Airbus Industrie has developed a modification of the autopilots on A300- 600s and A310s that gives pilots a third way to disengage the autopilot below 400 feet in all flight modes. An Airbus spokesman described the modification as a program of "continuous enhancement of inflight safety" that Airbus maintains on its aircraft. Airbus said airworthiness authorities have approved the modifications, and it is sending its customers a service bulletin that will enable them to make the adjustments themselves.
Yet another organization, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, is expressing doubt about how FAA documents its proposed rules. Proposing a rule that could cost operators of 46,000 Textron Lycoming engines more than $1 billion, FAA cites an accident and 10 service difficulty reports, but internal agency documents show only five service difficulty reports, according to AOPA. Earlier, the Air Transport Association questioned information FAA says it gathered for a new rule on pilot flight and duty time.
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American and Continental pressed their competition for new U.S.-Lima service in briefs to DOT last week. The carriers seek seven new weekly frequencies available for scheduled service between Lima, Peru, and a point in the U.S. other than Miami or Fort Lauderdale, effective Nov. 1. American proposes daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Lima and Continental daily Houston-Lima service. Both airlines would operate single-plane one-stop service to Los Angeles using 757s.
Air Transport Association, which vehemently opposed international overflight fees imposed last year by Canada, is silent on imposing similar fees in the U.S., cited as probable last week by DOT Secretary Federico Pena.Some airlines, such as American, Northwest and Delta, are said to favor some form of user fee while others, such as Southwest and ValuJet, want a return to the ticket tax.
U.S. and Poland initialed amendments to their air services agreement Friday, expanding route rights and approving code sharing between Polish and U.S. airlines beginning Nov. 1, with some limits on frequencies and the number of carriers involved.
Indian Airlines has begun flying from Calicut, India, to Doha, Qatar, and Manama, Bahrain. The flights, begun March 6, are being flown with A320 aircraft three times per week. With Doha and Manama as new destinations, the carrier now serves 17 international points. Indian operates 10 A300s, 30 A320s and 14 737s.
DOT has renewed for one year the authority of United and Lufthansa to conduct operations under their code-share and blocked-space accord. (Docket OST-95-369)
Hawaiian Airlines will boost its weekly service this summer between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Pago Pago, American Samoa, to three flights per week from the current two. The increase is a response to a request by the American Samoa government to accommodate greater demand during holiday travel periods. "There are indications the market can now support a third flight during the peak season," said Bruce Nobles, Hawaiian's president and chief executive. The carrier will offer the extra flights from June 3 to Aug. 30 and from Dec. 9 to Jan. 10, 1997.
Midway Airlines is returning to lessors four A320s it used for Caribbean service during the winter. Chief Financial Officer Steven Westberg said the airline was happy with the aircraft, which worked well for it at the time, but it is really an F100 operator. The carrier now has 12 F100s and one A320. Westberg said that despite the rough winter, the airline is "doing great, our loads are strong and we have cash in the bank."
Jet Express will fly to Savannah, Ga.-Hilton Head Island this spring with low fares. Flights to the resort area, host of the Olympic Games yachting venue, will cost $59 one way May 16 through June 16 from Newark and as little as $69 one way from Baltimore/Washington and Chicago Midway. Jet Express and its parent, World Technology Systems, have been offering nonstops to Myrtle Beach, S.C., since February 1995. The carrier does not require a Saturday night stay or an advance purchase, and it pays travel agents a 10% commission.
Container freight is piling up at gateway cities due to increasing U.S. exports, and the backlog continues to build, Jeff Massey, manager of marketing and sales for Kintetsu World Express USA told The DAILY yesterday. Massey said the air freight forwarding industry is under pressure to move the goods, but lift is not available on a timely basis. Traditionally, after the first of the year, there is a slump in demand, he said. "Our industry is going crazy, and we cannot get space on aircraft to major destinations," Massey said. "Exports from the U.S.
Federal Bar Association's Transportation Law Section will present a luncheon and discussion on practicing transportation law on the Internet March 27. Panelists include Neil Eisner, DOT assistant general counsel; Henry Perritt Jr., professor of law, Villanova Law School, and Eleanor Kerlow, executive editor, Counsel Connect. The event will be held at noon at the Federal Bar Building, third floor; 1815 H St. N.W., Washington, D.C. For more information, call Melissa Sheldon at 202-632-0252 or E-mail [email protected].
Northwest Airlines Corp. and Northwest Airlines Inc. filed an S-3 shelf registration covering $350 million of equipment trust and pass-through certificates. The carrier said it is trying to increase its overall financial flexibility with respect to 757s to be delivered this year and other related aircraft financing. The two Northwest companies have an existing shelf registration statement covering $400 million of debt and equity securities, including equipment trust and pass-through certificates.
Worldspan, which increased its customer locations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by 17% and added 70 staff members in the past year, plans further expansion. It will open an office in Romania this summer, adding to recently opened facilities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Neil Beck, VP- international, said, "We are now bidding for business in Saudi Arabia and are making progress in pursuing business opportunities." Worldspan will move into larger offices in Frankfurt this summer to support 160 additional customer locations acquired in the past year.
TWAExpress affiliate Trans State's intention to drop its service at Forney Air Field, which serves Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., has drawn objections from the U.S. Army's garrison commander there, who said in a letter to DOT that the service is "essential" and that Trans States should be held in at the point until a replacement carrier is found. (Docket OST-96-1167)
Air Canada will upgrade its Calgary-Edmonton service to jet aircraft June 1, operating its Rapidair service 17 times per day in each direction using a mix of CL-65 jets, BAe 146s and de Havilland Dash 8s. Air Canada's regional partner, Air BC, previously operated flights between the two cities. One-way Air Canada fares start at $29, and to launch the service, the carrier will offer double mileage through July 15.
AEI said it has formed a joint venture with Saudi conglomerate NESMA Group to offer a specialized form of international logistics - "project forwarding." Namma Cargo Services, a division of the NESMA Group, has been operating a project division for 11 years. The division, Falcon Express, handled project cargo assignments worldwide, drawing most of its business from the Middle East. AEI recently purchased a 50% stake in Falcon Express.
In a move it expects to increase revenues by $13 million this year and twice as much in 1997, TWA has launched a "virtual offices" program in an attempt to increase the productivity of its sales staff and improve customer service. The virtual office - SOAR, for Sales Office Automation Resources - will involve the loss of only a handful of jobs, a spokesman said. TWA VP-Domestic Sales Jan Wood said the idea is to make sales agents a mobile force that can work from personal computers at home or face to face at a travel agency. All 50 TWA sales offices in the U.S.
Virgin Atlantic Airways has implemented Direct Availability participation in the Abacus computer reservations system. Through Direct Availability, launched last year, travel agents' general availability displays will show real-time flight status and seat counts from Virgin's reservations system, and Virgin will be able to control the seats it wants to sell to specific travel agents. Abacus said the latter feature enables an airline to improve its yield management control.
U.S. and European Code-Share Agreements As of First Quarter 1996 Type 1* Code-Share Agreements U.S. Carrier Foreign Carrier American Canadian International American Gulf Air American Qantas Carnival Iberia Carnival AeroPeru Carnival LADECO Continental Alitalia Continental SAS Delta Singapore
Proposed airports in Peotone, Ill., and Southern Virginia "have much in common with projects like the space station Freedom and the superconducting supercollider," Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett told airport executives.
Fortis Aviation, continuing its marketing program for TAP Air Portugal aircraft, placed a TAP L-1011-500 on lease with Caribjet. TAP is phasing out its five trijets with the introduction of the A340-300. Fortis said one aircraft is on lease to TAAG-Angola Airlines and another will be returned soon off lease by BWIA. While the aircraft are on the market, TAP is operating them on charter flights this spring and summer.
