General Electric still hopes to qualify the GE90-powered Boeing 777 for Extended-Range Twin-Engine Operations this month despite a second grounding of the ETOPS aircraft, this time for about two weeks to repair what the company termed minor damage to a blade in the second-stage compressor. The engine was flown a few times after the Aug. 11 test in which it was damaged, but the condition of the blade worsened and GE decided to replace it.
Greater Toronto Airports Authority last week appointed San Francisco Airport Director Louis Turpen president and chief executive, effective Oct. 1. Turpen joins the authority as it negotiates with Transport Canada on the transfer of Lester B. Pearson Airport, expected to be completed next summer. Turpen has long been an opponent of a BART rail link at San Francisco's international terminal, a position supported by the airlines.
FAA published proposals last week intended to reduce aircraft manufacturers' costs by harmonizing U.S. and European structural loads requirements for transport certification. The proposals were developed by an Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee working group formed in 1992, four years after FAA and Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities began harmonization efforts.
Geoffrey Elliot, formerly Canada's chief bilateral negotiator and the man who, with former U.S. DOT General Counsel Steven Kaplan, worked out the framework for U.S.-Canada open skies, has been named senior VP-corporate affairs and government relations at Air Canada.
After some two years of trying unsuccessfully to launch a BMW/Rolls-Royce- powered MD-95 twinjet, McDonnell Douglas hopes to set up Pratt&Whitney to compete for the engine order from whoever emerges as a launch customer, according to DAILY affiliate Aerospace Propulsion. The arrangement is not final, but executives said the contest would pit the MD-95's existing 18,500-lbst. BR715 against P&W's Mid-Thrust Family Engine (MTFE) in a winner-take-all arrangement, in which the chosen company would become the program's sole engine supplier.
DOT officials have approached Nations Air with concerns about a possible investment in the East Coast airline by former Eastern and Continental executive - and airline labor nemesis - Frank Lorenzo. The DAILY learned that Lorenzo has made the company some type of offer (DAILY, Aug. 23). A Nations Air spokesman said it is company policy not to discuss private matters. A DOT official said the department let Nations Air know that it finds the matter "troublesome," depending on the extent of involvement being discussed.
USAfrica still is putting together the financing it needs to resume operations, Gregory Lewis told The DAILY Friday, but it is "still on target for a Dec. 1 restart" and hopes to finish fundraising this month. DOT plans to award unused South Africa frequencies expeditiously are spurring the carrier's effort to emerge from bankruptcy. "Regardless of whether the department elects to have a selection proceeding or a show cause directed at us, we will be forced to put up or shut up," said Lewis.
Hillsborough County Aviation Authority elected Stella Thayer chairman, succeeding Arthenia Joyner, who will continue on the board as secretary. W. Crosby Few was elected vice chairman.
UPS has rolled out its Worldwide Express Plus Service, which guarantees overnight delivery to most major U.S. cities by 8 a.m. from business centers in Europe, Asia, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Shippers receive notification of in-transit delays and automatic delivery confirmation at no extra charge. Additional locations in the U.S. will receive 8:30 a.m. service. Express Plus packages will be given the same attention as packages now marked Next Day Air Early A.M.
- In Federal Register dated Aug. 25...Published corrections, prepared by FR staff, of editorial errors in a proposed rule on revision of emergency evacuation demonstration procedures to improve participant safety, which appeared in FR dated July 18.
U.S. Major Carriers Share of Pacific Service First Quarter 1995 Total Revenue Departures American 825 Delta 1,078 Northwest 5,867 United 5,530 Total 13,300 U.S. Major Carriers Share of Pacific Service First Quarter 1995 Average Number of
Canadian Airlines International and its Machinists union resumed concession talks late last week. Negotiations were suspended in mid-July after the two sides reached an impasse on how to put a financial value on proposed contract changes. CAI also resumed talks last week with its Canadian Auto Workers union, with which it is nearing an agreement.
Three hundred one employees took advantage of the Port Authority of New York&New Jersey's Early Retirement Incentive Program by last Wednesday's deadline. The program is expected to save the Port Authority about $20 million per year. Staffing will drop from about 9,100 to 8,800.
Delta set daily and monthly boarding records at Salt Lake City in August. It boarded 591,052 passengers during the month, beating the record set in August 1994 by 20,308 passengers. Delta boarded 22,387 passengers at Salt Lake City Aug. 13, surpassing the record of 21,769 set six days earlier, which broke the record from Aug. 7, 1994.
Varig flew 2.2 billion revenue passenger kilometers in July, 5.3% less than in July 1994, and the number of passengers boarded fell 1.5% to 861,251. Cargo traffic rose 11.2% to 107.4 million freight tonne kilometers. Through the first seven months of this year, passenger traffic grew 4.8% to 13.5 billion RPKs and passenger boardings grew 7% to nearly 5.5 million. Cargo traffic rose 20.1% from the first seven months last year, to 780.1 million FTKs.
In-Flight Phone Corp.'s three major airline customers - Continental, America West and USAir - have threatened to terminate their contracts because of problems with the company's digital FlightLink air-to-ground communications system.
Miami-based Gulfstream International will open a secondary hub at Birmingham, effective Nov. 1. The carrier, operating 19-passenger Beech 1900s, plans four daily nonstop roundtrips to Columbus, Ga., and Mobile, Ala.; three daily one-stops to New Orleans, and one weekend one-stop roundtrip to Tallahassee. Also planned are three daily one-stop roundtrips between Mobile and New Orleans and one weekend nonstop roundtrip between Mobile and Tallahassee.
New Regional Aircraft Orders And Options June 1995 Firm Orders Options Carrier No. Type No. Type Engines AMR Eagle 25 Saab 340B Plus - - CT7B-9A Bangkok Airways 3 AA ATR 72 - - PW127B Brasil Cent 15 Cessna 208B - - PT6A-114A Croatia Airways 1 AA ATR 42-300 - - PW120
Eric Speck, VP-product development for Sabre Travel Information Network (STIN), has been named VP for Sabre Europe. He will take over operational responsibilities for marketing and supporting the Sabre computer reservations system in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Speck succeeds David Collier, who is leaving Sabre for a new position with a U.K.-based corporation, STIN said. Speck is also a director of Fantasia Travel Information Network, which markets Sabre in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Rim.
Saab Aircraft of America has sharply increased its market assertiveness with the recent hiring of three top regional airline specialists. From ATR Marketing, Saab has tapped Sales Director John Sterne as a director-regional airline sales. Al Smolinski, marketing director for Jetstream Aircraft, Is the new VP-marketing support. In addition, Saab in the spring hired Mike Miller away from Rolls-Royce to serve as director of fleet planning. "We are being aggressive in the marketplace," a spokesman confirmed.
Despite some industry opposition, Simmons is urging DOT to promptly grant its request for six international slots at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Simmons, an American Eagle carrier, applied for exemption from the High Density Rule in early August for the slots at the slot-controlled airport to inaugurate Chicago-London, Ontario Service (DAILY, Aug. 7). "The standards for securing the requested relief are unambiguously stated in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 and have been duly met by Simmons," said Simmons.
DOT last week officially adopted regulations for "upgraded" basic essential air service and dropped rules setting out procedures for retroactive establishment of final subsidy rates and establishing a three- member panel and special procedures for handling appeals of EAS determinations. The rule changes were adopted in the Aug. 22 Federal Register as part of a package of amendments to aviation economic rules aimed at eliminating obsolete provisions and correcting outdated organizational and statutory references.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) took delivery this week of its fourth 747-400 freighter and plans to use it Sunday to launch cargo service to New York Kennedy via Dubai and Brussels. The new service is part of SIA Cargo's network expansion plan. "New York, the largest and most important gateway to the U.S. eastern seaboard, will serve as SIA Cargo's third bridge to USA after Los Angeles and San Francisco," said Huang Cheng Eng, director of cargo. With the addition of New York, SIA's 747-400 freighters will serve 22 destinations.
