Avro International Aerospace signed a memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa CityLine to install an Avro RJ simulator at the Lufthansa Training Center in Schunefeld, Berlin. The sim-ulator, to be operational by June 1996, will be used to train Lufthansa CityLine pilots and engineers, and other Avro RJ operators. Reflectone of Tampa, Fla., will supply the new simulator.
Australian transport workers said yesterday they will not handle French airline flights in Australia for a 24-hour period beginning at midnight Thursday local time, to protest France's decision to resume nuclear tests in the South Pacific. The action coincides with the July 14 Bastille Day holiday in France.
Worldspan Travel Information Services is now the system provider for World Airways' internal airline reservations and passenger information processing. Hosting services provided through the Worldspan mainframe in Atlanta give World an internal automation solution for organizing and distributing schedules, fares, rules, aviation weather and airport passenger services, including ticketing, check-in services and baggage tracing.
FAA announced yesterday it has established with 11 U.S. airlines a government-industry consortium to develop the framework for an Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN). Designed to provide fast, error-free and continuous communication between aircraft and other airspace system users, ATN eventually will replace current systems as it grows worldwide as part of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Future Aviation Navigation System, FAA Administrator David Hinson said.
Bombardier Dash 8 Series 400 main and nose landing gear will be built by Coltec Industries Inc. subsidiary Menasco Aerospace at its Oakville, Ontario, facility, Coltec announced. The 350-knot Dash 8-400 is scheduled for first flight in late 1997.
FAA announced yesterday a comprehensive review of its regulation and certification policies and procedures, as well as a proposed initiative to curtail the use of unapproved aircraft parts and increase the use of seatbelts. Under the review program - called Challenge 2000 - a task force of experts from within and without FAA will "take a fresh look at the way we do things," said FAA Administrator David Hinson.
USAir's Association of Flight Attendants Master Executive Council said yesterday it remains committed to returning the airline to profitability through restructuring despite its membership's rejection of a proposed tentative agreement with the company. In the balloting, 55% of those voting opposed the proposal, and both USAir and the AFA referred separately to the result as "disappointing." The MEC said that it has analyzed the reasons for the rejection of the tentative pact, and that it is determined to initiate discussions with the airline.
Oman Air will start flying to Bombay five times weekly, beginning tomorrow, airline officials said. Bombay is the second destination in India for Oman Air, which already operates five flights a week from Muscat to Trivandrum. An agreement on the new route, signed this week, follows talks last month in New Delhi between Omani Communications Minister Salim Bin Abdulla Al Ghazali and India's Civil Aviation Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad. Gulf Air and Air India currently fly the Muscat-Bombay sector.
DOT is seeking carriers interested in providing essential air service at Nikolski, Alaska. MarkAir Express has been providing EAS at Umnak Island (Nikolski), Alaska, for the past two years. (Docket 43755).
Air Transport Association announced release of its 1995 CD-ROM containing new technical specifications and enhanced features. The new CD-ROM includes the latest revisions to Specifications 100 (manufacturers' technical data), 2000 (integrated data processing materiels management) and 2100 (digital data standards for aircraft support, plus the new data model). It also contains for the first time Specifications 104 (guidelines for aircraft maintenance training) and 105 (guidelines for training personnel in non-destructive testing), and other information.
American has opened six check-in positions at the London Heathrow Terminal 3 rampway exit from the London Underground station. The carrier said the service will enable its customers arriving at Heathrow to avoid queues in the regular check-in area.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association's Air Safety Foundation has released GPS/Loran - A Guide to Modern Navigation, which it described as general aviation's "first generic safety and how-to publication" on GPS and Loran navigation. The guide says that while GPS will be the major navigation system of the future, Loran is still a useful system and worth keeping in the instrument panel. It also explains why existing hand-held GPS units cannot be certified and should not be used for IFR navigation.
The combined market value of U.S. airline industry stocks tracked by The DAILY jumped 13.8% last month from its May level, to nearly $30.4 billion, on the strength of increasing optimism about the industry's prospects for a profitable 1995. Also, industry stocks traditionally trend upward in the summer months. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose during the month, closing June at 4556.1, about 2% higher than it ended May. The primary transportation indices also rose during the month.
Comair's June traffic shot up 26.4% from the same month a year ago on 17.9% more capacity, pushing its load factor up to 56.4%. June 1995 June 1994 6 Mths 1995 6 Mths 1994 RPMs 108,144,000 85,539,000 548,976,000 430,970,000 ASMs 191,905,000 162,725,000 1,095,520,000 881,951,000 LF (%) 56.4 52.6 50.1 48.9 Pass. 343,286 290,407 1,796,042 546018600
Horizon Air was the top passenger-carrying regional airline in first- quarter 1995, but fell far short of Delta Connection Comair in generating revenue passenger miles. Traffic results for the January-March quarter, prepared by AvStat Associates of Washington, D.C., were published this week by the Regional Airline Association. With its fleet of 20 new Canadair Regional Jets and an average stage length of about 450 miles, Comair rang up 247.3 million RPMs.
Alaska Air Group said yesterday it has called for redemption on Aug. 4 of all of its 7.25% Liquid Yield Option Notes (LYONs) due in 2006. The notes will be redeemed at a price of $466.61 per $1,000 principal amount at maturity, which represents the issue price plus accrued original issue discount to the date of redemption. The notes may be converted at any time before the close of business on the redemption date at a rate of 12.396 shares of common stock per $1,000 principal amount.
Martinair Holland has purchased Ross Systems' Renaissance CS Financials suite of client/server financial accounting solutions, and will implement it through eight international subsidiaries on IBM RS/6000 service and Oracle relational database management system.
Officials in Taiwan have complained that Beijing is interfering in Taipei's aviation negotiations with Hong Kong by insisting that China Airlines remove the Taiwan flag from aircraft flying in the market. They said Beijing issued the demand through the Joint Liaison Group (JLG), the U.K.- China group that coordinates activity during preparations for the reversion of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997.
The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), Britain's and British Airways' largest union, yesterday called off its strike vote against the airline, eliminating the threat that as many as 18,000 of BA's employees would leave their jobs during the August Bank Holiday period (DAILY, July 12). At issue is BA's proposal to scrap nationwide union negotiations in favor of localized contract talks that BA believes would give it more flexibility in matching wage and work rules to local market conditions.
The number of overseas visitors to Las Vegas last year jumped 20% from 1993, shoring up the city's rank as the seventh most popular international destination in the U.S. Always looking to boost its nonstop international service, Las Vegas McCarran Airport notes that one in four passengers traveling to Las Vegas comes via Los Angeles. A study commissioned by McCarran shows that Europe is the largest international source of Las Vegas visitors - 37% - followed by Canada, 27%, and the Far East, 25%.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic November 1994 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) America West 1,230 (2.45) 753 926,639 American 5,623 26.49 1,034 5,814,744
St. Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak has invited Americans to visit the Russian city via its Welcome America tour program. U.S. company Russian Travel Bureau Inc. is offering weekly tours throughout the year. The seven-day package comprises roundtrip flights from New York or San Francisco on Finnair, hotel accommodations with private baths at three-star hotels, breakfasts, a theater performance and sightseeing trips, including a visit to the Hidden Treasures Revealed exhibit at the Hermitage Museum.
Alaska Airlines is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between Phoenix and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The carrier intends to operate daily roundtrip service using MD-80 aircraft, beginning early in September. It has asked DOT for an early decision. (Docket OST-95-314)
The House Appropriations Committee is recommending reductions in FAA's executive direction and management staffing in fiscal 1996, led by a 66% cut in the agency's headquarters public affairs staff. In the committee report (House Report 104-177) approved in late June, the panel said a $15.27 million reduction in the executive direction and management budget is needed to continue funding 5% bonus pay for air traffic controllers.
