FAA employees' concerns over the future of their collective bargaining rights may prompt the House and the Senate to pass versions of their FAA reform bills (H.R.2276, S.1239) before the April 1 deadline for new FAA personnel and procurement systems. FAA unions are pushing Congress to clarify the provisions of the fiscal 1996 DOT appropriations act that require FAA to develop a new personnel system. Employees are pressing for limits on the broad exemption contained in the appropriations measure.
CCAIR's capacity dropped 8.8% last month to 23.5 million available seat miles, as revenue passenger miles fell just 2.2% to 9.6 million. As a result, load factor rose 2.7 percentage points to 41%.
The Japanese government and Japan Air Commuter, a commercial carrier, placed orders for four Saab 340 aircraft from the Swedish manufacturer. Japan Air Commuter placed an order for two Saab 340B Plus aircraft, boosting its firm commitments for the advanced technology regional airliners to 10. Deliveries of the new aircraft will be this July and July 1997. The Japan Maritime Safety Agency (JMSA), that nation's Coast Guard, ordered two Saab 340 SAR-200s to replace older SAR aircraft it has been operating. The new Saabs will be delivered in 1997.
Delta has invited its North American SkyMiles members to take part in a mileage auction to win an 11-day cruise tour for two on Renaissance Cruises. The vacation includes a five-day cruise from Athens to Barcelona, roundtrip air fare in business class and a two-night hotel stay before and after the cruise in Athens and Barcelona. Members must bid at least 200,000 miles to be considered.
A U.S. district judge has ruled that a New York couple may sue American for fraud and negligent misrepresentation because they did not receive a piece of lost baggage for eight days despite the airline's alleged assertion earlier that the bag had been found and would be delivered. The couple also argued that items were missing from the bag when it was delivered, and the $500,000 lawsuit also sought damages for emotional distress and interruption and ruination of their honeymoon.
Jonathan Ornstein, former president of Continental Express and executive VP of Mesa Air Group, will become chief executive of Virgin Europe, a new low-fare carrier based in Brussels. City Hotels S.A. of that city has agreed to sell 80% of its 51% stake in Eurobelgian Airlines (EBA), a November low-fare startup, to Virgin Atlantic principal Richard Branson and Continental Chairman David Bonderman. NEI, a Luxembourg financial holding company, has agreed to sell 80% its 49% stake in the carrier as well...
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee Third Quarter 1995, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total Airline (000) (000) Employees Alaska 347,695 291,855 6,477 Aloha 58,722 59,198 2,065
Federal Express on May 4 will launch customs-cleared, door-to-door delivery service by 8 a.m. to the U.S. from 18 countries. Called FedEx International First, the service will be available to nearly 5,000 U.S. zip codes.
Low-fare Northern Airlines plans to begin scheduled service out of Syracuse in the third quarter with 80-passenger Fokker 28-Mk.4000s. The carrier, being launched by a group that includes former Empire Airlines/Piedmont executives, initially will serve Boston, Buffalo, Cleveland, Columbus, Hartford/Springfield and slot-controlled New York- LaGuardia under federal rules governing new-entrant carriers.
FAA dedicated a terminal Doppler weather radar at National Airport, the 10th operational system of 45 planned installations. DOT Secretary Federico Pena said the new radar "virtually eliminates the threat of undetected, deadly windshears" and will enable air traffic controllers to "pinpoint them in arrival and departure corridors around airports." He said windshear is the "No. 1 killer of airline passengers - over 575 deaths since 1970." Such deaths are "preventable," he said.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association are expressing concern about what they say is a draft plan by FAA to decommission primary long-range radar at many of the nation's air traffic control centers. FAA is making a "fatally flawed" mistake with its plan to deactivate the radars, according to Phil Boyer, AOPA President.
American is investing $400 million to improve its international Business Class service on Flagship Service flights to Europe, Latin America and Japan. The changes, planned to be completed in less than four months, range from more comfortable seating to flexible meal and entertainment options. Seat pitch will expand to an average of 50 inches from 40 inches, and seats will recline farther.
British Tourist Authority is using famous movie locations to attract tourists by publishing the Vauxhall Movie Map with 80 film and TV locations in Britain. The guide includes locations used to shoot movies such as "Four Weddings and A Funeral," "Braveheart" and "First Knight." The map is sponsored by Vauxhall Motors.
Rockwell International said it will lead a team to conduct a "first of its kind" satellite-based air traffic management demonstration March 17-19 in Xi'an, China, under the auspices of the Northwest Region of the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
U.S. Major Carriers Productivity, In RPMs and ASMs Per Employee Third Quarter 1995 Revenue Available Passenger Seat Miles Miles Total Airline (000) (000) Employees America West 3,577,536 5,009,583 10,698 American 27,770,713 40,333,746 86,244
DOT granted authority to Czech Airlines (CSA) and Continental to operate code-share service between the Czech Republic and the U.S. Continental will display its code on four weekly CSA flights between Prague and Newark, and CSA will put its code on Continental and Continental Express flights between Newark and Cleveland, Chicago and Washington, beginning March 31 (DAILY, Jan. 3). On June 1, the carriers plan to extend code-share service from Newark to Atlanta, Boston, Denver, Detroit, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Orlando, Miami, Minneapolis/St.
TWA has begun training its first class of new-hire flight attendants in two years. The 20 trainees are the first of what could total 750 new flight attendants the carrier plans to hire this year. Planning to increase flying by as much as 7% in 1996, TWA also expects to hire more than 300 pilots and 1,300 reservations sales agents (DAILY, Jan. 29). Many of the new hires will fill vacant positions, said Chuck Thibaudeau, senior VP- employee relations. TWA also will recruit ticket agents and ground service personnel.
Global Aviation, working with China Southern Airlines and Bombardier, said yesterday it will "introduce the first western-style executive air charter service to operate from a base in China." Its fleet, comprising Bombardier business jets built by Learjet and Canadair, is scheduled to enter service Feb. 12 from its new fixed-base operation in Zhuhai, near Hong Kong and Macau. Global Aviation and CSA will operate two Learjet 31As, a Learjet 35A and 36A and a Challenger 601, and a Learjet 55 will be added soon.
Southwest's traffic grew 4.1% last month, compared with January 1994, on an 11.9% increase in capacity. The jump in available seat miles pushed its load factor down 4.1 points to 53.7%. Southwest attributed the drop to severe winter weather and noted that "yield and overall revenue growth were strong and in line with expectations." The number of passengers carried was up 6.9% and the number of flights rose 8.1% to 59,896. January 1996 January 1995 Rev. Passenger Miles 1,731,955,000 1,663,424,000
A seminar on business on the Internet will be sponsored by the American Society of Travel Agents in St. Louis April 27. The seminar is free, ASTA said, because "every travel agent must ultimately be active participants online in order to succeed, and ASTA wants to forcefully meet that need."
Air Travel Card has published the Business Travel Airport Directory, which guides travelers to airport business centers and airport clubs. The directory lists business services available at the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. It includes the size of conference rooms, facsimile services, computer and secretarial services, photocopy services, currency exchange, overnight delivery services and notary public services. Copies of the directory are free while supplies last. To receive a copy, call 1-800-222- 4688. Additional copies can be obtained for a fee.
American's authority to operate scheduled service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Paris was renewed by DOT. The carrier currently offers one roundtrip a day, using 215-seat Boeing 767 aircraft. American also gained renewal of its authority to operate DFW-Sao Paulo, Brazil service. (Dockets OST-95- 928&OST-95-849)
Delta is beginning to look a little like its lowest-cost competitor - from some cities, at least. When it begins daily nonstops from Las Vegas to Kansas City, New Orleans and Calgary this spring, it will offer fares of $69 each way. Flights to New York, Boston and Orlando from Las Vegas will cost $79. The fares are introductory and require no advance purchase. Delta also announced new weekend flights between Boston and Fort Myers for $89 each way.
Continental Micronesia received authority from DOT to integrate its Guam- Indonesia and Guam-Palau authorities, enabling the carrier to operate flights on a routing of Guam-Palau-Denpasar, Indonesia. The carrier requested the integration because it wants to carry passengers and cargo in the Guam-Palau market on its Guam-Denpasar flights. (Docket OST-95-808)
DOT approved application of Evergreen International Airlines and Federal Express, renewing for six months Evergreen's authority to operate all-cargo service between the U.S. and China. Since FedEx acquired Evergreen's China route authority last year, Evergreen has operated the service pending Chinese government approval of FedEx operations and FedEx's readiness to begin service. FedEx said last month it plans to begin serving China in March after getting authority to operate the service last month from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
