South Korea and China have agreed in principle to produce jointly a 100- seat transport aircraft, according to an official at Seoul's International Trade and Industry Ministry. The official, as quoted by Reuter, said a South Korean consortium led by Samsung Aerospace Industries and the state- run Aviation Industry of China will decide on foreign partners by the end of September. A major foreign partner, to be selected to provide advanced technology, will be allowed to take up to a 20% share of the project, the official said.
Four corporate airline safety officers have written to DOT Secretary Federico Pena to clarify their opposition to reversal of new on-time reporting requirements that include mechanical delays. Pena told a Senate committee last month that one of the top five recommendations from the January aviation safety summit called for eliminating mechanical delays from DOT's monthly on-time report, and that he is taking steps to do so.
American Society of Travel Agents has merchant status application programs with Bank One and American Express to help its members become Visa, MasterCard and American Express merchants, making collection of services fees easier. ASTA said it is not encouraging members to charge service fees in response to travel agent commission caps, but is providing an avenue for members who find it necessary.
Although there are no restrictions on the use of traffic alert and collision avoidance systems in Commonwealth of Independent States airspace, TCAS program officials warn that some domestic aircraft operating in this airspace use non-ICAO transponders that do not respond to TCAS interrogations. Program officials say there are no known restrictions on TCAS operation anywhere in the world.
DOT last week turned down a request for an exemption from the high-density slot rules to allow new entrant Western Pacific Airlines to serve Chicago O'Hare from its Colorado Springs base. The airline, which begins service Friday, had planned to launch service to O'Hare June 1, and it asked DOT for an exemption under legislation enacted last year.
Boeing Chairman Frank Shrontz yesterday reported lower revenues, earnings and aircraft deliveries in the first quarter of 1995 but said he is encouraged by favorable market trends in the commercial airline industry. Shrontz said the company will continue its efforts to achieve productivity gains, including an already-announced work force reduction and a retirement program that could result in a pretax earnings charge of up to $400 million in the second quarter.
America West has signed a five-year engine maintenance contract with American to repair America West's Rolls-Royce RB211-535E4 engines, which power the carrier's Boeing 757s. The work will be done at American's Alliance Maintenance Base near Fort Worth, Texas. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. American currently repairs two models of its own Rolls engines - RB211-535E4Bs, which power its 85 757s, and Tay 650s on its 75 Fokker 100s. The America West contract is the first sizable award for the Alliance base.
FAA yesterday denied the City of Los Angeles's request for a stay in the consideration of a Part 13 complaint filed by the Air Transport Association against the city over the transfer of the proceeds of a highway condemnation from the airport to the city's general fund. FAA gave the city until May 24 to file its answer to the complaint, however, saying that having to prepare an answer at the same time it prepares for its current rates and charges hearing may be burdensome.
America West has dedicated one of its 757s to the state of Arizona by painting the aircraft blue, yellow and red and emblazoning it with a design based on the state flag.
Messier-Dowty Ltd., Gloucester, England, said it has received a Queen's Award for Technological Achievement for its development of the main landing gear for Airbus Industrie's A330/A340 aircraft. The company delivered its 100th shipset in January.
American, for the fourth time in five years, ranked above eight other U.S. major carriers in Wichita State University's Airline Quality Rating. Researchers in this year's study concluded that the overall quality of airline performance is declining, however. The rating data, compiled by the National Institute for Aviation Research and the W.
Pratt&Whitney parent United Technologies had a buoyant first quarter as both profits and revenues grew by double-digit percentages, thanks to cost- cutting, stronger markets and - for the first time in a long time - growth in shipments of products. In financial results posted yesterday, UTC turned in 38% higher earnings, $135 million, on 12% stronger sales, $5.34 billion, and not a single UTC business saw revenue declines. Not all the credit can be given to operational improvements.
A new engine from Pratt&Whitney Canada, the PW150, will power the prospective 72-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-400 turboprop, Bombardier Aerospace Group-North America said yesterday (DAILY, April 24). Reporting that it conducted "an exhaustive evaluation of available alternatives," Bombardier cited commonality with PW120 and PW123 engines, which power current Dash 8 models, as the source of operational, maintenance, training and logistics support advantages.
House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee will review the commercial aviation fuel tax issue May 9 as part of a hearing on miscellaneous tax measures. The House bill to repeal the tax on commercial aviation fuel (H.R.752), sponsored by Ways and Means member Mac Collins (R-Ga.), now has 57 co-sponsors, including oversight subcommittee Chairwoman Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.).
TWA launched a four-day fare sale Sunday, quickly matched by most other carriers in competing markets, for tickets that must be purchased before midnight April 26. TWA's sale also includes discounts for Alamo rental cars and Radisson Hotels. The fares, valid for travel among four geographic zones, are for one-way, non-refundable tickets, based on a roundtrip purchase, and range from $79 to $229 in the continental U.S., and from $324 to $349 for flights to Hawaii and San Juan.
China, while training hundreds of pilots a year, expects demand to exceed supply by about 200 annually, according to the Civil Aviation Administration. An official quoted by The China Daily said aviation colleges and institutes will enroll 456 students this summer. This follows 509 enrolled last year.
Pratt&Whitney said it has completed testing on an Airbus A330 the ability of its PW4168 turbofan engine to operate at 75,000 pounds thrust. The engine is certificated at 68,000 pounds thrust. The latest testing was in anticipation of future A330 models that will require more power. Pratt said its engine is the first to offer the aircraft such a high thrust rating.
International Air Transport Association Director General Pierre Jeanniot cautioned the world's airlines yesterday that being large does not guarantee low operating costs, and he urged carriers to help offset the cost of new satellite-based navigation systems through revenue from on- board entertainment systems.In a speech to an aviation symposium in Montreal, Jeanniot complained about continuing subsidies for "other transport modes and [the] official indifference toward aviation infrastructure."
Puerto Rico Ports Authority and the airlines opposing the authority's airport fees have executed a settlement establishing new rates and charges for years 1995 and 1996. The parties yesterday filed a proposed recommended decision to be issued by DOT Law Judge Ronnie Yoder for case dismissal. (Docket 50178)
Consolidated Freightways posted a first quarter net profit of $24.2 million on revenues of nearly $1.3 billion and said its Emery Worldwide subsidiary earned $13 million during the period. Emery's operating profit was up 22.7% from the first quarter last year, and its revenues increased 21.3% to $412.8 million. "Emery's financial improvement was fueled by continued strong growth in international business," said Donald Moffitt, Consolidated Freightways' chief executive.
The U.S. major carriers' systemwide March passenger traffic rose 6.5% from a year ago on 2.5% more capacity, pushing the group's load factor up 2.4 percentage points to 63.6%. American, Northwest and United all recorded load factor gains, while America West and Southwest suffered declines. Continental, Delta, TWA and USAir reported essentially flat year-over-year load factor comparisons.
Airborne Freight reported yesterday that its net earnings fell to $1.8 million in the first quarter, compared with earnings of $6.4 million in the same quarter last year. Revenues for the quarter rose 13.5% to $529.9 million from $466.6 million, and shipments increased 20%. Chief Financial Officer Roy Liljebeck said the first quarter results "were being negatively impacted by an unexplained drop of 3.5% in the average weight per domestic shipment.
Lufthansa Technik AG has won a five-year contract from marketing partner United to overhaul the 100 V2500 engines that power the U.S. carrier's fleet of Airbus A320s. Lufthansa has been operating the A5 version of the V2500 on its A321s since early last year, and it currently has 25 of the engines. The V2500 contract is the second cooperative project between United and Lufthansa Technik. In late 1994, five of United's Boeing 747s were painted at Lufthansa Technik's facility in Hamburg.
Aviall's first quarter net earnings increased 32% to $1.69 million from $1.28 million in the first quarter last year. Net sales rose 8.5% to $212.2 million from $195.6 million, and the company's gross profit rose 11.5% to $40.8 million. Aviall management said sales from its commercial engine services business was up 17.8% to $124.5 million, accounting for nearly 59% of its net sales for the quarter. Gross profit from commercial engine services rose 28% to $16.8 million.
Thai Airways plans to expand its capacity 15%, starting in October, according to its corporate plan. The increase will come from the delivery during the year of one 747-400, six A330s and three DC-10-30s it had mothballed the past two years. The airline says it hopes to match the additional capacity with traffic growth of about 15%.
