Allison Engine Co.'s AE 3007C turbofan won its FAA certification this week, the company's first commercial turbofan certificate. Developed at 7,500 pounds' thrust, the engine is rated at 6,400 pounds' thrust for Cessna's new Mach 0.90 Citation X business jet and 7,200 pounds' thrust for the Embraer EMB-145 50-passenger regional jet.
- H.R.766, introduced Feb. 1 by Rep. Sonny Callahan (R-Ala.) - to amend the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 to provide for a two-year budgeting cycle, and for other purposes. Referred to the Committee on the Budget, and to the Committees on Government Reform and Oversight, and Rules. - H.R.767, introduced Feb. 1 by Rep.
British Airways Chairman Colin Marshall wants to deny organized labor a voice on the board of USAir, Air Line Pilots Association President Randolph Babbitt said yesterday. Responding to a Wall Street Journal article in which Marshall described USAir's pilots and its ALPA unit as "the principal obstruction" in negotiations between USAir management and a labor coalition over wage and work rule concessions, Babbitt said, "He wants to deny us any say on the board." BA holds a voting stake of just under 25% in USAir as well as three seats on the 16-member USAir board.
Swissair Group plans to make two major changes in its flight operations by yearend in an effort to streamline its organizational structure and to improve the performance of its short-haul operations. The company said yesterday that the long-haul and short-haul charter operations of majority-owned subsidiary Balair/CTA will be reassigned to the group's Swissair and Crossair units, respectively. Second, all flights within the Swissair Group involving aircraft of up to 100 seats are to be operated by Crossair, which has a lower cost structure than Swissair.
Even though the idea has been dormant for more than five years, U.S. package carriers may yet wind up buying McDonnell Douglas's C-17 military airlifter - in its military configuration - Don Kozlowski, an MDC senior VP and the company's C-17 chief, told reporters this week. McDonnell Douglas first floated the idea of a civil C-17 variant in the late 1980s, but the aircraft was to have lacked military features that add cost and weight but are not needed by commercial operators.
Clash between pilot groups and ATR-72 manufacturer Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) was expected in Indianapolis Thursday during NTSB hearings into the Oct. 31 crash of American Eagle 4184 near Roselawn, Ind. ATR witnesses Wednesday suggested that the crew of 4184 was inattentive and was distracted by the presence of a flight attendant in the cockpit. They said that "sterile cockpit" rules prohibit such distractions during critical phases of flight, including takeoffs, landings and all operations below 10,000 feet.
All Nippon Airways wants the U.S.-Japan bilateral revised to allow it to serve Honolulu and New York from the new Kansai Airport near Osaka.ANA President Seiji Fukatsu said recently the agreement should be renegotiated to treat Japanese carriers more fairly. Japan would like talks to resume by the end of this month, but nothing has been scheduled to date.
Sukhoi Design Bureau of Russia has selected GE's CT7B turboprop engine to power its Sukhoi S-80 multipurpose STOL aircraft, GE reported. Sukhoi will take delivery of two instrumented CT7-9B engines for flight testing by early 1996, with production of the transport aircraft planned to begin the following year. The aircraft can be configured either as a 26-passenger airline aircraft or as a 6,800-pound cargo plane.
FAA forecasters said yesterday they expect airline yields to continue to decline, but steady traffic increases and restructuring efforts will keep the industry financially healthy over the next 12 years. The forecasters also predicted that regional airline growth will decline from its current heady pace due to competition from point-to-point jet operators. FAA is scheduled to issue its latest forecast, covering fiscal years 1995-2006, at an annual conference today in Washington.
Saab 2000 completed its first U.S. sales tour last week, showing off its jet-like takeoff performance and cruising speed as well as an active noise control system that significantly quiets cabin interiors. On a demonstration flight from Washington Dulles, the lightly loaded aircraft reached 25,000 feet in seven and one-half minutes, leveling off and reaching a true airspeed of 365 knots (420 mph). The system, unique to Saab, replicates interior engine, prop and slip-stream noise and cancels out the noise through internal cabin speakers.
Continental is rethinking its meal service and wants to offer a more "rational" selection. Some flights have no meals and others provide too much food, according to Chief Executive Officer Gordon Bethune, and service will be changed according to length of haul, time of day and markets. Continental has been trying to reduce the level of customer complaints, and recently it reversed some frequent flyer program changes because of customer dissatisfaction.
The spate of negative publicity following two fatal regional aircraft accidents late last year had an impact on January load factors recorded by 12 regional airlines tracked by The DAILY, which suffered an average 4.1% reduction. Although other factors may have affected individual cases, most carriers identified news reports as persuading some passengers to seek alternate transportation.
Rybinsk Motors of Russia under an agreement with GE will repair, overhaul and provide product support for GE CT7 turboprop and turboshaft engines that power aircraft operated or manufactured within Russia, the U.S. company reported. Under the memorandum of agreement, Rybinsk also will assemble, inspect and test CT7 engines and modules when production rates within Russia of CT7-powered aircraft reach specified levels. The MOA also calls for development of a plan to identify CT7 engine parts that can be competitively manufactured by Rybinsk under a licensing agreement.
DOT's draft study on the high-density slot rule is complete and under final review, DOT Secretary Federico Pena told the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday. DOT hopes to publish the 500-page study "very soon," he said.
A coalition of 10 international carriers is taking aim at U.S. efforts to extend bans on gambling and smoking from domestic to international flights. In a position paper issued this week, the International Airline Coalition on the Rule of Law questions the legitimacy of recent congressional efforts to ban gambling and smoking on flights arriving in and departing from the U.S. A gambling ban passed in the last session of Congress, while the smoking ban failed but is expected to come up again this year.
Increased transborder competition and the resulting lower yields, expected as a product of the new Open Skies agreement between the U.S. and Canada, prompted S&P to downgrade its long-term rating outlook for Air Canada to negative from stable. S&P affirmed its BB- (below investment grade) rating on Air Canada's $300 million senior unsecured debt. "Air Canada's rating reflects its above-average business position as one of Canada's two dominant national air carriers, offset by weaker but improving financial parameters," the rating agency said.
Subsidized Essential Air Service As Of Jan. 1, 1995, (Excluding Alaska) State/ Subsidized Service to Aircraft Communities Carrier (Hubs) Type Alabama Anniston Gulfstream Atlanta Beech C-99 Arizona Kingman Mesa Phoenix Beech 1900 Prescott Mesa Phoenix Beech 1900 Page SkyWest Phoenix Metro III
ValuJet will begin service to Chicago Midway April 2 from Washington Dulles, offering four daily flights with fares between $59 and $109 one way. The "fun and friendly, soon-to-be international" carrier, approved this week for service from Washington to Montreal, will launch the route March 15 with the same fare range. Chicago will become ValuJet's 10th destination from Washington. The $59 fare to Chicago and Montreal requires 21-day advance purchase and is for off-peak hours only.
Midway Airlines was preparing yesterday to moves its operations today, as planned, from Chicago to Raleigh/Durham, where it will offer 22 daily departures to Boston, New York LaGuardia, Newark, Washington National, Tampa, Orlando, West Palm Beach and Chicago Midway. It operated on a limited schedule yesterday as it moved equipment to the new North Carolina hub. A Midway spokesman said the carrier will choose a regional partner but has not yet done so - a number of commuter airlines have approached Midway, and it may announce the selection within the next two weeks.
TWA board member John Cahill has been unanimously elected as non- executive chairman of the airline following the departure of Donald Craib, who resigned for personal reasons. The change comes at a time when TWA is revising proposals to its 8% and 10% noteholders (DAILY, Feb. 27). Craib's mission was to assemble a new management team after he was elected chairman in January 1994, shortly after TWA emerged from Chapter 11, and to prepare the carrier's financial restructuring. A TWA spokesman said Craib believed he accomplished those tasks, and it was time to leave.
Air Canada's Canadian Air Line Pilots Association (CALPA) unit has approved a management request for a temporary increase in monthly flight time. For the rest of the year, the flight time limit will rise to 85 hours per month from the previous 78 hours. In an interview with The DAILY before the vote was taken, Air Canada Chairman Hollis Harris said ratification of the proposal would enable Air Canada to recall by yearend the rest of the 243 pilots it furloughed during its downsizing and restructuring.
New carrier Western Pacific Airlines intends to inaugurate medium-haul service from Colorado Springs April 28, providing some competition to the new Denver Airport. The company, headed by former America West founder Edward Beauvais, has secured three 737-300s and plans initially to operate nonstop service to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Kansas City and Oklahoma City. It wants to put two more aircraft in service June 1.
Mesa Air Group carrier WestAir asked the National Mediation Board Monday to mediate talks with its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. The United Express carrier has been in contract negotiations with its pilots since September 1993, and talks have intensified with management's recent request for productivity improvements and wage reductions from pilots to achieve annual cost savings of $1.5 million (DAILY, Feb. 17). ALPA represents about 370 pilots at WestAir.
Air Canada has applied for authority to serve Manila and Ho Chi Minh City, and said yesterday it intends to activate its long-standing rights to serve the Philippines. Beginning in December, Air Canada plans to operate three flights a week to Manila as an extension of its existing Toronto- Vancouver-Seoul service. In November, it plans to begin 767-300ER service to Ho Chi Minh City from Montreal via Frankfurt and Dubai.
