Used Regional Aircraft Transactions December 1994 Carrier No. Type Engines Previous Operator Air Wisconsin 1 BAe 146-200 ALF502R-5 Royal Amer A/S Empresair 1 DHC-6-200 PT6A-20 PAL Air USA Aereol Airways 1 King Air 200 PT6A-41 Air Provence Ages A/C Int DHC-7-102 PT6A-50 Helicol
Available seat miles grew faster than revenue passenger miles for a group of 12 regional airlines monitored by The DAILY. ASMs for the group increased an average 31.2% compared to 26.0% for RPMs. Three carriers - Atlantic Coast, Atlantic Southeast and Business Express - reported reductions in capacity, while only Atlantic Coast also has a reduction in traffic. Growth leader in both regards was expansionist-minded Gulfstream International, with RPMs up 152.9% and ASMs up 151.8%.
Liberty Airlines is seeking authority to operate scheduled, non-scheduled and charter combination services between points in Dominica and other states in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and points in the U.S. It intends to use two dry-leased 727-200s to operate to Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. Liberty plans "to expand its operations to Miami and New York/Newark within a very short period of time and to other U.S. points before the end of the first full year of its services." Service co- terminal points in the OECS are Antiqua, St.
USAir Group subsidiary Jetstream International has launched operations with its first 32-passenger Dornier 328 turboprop, with its president touting the possibilities of the aircraft's high speed and extended range. At the same time, the company announced that all of its 250 pilots had successfully completed training under Part 121 operating standards of the Federal Aviation Regulations. Jetstream's had placed a firm order for 20 aircraft and secured options for 20. All of the firm-order aircraft will be delivered this year.
British Airways plans to resume service to Damascus in April after a 12- year absence from the market, and at the same time to double the frequency of its newly launched Amman service to four flights a week. Beginning April 29, BA intends to serve Damascus twice a week from London Heathrow with 767s, with both flights continuing on to Amman. The Damascus plans still are subject to completion of ongoing negotiations between the U.K. and Syrian governments, however.
House Appropriations transportation subcommittee approved yesterday about $700 million in rescissions from unobligated DOT funds, including $77.3 million in FAA facilities and equipment and research, engineering and development money. The subcommittee turned down an amendment from Rep. Martin Sabo (D-Minn.) to prohibit DOT from requiring airlines to report mechanical delays in on-time performance data. The $69.8 million F&E cut includes a $35 million Advanced Automation System program rescission.
Continental Express has put its order for 25 or more Beech 1900Ds on hold because of an inability to reach an agreement with its pilots on crew costs, The DAILY is told. It also is understood that Continental Express President Jonathan Ornstein is attempting to get crew-cost adjustments on the carrier's Brasilias and ATR aircraft as well, to conform more closely to those at Mesa Air Group, where Ornstein served as executive VP before joining Continental. In addition to 1900s, Ornstein also planned fleet replacement of the larger aircraft...
United has entered the bidding for U.S.-South Africa service, asking for three of the six weekly frequencies held by USAfrica, which ceased operations and declared bankruptcy Feb. 8. United has set no startup date for its proposed Washington Dulles and Johannesburg, via Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde Islands, service, saying it "would prefer to take the time needed to assure a successful reintroduction of U.S. carrier services rather than become involved in a race to the runway in an effort to be first off the tarmac."
High costs at the new Denver International Airport - $40 per roundtrip passenger - open some intriguing opportunities at satellite airports for regional airlines with fast airplanes, some analysts are saying. Aviation Systems Research's Michael Boyd, after taking a demonstration flight in the new Saab 2000, mused that American Eagle could run that aircraft from Jefferson County Airport to Dallas in the same time as a jet. Another said the airport could become a hub for Delta Connection CRJs with service to Atlanta, DFW, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City, bypassing DIA.
Virgin Atlantic Airways plans to impose a smoking ban on all of its worldwide flights, except to Tokyo, beginning May 1. The airline made the decision following what it described as an overwhelming number of customer requests. Virgin said the London-Tokyo route is excluded for the "foreseeable future" because of strong demand for smoking seats in that market. Virgin currently flies from London to New York, Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Orlando, Miami, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Athens.
FAA is warning operators and pilots of most of the airlines' transport aircraft of the "potential for significant delays" in detecting windshear when the flaps of the aircraft are in transition. The emergency airworthiness directive grew out of the crash of a USAir DC-9-30 last July 2 at Charlotte. FAA said the aircraft encountered severe windshear during a missed approach. The agency determined that a design feature in the computer of the windshear system, produced by Honeywell, delays detection of windshear when the flaps are in transition.
The Saab-Scania Group will split into two units, Saab AB - which will include the military and civil aircraft divisions - and Scania AB, effective May 16 at the Annual General Meeting, Saab announced this week. In addition to Saab Aircraft and Saab Military Aircraft, Saab AB will include Saab Dynamics, Saab Training System, and Saab Combitech. Bengt Halse, currently president of Ericsson Microwave Systems, was appointed president of Saab AB and will take up his position April 1.
Travel agents around the country are expected to protest at airports and refuse to sell airline tickets today to protest caps on commissions. The American Society of Travel Agents is not advocating the protests and says the actions of the individual agencies could be counterproductive. ASTA members met with Sens. Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.), who wrote Anne Bingaman, assistant attorney general for the Antitrust Division, asking for a review of the airlines' actions.
...Pilot furloughs anticipated at big Continental could have further implications on operations at Continental Express, in addition to the carrier's giving up Beech 1900 delivery positions to Mesa Air Group. The seniority lists of both pilot groups are essentially merged, meaning that furloughed Continental pilots could bid for Express flying jobs, bumping Express pilots who are lower on the list. The launch of Beech 1900 operations at several of the company's hubs, particularly Cleveland and Newark, would increase rather than deplete pilot jobs at the regional.
The concept of free flight ran into turbulence at a symposium conducted Wednesday by the Air Traffic Control Association in Crystal City, Va. In the first airing of the concept since an RTCA-led task force endorsed free flight in a white paper for FAA Administrator David Hinson, the symposium brought out views the white paper apparently did not present.
A meeting scheduled next week between the Defense Department and FAA may cause a delay in the award of the $500,000 Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) contract from this spring until the fall, The DAILY was told. At the meeting, DOD is expected to describe the terms of differential signals from WAAS, and what FAA can and cannot do with the signals. The complexity of the DOD solution will determine the complexity of specification changes in the WAAS program and the time needed by bidders to respond, a source said.
British Airways head of marketing Mike Batt, known for his brief 1988 jump to Virgin Atlantic Airways, is leaving BA again, this time for Alamo Rent A Car.
Canadian Airlines International parent PWA Corp. yesterday posted a 1994 net loss of C$37.8 million (US$27 million) and an operating profit of C$70.9 million (US$50.6 million). While the result is a substantial improvement over 1993's net loss of nearly C$292 million, PWA had projected a 1994 loss of about C$12 million but changed its projections. Yesterday, PWA said the final net loss was larger than projected in early 1994 because of higher non-cash foreign exchange losses on foreign denominated debt and higher interest expense.
Pratt&Whitney PW4084 engine in Boeing 777 ETOPS testing was damaged in an oil-change accident, but a new engine is already on the test aircraft and the test schedule should not be affected, P&W and Boeing officials said yesterday. The damaged engine was to have been pulled this week for overhaul.
New Aircraft Orders And Options December 1994 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Del. Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Dates # Type # Type Air Berlin 1 737-400 - CFM56-3 Apr 96 - - Air Berlin 6 737-800 - CFM56-7 98-00 - -
An airline affiliated with a company that operates various resort and restaurant properties in Florida today will launch Cessna Caravan float- plane service from Tampa/St. Petersburg to Fort Myers/Naples, Key Largo, Marathon and Key West. Tampa service will originate from Peter O. Knight field on Davis Island, south of the city. Keys Air, affiliated with Key Largo Resorts and Casinos, has one of the nine-passenger-seat Cessna Caravans, but intends to acquire another, now under construction, within a couple of months and a third by the end of the year.
TACA has asked DOT for authority to operate to points beyond the U.S. on its service between El Salvador and the U.S. In its filing, the carrier maintained that there is "ample justification" for the U.S to grant its request. Under the current aviation relationship, "U.S. carriers have long enjoyed a one-way 'open skies' arrangement," the carrier said. However, while U.S. airlines have "unlimited access to El Salvador," TACA's rights in the U.S. "are tightly restricted." TACA also said its request is "fully consistent" with the objectives of the new U.S.
DOT has approved Uzbekistan Airways' application to operate scheduled combination service between Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and New York, via Manchester, England; Riga, Latvia, and Amsterdam. The carrier plans to operate one weekly frequency using Airbus A310-300 aircraft beginning March 30. With prior approval from DOT, the airline also will be permitted to operate charter service to the U.S. Service between Uzbekistan and the U.S. still is governed by the U.S.-Soviet bilateral signed in 1990. (Docket 49639)
