Restating familiar airline industry desires, United and TWA told Congress last week that government action in four areas would aid the industry's recovery - taxes, airport revenue diversion, regulations and international access. Two smaller carriers, Kiwi and ValuJet, echoed some of those recommendations but emphasized several issues more relevant to new-entrant airlines.
Qantas is implementing freight revenue management systems developed by Sabre Decision Technologies (SDT). The Qantas systems incorporate two of SDT's next-generation automated systems, CargoRev and CargoMax. Qantas is migrating to UNIX-based client/server technology for these applications.
Lone Star Airlines Friday launched service to Saltillo, Mexico, from Dallas/Fort Worth. The Fort Worth-based regional carrier is offering two daily nonstops to Saltillo, with continuing service to Torreon. Lone Star currently offers three daily nonstops to Chihuahua City. It operates a fleet of 19-seat Fairchild Metros and recently added a 30-seat Dornier 328. With the addition of three more Dorniers, all routes to Mexico will be served by the larger aircraft.
Talks aimed at restoring air links between Taiwan and South Korea have ended without an agreement. Sources close to the negotiations said Taiwan was angered by Korea's refusal to recognize the current Taipei government as the legitimate government of Taiwan, and the two sides could not come to an agreement on a number of core issues, including fifth-freedom rights. Taiwan severed direct air links between the two countries in late 1992 in retaliation for Korea's switching of diplomatic relations from Taiwan to mainland China.
The U.S. and China are trying to work out dates for another round of negotiations. The U.S. has recommended early April while China has offered mid-May, according to a DOT official. The two sides met this month in Beijing but failed to reach an agreement.
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FAA is pursuing a broader investigation of Arrow Air and other unnamed companies after issuing a notice of revocation against Arrow Friday, a step that could lead to revoking the Miami-based cargo carrier's operating certificate. The agency took the action after finding that the carrier falsified maintenance records, said William White, FAA deputy director of flight standards service. The falsification involved "a great deal of the airline's records," he said.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena unveiled the airline "Commuter Safety Rule" Friday to bring Part 135 carriers under Part 121 rules. The measure - actually a number of new rules completed as promised in an accelerated 100- day period - would bring sweeping changes to regulations governing regional carriers, aircraft certification and airports. "Whether an airplane has 10 seats or 300 seats, we can assure travelers that every commercial flight will deliver the same high level of safety," said Pena.
Granted orally an exemption to DHL Airways to perform scheduled all-cargo service between Cincinnati/Houston and Monterrey/Guadalajara, Mexico, and to integrate this service with current authority to serve the Cincinnati/Cleveland-Mexico City market...Granted orally an exemption to Asiana Airlines to conduct scheduled combination service between Korea and Guam...Granted orally an exemption to Horizon Air to engage in scheduled combination services between Seattle and Calgary, Alberta, Canada...Granted orally an exemption to Delta Air Lines renewing its authority to operat
Rolls-Royce bought Indianapolis-based Allison Engine Co. in the early hours of Friday for $525 million, gaining access to the regional turboprop market just in time for its expected boom at a fraction of the cost of developing even one engine. Plans for the purchase were announced last fall, and Rolls won all necessary government approvals in the U.S. and the U.K., thanks in part to a plan to create a new unit, Allison Advanced, to wall off the portion of Allison involved in deeply classified U.S. military high-performance engine work.
Air Transport Association is said to be closing in on selection of a new president, and one name mentioned often around Washington is Carol Hallett, commissioner of the U.S. Customs Service during the Bush administration. The association's regular board meeting is next Thursday, but it is not clear whether a decision will be made then.
PROS Strategic Solutions Inc. has implemented a bid-price-based origin-destination revenue management system at Continental. PROS said the system can enhance airline revenue management results by as much as 2% to 4%, and Continental is the first airline in the world to implement such a system fully. Continental is using the system on its domestic network of 1,500 daily flights.
SA Express, the new South African Airways partner, flies its 12 de Havilland Dash 8s with a piece of equipment likely not found on any other regional aircraft - a metal box in the baggage compartment for hand guns. It seems that about 80% of its white male passengers pack sidearms. The weapons are collected at the gate, stored in the metal bin, and returned to the passengers on arrival at the destination. The carrier is owned jointly by a Canadian investment group and African National Congress investors and began operations a year ago.
AMR Eagle, concerned that corporate travel departments and corporate travel agencies are steering clients away from flights on its ATR-42/72 aircraft, is attempting to "reach out" and convince them that the Franco/Italian aircraft are perfectly safe. The carrier operates 46 of the 46-passenger ATR-42s and 28 64-passenger ATR-72s and is negotiating with the manufacturer on the delivery of five additional aircraft. The carrier replaced the aircraft with Saab 340s at the Chicago hub in December because of icing concerns, but plans to begin phasing them back in April.
United has upgraded its Connoisseur Class with better food and wine service and amenities for its international business travelers. Enhancements include paired wine and menu selections, redesigned menus, onboard videos focusing on the featured wines, over-water satellite phone service, fast-track arrivals service at London Heathrow for U.S. passport holders, and upgraded china and blankets. United will feature a different wine or champagne every two months through February 1996.
ATR chief test pilot Gilbert Defer testified yesterday at a National Transportation Safety Board hearing in Indianapolis that he was able to maintain control of his ATR-72 when he and a team of researchers recreated the icing conditions and the uncommanded roll that investigators suspect caused the crash of American Eagle Flight 4184 last Oct. 31 near Roselawn, Ind.
The FAA has proposed to require installation of a modification to the plumbing of the instrument air system for Beech 1900, 1900C and 1900D airplanes. The proposal would override an existing airworthiness directive requiring a different modification to the instrument air system on 1900 and 1900C airplanes. That AD (91-24-15) stemmed from several reports of moisture freezing in the plumbing on the instrument air system. FAA said such ice formation could cause aerodynamic problems and loss of airplane controllability.
List of subsidized essential air service points is printed above. The Clinton administration last month proposed to kill the program. No action has been taken in the House or Senate on the fiscal 1996 DOT appropriations bill, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) noted at a hearing yesterday that EAS is a "very popular" program.
U.S.-China bilateral talks in Beijing ended yesterday - a day ahead of schedule - without an agreement. Chinese officials continue to reject the U.S. position that seven undesignated frequencies in the current agreement be used, saying that a market share imbalance between the two countries must be resolved first. Failure of the talks leaves the U.S with the political dilemma of whether to impose sanctions, an industry source said. Despite the apparent stalemate, however, there may have been some movement under the surface, a U.S.
DOT issued a show cause order to determine the fitness of potential new entrant commuter operator Balter Worldwide Corp. To operate as Sunshine Airways or Sunshine Air, the California-based carrier currently conducts air taxi operations specializing in scenic flights around Los Angeles.
Aerolineas Argentinas and Iberia are offering a joint fare for travel from the U.S. and Canada to Argentina and then on to Madrid and back. For US$1,299 from Miami, New York or Los Angeles, and C$1,499 from Montreal and Toronto, passengers can fly to Argentina on Aerolineas Argentinas, to Europe on either carrier, and back across the Atlantic on Iberia. The fare is effective through May 31 and from Sept. 1 to Dec. 9.
Despite attempts by the European Union to thwart the Open Skies talks, Belgium became the second of the nine European countries to initial an Open Skies agreement with the U.S. yesterday. The pact represents a dramatic rebuff of EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock's attempt to stall the nine-country effort (DAILY, March 1). Kinnock, in letters to the ministers of the EU countries involved in the initiative, asked them "in the strongest terms" to give assurance by March 10 that they would not sign or initial an accord with the U.S., according to the EU.
TWA has signed a purchasing contract with hometown company Clark Oil for 38 million gallons of jet fuel to be used at St. Louis Lambert Airport. The contract, worth about $17.8 million at today's prices, started Wednesday and runs for one year. The fuel is refined at Clark's new plant in Port Arthur, Texas. TWA, which moved its corporate headquarters to St. Louis last year, operates more than 325 daily departures from Lambert.
Although the General Services Administration has called for bids on Global Positioning System support work totaling up to $570 million over several years, FAA plans to spend only about $400,000 for support services this year, according to Richard Arnold, manager of FAA's GPS and navigation activities (DAILY, Feb. 28). GSA can contract up to $570 million over seven years because "there are other government agencies that are interested in using this contract for their GPS work," he said.
