British Midland confirmed it has placed an order for two additional Fokker 70s for delivery in winter 1996-97. Two years ago, British Midland placed an order for five 74-seat Fokker 70s and four 106-seat Fokker 100s to replace its fleet of Douglas DC-9s. The decision to order two more Fokker 70s comes following successful trials and positive customer feedback, particularly on key regional routes where the Fokker 70s have been operated since April, the airline said.
In a preview of a policy statement the Association of European Airline plans to issue in coming weeks, Kees Veenstra, AEA deputy director general, called yesterday for movement to create a free-trade environment in the transatlantic market. Such a transformation cannot happen overnight and would take a great deal of effort, however, Veenstra said in a speech to an international aviation conference in Washington sponsored by Global Aviation Associates. He called for a cooled-down approach to air transport relations between Europe and the U.S.
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) said it is in talks with Alenia on exploring ways to benefit from the Italian manufacturer's lower production costs. The talks come amid mounting financial pressures on DASA to reverse heavy losses of the last two years and signals from the German government that its room for maneuver to help the ailing aeronautics group is small.
Some of the failures that occur at FAA's air route traffic control centers cause "system degradation to a level that can have adverse safety implications," a National Transportation Safety Board official told the House aviation subcommittee yesterday. Bernard Loeb, director of NTSB's Office of Aviation Safety, told a subcommittee field hearing at the Chicago ARTCC that system outages are caused by "unique failure modes that continue to occur," and he called for a mixture of hardware, procedure and personnel improvements.
United is offering 25,000 bonus miles for passengers flying its Connoisseur business-class product from Chicago and New York to London Heathrow by yearend. Mileage Plus members will receive credit for the 25,000 miles in addition to the roundtrip mileage. The miles qualify a program member for a free domestic award ticket. Customers must register by calling 1-800- 930-3052. United operates three flights a day in the New York Kennedy- London market and one daily roundtrip in the Chicago-London and Newark- London markets.
ValuJet likely will announce a third focus city late this year or early in 1996, the growing carrier's chief financial officer, Stephen Nevin, told analysts yesterday. Nevin, whose airline operates from hub-like focus cities Atlanta and Washington, did not offer details but stressed that ValuJet is aware of its niche - short-haul, low-fare, low-cost - and plans to confine its operation to the eastern and southeastern U.S. But it has identified 20 new markets outside each current focus city that represent "ideal" opportunities for the Atlanta-based airline.
Laker Airways, Freddie Laker's new company that plans to operate transatlantic service from Florida, is the result of 14 months of negotiations with General Electric Capital Corp. Aviation Services (GECAS) (DAILY, Sept. 26). A Laker representative declined to elaborate on the aircraft deal with GECAS. Laker Airways will be controlled by Oscar Wyatt, chairman and founder of the Coastal Corporation of Houston, who holds 75% of the voting rights and 51% of the company.
Air Line Pilots Association's main push in the next few months will be bringing the four American Eagle carriers under the ALPA umbrella, President Randy Babbitt says.ALPA units are in mediated talks with FedEx, WestAir, Delta and Express One, and direct negotiations are starting at Mesaba and Sun Country and continuing at USAir Shuttle and Reeve Aleutian Airways. Yesterday, the USAir Shuttle pilots asked for mediation.
Cathay Pacific Airways USA has passed the 3-million-miles mark in awarding AAdvantage frequent flyer bonus miles to travel agents as part of the "Miles for Me" promotion. The program, launched in February, enables Cathay passengers to earn 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles by redeeming a reward certificate that is available only from travel agents. At the same time, travel agents automatically earn 5,000 AAdvantage miles when passengers redeem the certificate.
USAir will launch service to Washington Dulles from Columbus Nov. 16. USAir and USAir Express each will offer a daily flight with a 68-seat F-28 and a 32-seat Dornier 38. USAir provides service to Columbus from Washington National and Baltimore/Washington airports.
Jeppesen&Co., the Frankfurt affiliate of Denver-based Jeppesen, announced a new online service that calculates international navigation charges. The new service, Enroute Navigation Charge, is available as a subscription or on an as-needed basis. Jeppesen said the service permits users to input data, such as route and aircraft weight, and receive a detailed statement of navigation charges in less than a minute.
Trimble said yesterday its approach navigation system was awarded a supplemental type certificate by FAA. The system will enable regional/commuter, corporate and helicopter operators to fly instrument flight rules supplemental en route, terminal and non-precision approaches, Trimble said. The Trimble 2101 I/O (input, output) is the "most accurate and usable GPS receiver on the market," said Bruce Alspach, VP-Avionics Group.
Reno Air has put tickets on sale for coach travel from Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Tucson and Palm Springs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in October. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 2. Upgrades can be purchased on the day of departure for an additional $20. Fares from Albuquerque are as low as $49 to Los Angeles, $40 from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas, $30 from Tucson to Las Vegas, and $35 from Palm Springs to San Jose.
Delta has asked DOT for another limited waiver of the 180-day statutory limit for action on its complaint against the German government and Frankfurt/Main Airport. A decision has been repeatedly postponed since Delta filed the complaint Dec. 29, 1993, contending the German government and the airport had denied it the right to perform its own ground-handling and imposed unreasonable and burdensome rates and charges in violation of the U.S.-Germany agreement. "The issues relating to Delta's complaint have still not been resolved," said the carrier.
Although FAA plans to replace old computers at five air route traffic control centers, the airlines have expressed concern about what the agency will do to "lessen the impact of outages in the interim," according to a letter to Administrator David Hinson from Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett. ATA recommended that FAA and contractor Loral discuss actions needed to install the newer computers ahead of the October 1977 schedule.
British Airways Chairman Colin Marshall reiterated yesterday the carrier's commitment to partner USAir and its opposition to union representation on the USAir board. Speaking to the British-American Business Association, Marshall said, "While the fortunes of USAir have been a matter of some concern, the alliance has always remained of strategic importance to our future development." BA is "confident" that USAir's rationalization program will be successful, he added.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Over 750 Miles O&D Passengers First Quarter 1995 Long Total Average Haul Markets Non-Stop Passengers Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day 1 3 Los Angeles - New York 2,467 6,438 2 4 Miami - New York 1,097 6,208
CityFlyer Express, a British Airways Express operator, has ordered two new 66-seat ATR 72-200s, ATR said yesterday. The first of the new planes will be delivered in November and the second in February. The two will bring CityFlyer's fleet to four ATR 72 and six ATR 42s.
BWIA International Airways is now using the Sabre Passenger Reservations System at all ticket offices, reservations facilities and airports. BWIA uses a designated partition of Sabre as its internal system for passenger reservations, ticketing, airport processing and inventory control. It is one of 60 airlines, including Alaska Airlines, Southwest, Hawaiian and Gulf Air, that use reservations multihost services from Sabre Decision Technologies.
Women's Transportation Seminar's Washington Chapter is sponsoring a seminar by Dr. JoAnn Pina on how female/male differences in communicating affect who is heard at meetings, gets credit for results and receives promotions. It will be held Sept. 29 from 7:45 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. at the American Trucking Association Field Office, 430 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. Cost is $15. To sign up, call Lorry Halloway at Crowell&Moring, 202-624- 2538.
Alitalia has named Lucio Miranda manager of sales and marketing for North America. He replaces Bruno Scaldaferri, who has been transferred to Miami as manager southeast regional USA, Central America and Mexico.
Burlington Air Express has launched Logistics Advantage, a third-party unit to provide logistics solutions for multinational companies. Operating autonomously from Burlington Air Express, the unit "will be one of the truly global logistics providers," said Gene Long, VP of the group. Logistics Advantage will target multi-site companies that seek value and competitive advantages through supply-chain integration, Long said.
Air Micronesia has requested authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Guam, the Philippines, and a point or points in Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The carrier proposes to operate between Guam and Manila, and beyond Manila to and from Taipei, Taiwan/Seoul, Korea/Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia/Jakarta. It plans a January 1996 start for five-times-per-week roundtrip service between Guam and Taipei, Seoul and Singapore via Manila, using Boeing 727 aircraft. It would begin the Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta service soon afterward.
Longstanding restrictions against South African participation in International Civil Aviation Organization affairs were dropped last week at the 31st session of the ICAO Assembly, meeting in Montreal. The assembly declared that, in light of the elimination of apartheid and the establishment of a democratic and non-racial government, all previous assembly resolutions restricting South Africa's involvement no longer are in force.
Western Pacific Airlines is offering a special two-for-one promotion to appease customers who may have been inconvenienced by telephone glitches during its startup period. The companion fares are good for travel Sept. 28 through Dec. 14. The glitches, according to the carrier, were the result of underestimating how many calls a day it would receive. When it started service in April, it expected up to 10,000 calls a day, but it has taken between 30,000 and 40,000. "It has taken a while to get our system up to speed to handle this enormous volume of calls.
