FAA labor union opposition to the scope of personnel reform legislation included in the DOT appropriations bill may add some urgency to consideration of FAA reform bills in the House and Senate. Some observers had believed the reform effort likely would be consolidated with the FAA reauthorization bill late next year, but the personnel and procurement regulations mandated by the appropriations bill are to take effect by April 1.
Big Three U.S. carriers American, Delta and United have switched spots frequently among the top three positions during the past six months in a CIC Research survey asking Internet users to name the airline they like best. British Airways has a lock on leadership among non-U.S. carriers.
Paradise Airways promoted Jerrold Kuzia to director-marketing and planning; Thomas Bennington to director-operations, and Reginald Jones to deputy general manager.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is developing a legislative proposal that would tie the level of aviation user taxes to the amount of spending out of the aviation trust fund. The goals of the plan, which remains a work in progress, are to retain existing excise and fuel taxes - not user fees - for funding the aviation system, and to allow for an increase in FAA funding without reducing the amounts made available to other modes of transportation or other discretionary domestic programs.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Landing Expenses Second Quarter 1995 Average Amount Systemwide Spent Per Landing America West $ 7,708,475 $ 158.60 American 55,182,000 268.83 Continental 23,568,000 208.57 Delta 67,733,000 283.39
Sabreliner named Larry Valentine director-environment and safety and assigned to Jerry LaMotte responsibilities for environment and safety at subsidiary Midcoast Aviation.
Air Canada applied Friday to trade its Class A non-voting common shares and 8% convertible subordinated debentures through the Nasdaq National Market. At the same time, the airline filed a registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trading in the Air Canada shares and debentures is expected to begin by mid-November. "The Nasdaq National Market will allow the U.S. financial community direct access to trade Air Canada's stock in a market 10 times the size of Canada's," said Air Canada Chairman Hollis Harris.
Airlines Reporting Corp.'s Joint Advisory Board has endorsed a comprehensive rewrite of the ticket security rules, to update them and make it easier for travel agents to understand them. ARC said airlines have made clear that agents who comply with ticket security rules will not be held liable for ticket stock theft. A working group that prepared the changes also wanted to provide clear daytime security guidelines for travel agency managers.
- In Federal Register dated Oct. 20...Proposed adoption of a new airworthiness directive on Airbus A320 aircraft series aircraft requiring the replacement of the relays in the forward electronics rack of the braking system of the landing gear...Proposed adoption of a new AD on Pratt&Whitney JFTD12A and T73 series turboshaft engines requiring initial and repetitive fluorescent penetrant inspections of compressor hubs, disks, spacers and bolted-on airseals for cracks.
Terry Hallcom, a bidder for MarkAir, is president and chief executive of Shuttle Inc. d/b/a USAir Shuttle. He was identified incorrectly in The DAILY of Oct. 27
A group of Spanish and Argentinian banks is said to be negotiating to acquire most or all of Iberia's majority stake in Aerolineas Argentinas. The current management would maintain control. Iberia is under pressure to sell as a condition for securing European Commission approval of another round of state subsidy.
National Aviation Club will present J. Kenneth Higgins, director of flight test for Boeing, with the Cliff Henderson Award for Achievement for lifetime individual contribution to aviation. Higgins is being recognized for his work in commercial aviation, particularly for leading and directing the Boeing 777 flight test program. He will receive the award at a luncheon Nov. 14 at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington, Va.
U.S. and Macau initalled last week their first-ever bilateral air services pact. "This modern agreement will complement other recent liberalizing initiatives that have been put in place with Hong Kong and the Philippines," said DOT Secretary Federico Pena, who will visit Macau on his upcoming Asian trip.
Lufthansa plans to expand operations at Munich over the next year with increased intra-European and intercontinental flying. "Frankfurt Airport will remain our major hub, but Munich will evolve as number two," Herbert Steppat, head of planning and network management, said last week. Lufthansa believes Munich, the third largest passenger market in Germany after Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, is well positioned geographically to handle transit passengers en route from one foreign destination to another.
Swissair's systemwide scheduled traffic, comprising passengers, cargo and mail, increased 8.8% last month to 316.8 million revenue tonne kilometers on 7.4% more capacity, producing a load factor increase of 0.9 percentage points to 73.3%. The passenger load factor rose 0.8 points to 71.7%.
Aeromexico posted third quarter operating and net profits Friday despite a 17.8% decline in passenger boardings and an 18.3% drop in traffic. For the quarter, Aeromexico reported an operating profit of 171.4 million new pesos (US$26.9 million) and net earnings of NP143.1 million (US$22.5 million) on operating revenues of NP1.43 billion (US$225.1 million). In the third quarter last year, Aeromexico had an operating profit of NP116.1 million but a net loss of NP28.1 million.
Kuwait Airways is beginning twice-a-week Airbus A340 service to Chicago from Kuwait via Amsterdam this week with the implementation of its winter schedule. Also this week, the carrier plans to begin twice-weekly service to Copenhagen via Frankfurt and three weekly flights to Trivandrum, India. The airline said it is eager to launch service to Beijing and expects to complete a feasibility study by the end of the year. This winter, Kuwait Airways will offer additional capacity to Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines.
Emery Worldwide appointed Vincent Gallagher director-Publishing and Printed Materials Specialty Group, and Emery EXPEDITE! named Allen Haley area sales manager- Southeast operations and Ronald Wituski area sales manager-Midwest operations.
Haiti National Airlines, d/b/a Hanair, asked DOT to renew its eight-year- old exemption authority to operate scheduled passenger and cargo service between Port au Prince and four U.S. points - Miami, Fort Lauderdale, New York and San Juan. Stating that it would like to operate from Cap Haitien as well as Port au Prince, Hanair also asked DOT to amend its authority to encompass a point or points in Haiti. The privately owned carrier allowed that it has not made full use of its current authority, which expires Nov.
NASA's Office of Aeronautics plans to measure the chemistry of supersonic transport emissions again, following up on a test last year with an Air France Concorde that revealed an unexpectedly high level of sulfur particles in the exhaust plume.
