Northwest Airlink carrier Mesaba Aviation has started service to Ely, Minn., from Minneapolis/St. Paul. The carrier is operating one daily flight with 19-seat Metro IIIs.
Aerolitoral is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between Hermosillo, Mexico, and Phoenix; and between Tijuana, Mexico, and Los Angeles. A wholly owned subsidiary of Aeromexico, Aerolitoral has asked DOT for permission to carry the Aeromexico code on the service. The carrier requested immediate action on the application since Air L.A., Aeromexico's code-share partner in the markets, announced plans to terminate service on the routes. As of yesterday, Air L.A.
Aeromexpress is seeking renewal of its authority to operate all-cargo service between points in Mexico and the U.S. The carrier is seeking renewal for two years of service between a number of markets, including Mexico City-Chicago/Houston/Laredo/New York/San Francisco/Seattle; Guadalajara-Laredo/Miami/New York/San Francisco; Monterrey-Miami/New York, and Tijuana-Miami/New York/Seattle. The carrier also wants continued authority for service between Mexico City and three U.S. co-terminal points - Detroit, Los Angles and Miami - and between Merida and Miami.
Members of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) recently toured Vietnam as part of the first official educational tour by U.S. travel agents, one of the "biggest breaking destinations," the travel group said. The tour, coordinated by ASTA and Northwest WorldVacations, came at the request of the Vietnamese government. ASTA President Jeanne Epping said, "Since the travel industry is one of the driving engines of the global economy, this one cutting-edge visit by travel agents can ultimately have a major ripple effect on Vietnam's future economic growth.
TWA is saving an estimated $3.5 million a year in health care costs by using a self-funded plan, according to the third-party administrator of the plan, Benefit Plan Administrators, Melville, N.Y. BPA has been managing the health care of about 6,000 TWA employees in the greater New York area for about seven months and wants to expand its relationship with TWA to cover other employees.
Horizon Air has become the first turboprop operator to be approved by FAA for low-visibility landings and takeoffs that meet or exceed the performance of commercial jets, the carrier said. Horizon's de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft can now operate at Category III minimums using a Flight Dynamics head-up guidance system. The carrier said it can land with runway visibility as low as 700 feet at qualified airports, including such Horizon destinations as Portland, Seattle and Sacramento, while other turboprop and jet operators are limited to 1,800 feet visibility.
Qantas plans to begin nonstop service between Tokyo and Brisbane in October in a move to bolster tourism and business travel to Queensland. The carrier will operate a weekly Boeing 747 roundtrip on Mondays, with continuing service to Sydney, and a one-way Tokyo-Brisbane flight on Thursdays. "Nonstop flights from Tokyo to Brisbane will boost visitor numbers to southern Queensland holiday destinations such as the Gold Coast," said Qantas Regional General Manager-Queensland Ian Mitchell.
FAA said Friday that ATR has installed new deicing boots on all 175 ATR-42 and -72 aircraft flying in the U.S., and that it has lifted a restriction prohibiting their dispatch into "forecast" freezing drizzle or freezing rain. Like all aircraft, ATRs still will be restricted from dispatch or operation into "known" freezing conditions. The new deicing boots, which nearly double the protected area of the wing, were approved March 20 following a review by FAA and DGAC of France.
Recent assessment by the DOT inspector general of FAA's technical skill base - that it "generally may be eroding as a consequence of retirements, voluntary separations and overall personnel reductions" - has been "noted with some concern" by members of the Aerospace Industries Association. The AIA assessment was reported last week by Chester Beach, associate counsel, Pratt&Whitney, at a Senate subcommittee hearing on unapproved parts.
Standard&Poor's ratings of USAir Group and USAir remain on CreditWatch with negative implications, but the agency may affirm the ratings in light of the tentative agreement on contract concessions concluded by the airline and its flight attendants union. S&P said the latest deal, following similar understandings with pilots and machinists, "makes it more likely" that it will affirm the ratings at current levels.
On the minus side: United's Association of Flight Attendants unit, trying to make the case that the carrier's development of foreign domiciles is a slap in the face, is distributing a pamphlet that pictures a female flight attendant being backhanded by a white-shirted male. The flight attendants, who stayed out of the employee buyout because of the foreign bases, are using the slogan, "We just work here."
Southwest Chairman Herb Kelleher says Southwest can support the FAA reform legislation (H.R.1392) sponsored by Rep. Jim Lightfoot (R-Iowa)."We really like that bill; we can support that bill," Kelleher said at a recent Texas Airport Operators Conference. He argued that FAA independence and off-budget status for the aviation trust fund have a chance in Congress this year, but neither privatization nor corporatization of air traffic control does.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) elected Edward Bolen senior VP/general counsel. National Business Aircraft Association (NBAA) named William Wagner of Townsend Engineering as treasurer.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) yesterday said he will support the Clinton administration in its efforts to compel Japan to honor its commitments under the U.S.-Japan aviation bilateral, but the administration needs to be tougher in negotiations. "They're directly violating the bilateral" and trying to force us to renegotiate, Pressler said in an interview with CNBC. "It's a form of black mail."
U.S. National Carriers Operating and Net Profit The Year 1994 Operating Net Profit/Loss Profit/Loss (000) (000) The Year 1994 Alaska $ 62,118 $ 22,571 Aloha (475) 560 American Trans Air 8,851 3,486
Precision Standard and the San Bernardino International Airport Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding for the lease of about 1 million square feet of hangar manufacturing and warehouse space at the former Norton Air Force Base in California. The company will use about 650,000 square feet as an aircraft maintenance and modification center and make the rest available for sublease. Precision Standard Chairman Matthew Gold said the facility will add substantial widebody capabilities to the company's current 3 million square feet of production space.
U.S. National Carriers Operating and Net Profit Fourth Quarter 1994 Operating Net Profit/Loss Profit/Loss (000) (000) Fourth Quarter 1994 Alaska $ 833 $ (3,872) Aloha (2,119) (709) American Trans Air (7,205) (5,255)
Union and FAA officials disagree over whether a power failure at New York Center last Thursday caused a loss of all radar and radio contact with 37 aircraft in the air at the time. The aircraft were diverted to other airports, and nearly 200 aircraft were delayed at area airports and at Philadelphia.
BA Chairman Colin Marshall, detailing the airline's delivery schedule for new aircraft, said last week the five A-model Boeing 777s BA will start receiving this fall are "not the model we really want." The preferred B- model is to start arriving in December 1996.
- Granted orally an exemption to Gulf Air Company to renew its authority to offer scheduled service from Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar via Cyprus to New York until Feb. 8...Approved an IATA agreement to increase children's fares for excursion and group inclusive tour travel within Africa from 50% to 67% of the adult fare...Approved an IATA agreement to revise Hong Kong-Japan first-class fares to meet market requirements by increasing roundtrip fares from Hong Kong to Japan by 10% and setting the one-way levels at 52.5% of the increased roundtrip levels.
- In Federal Register dated May 19...Issued special conditions on Bell Textron 222U helicopters...Proposed an AD on AlliedSignal LTS101-650 and -750 engines to require an improved power turbine rotor.
Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett encouraged airport associations last week to fight airport revenue diversion actively on behalf of individual airport executives, who may be politically constrained from doing so.
On the plus side: The captain of a United 767ER called maintenance at New York Kennedy to report a fuel filter failure during pre-flight. When the work was done in 32 minutes instead of the usual hour and a half, the pilot thanked the maintenance crew. "We own 20% of this airline now," came the reply, "so we'd better make it work."
KLM made an "urgent" appeal to its pilots Friday to abandon their plan to strike today, and instead accept mediation without preconditions (DAILY, May 26). The Dutch pilots union, VNV, called a strike for 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. today to protest contract changes being pushed by KLM, including an increase in the retirement age for new hires to 60 years of age from the current 55. The strike will ground all Amsterdam Schiphol Airport departures and may delay flights scheduled to land at the KLM hub during the strike period.
