000 was able to obtain ATC jet departures most of the time.
French carrier Regional Airlines has increased its original order of Embraer EMB-145 regional jets to a total of 10, of which five are firm and five are options. Deliveries will run through 2000.
Continental reported yesterday its highest monthly load factor ever - 74.3% in August - up one point from August 1995. The international load factor fell 1.2 points to 74.9%, however, due to capacity that grew faster than total traffic. Revenue passenger miles rose 6.3% and available seat miles 5.5%. Aug 96 Aug 95 8 Mths 96 8 Mths 95 RPMs 4,119,339,000 3,876,916,000 28,323,757,000 27,472,872,000 ASMs 5,540,896,000 5,289,355,000 40,709,237,000 41,730,288,000
American posted revenue passenger mile gains of 2.3% in August on 1.4% less capacity, resulting in a systemwide load factor of 73.7%, 2.7 percentage points higher than in August 1995. Regional traffic results varied greatly, however. Atlantic RPMs declined 12.9%; Latin American RPMs jumped 8.4%, and domestic RPMs gained 4.8%. Capacity declined in all regions except Latin America, where available seat miles increased 8.5%. Although Atlantic capacity declined, the Atlantic load factor rose 0.3 points to 81.3%.
Alaska Airlines' traffic in August jumped 14.6% to 1.087 billion revenue passenger miles from August 1995, while capacity rose 7.4% to 1.437 billion available seat miles. Load factor for the month rose 4.8 points to 75.7%. For the first eight months of the year, traffic rose 16.4%, capacity 8.7% and the passenger load factor 4.4 points. Aug 96 Aug 95 8 Mths 96 8 Mths 95 RPMs 1,087,000,000 949,000,000 6,714,000,000 5,767,000,000
Bombardier has authorized its Regional Aircraft Division to offer the 70- seat CRJ-X aircraft for sale to potential customers, but the company said a final launch decision probably will be made this fall. The company said an official launch is expected before yearend after discussions with customers and partners and a review by Bombardier's board of directors. The standard CRJ seats 50 passengers.
Kiwi International Air Lines will start Kiwi Klub, a frequent flyer program it says will offer free roundtrips twice as fast as other programs - one to any destination after a member flies 18 one-way segments. Members' Klub cards will be stamped before each flight. The program starts Sept. 9, and passengers who fly on the airline's anniversary day, Sept. 21, will receive four extra flight credits. Kiwi also is offering a Fly Free in '97 certificate Sept. 15-30 celebrating its fourth anniversary. Certificates must be redeemed by Oct. 15 for travel in 1997.
Scandinavian Airlines has ordered four Saab 2000 turboprops and taken two options for its SAS Commuter subsidiary, and French-based Regional Airlines has placed orders that will increase its 2000 fleet from four to seven. The first two SAS airplanes will be delivered in February and the second two in April 1997.
DeltaTel, Delta's wholly owned communication subsidiary, has signed an agreement with TelecomUSA covering in-home, long-distance service at a cost of 9.5 cents per minute on domestic calls, plus a $5.95 monthly membership fee. The service will be marketed initially to Delta employees and DeltaTel customers. A campaign to market it to the general public will begin this fall. International rates will vary by country.
Snecma of France and Pratt&Whitney Canada have reached a tentative agreement on a joint venture agreement to develop a family of turbofan engines in the 12,000- to 16,000-pound-thrust range.
Delta Connection Atlantic Southeast reported a 15.2% increase in traffic to 77.6 million revenue passenger miles in August compared with 67.4 million in August 1995, as capacity grew 5.3% to nearly 155 million available seat miles from 147.1 million ASMs. As a result, the load factor jumped 4.3 percentage points to 50.1%. Enplanements rose 20.2% to 325,339. Aug 96 Aug 95 8 Mths 96 8 Mths 95 RPMs 77,594,333 67,383,622 591,036,210 505,415,823
