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.
Siemens Nixdorf Information Systems said yesterday it has acquired the Distributed Applications Products and Services (DAPS) business of Covia Technologies, a division of Galileo International. The DAPS unit will bring to Siemens Nixdorf's Transportation Division "expanded knowledge of the information technology needs of airlines and airports," said Gaylord Milbrandt, VP of the Transportation Division.
National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday that the probable cause of a near-collision of an American MD-11 with a Lone Star SA-227 while trying to land Feb. 27 at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport was an "overloaded" local controller and the failure of his supervisor to "recognize that the controller had reached or exceeded his maximum threshold of workload capability and to take appropriate action." The three-engine jetliner passed over the turboprop regional aircraft, which was on the runway and holding, with a clearance of 35 feet, the safety board said.
TWA has filed a lawsuit against former owner Carl Icahn to block him from selling discounted airline tickets to the public. In exchange for a $190 million loan, the carrier agreed to sell discounted tickets to Icahn with the understanding that he would resell the tickets in blocks to corporations but not to the general public, a TWA spokesman said. "It's a matter of who he can sell the tickets to. We believe he has been selling the tickets to travel agents for the public, something which he cannot do," the spokesman said.
Frontier Airlines' November traffic jumped 114.1% to 48.8 million revenue passenger miles, compared with November 1994, its fifth month of service. Available seat miles were up 66.2% to 79.8 million, resulting in a load factor of 61.1%, up from 47.4%. The Denver-based airline carried 71,658 passengers, 65.6% more than in November 1994.
Virgin Atlantic Airways is planning a major expansion that would make it one of the four largest long-haul carriers in the world by 1998, according to media reports. The reports first surfaced in an interview by Richard Branson carried in The London Times over the weekend. According to a Bloomberg Business News report, Virgin plans to buy or lease $5 billion worth of new jets over the next three years, increasing its fleet of 15 aircraft to 40.
Delta will offer Hawaii residents special Mahalo fares on flights originating in Honolulu, Oahu or Kahului to about 250 cities. Passengers must be Hawaiian residents, start travel Dec. 16-25 and return between Dec. 26 and Jan. 7.
