USAir emphasized its behind-Boston routes and American its presence in Paris as the carriers boosted their own proposals and critiqued the other's in the battle for Paris-Boston authority.
Southwest will launch nonstop service June 18 to Tampa from Columbus, Louisville and Indianapolis. It also intends to add a second daily roundtrip between Tampa and Fort Lauderdale on that date. With a 14-day advance purchase, flights will cost $78 one way to Louisville, $77 to Columbus and $87 to Indianapolis. The new flights will increase Southwest's daily departures at Tampa to 23.
Swissair ordered three A319s and two A320s for delivery in 1997, Airbus said. The latest order brings the number of Airbus single-aisle aircraft to be operated by Swissair to eight A319s, 18 A320s and six A321s. The carrier also operates A310s.
USAir will establish jet service between Greenbrier-Lewisburg, W. Va., and New York LaGuardia Airport on May 4. The flights will be offered through Nov. 3 under a joint marketing agreement between USAir and The Greenbrier Resort Management Co. The carrier will operate three times per week in the market, using a 111-seat 737-200. USAir Express operates three daily nonstop flights between Greenbrier-Lewisburg and Charlotte, N.C., Pittsburgh and Washington National Airport.
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. flew 44.5 million revenue passenger miles last month, an increase of 17% over the March 1995 level. Capacity increased 17.3% to 84.7 million, however, so the carrier's load factor slipped 0.2 percentage points to 52.5%. Air Wisconsin enplaned 163,419 passengers during the month, an increase of 16.7%. For the first quarter, traffic was up 18.5% on 27% more capacity, and the load factor dropped 3.4 points to 47.5%. The carrier enplaned 441,022 passengers during the quarter, an increase of 8.5%.
Air South has asked DOT for an exemption from the high-density rule to obtain slots at New York Kennedy Airport for low-fare service between South Carolina and New York. "The combination of expanded South Carolina-JFK service and low-fare price competition supports the necessary public interest finding, under circumstances the Secretary must find are exceptional, to satisfy the decisional standard for the grant of an exemption to a new-entrant air carrier," said Air South. The carrier plans to operate services to Kennedy from Charleston, Columbia and Myrtle Beach.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena will not begin his trip to South America, planned this week, until he has attended memorial services for Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown. The trip has been scheduled to begin today and end Friday. Pena will meet with Latin American transport ministers in Chile.
Startup airlines pay up to five times more for insurance than the major carriers, measured as a percentage of revenues, according to Morten Beyer Associates. For example, data from DOT Form 41 reports show that 5.8% of Western Pacific's revenue buys insurance, while Northwest pays 0.83%.
Seventeen FAA notices of proposed rulemaking initiated since 1992 were reviewed by the Office of Science and Technology Policy for an average of 136 days, according to a panel looking at ways to improve the agency's responsiveness.The longest review took 477 days. The current rulemaking process allocates 120 days for review by both OSTP and the Office of Management and Budget, and FAA itself adds "significantly" to delays with multiple reviews, "several of them repetitive," the panel says.
Issued an AD on Beech 125-100A and Hawker 1000 aircraft requiring inspection for chafing damage to the hydraulic pipes adjacent to the hydraulic module. Issued an AD on certain Boeing 747- 100/200/300 aircraft requiring inspection of hinge bolts and nuts in the overhead stowage bins. Proposed an AD on certain Dornier 328 aircraft to require replacing a bus power control unit and two generator control units. Proposed an AD on Fokker F28 aircraft to require modifying the passenger door lock warning system.
South African Airways applied for authority to operate scheduled combination service between Johannesburg and Cape Town, on the one hand, and Atlanta, on the other, during the 1996 Olympic Games. Beginning on or about June 30 and ending on or about Aug. 6, SAA proposes to operate roundtrip flights, using Boeing 747-400 aircraft, between the points as continuations of its regular scheduled flights between South Africa and New York and Miami.
Issued special conditions on IAI Galaxy aircraft. Issued an AD on Boeing 747-400, 757 and 767 aircraft concerning monitoring messages on impending engine fuel filter bypass...Proposed special conditions on the Embraer EMB-145 aircraft.
An FAA panel is calling for a three-year overhaul of the agency's regulation and certification activities, including greater self-regulation for some air carriers and manufacturers with proven safety records. Booz, Allen&Hamilton, which worked closely with FAA's Challenge 2000 Senior Executive Panel, prepared a report that also calls for "redesigning" the rulemaking process and "resizing and restructuring" the Office of Regulation and Certification (AVR), headed by FAA Associate Administrator Anthony Broderick.
Air cargo traffic increased 5.1% in February compared with the same month last year, according to the Air Transport Association. In January, cargo traffic declined nearly 1%.
Tower Air has shifted its transcontinental flights to Oakland Airport from San Francisco. The carrier is operating twice-weekly 747 service from New York Kennedy. Later this spring, it will increase frequencies in the market to four per week. Plans for daily service are set for the end of June.
U.S. Certificated Air Carriers Authorized Since 1989 Year Carrier Size* Type of Service Currently Operating 1989 Carnival Air Lines Large Scheduled 1989 Casino Air Lines Large Charter 1989 Kitty Hawk Air Cargo Large Cargo 1989 North American Large Charter 1990 Loken Aviation Small Scheduled
Delta recalled 62 pilots recently, bringing the number it has put back to work this year to 130. If members of Delta's Air Line Pilots Association unit approve their tentative labor agreement with the company, the 60 pilots remaining on furlough will be back to work Aug. 1, Delta said. The latest group of recalled pilots started returning to the cockpit last week.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley has joined the chorus calling for U.S.-Japan passenger talks. In a letter to President Clinton, Daley said the market is not as imbalanced as many believe, maintaining that "the U.S. carriers' share of the key Tokyo market is closer to 55% than the widely accepted 65%, and shares for Japanese carriers are correspondingly higher."
The machinists' strike at Boeing and greater-than-usual deliveries to domestic airlines caused the U.S. aerospace industry trade balance to fall in 1995 by 14%, or $3.4 billion, an Aerospace Industries Association official said yesterday. However, the U.S. still posted a positive aerospace balance for the year, $21.6 billion, and David Napier, statistical manager for AIA, said he does not expect a similar decline in 1996.
Minneapolis-based MarketLink has installed an automated flight information system for AirTran Airways that enables its customers to telephone for arrival and departure information. Callers in the past often had to wait for a reservations agent to handle their inquiry. The system uses OneLink interactive communications technology designed for easy updates.
KLM's traffic increased 11% last month, compared with March 1995, on 12% more capacity. The carrier flew 731.8 million revenue ton kilometers in March on capacity of 969.3 million available ton kilometers. The load factor for the period dropped one percentage point to 75.5%. KLM's passenger traffic grew 15% on 9% more capacity -- it flew 4.04 billion revenue passenger kilometers on capacity of 5.19 billion available seat kilometers. The passenger load factor for the month was 78%, an increase of 4.7 percentage points.
Canadian Airlines International and the Machinists union (IAM) have reached a tentative contract agreement that will save the carrier C$34 million (US$25 million) a year and give workers job security. The union, Canadian's largest, represents 5,000 maintenance, airport, cargo and clerical workers. Canadian said the pact meets a 17% savings target the carrier set last year for all its new collective bargaining agreements. The union said the deal does not involve pay cuts, and savings will come from productivity increases.
New Aircraft Orders and Options January 1996 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Dates # Type # Type Air Seych* 1 767-300ER - CF6-80C2 Nov 96 - - Delta 12 767-300ER - TBA 97 - 98 - -
