...Industry officials - once beyond thinking "We have to go to the conference because they are holding it; there also may be some missteps we have to counter" - now hope to turn the Monday and Tuesday sessions into something constructive. They see it as an "opportunity" to use the large and rather prestigious gathering to define the relevant issues and the direction they think FAA should be taking. They also see it as a chance to review earlier "aviation safety task-force" recommendations dating back to 1987, and determine what happened to many of them.
The year 1994, "average" in terms of hull losses and passenger deaths, will be noted for skyrocketing costs to insurance underwriters. According to provisional estimates released by London-based Airclaims, airline hull and liability losses totaled nearly $2.2 billion, about $1 billion more than the 1993 estimated cost of airline claims and $900 million more than worldwide airline insurance premiums paid in 1994.
European Options Exchange will drop Fokker Feb. 20 from its index of the 25 most actively traded shares, replacing it with Dutch PTT, according to Reuter.
USAir launched its new Business Select class yesterday, hoping to attract the higher-paying business traveler in short-haul markets. It will offer the class on 216 flights in the East with 30 aircraft equipped with seats that can be reconfigured from a regular six-across seating, each 17 inches wide, to five seats measuring 19 inches each. The business-class seats also provide two to three more inches of legroom.
David Traynham, a House aviation subcommittee staff member for 15 years, is leaving the panel to head the minority staff of Transportation and Infrastructure's new Coast Guard subcommittee.David Heymsfeld and Mary Walsh remain as the aviation subcommittee's minority staffers.
Boeing delivered 56 commercial jet transports during the fourth quarter, boosting its full-year total for 1994 to 270. The fourth-quarter deliveries comprised 25 737s, eight 747s, 16 757s and seven 767s. The 1994 total consisted of 121 737s, 40 747s, 69 757s and 40 767s. One non- commercial 767, the first of four on order by the government of Japan for the 767 Airborne Warning and Control System program, was delivered in the fourth quarter.
ValuJet, the self-proclaimed "fun and friendly carrier," boarded its two millionth customer in December and is beginning service today from Atlanta to Miami, and from Washington, D.C., to Miami and Tampa. Service will be expanded Jan. 12 from Atlanta to Detroit and from Washington to Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and West Palm Beach. Fares will be as low as $89 one way.
Federal Express and Teknekron Communications Systems have expanded the Express Broker System for FedEx and installed the first implementation of the system in Japan. The Express Broker System assists FedEx customs clearance brokers in reducing customs clearance times and operational costs for clearance of shipments into international locations through a distributed software application platform. The system enables brokers to extract information rapidly from electronic air waybills and faxed invoices, and to prepare and submit customs declarations electronically.
The Greek government said it has selected the German consortium Hochtief- Flughafen Frankfurt/Main AG for the construction of the new international airport at Spata to serve Athens. This is the second time the consortium has been selected by a Greek government for the project. In October 1993, the newly elected national government canceled the July 1993 decision to award the contract to Hochtief. The contract is expected to be ratified by the Greek Parliament by monthend.
TWA's systemwide passenger traffic increased 7.4% in December on 3.8% more capacity, pushing the airline's load factor up 2.1 percentage points. The number of passengers boarded increased 10.3%. For the full year 1994, TWA's systemwide traffic increased 9.9% on 9.8% more capacity, leaving its load factor essentially unchanged from the previous year at 63.5%. For the year, domestic traffic increased 12.3% and international traffic rose 4.6%. The following are systemwide traffic results.
USAir's November traffic rose 5.8% on 3.4% more capacity, lifting the load factor 1.4 percentage points. For the full year, traffic was up 7.7% on 2.6% more capacity, boosting the load factor three points to 62.2%. "We carried more than 4.7 million passengers in December, a healthy increase of more than 250,000 over December of 1993," USAir Chairman Seth Schofield said. "This comes after two months of much more modest growth." Dec 94 Dec 93 12 Mths 94 12 Mths 93
Southwest announced a new $39 seven-day advance purchase fare yesterday for intra-California flights, available until Jan. 19. Travel must be completed by March 15, and seats are limited. Southwest has offered the fare since Oct. 22 for 21-day advance purchase. It operates to nine California cities.
United Parcel Service has signed a letter of intent to acquire SonicAir, a provider of same-day or "next- flight-out" delivery and logistics services, UPS said yesterday. Under the pact, SonicAir will become a wholly owned subsidiary of UPS and will continue to be managed and operated independently, retaining its present services and customers. As a result of the acquisition, UPS plans to offer same-day delivery and other logistics services to its customers through SonicAir 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, later this year.
GAO is urging DOT to monitor more closely problems U.S. carriers encounter when they do business in Europe and the Pacific Rim. Specifically, GAO is advising the department to "collect and analyze information on the status, nature and severity of U.S. airlines' doing-business problems overseas." This information would put DOT in "a better position to establish priorities and strategies to address the most serious and pervasive problems," GAO said in a report completed late last year for Rep.
Northwest led the majors in on-time arrivals for the second month in a row in November, logging 85%, followed by United at 83.5%, DOT said yesterday in its Air Travel Consumer Report for the month. Southwest rebounded from its six-place finish in October, coming in third at 81.2% - performance considerably less than its 85.1% in October. USAir slid from third to sixth place in November with an 80.2% record. Overall, the on- time arrival record for the nation's 10 largest airlines was 80.8%, off from 85.9% in October and 81.2% in November 1993.
More than 12,000 of Air France's France-based employees - nearly 36% - have accepted pay cuts for shares in the company, the airline said yesterday. The pay-cut-for-equity deal is part of Air France's massive restructuring program, adopted last summer as a condition for winning a government infusion of 20 billion French francs. The airline, which had expected 15% to 20% of the eligible employees to take up the offer, was happy with the results.
The presumed new chairman of the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee comes to the job with substantially more involvement and experience in aviation than his counterpart on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), expected to take over the aviation subcommittee this month, becomes chairman with earlier service as ranking Republican of the panel, plus a past career in the Navy as a pilot. Rep.
Chase Manhattan Bank arranged an $82.7 million, 12-year Japanese leveraged lease (JLL) financing on a Boeing 767-300ER for El Salvador's TACA International Airlines, the bank said yesterday. The transaction is one of the first JLLs that has used a U.S. Export-Import Bank guarantee under the current Eximbank administration, Chase said. The debt guaranteed by Eximbank, covering 76% of the cost of the aircraft, was provided by Lloyd's Bank New York. Diamond Lease provided the equity, which covered the remaining 24% of the cost.
AirTran Airways is allowing youths 18 years old and under to fly free on all routes when accompanied by a fare-paying adult on tickets purchased by Jan. 15 for travel completed by Feb. 14.
FAA will begin April 23 to inspect government-owned aircraft that carry passengers or operate com-mercially, to ensure that they meet the same safety standards as non-government aircraft. The new rule is a result of legislation passed in October that exempts from many federal aviation regulations "public aircraft," including those used in firefighting, search and rescue, aeronautical research and law enforcement. Aircraft operated by the armed forces and intelligence agencies are exempt unless they are flown for commercial purposes.
Delta has signed definitive agreements with AT&T Global Information Solutions for the two companies' information technology joint venture, TransQuest Information Solutions. The two announced an agreement in principle last summer to form the joint venture, with which Delta would outsource all of its computing and communications activities, except for reservations and related systems (DAILY, Aug. 24). About 1,100 Delta employees became TransQuest employees Jan.
DOT has granted Atlant-SV Airlines, the Ukraine's second largest airline, authority to operate combination charter service between Ukraine and the U.S. A privately owned airline, Atlant plans to inaugurate Il-76 all-cargo flights immediately after gaining final clearance from FAA. "We expect that to be about next week," said Joan Vidor, president of Atlant-Jove, a U.S.- based subsidiary. In March or April, she said, the airline will begin Boeing 767 combination charter service.
Frequent flyer programs, some of which have not been devalued since their inception in 1981, have been changed recently or will be changed soon to curb awards. The programs have become so popular, airlines are finding them too costly, and many carriers have settled on an increase from 20,000 to 25,000 frequent flyer miles required for a free trip.
U.S. District Judge Miriam Goldman Cedarbaum, in rejecting one of British Airways' arguments that Virgin Atlantic Airways' suit against BA should be heard in the U.K. instead of the U.S., said that while it might be more convenient to try the case in the U.K. it would not be a significant burden to do so in New York. Her reasoning is that "both parties are airlines and can easily transport witnesses and documents to whichever forum is designated."
