Latest joke among aviation industry operatives in Washington is that FAA has a new acronym - ALPA. The pilot union scored big on its agenda for "one level of safety" in the new computer safety rule and in the proposed flight- and duty-time rule as well. With the administration virtually unyielding about industry concerns as a result of these rules, some are wondering whether this is political payback time.
Frontier Airlines has appointed Tom Allee director of sales and marketing, a new position. Allee has held senior marketing and sales positions with Continental, Continental Express, Britt Airways and Rocky Mountain Airways.
SAS is leasing a 747-200F aircraft from Atlas Air and will put it into service in March between the U.S. and Scandinavia. "We need a substantially increased cargo capacity to be able to serve the North American market in a satisfactory way," said Jarl Frithiof, head of SAS cargo operations in North America. With the new capacity, SAS thinks it will be able to increase the 558 ton kilometers of cargo it transported in 1994 to 800 million.
Relationship between Federal Express and its Air Line Pilots Association unit became more acrimonious this week when ALPA asked the company to put its final offer in writing for a vote by its members. ALPA said it offered to agree to a comprehensive process with a third party to end the labor dispute within 60 days, but after FedEx met with the National Mediation Board last Friday, the company rejected the offer on Monday. "The company has refused to budge from its position that it cannot afford to go beyond its current offer.
Atlantic Southeast was hammered on Wall Street Wednesday, losing $3.31 per share to close at $22.10 following reports in the financial press that it stood to lose as a result of senior partner Delta's lower pilot pay scale for short-haul flying. "Knee-jerk reaction," said one analyst. Another called the Delta move a new 'B' scale for pilots, suggesting Delta will simply acquire additional capacity for existing short-haul routes that can support it, and add frequency.
Air 21, a low-fare, no-frills startup carrier, began scheduled service Wednesday from its Fresno, Calif., base after receiving FAA operating authority on Monday. Using a fleet of two 68-seat F28s, it will initially operate Fresno-San Francisco, San Francisco-Palm Springs, Palm Springs-Las Vegas and Las Vegas-Fresno flights. In "a couple of days," Air 21 will announce plans to serve more points, including Los Angeles, Mark Morro, chairman, president and chief executive, told The DAILY.
Canadian Airlines International said yesterday its net loss for 1995 may reach C$195 million (US$142.6 million), more than 20% greater than its previous forecast of C$160 million (US$117.0 million). "These adjustments are significant, but they should not obscure the operational progress made in the last few months," CEO Kevin Jenkins said in an attempt to play down the news. Jenkins noted that Canadian's cash position is ahead of forecast and advance bookings are substantially ahead of last year.
St. Maarten's 27th annual Carnival, which celebrates native culture with parades, calypso competitions, reggae music and Latin shows, begins April 16. Michael Ferrier, president of the foundation sponsoring the event, said, "Carnival is a tribute to all that is Caribbean." The festivities coincide with a 30%-70% reduction in hotel rates that jump-start the summer season. The celebration on the Dutch-controlled island traditionally peaks on April 30 in honor of the birthday of Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands.
Winter travelers prefer beaches and cruises to cold-weather destinations, according to a survey of travel agents conducted by the American Society of Travel Agents. Of the 425 agents surveyed, 20.9% said bookings to traditional ski/snow destinations are up over last year, 56.9% said they are about the same, and 17.9% said they are decreasing. When asked to compare 1995 bookings to sun destinations with last year's, 34.4% said bookings have increased, 46.8% said they are steady, and 14.6% said they have declined.
Moody's has upgraded its long-term senior unsecured ratings of Northwest Airlines Inc. to Ba2 from B1 and the senior unsecured rating of its parent, NWA Inc., to B1 from B2. The move was precipitated by the airline's new term loan, enabling it to pay down debt. Standard&Poor's also upgraded the carrier's rating (DAILY, Dec. 19).
Northwest's Machinists union unit voiced opposition this week to a new airport to replace Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport, saying the airline might consider moving to a less costly facility elsewhere. "Moving the airport to a new location could put our members' jobs at risk," said Marvin Sandrin, president of Machinists District 143. Northwest might consider moving to available facilities outside the state, such as a closed U.S. Air Force base.
FAA approved yesterday a Boeing/General Electric plan to modify fan tip clearances on GE90 turbofans powering 777 widebody twins due for delivery to British Airways, and program executives hope to have the aircraft ready to go by the end of the week. Boeing, GE and BA engineers and managers met this week to decide whether to go ahead with the modification - prompted by a severe surge during a BA 777 acceptance flight - as a way to expedite the delivery, already delayed, of the carrier's second and third aircraft (DAILY, Dec. 20).
South African Airways has re-established scheduled service between Johannesburg and Buenos Aires, Argentina, offering one flight a week in the market via Sao Paulo, Brazil. With the new service, the carrier will operate two flights per week to Sao Paulo and one per week to Rio de Janeiro. SAA originally established scheduled service to Buenos Aires in 1973 but abandoned the route in 1985.
Major sporting events such as the Olympic Games invariably boost a region's drawing power for tourists, a trend Super Bowl XXX will bring to Arizona. With the announcement last week that America West has been chosen as the official airline of the Super Bowl, to be held at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz., Jan. 28, John Garel, senior VP-marketing and sales for the carrier, said America West will promote the Valley of the Sun as an excellent location for major national events.
Nordam Group said it opened a repair facility near Singapore Changi Airport for customers in the Asia/Pacific region, equipped to "provide the highest quality in reverser repair." Nordam President Charles Ryan said turnaround times can range up to 90 days when repairs are shipped from the region to the U.S. The facility offers reverser repair and spare support programs for the CF6-50, CF6-80, CFM56-3 and PW4000. Actuator and gearbox repairs also are available, he said.
Southwest plans to begin service April 7 in the Houston-Las Vegas and San Antonio-Los Angeles markets. Advance purchase fares between Houston and Las Vegas will be $79 one way, and the regular fare will be $239. Full fare for San Antonio-Los Angeles will be $224, or $99 with advance purchase. Southwest will add capacity, also on April 7, between Las Vegas and Reno/San Diego, Houston and Dallas, Austin and Phoenix, and New Orleans and Tampa.
Delta's Electronic Lexicon and Visual Information System (ELVIS) will save the carrier as much as $1 million a year by cross-referencing part numbers for electrical connectors. This will cut the time it takes to locate aircraft part and repair information. Delta estimates that it wasted $572,000 in flight delay costs because of the time it took to locate correct electrical connectors, and $589,000 in staff hours spent searching for the correct connectors and repair procedures. ELVIS is an easy system to operate and can be updated quickly.
FAA will begin drawing down the $5 billion in the Airport&Airway Trust Fund Jan. 1 for its operations if a budget reconciliation package is not passed this year, Deputy Administrator Linda Daschle said yesterday in Washington. Without legislation, authority to levy four user taxes that now bring in $6 billion a year - the 10% passenger ticket tax, the taxes on jet fuel and avgas, the waybill tax and the $16 international departure tax - will expire Dec. 31.
America West Vacations is offering vacation packages on Continental to Tampa and Orlando from Boston, Houston and Newark. The tour division of America West also is marketing packages from Cleveland to Las Vegas in conjunction with Continental under the two airlines' marketing agreement. All packages include roundtrip air, hotel accommodations, express document delivery, airport passenger facility charges and optional Avis rental cars.
All Nippon Airways said yesterday it has selected Pratt&Whitney's PW4090 engine for its 777-300 and the IAE V2530 for its A321 aircraft. Value of the orders is $400 million. Both types of aircraft will join ANA's fleet in 1998. The 10 stretched 777s, which seat up to 480 passengers, will replace older 747s on international routes. ANA has 10 of the 200-seat A321s on firm order.
America West said it strongly supports British Airways' application for authority to operate scheduled combination service between London and Phoenix. BA plans daily DC-10 service over the London-Phoenix-San Diego routing, beginning July 1 (DAILY, Dec. 7). "The initiation of nonstop service between Europe and Phoenix will provide enormous benefits to the southwestern United States, particularly when this service is considered in the context of America West's extensive operation at its Phoenix hub," the U.S. carrier said.
ValuJet has appointed Robert Zoller VP-technical operations, a newly created position. He will oversee engineering, line maintenance, quality assurance, production control, maintenance control, maintenance contracts and material services. Zoller worked most recently as VP-operations at AMR Eagle, and he previously was VP-operations for Wings West. He started his career at Pacific Southwest Airlines.
Airlines are "anxiously awaiting" word whether to reprogram computer reservations systems so user taxes will not be collected if the budget impasse continues and the taxes are not extended, according to the Air Transport Association. "It's a complicated task that cannot be done overnight," ATA said. For passengers who have already paid for travel next year, including the ticket tax, ATA says airlines can provide a refund or "simply refer the customer to the government."
Aeromexico has requested authority to operate scheduled combination service between Hermosillo, Mexico, and Los Angeles. Asking for a one-year exemption, the carrier said it plans to begin daily MD-88 service Jan. 15. It also plans to serve San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, as a behind-gateway point. It told DOT its proposal would provide the first nonstop service in the market to compete with Aero California, which operates one daily roundtrip. (Docket OST-95-943)
