FAA takes seriously the concerns of industry, Congress and the news media about unapproved aircraft parts, even though it has had "differences of opinion" with them about how serious a safety risk such parts present, Peggy Gilligan, the agency's deputy associate administrator for regulation and certification, said as FAA established a task force to review the problem (DAILY, Aug. 9).
FAA ordered heightened security by all airports and air carriers in the U.S., saying information provided by law enforcement and intelligence agencies makes the step necessary. There was speculation that the tighter security is linked to a U.S. visit next month by Pope John Paul II and other events, including the recent arrest of an alleged Islamic terrorist. Airlines clearly were unhappy with the new round of security measures, following by less than two months the alert imposed at California airports because of bomb threats.
United Airlines' Singapore station was named the recipient of the Singapore Tourist Promotion Board's 1995 tourism award for "best promotion of Singapore by a foreign airline," United's employee newsletter Our Times reports.
USAir's senior safety officer, Robert Oaks, has been named senior VP- operations to succeed Gene Sharp, who is retiring. Oaks will be responsible for all flight-related activities, including crew scheduling, resource planning, systems control and dispatch, and operations engineering. Retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Malcolm Armstrong will succeed Oaks as VP-corporate safety and regulatory compliance. Sharp will assist Oaks during the transition until the end of the year. Oaks and Armstrong will be based in Pittsburgh.
Mexican hotel chain Grupo Posadas has launched "Fiestabreak" - low-cost vacation packages promoting its 40 hotels. Prices for three-night packages are $312-$731 from Dallas, Houston and Los Angeles, including roundtrip airfare on a scheduled carrier, ground transfers, hotel stay and daily breakfast buffet. Seven-night packages range from $443 to $1,171. The promotion applies to the chain's Fiesta Americana and Fiesta Inn hotels and is good through Sept. 3.
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Large Regional July 1994 - June 1995 Total Total Cost Gallons (Dollars) 1994 July Domestic 1,090,970,253 587,575,246 International 403,858,684 238,878,437 System Total 1,494,828,937 826,453,683 August Domestic 1,093,956,218 600,380,325
Continental has told its travel agents it does not intend to participate in a net-fare program being developed by Business Travel Contractors Corp. (BTCC), a move BTCC says has offended some of Continental's best corporate customers. Continental VP-marketing and sales, Bonnie Reitz, wrote the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and the Association of Retail Travel Agents that the airline will continue to negotiate individually with corporate customers and their travel agencies.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Labor Expenses First Quarter 1995 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 80,596,911 24.94 American 1,173,514,000 34.23 Continental 272,252,000 23.34 Delta 991,446,000 34.06
World Airways yesterday filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the sale of 2.9 million shares of its common stock in transactions that will reduce WorldCorp's stake in the charter carrier to 59% from 80%. Of the 2.9 million shares to be registered, World Airways will sell two million and WorldCorp will sell 900,000. About 12 million shares of World Airways stock will be outstanding after the offering.
Swissair and its Aeropers Pilots Union have found "little common ground" in talks on a new contract, which continued through last week, the carrier said. With another round of talks planned for later this month, Swissair wants substantial changes in cockpit crew flight duty regulations and co- determination rights. It said the right of co-determination, and in some cases the union's right to veto, have put it at a severe disadvantage against its competitors.
The General Electric GE90-powered Boeing 777 being used to certify the aircraft/engine combination for extended-range twin-engine operations returned to flight testing last week. WA077, the ETOPS test aircraft, flew twice on Aug. 3, for two hours and 13 minutes the first time and four hours and 34 minutes the second. WA076, the certification aircraft, resumed certification flying on July 20 after a grounding of nearly two months.
Alaska Airlines boarded more than one million passengers in July, the first time in its 62-year history it has flown that many people in a single month. Its Fairbanks station also set a company single-month record, boarding 27,000 passengers.
United employees and a non-profit organization, Radial Reminiscence, are restoring a DC-6 at its Oakland maintenance facility to the livery used by United in the 1940s and 1950s. The airplane will be flown to airshows in the U.S. to educate the public on aviation history. United donated space in the facility and provided the original interior and exterior design plans, said George Midwin, a United mechanic and founder of Radial Reminiscence.
Taiwan and Hong Kong have reached an understanding on a new aviation agreement that will permit two carriers from each side to fly between Taipei and Hong Kong. Dragonair will become the second Hong Kong-based carrier to serve Taiwan, initially operating 14 flights per week between Hong Kong and Kaohsiung. EVA Airways and TransAvia Airways are competing to become the second Taiwan carrier in the market. Taiwan and Hong Kong are expected to sign the agreement by the end of the month. It is to take effect Oct. 30.
Despite the strong - in many cases record - second quarter earnings posted by U.S. carriers over the past few weeks, it is unlikely that the airlines will regain investment-grade status in the near future, Standard&Poor's said yesterday with the publication of the first volume of its annual five- volume Global Sector Review. Southwest, with its A- rating, is the only U.S. airline considered investment grade. "While U.S.
FAA, sensitive to criticism from Congress, the press and some elements of industry, yesterday announced creation of a task force an agency official said will "thoroughly review the issue of unapproved aircraft parts." The task force, with industry and law enforcement representatives, follows an initiative by the agency last month to create an industry-operated authorization program for brokers and distributors of aircraft parts.
Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE), formed by a former Boeing executive and Singapore Airlines, said yesterday it has purchased three 767-300ER aircraft powered by General Electric engines in a deal valued at $294 million, demonstrating its ability to "compete aggressively in the international aircraft leasing business." The aircraft are being wet- leased in cooperation with Ansett Worldwide Aviation Services to Alitalia, which is trying to reduce the cost of its operations. The first aircraft was delivered Aug.
DOT's proposal to reinstitute the exclusion of mechanical delay information from on-time data in the department's Air Travel Consumer Report has sparked dissent in the industry, dividing carriers, employees and consumer groups. Last September, DOT issued a rule to include mechanical delay data in the on-time marks. Later, however, it issued a proposed rule reversing the earlier one, citing safety and some airline concerns.
DOT has renewed for one year South African Airways' authority to operate scheduled and charter services to the U.S., but it added a condition limiting the carrier to six scheduled roundtrip frequencies per week, noting that there is no bilateral agreement between the U.S. and South Africa despite recent negotiations. "While we remain hopeful that outstanding issues can be resolved in upcoming discussions, a number of key issues for the United States were not resolved in [the] most recent negotiations, and there is consequently still no agreement," DOT said.
Lufthansa completed a strategic alliance agreement with private Indian carrier Modiluft covering marketing, technical support and flight operations. The agreement, signed last week in Frankfurt by airline chiefs Jurgen Weber of Lufthansa and S.K. Modi of Modiluft, puts Modiluft on a par with other Lufthansa partners, such as United, Thai Airways, South African Airways and SAS, a spokesman for the Indian carrier said.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Maintenance Expenses First Quarter 1995 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 28,083,822 8.69 American 341,507,000 9.96 Continental 128,587,000 11.02
America West's July passenger load factor slipped 0.6 percentage points from the same month a year ago as traffic increased 6.9% but failed to keep pace with a 7.8% rise in capacity. For seven months, traffic rose 5.5% on 7.8% more capacity, depressing the load factor 1.5 points to 69%. "Our traffic continues to be strong," said President Maurice Myers. "Our monthly passenger load factor [74.3%] once again was one of the highest in the industry. Advance bookings are encouraging, and we expect very strong loads to continue for the remainder of the summer."
The European Commission tentatively approved the Lufthansa/SAS alliance but attached conditions - including a capacity freeze, a slot redistribution mechanism and the termination of other airline pacts - intended to prevent the carriers from monopolizing the Germany-Scandinavia market.
Senate Commerce Committee leaders have been working to complete an FAA reform bill this week and have been aiming to bring a bill to the committee tomorrow for consideration.It was unclear late yesterday what elements would be included in the bill beyond personnel and procurement reform.
