Wang Kaiyuan, former president of China Northern Airlines, and Bian Shaobin, former director general of the Civil Aviation Administration of China's Eastern China Administration, have been appointed vice ministers of CAAC. They will replace Yan Zhixiang and Li Zhao, who will retire soon. After the replacement, the areas of responsibility of CAAC's four vice ministers - the incumbents are Shen Yuankang and Bao Peide - will be realigned.
Indonesian Research and Technology Minister Jusuf Habibie announced selection of Mobile, Ala., as the U.S. city where Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara's N-250 turboprop regional aircraft will be assembled, according to a Reuter report from Jakarta. An agreement on the $100 million venture is to be signed in June, he said. The Indonesian company hopes to break into the U.S. airline market with the 70-seat N-250, which is scheduled to make its first flight this year. IPTN plans eventually to sell all but a 40% stake in the U.S. venture.
A preliminary report from an FAA National Aviation Safety Inspection Program inspection of Business Express Airlines found no regulatory or safety violations, the carrier said. The Delta Connection carrier, which also operates as Northwest Airlink, said an FAA inspection team of 13 operational and safety experts worked for 11 on the inspection mandated for all airlines at the January FAA safety summit. Separately, Business Express announced it will expand and renovate its facilities at Boston Logan Airport, doubling its gates and ramps in the C concourse.
AirTran Airways will increase its nonstop Nashville-Orlando service July 1 by adding one daily flight, for a total of two. To promote the flights, the carrier is offering $69 one-way fares from Nashville to Orlando and Tampa for travel June 1 through Sept. 15. The fares do not require an advance purchase. AirTran's normal fares from Nashville range from $79 to $119.
FedEx said it will buy parts of ground vehicles from eight manufacturers instead of completed vehicles from suppliers, adding custom-designed vehicles to its fleet. Cummins Engine Co. will supply engines; Freightliner Corp. tractors; Goodyear Tire and Rubber tires; Morgan Corp. van bodies; Rockwell International drive trains; Silver Eagle Manufacturing converter dollies; Utilimaster walk-in body units, and Wabash National trailers.
Airbus Industrie is due to get into the military airplane business next month by taking over management of Europe's long-stalled Future Large Airlifter program from the EuroFLAG consortium.Putting Airbus in charge was one of the U.K.'s main conditions for rejoining FLA and agreeing to buy some of the airplanes.
National Air and Space Museum has come up with a display few would have thought of as a record of the history of aviation - Barbie dolls. From June 9 to Sept. 4, Washington's most-attended tourist attraction will feature an array of Barbies, beginning with a 1961 American Airlines stewardess. The display comprises 56 aerospace-related toys, 15 Barbies and 19 other Mattel "personalities," including Army Ken.
White House aides are looking into what was described as the FAA bureaucracy's "underlying bias" against returning former Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization controllers to work.Since August 1993, when President Clinton signed an executive order permitting former PATCO members to apply for jobs, FAA has hired 27.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Income Statement October 1, 1994 - March 31, 1995 Current Month RECEIPTS (Revenues) Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas $ 12,097,000.00 Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. 370,164,000.00 Use of International Travel Facilities 18,621,000.00
Asian Frequent Flyer (AFF) Pte Ltd. has renewed its facility management contract with Abacus Distribution Systems for three years. AFF, jointly owned by Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, operates the Passages frequent flyer program. Abacus, the Singapore-based computer reservations system owned by the Worldspan CRS and several Asia/Pacific airlines - including the three AFF owners - developed the application systems for AFF in 1993.
As Boeing delivered the first 777 twinjet to United last week, drawing revenue from its first all-new aircraft design since 1982, its engineers already were developing a smaller and a larger version of the aircraft. Success of the 777 is a must for the company, and Chairman and Chief Executive Frank Shrontz said Boeing believes the aircraft type should be particularly popular in Asia, where seven carriers have ordered it and several others are near decisions on widebody purchases.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) has appointed Graham Rose, currently general manger-business communications for Galileo International, its new director of communications, effective July 1. WTTC, a global coalition of 70 chief executives from all sectors of the travel and tourism industry, seeks to convince governments of the strategic and economic importance of travel and tourism, promote environmentally com-patible development and eliminate barriers to growth of the industry. Rose has been at Galileo for seven years.
Swissair Group will realign aircraft maintenance responsibilities within the company during the next 18 months as it retires its 10 Fokker 100s, brings in more Avro RJ100s and replaces its McDonnell Douglas MD-81s with Airbus A320s. As it phases out the older jets, which are maintained at Geneva Technical Services, and phases in the new jets, which require less maintenance, Swissair will reassign 130 Technical Services personnel within the Swissair Group and eliminate the remaining 80 positions through early retirements and some layoffs.
Consumer Reports magazine released a survey in which readers chose Midwest Express the best U.S. airline in overall performance, on-time, check-in, seat comfort, flight attendants, crowding and baggage handling. The survey, of 120,000 readers who flew between January 1993 and April 1994, ranked Alaska Airlines second and Kiwi International third. Carnival and Mark Air rated lower than average in all categories.
Alitalia requested renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between points in Italy and Miami. The carrier plans a maximum of seven weekly frequencies between Rome and Miami. Some of the flights would stop in Milan. (Docket 48148)
BWIA International Airways signed a joint marketing pact with Air Martinique in what BWIA described as the first phase of a partnership that will soon add service to Martinique from BWIA's Miami gateway. BWIA said the agreement will allow it to sell the New York-Martinique market. Service to Martinique will be routed through St. Lucia, where passengers will switch to an Air Martinique onward flight. To promote the new alliance, the carriers are offering introductory fares 25% off the lowest fare until June 30.
In what it described as an effort to reduce the cost of regulations, DOT is proposing to allow carriers to file their international passenger service rules, or tariffs, electronically. DOT estimated the change would save the airline industry about $1.6 million annually in submission, printing and distribution cost, while also reducing the department's review, filing and storage costs.
DOT has denied a request by Alia-The Royal Jordanian Airline to renew its exemption to operate scheduled combination service between Amman, Jordan, and Miami, and to continue serving Cologne, Germany, as an intermediate point. Filed in April 1994, the renewal application drew opposition from Northwest and United. Northwest urged DOT to turn down Royal Jordanian's request because the Government of Jordan denied its request to serve Amman under its code-share arrangement with KLM.
American has applied for renewal of its authority to carry cargo between Los Angeles and San Francisco, on the one hand, and Melbourne, Australia, on the other, under a blocked-space/code-sharing agreement with Qantas Airways. (Docket 50143)
FAA ordered an emergency inspection of Lockheed L-1011-300s after receiving six reports of fatigue cracking in fuselage frames that it said could reduce the structural integrity of the fuselage shell. FAA said the fatigue cracking appears to result from pressurization loads on aircraft with between 20,000 and 25,000 landings. It approved a Lockheed alert service bulletin describing procedures for the inspections and repairs.
Hawaiian Airlines received the 1995 onboard services award from Onboard Services magazine. The carrier's Hawaii Regional Cuisine menu in first class took top honors in the food service category. Hawaiian consults with local chefs and changes the menu every three months. Caterair, which caters all of Hawaiian's flights, adapts the recipes for airline meals.
Metro Dade County (Fla.) Board of Commissioners approved American Airlines' "Super A" expansion at Miami Airport. The board voted Thursday to incorporate the plan into its capital improvement program. Dade County Department of Aviation has 60 days to iron out a financing plan with the county manager for final board approval.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Balance Sheet As of March 31, 1995 Current Month ASSETS Undisbursed Balances: Available for Investment $ 353.76 TOTAL UNDISBURSED BALANCE (Cash in Account) Receivables: Interest Receivables $ 169,984,451.01 TOTAL RECEIVABLES Investments:
