Qantas plans to add two Sydney-Jakarta flights to its current schedule and introduce three-times-weekly Perth-Jakarta service on Oct. 29, subject to government approval. The new service will enable Qantas to offer daily flights between Sydney and Jakarta, with connections linking Melbourne and Brisbane. It results from the recently approved joint services agreement between Qantas and British Airways, which will enable Qantas to redeploy assets from its Perth-Singapore service, the Australian airline said Friday.
U.K. and Chinese negotiators on the Joint Liaison Group's Airport Committee completed a financial support agreement (FSA) last week for the Provisional Airport Authority (PAA) and on air cargo franchises. With financing settled, PAA now expects to open the Chek Lap Kok Airport in April 1998 - it will "substantially complete" construction by mid-1997 but will need more time for commissioning and trial operations and the transfer of operations from Kai Tak. A rail link to Hong Kong is expected to open in June 1998.
Air France selected Wicat to upgrade the computer-based training system for its flight crew maintenance training center at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris.
United has applied for renewal of its authority to operate between Miami and Mexico City. United flies daily roundtrips on the route using 737-300 aircraft. (Docket 50420)
Air tour operators will fly no closer than 500 feet from either Ellis or Liberty Island to reduce the impact of noise on the national monuments under terms of an agreement between the federal government and New York air tour operators. FAA, the National Park Service and the tour operators have pledged to work together to remedy any future noise and safety problems.
Delta Connection carrier Comair Saturday was to begin jet service from Orlando to Cleveland, Miami and Tallahassee with one flight a day in each market. The carrier also added a third daily jet flight to New Orleans from Orlando. The airline uses 50-seat Canadair jets for the service. As of Saturday, Comair's total daily departures from Orlando increased to 99. By August, Comair will operate 88 aircraft to 82 cities in 28 states and three countries.
Horizon Air has begun new, nonstop jet service from Seattle-Tacoma to Calgary. Horizon said it is the first airline to offer the service since the open skies agreement with Canada was signed.
Credit-watcher Moody's Investor's Service assigned cautious but acceptable counterparty ratings to American, Delta and United yesterday, suggesting that while all three carriers are exposed to risk from dealing in derivatives, they also have adequate controls in place to police their use. American was rated Baa2 for how it handles its dealings in derivatives, while Delta garnered a Ba1 rating and United a Baa3.
Moody's Investors Service is reviewing the Aa3 long-term debt rating of certain guaranteed subsidiaries of Daimler-Benz AG for possible downgrade, and it assigned yesterday a counterparty rating of A3 to British Aerospace Public Ltd. Co. (PLC). The Daimler-Benz review will consider the German company's need to bolster the competitive position of its principal business unit and to reduce its exposure to high-cost German production through the transfer of production facilities and purchasing activity abroad.
Aviation groups are supporting a proposal backed by Rep. Tom DeLay (R- Texas) to reallocate $100 million in big-city transit operating assistance to the Airport Improvement Program, bringing the House AIP recommendation to $1.7 billion.DeLay is expected to offer the amendment today during Appropriations Committee consideration.
It is widely believed that the proposed rule change is based only on the political whims of DOT Secretary Federico Pea and that, as Raytheon Aircraft commented, "The only justification that can be ascertained from the NPRM and related meetings and publicity is...because of public perception and political reasons." In a letter this week to President Clinton, Metro Credit President Jim Walker said, "In the face of media frenzy, your administration has effectively offered up the 19-passenger commuter industry as the sacrificial lamb."
Impact of the proposed rule on Essential Air Service and the resulting political ramifications were not addressed by either the FAA or commentators on the rule. Economic impact on the 19-passenger fleet would mean an increase in EAS subsidies and possible loss of air service in some markets. In President Clinton's home state of Arkansas, for example, El Dorado/Camden, Harrison, Hot Springs and Jonesboro could lose service; Dodge City, Garden City, Goodland, Great Bend, Hays and Liberal are all in Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole's former Kansas congressional district.
McDonnell Douglas DC-9 and MD-80 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1994 DC-9-30 Continental Northwest TWA Number of Aircraft Operated 31 77 35 Total Fleet Operations Departures 207 390 190 Block Hours 278 630 304
Air Canada has signed the single largest financing transaction in its history - a $1.466 billion export credit leasing financing facility for the six Airbus A340s and 25 A319s it ordered in May, the carrier said yesterday. Bayerische Landesbank, Credit Lyonnais and CIBC arranged the German, French and British portions of the syndicated financing, with CIBC acting as agent for the syndicate.
House Committee on Small Business will conduct a hearing on the effects of the airline commission cap on travel agents at 10 a.m. July 12 in 2359 Rayburn. Three of the six witnesses will be members of the American Society of Travel Agents, ASTA said, including ASTA President Jeanne Epping.
USAir Shuttle is offering a two-for-one special for weekend travel between tomorrow and Sept. 4. Passengers traveling together will pay a total of $163 roundtrip instead of the normal $72 one-way, per-person fare on Saturdays and Sundays. The Shuttle operates from Boston Logan and Washington National to New York LaGuardia.
Western Pacific Airlines elected officers and four new board directors this week at its first annual shareholders meeting in Colorado Springs. Martin Dugan was re-elected as a director. The new directors are Clayton Bennett, Ivan Irwin, Glenn Stinchcomb and James Wikert. Founder Edward Beauvais and Trevor Van Horn will remain on the board; they were not required to stand for re-election.
Memphis has its first nonstop transatlantic service with the launch of KLM/Northwest code-sharing flights to Amsterdam. The inaugural flight with a KLM MD-11 was decorated with a double-life-size decal of Elvis Presley. The aircraft was dubbed Elvis 1. Memphis is KLM's eleventh U.S. destination.
Continental's pilots will receive a $20 million cash payment upon signing the new collective bargaining agreement tentatively agreed to on Wednesday (DAILY, June 29). A Continental official called the agreement "mutually beneficial." Continental Express pilots still are bargaining under federal mediation and are not part of this agreement. Pilots will receive a 2.5% longevity pay snapback on Jan. 1 and a $10 million cash payment on April 1. Base pay will increase 13.5% on July 1, 1996, and another 5% on June 30, 1997.
BWIA International Airways has reached agreements with unidentified lessors to re-equip its fleet with eight 757s and three 767-300ERs, and it plans to bring in five 50- to 80-seat regional jets within the next two years, according to the carrier. BWIA, privatized by the government of Trinidad and Tobago in February, has not decided which small jet to order, a spokesman said yesterday, but the airplanes will be operated by BWIA or one of its Express partners.
Fokker has selected Collins Avsat satellite-based avionics for new flight management systems on its F70 and F100, giving Collins its first air transport market in this area, David Mineck, executive VP, Air Transport Division, said yesterday in Washington, D.C. The Collins Avsat, which also has been selected for Bombardier's Challenger 604, is currently in flight testing with certification expected this September.
Final rules issued by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. require 4 million workers and retirees to receive notices from employers about the funding levels of underfunded pension plans. The Retirement Protection Act, which became law in December, requires companies with plans less than 90% funded to provide an annual explanation of their plans and limits to PBGC's guarantees. About 1,500 companies with large plans will have to send out the information this year, PBGC said. The pension reform law also accelerates funding for underfunded plans.
Turks Air is seeking renewal of its authority to operate non-scheduled all- cargo and charter freight service between the Turks and Caicos Islands and Miami. Under its current exemption, the carrier may use only wet-leased aircraft from a carrier that has received requisite economic authority from DOT. In its filing, Turks points out it has renewed a long-term wet-lease for all-cargo operations with DHL Airways. It also has a long-term wet- lease for all-cargo operations with Trans-Air-Link Corp. (Docket 48134)
