Ability of the U.S. Air Force's Air Mobility Command (AMC) to maintain its current and future level of participation in the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program depends on whether it can continue to offer adequate incentives to air carriers and resolve differences on insurance coverage, the General Accounting Office reported.
Association of Flight Attendants at United was counting ballots last night on ratification of the contract its leadership agreed to tentatively early in February (DAILY, Feb. 8). There were 18,353 eligible voters on March 1, and an AFA official said about 80% of the ballots were returned. The new contract holds wages steady at least through 1998 and caps the number of non-U.S. domiciles.
Raytheon Electronic Systems said its air traffic control center near Oslo, Norway, has been commissioned by Norcontrol. The center controls southern Norwegian airspace and provides control capabilities for the four southern airports of Fornebu, Rygge, Torp and Gardenmoen. It also provides links to the flight database from Krisstansand, Stavanger and Trondheim, as well as coordination of flight information. Eight stand-alone airport control systems also were delivered as part of the contract. In a separate contract, Cossor, Raytheon's U.K.
Midwest Express Airlines traffic fell 1% in March to 110.7 million revenue passenger miles from 111.8 million in March 1995. Available seat miles decreased more, by 4.7% to 159.8 million, for a load factor increase of 2.7 percentage points to 69.3%. The carrier boarded 2.9% fewer passengers, 129,152. In the first quarter, Midwest Express's RPMs rose 3.4% as ASMs declined 2.8% for a load factor of 63.3%, compared with 59.5% for the same period last year.
Five lenders will participate in American's new AAdvantage program that will enable consumers to earn miles when they buy or sell a house or make mortgage payments. Consumers will earn mileage when they arrange a mortgage through PHH Mortgage Services Corp., Great Western Bank, HomeSide Lending, California Federal Bank or Downey Savings and Loan Association, or when they acquire real estate brokerage services through PHH Real Estate Services.
Canadian Transport Minister David Anderson yesterday signed an agreement to transfer the nation's air navigation system (ANS) from Transport Canada to Nav Canada for $1.5 billion. Nav Canada officials - Ken Copeland, president and chief executive, John Crichton, chairman, and Brent Aitken, board member - also signed the pact. The federal government will transfer all ANS assets to the new corporation July 1, subject to passage of legislation through Parliament. About 6,400 federal employees who support the ANS will be transfered to Nav Canada.
American Eagle has suspended its membership in the Regional Airline Association, effective immediately, because RAA's board voted 7-1 to oppose Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) bill to reform FAA. The dissenting vote came from the board member representing AMR Eagle, which, like its affiliate American Airlines, supports McCain's bill (S.1239). AMR Eagle says it favors taking a hard look at how FAA is organized. "We deeply regret having to suspend our membership in the RAA," said President Daniel Garton.
Edward Faberman, VP-government affairs at American, has left the company, sources told The DAILY yesterday. American did not return phone calls regarding his departure.
After more than 25 years, Japan Airlines will dispense with its cabin crew hierarchy of chief purser, purser, assistant purser and stewardess.As of October, the airline will staff its jets with a cabin supervisor, who will be in charge; cabin coordinators, who will oversee service in different classes, and flight attendants.
Tower Air's March traffic jumped 32.2% to 3,367 total block hours flown, compared with 2,547 in March 1995. For scheduled passenger service, available seat miles rose 15% to 345 million and revenue passenger miles were up 19.6% to 268 million. The load factor increased 3 percentage points to 77.7%. For the first three months of the year, RPMs rose 18.1% to 776 million, ASMs were up 16.4% to 1.081 billion and the load factor gained 1.1 points to 71.8%.
GTE has received a $20 million FAA contract to continue the Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS) program and will add to it on-line weather and flight planning. DUATS is available on a 24-hour basis at no cost to users for access to aeronautical information, such as aviation weather and notices to airmen, automated flight planning and other services. Effective Oct.
American's traffic increased 5.5% last month, compared with March 1995, while capacity inched up 0.6% and the load factor gained 3.2 percentage points to 69.1%. "We are very pleased with our March performance," said Senior VP-Marketing Michael Gunn, "particularly because our increased traffic and loads did not come at the expense of yields, which were also up versus last year." The number of passengers boarded by the airline fell 0.4%. For the first three months of the year, American's traffic rose 3.3%, compared with the 1995 quarter, on 0.4% more capacity.
World Airways flew 83% more block hours in March than it did in the same month last year, for a total of 4,035. Average daily fleet utilization was 10.4 block hours per day, compared with 7.9 in March 1995. President and Chief Executive Charles Pollard said the carrier expects a first quarter loss "consistent with analysts' expectations." He cited "operating losses on the New York-Tel Aviv route and planned up-front crew training expenses related to the introduction of two MD-11ERs and two DC-10-30s in March."
Northwest's traffic was up 12.3% last month, compared with March 1995, on a 7.8% rise in capacity. International revenue passenger miles increased 19.8%. The load factor was up 3 percentage points to 75.4% while the number of passengers boarded by the carrier grew 7.3%. For the first quarter of 1996, its traffic rose 12.2% on 8.4% more capacity. The load factor gained 2.3 percentage points to 70.2%, and the number of passengers grew 8%. March 96 March 95 3 Mths 96 3 Mths 95
Horizon Air will begin serving Jackson Hole, Wyo., from Seattle and Boise, Idaho, June 9 with 31-seat Dornier 328s. In new nonstop service, flights from Seattle to Jackson Hole will stop in Bozeman, Mont. Horizon also plans to add a second nonstop flight between Seattle and Redmond/Bend, Ore.
Viscount Air Service, based in Tucson, Ariz., is a charter airline operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since March. In a chart published in The DAILY April 8, Viscount was incorrectly placed on the list of "currently not operating" carriers.
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines has added two Jetstream 41 aircraft and several new flights to its spring schedule. From its Washington Dulles hub, the carrier will operate additional flights to Newark, Boston, Charleston, S.C., Raleigh/Durham, N.C., Allentown, Pa., and Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pa. It also is adding a flight in the Boston- Portland, Maine, market.
Rockwell International hopes to capture much of the market in China for satellite-based air traffic management systems, valued at $1.9 billion by Booz-Allen&Hamilton. The consulting firm, part of a Rockwell team that conducted a major ATM demonstration in western China, includes in its estimate the modernization of air traffic control facilities at 120 Chinese airports.
Engine Market Share Among U.S. Major, National and Large Regional Carriers As of February 1996 Aircraft Manufacturer / Number Share of Engine Type Operated Engines Type (%) CFM 796 CFM 56 B737 671 2 67.0 DC-8 75 4 65.8 A320 50 2 48.5
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic February, 2 Months 1996 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) January January % 1996 1995 Change Domestic Freight 654,493 621,232 5.4 Mail 140,046 133,343 5.0 Total 794,539 754,575 5.3 International Freight 544,038 522,750 4.1
The Airports Council International-North America is calling on the U.S. government to start discussions with Japan aimed at liberalizing passenger services. "The upcoming U.S.-Japan summit [next week, when President Clinton visits Tokyo] provides an excellent springboard for the talks," ACI-NA President David Plavin said in a letter to DOT Secretary Federico Pena. "We urge the U.S. government to seize this exceptional opportunity to make progress toward a long-overdue expansion of combination service opportunities," he added. Writing on behalf of ACI-NA's U.S.
American Eagle Group Executive VP Joseph Benero will retire Dec. 31 but remain affiliated with the company as a consultant. Benero has been responsible for many special aviation accounts of American Eagle Group Inc., an insurance holding company with an aviation division headquartered in Dallas.
With pressure building for U.S.-Japan passenger talks, DOT continues to evaluate divergent industry views and the impact of outstanding U.S.-Japan passenger issues. "With the cargo talks out of the way, the question now before us is whether to begin passenger talks," DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs Patrick Murphy said yesterday. The two countries were scheduled to draft the final text of the cargo agreement this week in Washington, Murphy told a Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee hearing in Honolulu.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena will leave tonight for Santiago, Chile, to attend the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative Conference of Ministers. He is slated to give the keynote address Thursday at the meeting, which follows up an initial meeting of 12 transportation ministers held in Tampa, Fla., in October 1994, and the Summit of the Americas in Miami, also in 1994. Noting that "Latin America's economies have been among the fastest-growing in the world," Pena said "opportunities for U.S.
America West has been named the official airline of the Western Athletic Conference. The carrier will receive advertising and promotional opportunities at conference events, exposure on radio and TV, and merchandising opportunities. It will arrange travel packages for football, basketball and volleyball championships next year.
