Cost of elevating safety standards at small airports to support DOT's "zero accidents" goal raised concern at last week's Airports Council International-North America meeting in Washington.More than 300 U.S. airports would have to be upgraded, skeptics noted, and there are more than 160 in Alaska alone.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries June 1995 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Canada 2 A340-300 CFM56-5C4 0 Air Canada 1 Canadair RJ CF34-3A1 9 Air Euro Spa 1 767-300ER PW4062 0 Air Inter 1 Fokker 100 Tay650-15 3
American Trans Air's consolidated scheduled and charter passenger traffic increased 25.2% in August from the same month last year on 17.2% more capacity, pushing its load factor up 5.1 percentage points to 79.6%. The number of passengers rose 33.3% and the length of the average passenger trip declined 6.1% to 1,933 miles. "We are pleased with the way that the third quarter is proceeding, with stronger traffic and yields than we experienced last year," said George Mikelsons, the airline's founder and chairman.
America West appointed Steven Leonard VP-sales and sales services. Atlas Air elected George Murnane executive VP and chief operating officer, effective Oct. 1.
Pursuing a career as a flight attendant could double a woman's chances of breast cancer, concludes a study conducted by the Finnish Center for Radiation and Nuclear Safety in Helsinki and published in the British Medical Journal. UPI reports that the study, which followed 1,800 Finnish flight attendants, was not clear on the reason for the higher cancer risk.
SAS and the unions representing its ground staff in Sweden reached a new contract agreement last week, averting strikes scheduled last Thursday and Friday. The two sides agreed to a 15-month contract, retroactive to April 1, 1995, that provides for a 3.95% pay increase and a 1.8% bonus. SAS will reinstate per diems for one-day business trips and increase overtime pay. According to wire reports from Stockholm, the unions demanded an 11% wage increase over 21 months, and SAS's initial offer was 7.8% over two years.
Final data from tests conducted in April at the FAA Technical Center show that Category 3 landings can be accomplished using the Differential Global Positioning System for guidance. The data, released by FAA and Wilcox Electric, were presented last week in a technical paper at a GPS conference in Palm Springs, Calif., by Warren Hundley, Wilcox's chief scientist.
Continental's passenger traffic declined 6.6% last month from a year earlier on 10.6% less capacity, boosting the airline's load factor 3.1 percentage points to 73.3%, its highest August load factor in a decade. Domestic traffic fell 9.3% on 13.5% less capacity as the airline continued to rationalize its route system after dismantling the failed Continental Lite initiative. International traffic rose 0.6% despite a 2.1% decline in capacity. Aug 95 Aug 94 8 Mths 95 8 Mths 94
British Aerospace reported a 113% increase in before-tax profit for the first half of 1995, to 160 million pounds from 75 million pounds during the same period last year. Sales during the six months ended June 30 totaled 2.9 billion pounds, down from 3.6 billion pounds. Airbus Industrie activities continued their profitable growth, and regional aircraft losses were reduced by last year's decision to cease production of the Jetstream 61.
Arrow Air, based in Puerto Rico, will inaugurate DC-8 freighter service Sept. 25 at New York Kennedy Airport with five flights a week to and from San Juan. The service will use DynAir facilities at Kennedy. Arrow currently offers service between Miami and Atlanta and plans to begin service between Houston and South America this year.
The Aviation Communications Division of AT&T Wireless Services has introduced a ground-to-air service for its all-digital, inflight telecommunications in North America. On general aviation aircraft, the person being called simply answers the phone. On commercial aircraft, the person being called must register upon boarding a flight and enter a password to receive a call. The service, currently available to general aviation customers, will be introduced on domestic commercial aircraft this fall.
DOT does not appear to be getting out its "zero accidents" message very well. Last week, when an FAA official asked a symposium filled with Airport Council International officials how many of them had heard of the program, only a few raised their hands, even though it means major changes in the way airlines and airports operate.
Aerospace Industries Association reported last week that the U.S. aerospace industry posted a positive trade balance of $6.3 billion in the second quarter, an increase of $1.2 billion, or 24%, from the first quarter of the year. Total aerospace exports rose 17%, from $7.9 billion in the first quarter to $9.2 billion in the second. Civil exports rose 26% from $5.8 billion to $7.4 billion, while military exports declined 7% from $2 billion to $1.9 billion. Exports of civil transports increased $1 billion to $3.7 billion.
AirTran Airways has signed a letter of intent with Pacific Aviation Corp. to lease its ninth and 10th Boeing 737-200 aircraft, according to parent company AirWays Corp. The airplanes, to be placed in service in February, are powered by hushkit-equipped Pratt&Whitney JT8D-9A engines. They will be configured for 126 seats. AirTran Airways, which began flight operations in October, currently operates a fleet of seven 737s between Orlando and 17 cities. It plans to acquire an eighth 737 in December.
DOT issued an order Friday citing concerns about security at Eldorado Airport in Bogota, Colombia. In the order, Secretary Federico Pena said he found that the airport "does not maintain and administer security measures." The determination comes after an FAA assessment indicated that security measures used at the airport do not meet the standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. DOT said service into the airport can be continued if proper precautions are taken.
American Society of Travel Agents' top priority in developing new services for members is ASTAnet, an Internet World Wide Web site that could become the world's largest retail travel sales network. It would provide information about the association and a link to members' home pages.
Associated Air Freight appointed Dennis Kuhlman regional service manager-West. Parsons named Doug Pitts president-Parsons Latin America. Raytheon Aircraft named Scott Kalister VP-international sales, Latin America/Far East of the Raytheon International division. Rockwell named Earl Washington senior VP-corporate communications. Titan Corporation named Brian Mertes VP and chief operating officer of subsidiary Titan Information Systems Corporation.
Efforts to gain access to Tokyo Haneda Airport for business jet aircraft seem to have made progress. "After numerous informal negotiations, we understand that JBAA [the Japan Business Aircraft Association] has won approval to obtain landing slots for general [aviation] aircraft in late 1996," Rust Deming, charge d'affaires ad interim in Toyko, said in a letter to Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.).
Air Transport Association attacks as "laughable if not ludicrous" a National Association of Railroad Passengers claim that trains are the safest bad-weather transportation mode. NARP is looking for Amtrak access to highway gasoline tax money, and ATA notes that rail is the only transportation mode that does not pay fees into a trust fund.
The Orient Airlines Association (OAA) has endorsed a tentative agreement on air carrier liability that would lead to an increase in worldwide passenger liability limits to more than $350,000 (DAILY, June 27). The agreement, hammered out this summer at the International Air Transport Association's Airline Liability Conference in Washington, D.C., will be considered at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur at the end of October.
AAR Corp. reported that net income for the quarter ended Aug. 31 rose 60.9% to $3.2 million from $2 million. Net sales increased 12.8% to $109.6 million from $97.2 million.
USAir is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between co-terminal points Philadelphia and Boston and the co-terminal points Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca, Spain. If approved, the carrier plans to begin service May 1, 1996, with daily nonstop roundtrip services between Madrid and Philadelphia/Boston, using Boeing 767-200ER aircraft. USAir said the service is "explicitly authorized" under the U.S.-Spain bilateral and would benefit the two U.S. cities.
United called in hundreds of its maintenance managers to its San Francisco maintenance base last week for human factors training in maintenance resource management (MRM) techniques, intended to help them train the mechanics and technicians who work for them. John Goglia, a new member of the National Transportation Safety Board, addressed several of the training sessions, drawing on his experience in developing the MRM program for USAir. Goglia is the first working airframe and powerplant mechanic to serve as an NTSB member.
