U.S. and foreign airlines operating to the U.S. are comfortably ahead of Stage 3 noise compliance deadlines, according to a report FAA soon will send to Congress (DAILY, July 28). The report will show that of the 299 U.S. and foreign carrier fleets operating to the U.S., 66.3% have met the 1994 Stage 3 deadlines, William Albee, manager of FAA's policy and regulatory division, said yesterday. Some national carriers operate a 100% Stage 3 fleet to the U.S., Albee said, primarily because of their long- range aircraft.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Interest Expenses First Quarter 1995 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 15,878,514 4.91 American 145,067,000 4.23 Continental 44,752,000 3.84 Delta 62,827,000 2.16
The Senate agreed last week with the House that FAA should find ways to fund Loran-C, calling the program "proven, reliable and cost-effective." The new Federal Radionavigation Plan, issued recently by DOT, calls for Loran to be phased out by 2000. The program currently is funded by the Coast Guard.
DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH and Raytheon Co. of the U.S. have agreed to develop a next-generation air traffic management system based on Raytheon's AutoTrac system, the U.S. company said. Under a 1994 agreement, Raytheon is providing its AutoTrac 2000 ATM system for the new DFS control center in Langen. The new systems will satisfy requirements of the European Air Traffic Control Harmonisation and Integration Programme, Raytheon said.
Managements at Pratt&Whitney and Rolls-Royce insisted this week that rumors of a pending merger of their engine businesses are the product of City financial analysts, and nothing more. London's Sunday Times newspaper quoted P&W President Karl Krapek as saying that P&W wants to merge its commercial aircraft engine business with Rolls's civil business. But the Times never talked to Krapek despite attributing the merger remark to him as a direct quote.
Aeromexico and British Airways have struck an agreement that will enable members of their frequent flyer programs - Aeromiles and Executive Club, respectively - to accumulate and redeem mileage awards on each other's flights. Members will be able to access local and international flights in both airlines' systems throughout the world, and frequent flyer information will be available at both airlines' ticket offices and in their reservations systems, ensuring that mileage will be credited correctly.
As September's scheduled resumption of U.S.-Japan aviation negotiations nears, Congress and industry are pressing U.S. negotiators to renew demands that Japan live up to all provisions of its agreement with the U.S. Last week, the Senate passed unanimously an amendment to the DOT appropriations bill calling on President Clinton to identify "strong and appropriate" countermeasures the U.S. can take against Japan, and to impose whatever is "necessary and appropriate" if Japan does not honor U.S. passenger carriers' beyond rights (DAILY, Aug. 11). Sponsored by Sen.
Lone Star Airlines is offering specially reduced fares to all points it serves from Dallas/Fort Worth until Sept. 4. The tickets will be valid for one year, beginning Sept. 5. One-way fares to Hot Springs, Ark., are $69, to Del Rio, Texas, and Enid, Okla., $79, and to St. Louis $99. Included is a $69 fare between St. Louis and Hot Springs. No reservations are needed to purchase the tickets, which are exchangeable.
Hawaiian Airlines, shackled by a shortage in working capital that is likely to continue in the near future, posted a $451,000 net loss for the second quarter of 1995. The loss is an improvement from the $8.8 million deficit posted in the same 1994 period. The carrier's operating profit was $431,000, compared with an operating loss of $6.7 million last year. Operating revenues were boosted by a $2 million gain in adjustments to air traffic liability for a total of $85.5 million, compared with $75.5 million in 1994.
Frontier Airlines announced that it will offer introductory fares on a limited number of seats of $49 each way on its new flights to Phoenix from Denver, and $79 to Chicago Midway from Denver. The fares are good for travel through Oct. 23 and must be purchased before Oct. 15. The service is scheduled to begin Sept. 25, when the carrier terminates flights to Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls and Missoula, Mont. (DAILY, Aug. 3). The regular fares will be as low as $59 to Phoenix and $89 to Chicago with restrictions, such as a 21-day advance purchase requirement.
In what it termed a shift of strategy made possible by the U.S.-Canada open skies aviation agreement, Air Canada said yesterday it will convert all of its Florida charter service into scheduled service and increase capacity to the Sunshine State 16% over last winter's. Unveiling its winter schedule, the carrier said it will operate 99 nonstops per week from Canada to Florida, including daily nonstops from each of two Canadian cities, Toronto and Montreal, to each of its four Florida gateways - Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Tampa and Orlando.
American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) will hold its annual conference on travel scams Oct. 18 at the Hyatt Regency in Miami. "Now, more than ever, consumers need to be aware of what they can do to be certain that they are dealing with legitimate sellers of travel and avoiding offers that are too good to be true," ASTA President Jeanne Epping said.
Florida West Airline's Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee, Kenneth Welt, announced the carrier closed the sale of substantially all of its assets, as well as its subsidiaries, to Florida West International Airways Inc. for $3.5 million. The sale is in connection with its liquidation in Chapter 11 proceedings. President and Chief Executive Richard Haberly said the new Florida West will change "quite a bit" by gradually changing to larger aircraft and seeking some Asian routes - most likely to Japan - in 1996.
United Airlines says that with its recent decision to prepay some long-term debt, it has implemented more than $1.8 billion of credit improvement initiatives since it became employee-owned in July 1994. During the third and fourth quarters of this year, the carrier will retire $229 million of Japanese yen-dominated deferred purchase certificates, reducing its debt by that amount, and terminate leases for 39 aircraft by acquiring them. The purchase will lower minimum lease payments by $426 million by 1998.
The Chilean Antimonopolies Board, on its third attempt, approved four-to- one the LanChile application to acquire control of Ladeco. The board stipulated that safeguards would be imposed to protect consumers from monopoly practices, given that the two airlines control more than 85% of the Chilean domestic market, according to DAILY affiliate Aviation-Latin America&Caribbean.
Kiwi International Air Lines will elect four directors for terms expiring in 1998, three for two-year terms and two for one year each at its annual shareholders meeting tomorrow in Newark. The election will result in 12 sitting directors on a 15-member board. The company wants to leave three seats unoccupied while it searches for a chief executive and additional investment capital, and while it awaits a designee from aircraft lessor Pegasus Aircraft Partners.
Carnival Air Lines will introduce scheduled jet service between Fort Lauderdale and Nassau, Bahamas, starting Sept. 7 using A300 aircraft. The airline already has daily narrowbody jet service to Nassau. Introductory fares start at $50 each way, with no requirement for an advance purchase, a roundtrip purchase or a Saturday night stay. Flights will operate Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.
McDonnell Douglas Corp. has $383 million in guarantees outstanding on delivered aircraft as of June 30, according to a 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the same period, MDC said it made offers totaling $649 million to lease aircraft scheduled to be delivered between 1995 and 1998. It also made offers totaling $303 million to accept notes in payment for aircraft or guarantee financing for customers for ordered but undelivered aircraft.
A power outage struck the Miami center over the weekend even as FAA announced more plans to prop up the nation's wobbly air traffic control centers. Meanwhile, the agency also said a team has determined that a defective circuit board probably caused the power failure last week at the Oakland center. The outage at Miami Saturday, which lasted over an hour and knocked out primary and backup systems, is believed to have been caused by lightning.
FAA Administrator David Hinson, commenting yesterday on stepped-up security at New York airports during the weekend, left the impression that heightened security at all U.S. airports will not be short-lived. Refusing to discuss directly the reasons for the actions at LaGuardia, Newark and Kennedy, Hinson said "security will be an ongoing issue." He observed, however, that airport and airline security have been ongoing programs for a long time.
U.S. order backlog for civil jet transports rose during the second quarter for the first time since the end of 1990, according to Aerospace Industries Association data. However, the increase was negligible - to 1,120 aircraft from 1,116.
Air South said yesterday July was its second consecutive month of profitability, with an operating profit of $163,000 on $5.7 million in revenues. Operating expenses totaled $5.5 million, leaving a net profit of $156,000, an airline official said. The carrier generated more than 17 cents in revenue per passenger mile and reduced its cost per available seat mile to 8.36 cents from 11.07 cents in February. Air South operates seven 737-200s. In March, it outlined several goals, including paring costs to 7 cents per ASM.
Used Jet Aircraft Deliveries May 1995 Carrier # Type Engines Previous Operator Aer Lingus 1 737-400 CFM56-3B2 Ryan Aviation Aero California 1 DC-9-10 JT8D-7A Aeroleasing African Airlines 1 707-320B JT3D-3B Kenya Airways Air Europe 1 767-300ER PW4060 Taesa Air Europa 1 757-200 RB211-535E4 LTS
Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines, which power the Concorde supersonic transport, have amassed 750,000 flying hours, 480,000 of them at greater than the speed of sound. The aircraft made its first flight in 1969 and was put in commercial service in 1976 by British Airways and Air France. Its fastest recorded crossings are three hours from Paris to New York and two hours 57 minutes from London to New York.
