Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic October, 10 Months 1995 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) October October % 1995 1994 Change Domestic Freight 731,457 734,080 -0.4 Mail 148,423 145,307 2.1 Total 879,880 879,387 0.1 International
Qantas Airways and National Jet Systems signed a 10-year agreement yesterday with CAE Electronics Pl for use of the first de Havilland Dash 8- 100 simulator to be based in the Asia-Pacific region. Qantas's partners, Eastern Australia Airlines, Sunstate and Southern Australia Airlines, operate 13 Dash 8-100s. National Jet Systems, an independent operator, flies four of them and will take delivery of four more next year. Operators in China, New Zealand and South Africa have expressed interest in using the simulator, Qantas said.
The number of passengers handled at seven U.K. airports grew 6.8% in November from the same month last year, with Stansted leading the way. Stansted experienced a 44% surge in traffic fueled by domestic flights and new charter service, according to BAA plc, the management firm that operates the country's main airports. Scheduled traffic grew 13% at Gatwick and 4% at Heathrow, which reported a 14% increase in long-haul traffic. Traffic from Glasgow increased 7.5% overall with an 11% upturn in North Atlantic traffic and a 10% increase in domestic passenger traffic.
Sabena and TAP Air Portugal will code share on twice-weekly Lisbon- Brussels-Macau flights. The new service will be operated with A340s, starting April 1.
Los Angeles Department of Airports said yesterday that Los Angeles Airport will discontinue passenger facility charge (PFC) collections Jan. 1, saying that the revenues are not necessary to meet its capital needs and that the action will save passengers $60 million a year. Airlines already had been notified of the halt in PFC collections. Los Angeles has approval to assess a $3 PFC for a people mover at LAX, sound mitigation programs at LAX and Ontario Airport and construction of a new terminal at Ontario.
Honeywell said its commercial avionics division will continue to hold prices for spare parts at July 1993 levels through the end of 1996. "We are continually looking for ways to help customers reduce costs, and this is one of the most visible ways of boosting an industry that is now in recovery after some difficult economic times," said Vance Bradley, VP- customer support.
Heavylift-VolgaDnepr, the British-Russian joint venture, has asked DOT for authority to operate a one-way charter cargo flight with its An-124-100 aircraft between Wilmington, Ohio, and Boeing Field in Seattle between Dec. 13 and 23. The airline will transport one GE90 aircraft engine and related parts on the flight. (Docket OST-95-919)
The Aero International (Regional) joint venture of France's Aerospatiale, Italy's Alenia and British Aerospace expects Germany's Daimler-Benz Aerospace - which controls both the Dornier Do 328 and Fokker regional aircraft lines - to sign on eventually as a partner. "I even believe it is, eventually, a necessity if one believes in Europe," AIR chief Henri- Paul Puel told reporters at a news conference yesterday confirming plans unveiled at the Paris Air Show to open for business Jan. 1 (DAILY, June 13).
Collins Commercial Avionics said FAA has granted approval of the "world's first" supersonic antenna for traffic alert and collision avoidance systems. "This is welcome news for Air France and British Airways, the two operators of commercial supersonic aircraft," said Clayton Jones, VP and general manager. The new antenna, which was developed in association with Chelton Electrostatic for use on the Concorde, features a radome of advanced thermoplastic with a preformed foam center. Flight testing was accomplished on 15 flights between London and New York.
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.
