The Association of Flight Attendants has asked DOT to hold a public hearing to assess the safety changes implemented at ValuJet before the carrier is cleared by FAA to resume service. AFA told DOT in July that Lewis Jordan, chief executive, and Robert Priddy, chief operating officer, should resign because "they do not have the disposition to comply with DOT regulations" (DAILY, July 24).
Delta Express, Delta's low-fare initiative, will begin operating Oct. 1 to 10 points in the Midwest and Northeast from five Florida cities, using Orlando as a focal point. Delta Express will fly to Nashville, Louisville, Indianapolis, Columbus, Washington Dulles, Philadelphia, Newark, Hartford, Boston and Providence. The markets include six cities served by Southwest, among them Providence, which Southwest will launch late in October, and Washington, which Delta Express will serve from Dulles and Southwest from Baltimore/Washington.
Air Wisconsin posted an 8.5% increase in revenue passenger miles during July over July 1995. Available seat miles declined 3.9%, producing a 7.4-point increase in the United Express carrier's load factor to 64.4%. For the year to date, traffic was up 12.9% and capacity 13.5%. July 1996 July 1995 7 Months 1996 7 Months 1995 RPMs 49,961,946 46,029,405 298,432,140 264,370,556 ASMs 77,596,556 80,761,236 554,446,644 488,396,930
Pratt&Whitney's PW4090 engine has begun its flight test program on a Boeing 777. At 90,000 pounds thrust, it is the most powerful engine built by the company. It is scheduled to enter service next March.
Mesa Air Group Chief Executive Larry Risley is being snubbed by his major nemesis, Sen. Ben (Nighthorse) Campbell (R-Colo.). Campbell, who has generously granted interviews to reporters about problems with Mesa's Colorado operations, has refused to accept Risley's phone calls to discuss the issues, claiming Risley did not return a letter 18 months ago regarding his concerns. "Calls to your office were stopped at your assistant stating, 'the senator will not discuss the matter over the phone,'" he said in a letter obtained by The DAILY...
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries May 1996 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Berlin 1 737-400 CFM56-3C1 - Air Nippon 1 737-500 CFM56-3C1 2 Alaska Airlines 1 MD-83 JT8D-219D 2 All Nippon 1 777-200A PW4084A 2
New Aircraft Orders and Options, May 1996 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Date # Type # Type Airtours Intl 1 757-200 - RB211-535E4 Mar97 - - Braathens* 1 737-500 - CFM56-3C1 Mar97 - - China Arls 4 747-400 - PW4056 97 2 A300-600R -
Wilcox Electric, shrinking itself in reaction to FAA's termination during the spring of its Wide Area Augmentation System contract, accepted voluntary departures from 130-150 employees in June and has laid off about 30 people since then. A company source said this completes Wilcox's adjustment to the loss of WAAS, which it thought originally would double its size.
Shares of the three publicly held Delta Connection carriers have been generally down during the last 52-week period, ended Aug. 2, with one exception. Comair stock was up 45.1% to $24.13 per share from $16.63 in the week of Aug. 11, 1995. Shares of Atlantic Southeast and SkyWest both fell, however. ASA was down 11.3% from $27 to 23.94, while SkyWest declined 27.3% from $22.88 to $16.63. Both ASA and Comair peaked on June 18 at $29.33 and $30.63, respectively. SkyWest topped out at $25.33 on Sept. 7, 1995.
FAA has accepted another revision of first-article test plans for the Enhanced Terminal Voice Switch program, submitted by developer Denro after the agency threatened the company with termination of its contract.
American Eagle's July traffic fell 3.3% to 232.7 million revenue passenger miles, while capacity decreased three times as much for a load factor gain of 4.9 percentage points to 62.4%. Available seat miles totaled 372.6 million. Eagle said the drop in traffic resulted from its decision to close its Nashville operation by Sept. 4. If Nashville is excluded from the figures, traffic rose 8.5% on a 0.3% gain in capacity.
A New York federal judge who heard Virgin Atlantic's antitrust lawsuit against British Airways has agreed, at USAir's request, to consider USAir's suit against American and BA over their proposed alliance. Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum will hear the case in the Southern District of New York. In the suit, USAir charges BA with breach of contract and claims the proposed partnership would limit competition in the U.S.-U.K. market (DAILY, July 31).
USAir Express affiliate CCAIR flew nearly 13.5 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 17.3% increase over July 1995's totals. Capacity for the month rose 2.4% over the same time last year to about 27.4 million available seat miles. As a result, the load factor grew 6.3 percentage points to 49.2% from 42.9% a year ago. For the first seven months, capacity fell 0.4% to 180.9 million ASMs; traffic was up 10.9% to 87.4 million RPMs; boardings increased 3.4% to 466,643 from 451,406, and the load factor rose 4.9 percentage points from 43.4% to 48.3%.
...Risley stated: "To assume one would simply ignore a letter from a U.S. senator is simply not a reasonable assumption as I certainly understand the overwhelming power of the position and would never voluntarily choose to suffer the consequences of ignoring you. I have recently been experiencing the wrath of those consequences. In addition, a simple call to our offices would have prompted a response." Mesa has experienced a number of problems out of Denver this summer, many beyond its control, such as late deliveries of its new de Havilland Dash 8-200 fleet.
U.S. Attorney in Miami has ordered the DOT Office of Inspector General (DOTIG) in Fort Lauderdale to investigate allegations by TPI International Airways that FAA, DOT and DOD used false statements and false documents to shut the small cargo carrier down in August 1990 and force it into bankruptcy. The carrier is asking to appear before a grand jury to present its evidence in the case, which involves at least 11 government employees. Ironically, the DOTIG in Washington has withheld documents TPI insists would bolster its case.
Commutair is said to be interested in acquiring not only Business Express, but also fellow USAir Express carrier Chautauqua. The latter, with hubs at Indianapolis and Pittsburgh, will be sold by its insurance-company owner or taken public by 1998 (DAILY, April 5). Business Express has slots at New York Kennedy and LaGuardia and at Washington National, plus 37 Saab 340s. Chautauqua also operates Saabs as well as Jetstream 31s and would provide a linkup from the Midwest to New England. American and Delta also are interested in BizEx.
U.S. and Colombian officials will meet Aug. 19-20 in Miami in another attempt to resolve the dispute that is imperiling the bilateral aviation agreement between the two countries. After four fruitless days of talks in Washington last month, Colombia still was threatening to renounce the bilateral if DOT imposed its threatened sanctions curtailing service to the U.S. by one or more Colombian carriers.
Largest Passenger-Carrying U.S. Regional Airlines First Quarter 1996 Passenger Passengers % Of Miles % Of Rank Airline Carried Total (000) Total ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 Simmons 1,369,320 9.5 298,897 9.0
BE Aerospace is displaying its latest cabin interior products in a 40-foot tractor trailer whose interior resembles an aircraft cabin. The mobile display unit, complete with sidewalls, overhead bins, lighting, seats galleys and inflight entertainment, is on a six-month, 24-city tour. The company said the unit brings a "wide array" of its latest products directly to potential airline customers.
Will Ris of American and Scott Yohe of Delta will debate international aviation issues, especially American's proposed alliance with British Airways, in an Aviation News Today studio interview to be broadcast Sunday from 12:30 a.m. to 1 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on NewsChannel 8 in Washington.
Lockheed Martin and Hughes (U.K.) submitted bids to carry out the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority's New Scottish Center air traffic management project in Prestwick, Scotland. Lockheed Martin said its team is 85% European, comprising Siemens, Frequentis, IBM-UK, GEC Marconi, EDS-UK and construction firm PFI Bovis. Hughes's U.K. unit is supported by Hughes Canada for ATC development, John Laing Construction Ltd. Hayden Facilities Mgt. Ltd and Hambros Bank Lit. as financial adviser.
American Eagle carrier Simmons Airlines was the nation's largest regional airline in terms of passenger enplanements in the first quarter, according to an industry survey by the Regional Airline Association. Simmons boarded 1.4 million passengers during the period, or about 9.5% of all regional airline passengers. Delta Connection carrier Comair with 1.1 million passengers, Mesa with one million, Continental Express with 889,111 and Alaska Airlines Connection carrier Horizon Air with 863,996 rounded out the top five for the quarter.
Comair will upgrade one of its three daily roundtrips between South Bend, Ind., and Cincinnati Sept. 9 when it substitutes a Canadair Regional Jet for a smaller aircraft. On the same date, the Delta Connection carrier will boost jet service to four flights a day between Omaha and Cincinnati, also using RJs.
