General Aviation Administration of China, FAA, the U.S. Commerce Department and several other organizations are sponsoring a China-U.S. Airport Development and Management Seminar March 10-14 in Schenzhen, China. Senior managers of China's major airports are expected to attend and discuss near- term and long-term airport improvement plans. Attendees will have an opportunity to set up one-on-one meetings with Chinese airport officials.
BFGoodrich Aerospace Landing Gear Services Division said it has obtained contracts valued at $34 million for landing gear exchange, overhaul and support from four airlines - Thai Airways, China Air Lines, BWIA and America West. The contract with America West comes in addition to the carrier's assigning its fleet heavy maintenance to BFGoodrich on Dec. 2.
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors Nationals and Large Regionals November 1994 - October 1995 Total Total Cost Gallons (Dollars) 1994 November Domestic 1,028,586,664 585,805,134 International 348,209,948 223,078,197 System Total 1,376,796,612 808,883,331
The air courier express industry is expected to reach revenues of $40 billion this year, compared with $36.4 billion in 1994 and $30.4 billion in 1993, according to a survey conducted by the Air Courier Conference. Total number of employees and independent contractors rose from 469,200 in 1993 to 514,092 in 1994, while the number of vehicles grew from 227,000 to more than 230,000 during the period.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Aerospace, will sponsor a trade mission April 2-10 to Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey, and Cairo, Egypt. Ellis Mottur, deputy assistant secretary of commerce for technology and aerospace industries, will lead the mission, which will include one-on-one appointments with government and industry officials and site tours of aviation facilities. For more information, call Audrey Smerkanich, Office of Aerospace, at 202-482-6235.
James Tarrant, deputy assistant secretary of state for transportation affairs, will leave his post early next year and be replaced by his current second in command, Special Negotiator Joel Spiro. Serving in his current position for four years, Tarrant was the lead negotiator in several negotiations, including the U.K. talks. He will teach courses in political science and aviation at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C.
Western Express has applied for authority to operate charter all-cargo service between any point or points in Canada and any point or points in the U.S. Initially, the carrier plans to operate flights between Vancouver and Seattle. The Vancouver-based carrier, which operates one Metro II and one Fairchild F27, is acquiring and leasing additional Metro aircraft. Western Express said it signed contracts in November 1995 with United Parcel Service and is in the process of dealing with other courier companies. (Docket OST-95-925)
Of 3,000 comments FAA received on the commuter rule, due tomorrow, about 2,500 came from Part 121 pilots asking that the Age 60 rule not be changed, according to Katherine Hakala, manager of FAA's commuter/air taxi branch. Most opposition to bringing 10- to 19-seat aircraft up to Part 121 standards came from Alaska and Grand Canyon tour operators, she said.
Surging domestic operations fueled third quarter gains for U.S. passenger carriers, according to DOT's Airline Quarterly Financial Review, issued last week. For the domestic operations of the 11 major U.S. carriers, operating revenues were up $626.2 million and net results $307.5 million from the same period last year. On the international front, the Latin market was the only division to record reductions in operating and/or net results during the third quarter.
Alaska Airlines and Smiths Industries Aerospace have successfully completed the first operational validation flights using Required Navigation Performance/Actual Navigation Performance (RNP/ANP) methodology in Juneau, Alaska. Smiths said the flights demonstrated that dual Flight Management Computer Systems (FMCS) integrated with dual Global Positioning Systems (GPS) can safely improve access to difficult terrain locations. The new arrival and departure routes and approaches during low visibility use RNP/ANP capability provided by the Smiths FMCS.
DOT has turned down British Airways' request for expedited treatment of its application for authority to operate scheduled combination service between London and Phoenix, Ariz. Planning to operate daily DC-10 service over the London-Phoenix-San Diego routing beginning July 1, 1996, the carrier asked that authority be granted on or before Dec. 15 so that it can begin marketing and sales activities for the service before the Christmas holiday period. The request spurred opposition from TWA, which said the date proposed by BA did not allow enough time for response.
Mexicana has signed up for Sita's Airfare database and pricing system, which computes fares for the airline electronically and distributes Mexicana pricing information to computer reservations systems worldwide. Implementation will occur in three phases, and the system is slated to become fully operational in the first quarter of 1996. Earlier this year, Mexicana contracted with Sita for the company's WorldTracer service, which tracks misrouted baggage.
Airlines costs at El Paso Airport are rising sharply because for many years carriers "enjoyed the benefits of substantial subsidies from non- aeronautical sources and have not paid their full share of the costs" of maintenance and use of the airport, El Paso Mayor Larry Francis told Southwest Airlines. The airport's fees were increased Nov. 1 by 327% following a recently imposed city ordinance, causing Southwest to cut back on flights, starting April 7, continuing in the fall and eventually leaving 44 daily jet departures (DAILY, Dec. 12).
Virgin Atlantic Airways has asked for authority to begin sales and promotions and perform scheduled combination services between London Heathrow and Washington Dulles Airport and between Manchester, U.K., and Orlando, Fla. The carrier plans to operate daily nonstop roundtrip London- Washington service, using Airbus A340-300 aircraft configured for 253 passengers and six-times-per-week Manchester-Orlando service, using an A340-300 configured for 330 passengers. Virgin plans to begin both services May 17, 1996.
Companies need to consider controlling their travel budgets more tightly next year and booking trips further in advance as airline and hotel costs escalate, American Express advised yesterday. In its 1996 travel trends and forecast report, the company said business travel and entertainment costs are predicted to increase by as much as $6 billion next year, or 3%- 4%. A capacity crunch for hotels and airlines is driving costs up, according to Ed Gilligan, executive VP-travel management services group.
Spirit Airlines will begin offering flights from Detroit Metropolitan Airport to Philadelphia Friday for $49 to $89 each way. Tickets can be purchased at those rates until the day of travel. Also on Friday, Spirit will inaugurate service from Philadelphia to West Palm Beach.
Boeing's Machinists union members will vote today on a four-year contract proposal that, if ratified, could put 32,000 striking employees back to work tomorrow with the highest pay in aerospace. The proposal appears to offer the employees much of what they asked for regarding job security and health care benefits, and its pay raises will bring the average wage to $23 an hour, the highest in the industry, the union said.
USAir will hold two more of its Fearful Flyers programs next month - at Southwest Florida Airport in Fort Myers Jan. 10 and at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport beginning Jan. 11. The five-week course for people who are afraid to fly covers psychological factors and the mechanics of flying. The course costs $325, and USAir said it has a 95% success rate. The fee pays for course materials, instructor fees and fuel for the graduation flight.
It probably will be a lot lonelier at the top next year at British Airways. The airline is expected to unveil a streamlined management structure, possibly as early as today, in which fewer top officers will report directly to CEO-designate Robert Ayling when he takes the helm Jan. 1. As many as 25 BA officers currently report to CEO Colin Marshall.
United has committed $1.8 million, the largest corporate contribution to date, to establish a new Denver aquarium. The $75 million project to build Colorado's Ocean Journey is scheduled to open in 1998. United also will support educational programs that focus on inner-city youth in Denver and in other cities.
Clarification: Two 777 aircraft that Boeing used for testing and plans to deliver to United in February and March - sooner than scheduled - have always been destined for United. An item in The DAILY Dec. 11 erroneously stated Boeing was using the aircraft to compensate United for delayed deliveries.
AAR Corp. said yesterday that net income for its second quarter, which ended Nov. 30, jumped 78.6% to $3.7 million from $2.1 million in the same period last year. Net sales rose 22% to $121.3 million from $99.4 million. For the first half of the fiscal year, net income jumped 71.8% to $6.9 million from $4.03 million while net sales increased 17.4% to $230.9 million from $196.6 million.
