Granted orally to Alaska Airlines an exemption to operate scheduled combination service between the terminal point Phoenix and the terminal point Puerto Vallarta, Mexico...Granted orally to Aero Costa Rica Acori renewal of its authority to conduct scheduled combination service between San Jose, Costa Rica, and U.S.
Fairchild Aircraft Chairman Carl Albert has been named chairman of the management board and managing director of Fairchild Dornier Luftfahrt. Harold Williams, president of Fairchild, also was named managing director. Jim Robinson, who was president of Learjet, becomes president of Dornier. He is succeeded at Learjet by Lachlan Beatson.
Clearwater, Fla.-based Sun Jet International has named David Banmiller president and chief executive. He began his aviation career at TWA and later was president and chief operating officer of AirCal, VP-international services at American, president of Air/Lyon and president of The Falcon Group.
- In Federal Register dated June 21...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Fokker F28 aircraft requiring inspection for cracking of the elevator gust lock housing...Issued an AD on certain Fokker F28 aircraft requiring replacement of junction fittings of the horizontal stabilizer.
TAP Air Portugal has applied for permission to carry individually waybilled cargo on passenger charter flights between Portugal and the U.S. The carrier said it has entered into an agreement with a Portuguese tour operator to conduct flight service in connection with a public charter program to be operated between Lisbon and Miami once each week between July 24 and Oct. 2. TAP will use its Airbus 310-300 aircraft in a one-class, 198-seat configuration for the service.
Comsat named Mike Hughes VP-finance for Comsat International Communications. Dassault Falcon Jet named Jean-Michel Jacob manager-international sales for South America. GTE named Horace Lindsay VP-technology marketing. Jetfleet Management appointed Christopher Tigno general counsel. Kosola And Associates promoted Lorinza Henry to shop operations superintendent. LEP Profit International appointed Eric Williams director-Latin America.
Aeronautical Repair Station Association, in the aftermath of the ValuJet crash, is warning its members to make sure they have the information necessary to show that they are in compliance with air carrier manuals. "As with most knee-jerk reactions, the guidance needed to ensure compliance" will be provided "long after the FAA starts looking for the problems."
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses Fourth Quarter 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues Alaska 278,232,000 8.68 227,512,000 American Trans Air 164,626,000 16.64 87,226,686
United's 45 old 737s will be marketed by Interlease Aviation Corp., a new leasing company, but not to U.S. carriers in passenger configuration, according to Morten Beyer Associates. Interlease is offering them at about $5 million after overhaul or $6 million in cargo configuration. MBA says the restrictions on sales or leases to U.S. startups "would appear to skirt antitrust and restraint-of-trade laws."
The U.K. House of Commons Transport Committee announced Friday it will investigate the proposed American-British Airways alliance. The committee said it will accept public evidence from interested parties July 10, 15 and 17. Witnesses will include BA, American, Virgin Atlantic, Delta and U.S. DOT. The action comes as the U.K. Office of Fair Trading considers whether the alliance requires a full-scale inquiry by the British Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
GTE announced a collaboration with Telecom Italia to supply Alitalia's 767s with Airfone telecommunications equipment. Fifteen telephones will be located in first and business classes and wall-mounted phones in the rest of the aircraft.
Airlines Reporting Corp. is introducing a credit card chargeback policy for travel agents that will replace individual carrier procedural rules, effective Sept. 1. The policy is the first in which ARC-participating carriers agree to absolve travel agents from liability for credit card chargebacks, provided certain credit card acceptance procedures are followed. ARC has distributed a bulletin with the new policy to travel agents.
InVision Technologies said its FAA-certified CTX 5000 explosives detection system (EDS) has been installed and is being operated by Delta at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. The EDS is being used to check for explosives and other contraband in baggage on international flights. "Through exhaustive testing, the FAA has determined that computed tomography is now the most effective method of detecting all classes of explosives," said Cathal Flynn, FAA associate administrator for civil aviation security.
Jeppesen signed a contract with Southwest to provide its JetPlan IV flight planning, wXstation weather system analysis and its Flight TraX aircraft situation display.
Continental said Friday it has reached agreement in principle with the City of Houston on a shift of some of the airline's operations to Houston Intercontinental's Terminal B, which would be expanded to accommodate growth. Subject to City Council approval, Continental will begin operating from Terminal B by June next year, and Delta and American will move to Terminal A from Terminal B. The arrangement will enable Continental to meet its plan for 500 daily departures at Intercontinental by 2002 (DAILY, June 12).
The House last week passed the fiscal 1997 DOT appropriations bill (H.R.3675), voting 247 to 159 to prohibit funding for a National Transportation Safety Board study of FAA's Age 60 rule for commercial pilots. The House rejected 193 to 212 an amendment sponsored by Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) to transfer $1 million from the DOT inspector general's budget to FAA for aircraft inspection training. The vote on final passage of H.R.3675 was 403 to 2.
FAA and the aviation industry need to "get going with proper labeling so mechanics do not have to guess" whether materials presented as passenger aircraft cargo are hazardous, according to SabreTech President Steven Townes. SabreTech personnel, providing third-party maintenance services to ValuJet at Miami, had "no warnings to ignore" on many of the older oxygen generators loaded onto the ValuJet DC-9 that crashed May 11 in Florida, Townes told The DAILY in a telephone interview.
U.S. and Japanese negotiators failed to make progress on clearing up existing issues in two days of talks in Washington. The discussions ended without setting dates for future talks. "In view of Japan's apparent unwillingness to approve service authorized by the agreement, we must now consider our options as to how we should respond," said DOT Secretary Federico Pena.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Revenues and Expenses Fourth Quarter 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues America West 393,891,285 15.39 361,283,895 American 2,678,935,000 2.56 2,272,884,000
Airlines Reporting Corp. has issued another security alert for travel agencies, warning of a burglary ring following several thefts in the past two weeks. Ticket stock was taken in only one instance. Earlier this year, burglars broke into several agencies, making off with large amounts of ticket stock.
Travelocity, the Internet site created by Sabre Interactive and Worldview Systems Corp., has received more than 1.2 million "visits" since it opened three months ago, the companies said, making it one of the most frequented sites on the Internet. Features being added to the site include GeoEnabled maps that help travelers find shops, restaurants and entertainment spots with detailed street maps of the area surrounding the landmark. The mapping was added last week.
World Airways has reached agreement with its flight attendants union, the Teamsters Airline Division, on a new four-year contract after four years of negotiations. The contract gives flight attendants pay increases and the company work rule flexibility and lengthened duty time, World said. The agreement next goes to the flight attendant work force for ratification. President Chuck Pollard said part of the reason the talks took four years is that the company focused on the pilots' contract in the first two years.
When he is in Newark observing the launch of Continental's service to Toronto, DOT Secretary Federico Pena will tell the carrier it has also gained new service to Ecuador.
Moody's Investors Service said Friday it lowered its outlook on Sabreliner from stable to negative. The action, which Moody's said affects $89 million in notes, was taken "out of concern for potential loss of additional business at Sabreliner's SabreTech subsidiary after the ValuJet crash," Moody's said. "Although one generally should expect a company to lose customers and continue to operate, and only two customers have announced that they have stopped using SabreTech, the full extent of Sabreliner's loss of customers is yet to be determined.
NICA apparently has a short memory or a long fuse. The Nicaraguan carrier is one of the six airlines in the TACA Group that has signed a code-sharing agreement with American - the same American that asked DOT in March to deny NICA's U.S. operating authority, and to turn down Continental's request to code share with the TACA Group carriers. American was upset with the Nicaraguan government for failing to approve a second daily flight to Managua.
