Peruvian flag carrier Faucett is seeking charter authority to conduct wet- lease operations on behalf of APA International Airlines, on APA's U.S.- Dominican Republic scheduled combination routes. Under the agreement between the two airlines, Faucett will supply APA with combination aircraft - L-1011, A300 or 727-200 aircraft - with crew for its authorized scheduled routes to the U.S. The carrier wants the authority for about nine months, April 15-Dec. 31. (Docket 50265))
The fourth flying EH Industries EH-101 heavy helicopter, PP4, crashed late Friday in Yarcombe, England, but all four Westland Helicopters' crew - two pilots and two flight test engineers - escaped with minor injuries. The aircraft was slated to reach a maximum of 12,000 feet during the test flight, and officials believe that a "fairly catastrophic failure of some sort" occurred close to that altitude, perhaps at 11,000 feet, a Westland spokesman told The DAILY.
Continental's systemwide passenger traffic declined 0.3% last month from March a year ago on 0.1% less capacity, causing the load factor to dip 0.2 percentage points. Continental does not report passenger boarding figures. The airline's domestic traffic fell 2.2% on 2.4% less capacity, and its international traffic climbed 5.4% on 7.4% more capacity. For the first three months, systemwide traffic rose 2.7% on 4.6% more capacity, depressing the load factor 1.2 points to 59.7%. March 95 March 94 3 Mths 95 3 Mths 94
Air Canada plans to add four daily flights to its Toronto-New York schedule, using slots gained as a result of the U.S.-Canada Open Skies agreement, increasing its total to 12 flights a day between the cities (DAILY, April 10). Air Canada also operates six flights a day between Toronto and Newark, so it will offer 18 flights a day between Toronto and the New York area. The additional LaGuardia service will begin May 1, 54 years to the day after an Air Canada predecessor, Trans Canada Air Lines, first began service in the market.
Europe's airlines are more interested in gaining rights beyond U.S. gateways and harmonizing competition on the North Atlantic than in competing more directly with their U.S. counterparts, carrier representatives told the European Union aviation working group last week. The working group, comprising the EU's national civil aviation directors, met in Brussels to begin hammering out principles to govern Europe-U.S. aviation negotiations and slow down the U.S. open skies initiative (DAILY, April 6).
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses Third Quarter 1994 In Dollars Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American 1,184,362,000 4.51 1,036,474,000 Atlantic 529,429,000 6.30 453,756,000 Latin 562,371,000 7.72 504,369,000
New Swissair subsidiary Swissair Asia yesterday launched twice-weekly service to Taipei from Zurich via Bangkok (DAILY, Dec. 16). The airline will operate the service with 235-passenger MD-11s. The Taipei Airlines Association granted Swissair Asia authority to operate initially three weekly Zurich-Bangkok-Taipei flights, with the right eventually to increase the number of weekly frequencies to five. Political reasons prevent Swissair and other international carriers from flying to points on both the Chinese mainland and Taiwan.
Five industry groups have recommended that FAA develop additional standardization of runway friction measuring and reporting practices during winter operations by airport operators.
Boeing's first-quarter jetliner deliveries fell 28% from the like 1994 period, the steepest first-quarter decline since its deliveries peaked in 1992. The company delivered 59 aircraft during the quarter ended March 31, down from 82. In 1992, Boeing's most recent peak delivery year, the first quarter accounted for 124 aircraft. Airlines will begin accepting deliveries of the new 777 widebody twin this year, and Boeing expects to deliver 19 of them, beginning in May.
Air Zimbabwe has ordered two Fokker 50s, becoming the third national carrier in Africa to select the aircraft. Kenya Airways and Sudan Airways also operate F50s.
As round two of U.S.-U.K. aviation talks got under way yesterday in Washington, American launched a counterattack against United, applying for Dallas/Fort Worth-London Heathrow and U.S.-Osaka services. In both filings, American cited the rationale used by United in its Chicago- Heathrow filing, known to be part of a U.S.-U.K. mini-deal being considered this week (DAILY, April 3) - that "imminent developments in the U.S.-U.K. aviation relationship" would enable the new service. "In our view, a negotiated agreement between the U.S. and U.K.
Mesa Air Group carrier Mountain West Airlines will terminate its money- losing service as America West Express at Columbus, Ohio, June 1, forcing America West to re-evaluate its Columbus operation in light of the loss of feeder traffic. Mountain West, which lost $4.2 million since it began America West Express operations in December 1993, has provided connections to America West at Columbus from Baltimore, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Louisville, Toledo and Milwaukee.
Honeywell said Southwest has ordered the 12-channel Global Positioning Satellite Sensor Unit to equip the carrier's on-order Boeing 737-700 aircraft - 63 firm, 63 optioned - for en route and terminal area navigation. The Southwest order launched the next-generation 737 model, and deliveries will begin in October 1997. Honeywell and Canadian Marconi Co. developed the navigation unit for use with Global Positioning System satellites.
Aeromexico is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between Cancun, Mexico, on the one hand, and Atlanta and Los Angeles, on the other. It plans to start weekly Cancun-Los Angeles flights May 6, using 757s, and twice-weekly MD-80 service between Cancun and Atlanta at a later date. (Docket 50270)
National airlines are catching up with regionals in hiring pilots, adding slightly more than turboprop operators during the past two months.Nationals hired 214 pilots in March, nearly 30% of the 725 brought aboard by all U.S. operators. Nationals were boosted when Tower Air added 58 to its payroll during the month, half the number it hired in the last 12 months.
The defense supplemental appropriations bill (H.R. 889) includes rescission of a court-ordered federal air quality implementation plan for Sacramento, Ventura and Los Angeles that would require airlines and airports to convert ground service equipment to low- or zero-emitting vehicles and limit the use of auxiliary power units (DAILY, Feb. 16). The bill cleared Congress last week and awaits President Clinton's signature for enactment.
Growing popularity of 737 aircraft is making cash-strapped MarkAir's attempts to get more liberal leases much more difficult. The carrier seeks debt relief from creditors, and talks with some lessors have gone sour because airlines with money, such as startup Western Pacific, have come in with "cash on the barrel," a MarkAir official says.
U.S. transportation industry accounted for the third-highest number of layoffs in March, according to the Challenger Employment Report. Aerospace ranked seventh. Of the 27,809 layoffs announced by 40 U.S. companies during the month, the transportation industry weighed in with 3,600 and aerospace 1,950. The inancial industry had the largest share.
Tower Air's scheduled passenger traffic rose 35.8% in March on 38.2% more capacity, resulting in a load factor decline of 1.3 percentage points to 74.7%. The number of passengers carried in scheduled service increased 47.1% to 75,000, and the total block hours flown in scheduled and charter service jumped 26.2% to 2,547. Through the first quarter, Tower's scheduled traffic shot up 40.4% on 49.1% more capacity, and its overall block hours flown rose 48.4% to 8,293.
Senate has confirmed Kenneth Hipp as a member of the three-member National Mediation Board. His term will expire July 1, 1997. Hipp is a partner and chairman of the labor law section of Honolulu-based firm Goodsill, Anderson, Quinn&Stifel.
Raymond Seitz, a former U.S. ambassador to the Court of St. James, was appointed a non-executive director of British Airways on Friday. Seitz, a senior managing director of Lehman Brothers and a non-executive director on the boards of General Electric, the Chubb Corp., Cable&Wireless plc, the Telegraph Group plc and Shandwick plc, was in the U.S. foreign service for 28 years before retiring in May 1994. Since then, Seitz has lived in London. Charles Price II plans to retire from the BA board at the annual meeting on July 11.
Air New Zealand and subsidiary Mount Cook Airlines have upgraded to the Direct Sell level in the Abacus computer reservations system. At the Direct Sell level, the Abacus system interfaces automatically with the participating airline's host computer during the booking process to confirm bookings instantly. The airline's inventory is decremented automatically through an answer-back facility that indicates seat confirmation and provides the airline's record locator for the passenger name record.
Air Wisconsin's March traffic rose 17.2% on 25.9% more capacity, lowering the load factor 3.9 percentage points to 52.7%. The number of passengers enplaned declined 1.8%. Through the first three months of the year, Air Wisconsin's traffic was up 14.4% on 17.1% more capacity, producing a load factor decline of 1.2 points. The number of passengers boarded increased 7.9%. March 95 March 94 3 Mths 95 3 Mths 94 RPMs 38,054,398 32,476,490 98,274,293 85,926,875
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association told Orange County, Calif., officials last week it will "vigorously oppose any attempt to sell or transfer John Wayne Airport." AOPA President Phil Boyer said his members are "sensitive to the county's current fiscal crisis" - it has lost billions of dollars in the derivatives market - but "trading a one-time gain against safety and efficiency is not an acceptable alternative to public ownership of publicly funded transportation assets." Noting that John Wayne is the nation's third-busiest general aviation airport, he said AOPA
Continental will pay eligible full-time and permanent part-time employees a $65 bonus - $2.3 million total - for February on-time performance. The bonus is the first to employees as part of a plan announced in January to make Continental fifth or better each month in on-time arrivals. The carrier is paying the bonus even though the DOT report still is delayed.
