- In Federal Register dated June 17...Adopted an airworthiness directive on Cessna aircraft requiring inspection of engine oil filter adapter assemblies...Adopted an AD on certain Jetstream 3201 aircraft requiring inspection of the spigot housing plate for cracks and corrosion at the wing/fuselage forward attachment sliding joint.
U.S. airlines staged a financial comeback in 1995 but racked up only a collective 2.5% net profit margin and a 6.2% operating profit margin, according to the Air Transport Association's 1996 annual report. Even so, the last time the industry did as well was in 1988, when ATA carriers reported margins of 2.6% on net profit and 5.4% on operating profit.
An arm of the British government will study the proposed alliance between American and British Airways to determine whether it qualifies as a merger, how it will impact the public and if it needs further scrutiny. BA has been in contact with the Office of Fair Trading, according to wire reports. The office will examine how the linkup will affect aviation competition in Britain and determine if it needs to be investigated by the country's Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
French airlines fear that the TGV, the nation's fast-rail service, will use newly won fare-setting flexibility to cut ticket prices on routes on which it competes strongly with airlines while leaving them high where the train has a near-monopoly, such as Paris-Lille.
AirTran Airways has begun operating nonstop 737 flights between Piedmont Triad Airport in Greensboro, N.C., and Orlando. It is offering one daily flight with fares starting at $59 one way.
Air Courier Conference of America elected Philip Belyew, United TransNet, president. National Aeronautic Association selected Ginny Schweizer as recipient of the 1996 Katharine Wright Memorial Award. National Business Aircraft Association named William Wagner, Townsend Engineering, vice chairman; Tom Myers, Sears, Roebuck and Company, treasurer, and Lise Margin corporate secretary.
Airbus Industrie said it carried out the first nonstop flight from Western Europe to Indonesia by a large civil transport - an A340 that completed the 6,700-nautical-mile trip to Jakarta from Toulouse in 14 hours and 30 minutes.
Air Transport Association's Senior VP-Operations and Safety Roger Fleming will retire Oct. 1. Michael Rioux, ATA VP-engineering, maintenance and material, will take his position. Fleming joined ATA in 1966.
Neither the DOT Inspector General nor FAA commented Friday on press reports that the IG may have launched a criminal investigation of FAA's oversight of ValuJet.
ALM Antillean Airlines said a new management team is keeping the carrier flying on time. In August, the airline appointed Conrad Aleong, a former Air Canada executive and BWIA president, as its new manager. Since the carrier launched new services on Oct. 29, the Dutch Caribbean airline has recorded an average on-time performance of 81.3%, compared with 62% a year earlier. The record improved despite a 34% jump in flights from the previous year's levels.
Low-cost airlines are taking fares down in Europe the way they did in the U.S. Virgin Express's fare for planned service between Rome and Madrid in September is $77 one way, with no restrictions. Air France, Iberia and Alitalia charge between $363 and $440 roundtrip, with restrictions.
Traffic carried by U.S. airlines increased 7.8% last month, compared with May 1995, on a 3.1% increase in capacity, according to the Air Transport Association. ATA carriers flew 46.24 billion revenue passenger miles on capacity of 66.19 billion available seat miles. The load factor for the month was 69.9%, up 3.1 percentage points from 66.8%, while passenger enplanements increased 6.3% to 44.79 million for the month.
Sony Trans Com will provide integrated audio and video systems for Hapag Lloyd's 16 737-800 aircraft on order from Boeing. A "flight-attendant friendly" system control unit will select and sequence programs unique to particular routes coded into it. Greg Rabe, the company's VP sales and marketing, said the order is Sony's first of a complete audio-video system for a narrowbody aircraft, "and we're confident that this type of system will ultimately eclipse the traditional centerline monitor system currently in use."
USAir has selected GTE Airfone to equip its aircraft with airborne telephones. Installation of the equipment, to take place aircraft by aircraft during scheduled major maintenance periods, is set to begin in August and be completed in the first half of 1997. The Advanced Digital Airfone Service provided by GTE will enable USAir's passengers to make and receive calls, send and receive data and faxes, access e-mail and voice mail, and conduct conference calls.
DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo, asked by Rep. William Clinger (R-Pa.) to comment on FAA's proposed flight and duty time rules, cited concerns of the Regional Airline Association, the Air Line Pilots Association and World Airways that they would not increase safety measurably, they would create a significant economic hardship, and they might actually increase fatigue.
TWA's Air Line Pilots Association unit filed Friday in a St. Louis federal court a request for an injunction to stop the company from "outsourcing" flying operations to Tower Air and World Airways as a result of the delayed delivery of some 747s (DAILY, June 18). Master Executive Council Chairman Don Jacobs said the union and the company have talked for the past nine days on the issue to no avail. He expects a response early this week to the request, which seeks, as an alternative, an expedited arbitration process that would set a hearing date within 15 days.
DOT is set to impose sanctions against Colombia after three days of talks in Washington failed to resolve a stalemate between the two sides. As in April talks (DAILY, April 29), the two sides remained deadlocked over the authority of U.S. carriers to exercise their rights under the existing U.S.-Colombia pact. At issue are actions by the Colombian government to keep American, Federal Express and Fine Air out of its markets.
A new airport check-in system introduced last week by American will be at the center of future plans to push passengers through airports quickly and painlessly. The system automates some flight functions that agents previously had to perform manually. Modules will be added in the future to allow other services visible to passengers, such as ticketless travel.
USAir Express will begin operating three daily nonstop flights between Huntsville, Ala., and Washington National on Aug. 18. PSA Airlines will operate the flights with 32-seat Dornier 328s. The service gives USAir and USAir Express seven daily flights at Huntsville, including four daily flights to USAir's Charlotte hub.
American Airlines Fly AAway Vacations is promoting an eco-adventure tour through Costa Rica for nature lovers. Participants will visit isolated beaches via mountain bike, view waterfowl and birds of prey while canoeing at Las Baulas Biological Reserve, snorkle off the Gulf of Papagayo, tour the Arenal Volcano and swim in the natural hot springs of Tabacon. The price begins at $1,158 per person for seven nights, excluding travel to Costa Rica but including bus transportation, three meals a day, entrance fees and bilingual guides, based on double occupancy.
National Transportation Safety Board has concluded that "many of the provisions" of FAA's proposed rules on flight and duty time will have a positive effect on aviation safety - despite the anticipated economic burden - because "flightcrew member fatigue poses a threat to aviation safety." The safety board also quashed one of the main arguments made by the Air Transport Association - that the notice of proposed rulemaking fails to address the effects of pilots commuting long distances to work, and that the impact of pilots' lifestyles on fatigue has not been assessed (
Century West Engineering named David Miller senior aviation planner. Dallas Airmotive appointed Brian Cunningham manager-project engineering; promoted Charles Praniewicz to manager-Pittsburgh Regional Turbine Shop, and appointed Lawrence Mustico manager-aircraft maintenance sales. Emery Worldwide promoted Timothy Strauss to VP-hub operations, Dayton, Ohio, and George Kopp to VP-accounting division, Scranton, Pa., and appointed John Colletti VP- controller Emery Worldwide Airlines.
Air Liberte is urging DOT to act on its bid to operate France-U.S. service. In an application filed in early April, the carrier maintained that "more than sufficient time has elapsed for the department to assess the issues framed by the pleadings in this matter." Air Liberte also requests reinstatement of the charter authority it held from 1990 to 1995. "The in- limbo status of Air Liberte's application has become an ever-increasing hindrance to the carrier's planning and other functions, hence its desire for greater certitude," said the French airline.
Australian International Pilots Association, which represents pilots and flight engineers at Qantas, told FAA that the agency's proposal to set 10 hours as the maximum duty day for a two-pilot crew is one hour too long. The association commented on FAA's proposed rules on flight and duty time limits because the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority has indicated it might endorse whatever changes are made in the U.S.
