AlliedSignal Aerospace said SAS has selected its anti-icing system for 69 MD-80 aircraft. AlliedSignal said its Electro-Thermal Ice Protection System is designed to eliminate the formation of clear ice on the upper surface of the wing. Ice shedding from the wing surface during takeoff presents a potential hazard to rear-mounted engines, such as those on the MD-80, the company said.
Canadian Regional Airlines will phase out eight of 15 ATR 42s in favor of eight used de Havilland Dash 8-100s in its Ontario fleet by April 1996 in what the carrier describes as fleet standardization. Any speculation that the decision resulted from the ATR grounding last winter is "not true," said Business Planning Manager Ted Sheldon. The carrier will continue to operate ATR 42s in Quebec. By next April, the carrier systemwide will operate seven ATR 42s, 12 Dash 8-100s, 13 Dash 8-300s, 13 Fokker F28s and two Shorts 360s, for a total of 47 aircraft.
Paraguayan carrier LAPSA has joined the LatinPass frequent flyer program, which now comprises 18 Latin and Caribbean carriers and USAir.LatinPass officials say their goal is for all major Latin carriers to join, and then to grow the venture into a global program.
Continental Express has reached an agreement with its pilots to fly the company's new fleet of 19-passenger Beech 1900s but...the pilots' union wants the agreement included in an overall new contract - still in negotiations - before they will fly the planes, while the company would like 1900 operations to begin under a side letter.
DOT has established a fund to help the victims of the Oklahoma City bombing, DOT Secretary Federico Pena said yesterday at a memorial service in Washington. "The last eight days have been very painful," he said, "but the last thing we should do is allow [the perpetrators] to intimidate us."
United Parcel Service supported a filing by the U.S. government of the first formal dispute resolution measure with Mexico under Chapter 20 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. UPS said the filing was in response to the Mexican government's failure to meet its NAFTA obligation to grant U.S. express delivery companies the right to operate the same size vehicles as Mexican competitors. The dispute procedures, initiated by U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor, are intended to provide a non-confrontational process to resolve differences.
Delta yesterday reported substantially improved March quarter financial results that put it solidly on track for a profit in the fiscal year ending June 30. For the March quarter, Delta had a net loss of $11 million before stock dividends and an operating profit of $40 million. In the same 1994 quarter, it had a net loss of $78 million and an operating loss of $67 million. Through the first three quarters of Delta's fiscal 1995, the airline had an operating profit of $212 million and a net profit of $157 million before dividends.
AMR Eagle pilots will be barred from flying both the 70-passenger Avro RJ70 and the Fokker F70 under a revised scope clause agreed to by American and its pilots. The new clause does not change the 70-passenger cap (maximum fleet average is 50 seats) on aircraft flown by the Eagle subsidiaries, but it does impose a limitation of 75,000 pounds maximum gross takeoff weight - both the RJ70 and the F70 check in at 84,000 pounds. It would not prohibit operation of the 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet (51,000 pounds) or the 70-passenger Dash 8-400 at 57,000 pounds.
Top Regional Aircraft 1994 (By Total Seats) Percentage Total of Total Aircraft Fleet 1994 in Airline Total Seating Fleet Rank Manufacturer Model Service* Seats Capacity Block Hours
FAA has issued a broad agency announcement (TCBAA-95-0001) soliciting proposals for research and development into technologies for detecting bulk, compound-specific explosives. The agency said there are known technologies, including electromagnetic resonance and crystal identification, that yield a signature of specific explosive compounds in bulk explosives.
Officials of Controllers United, which represents many former members of the Pro- fessional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, are scheduled to meet Tuesday with White House staff members to argue their case that FAA does not have enough air traffic controllers and is not hiring PATCO members fast enough. The AFL-CIO and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association also maintain that there are not enough air traffic controllers. An AFL-CIO official recently questioned FAA data indicating that the number of controllers is adequate.
DOT General Counsel Stephen Kaplan will leave his position during June or July. He will return to Denver to devote more time to his family, said a government official. Kaplan played a key role in breaking the stalemate in U.S.-Canada aviation relations. Beginning in October 1994, Kaplan and Geoffrey Elliot, former chief negotiator of bilateral air agreements for Canada, held a series of private meetings, which led to a framework agreement that served as the basis of the new bilateral (DAILY, Dec. 23, 1994).
Lufthansa Technik has signed a contract with Austrian Airlines for the maintenance and overhaul of two Airbus A340s. Austrian selected Lufthansa Technik's Total Technical Support (TTS) program, which means the aircraft will be integrated completely in Lufthansa Technik's maintenance and overhaul system. Lufthansa Technik sister company Lufthansa German Airlines was a launch customer for the A340 and has been flying the four- engine aircraft since March 1993. Lufthansa Technik has long-term TTS contracts with four other airlines covering a total of five A340s.
Canadian Airlines International and Lufthansa are expanding their joint venture/code-sharing alliance and plan to add 30% more capacity per week to and from Germany by summer 1996. Under the broadened pact, the partners will share codes on all Canada-Germany services, beginning Dec. 22. Next winter, they will jointly offer daily nonstop flights to Frankfurt from Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal Mirabel. At least six weekly flights will be available from Calgary.
Mesa Air Group barely broke even in its second fiscal quarter ended March 31, earning a net income of $63,446, or zero cents per share, on operating revenues of $106.4 million and an operating income of $2.1 million. For the comparable quarter in the prior year, the carrier had a net income of nearly $6.3 million, or 17 cents per share, on operating revenues of $93.8 million and an operating income of $12.2 million.
FAA Administrator David Hinson and Noel Longuemare, deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and technology, will be among the featured speakers at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers International Radar Conference May 8-11 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, Va. The conference is held every five years. Hinson will speak on air traffic control radars in the 21st century, and Longuemare will address DOD acquisition reform and the role of technology in a shrinking defense environment.
ValuJet Airlines will begin three daily nonstop flights June 8 from Boston to its two "focus cities," Washington Dulles and Atlanta, with one-stop connections to 15 additional markets (DAILY, April 19). One-way fares are as low as $49 to Washington and $89 to Atlanta during off-peak hours, with a 21-day advance purchase. To introduce the service, ValuJet will waive the 21-day requirement for travel completed by June 28.
A draft Senate Budget Committee option paper for cutting transportation funding includes outlay savings of $14.7 billion through fiscal 2000 from privatizing air traffic control services and $5 billion from eliminating airport grants.
Two American Eagle carriers, Simmons and Flagship, will expand transborder service to three new Canadian cities in June and July with service to Halifax, Ottawa and Quebec City. Dallas-based Simmons Airlines will offer two daily roundtrips starting June 15 from New York Kennedy to Halifax using Super ATR aircraft, and Nashville-based Flagship Airlines will begin operating three daily roundtrips from Kennedy to Ottawa using Saab 340Bs. On July 1, Flagship will add three daily roundtrips between Kennedy and Quebec City with the Saab 340B.
Daimler-Benz Aerospace Chief Executive Jurgen Schrempp is advocating cooperation among European and Asian companies in developing a common plan for regional jets. Schrempp's remarks were included in a formal statement issued by Daimler-Benz Aerospace earlier this month that referred to "multiple capacities worldwide" and "ruinous price wars in the regional jet market." Schrempp boasted that his company's Fokker holding now supplies more than 50% of the world's regional jets.
The U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration's Office of Research Forecasts, issuing yearend totals for 1994, estimated that travelers to the U.S. numbered 45,688,000, down about 0.2% from 1993. Canada continued to be the source of the most arrivals, sending nearly 15 million visitors, but the total was down 13% from 1993. Mexican traffic to the U.S. continued to climb - the total of arrivals has not been tabulated but is expected to increase by 17% to 11,500,000. Next in line are Japan with 4,065,000 arrivals, up 15%; the U.K.
While laying out a vision of the changing global aviation market, DOT's new International Air Transportation Policy statement, issued Tuesday, also includes an action plan aimed at liberalizing the regime. The plan includes specific steps and strategies aimed at creating freer trade in aviation services. The U.S. already has acted on a number of the recommended steps - for example, extending invitations to a group of countries, such as the nine in Europe with which it already is negotiating, to enter into open aviation agreements.
The attempt to revise the U.S.-U.K. bilateral has ground to a halt again.The two sides have talked by phone since April 12, when the last round of negotiations ended unsuccessfully in Washington, but there has been no movement, a government official said. "We have reserved time on the calendar for talks" if there are positive developments, the official added.
