FAA's proposed rule to bring commuter pilot training requirements up to the standards of larger air-lines are significant in scope but lack specifics, according to the Regional Airline Association. RAA said it supports a single rule for aircraft in scheduled service to achieve the safety objectives of FAA, National Transportation Safety Board and regional carriers, but it added that the NTSB recommendations on which FAA's proposed rule is based lack specificity.
The city of Kansas City and its chamber of commerce are urging DOT to renew China Airlines' (CAL) authority to conduct intermodal cargo services in the U.S. (DAILY, Dec. 21). "At the present time, there is no direct all-cargo or combination service between Kansas City and Taiwan, even though Taiwan represents the seventh largest partner of the U.S., and is a major origin and destination for international air freight traffic to and from Kansas City," the city maintains.
House Majority Leader Newt Gingrich and a group of well wishers arrived in Washington Tuesday aboard a Delta 727. Also on the flight - a special section added to the carrier's regular schedule because of demand - was Delta Chairman Ron Allen. A Georgia group, Friends of Newt, dubbed the flight the "Speaker's Express."
U.S. National And Regional Carriers Jet Fleet Analysis Average Number Operated During October 1994 Aircraft # Operated Average Type (Stage) Age (Years) Alaska B737-200A 8 (2) 14.7 B737-400 20 (3) 2.2 MD-82 14 (3) 10.7 MD-83 28 (3) 4.8 Total Fleet 70 6.3 Aloha
U.S. Major Carriers Jet Fleet Analysis Average Number Operated During October 1994 Aircraft # Operated Average Type (Stage) Age (Years) America West A320-200 17 (3) 5.6 B737-100 1 (2) 25.8 B737-200 21 (2) 15.3 B737-300 33 (3) 7.5 B757-200 12 (3) 8.6
A U.S. federal judge has dismissed five of the eight claims contained in Virgin Atlantic's $325 million antitrust suit against British Airways, but the court will consider Virgin's allegations that BA has attempted to monopolize the U.S.-U.K. air transport market. The ruling, which was issued yesterday - more than a year after Virgin initially filed the suit in October 1993 and more than six months after BA's motion to dismiss was heard in a New York courtroom - was hailed as a victory by Virgin and characterized as a positive development by BA.
Granted orally an exemption to Taesa to conduct scheduled all-cargo services from co-terminal points Mexico City and Toluca to Detroit...Granted orally an exemption to Delta to operate combination services between Cincinnati and Paris... Granted orally an exemption to Airvias Linhas Aereas to conduct combination charters with its own aircraft and crew between Brazil and U.S. Under an earlier ruling, DOT limited the carrier's authority to wet-lease operations by Arrow Air.
U.S. government, in an effort to break the aviation stalemate with Japan, will decide which U.S. interests it will champion, said an industry expert. The choice means backing either Federal Express and its request for expanded access to Japan or the Memorandum of Understanding carriers, such as American and Delta, which are pushing for promised access to Kansai Airport.
Flight International, the Newport News, Va. aviation services company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last February, received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for Eastern Virginia for a joint plan of reorganization. Under the plan, existing common stock of The Flight International Group Inc. will be canceled and one million shares of new common stock will be issued. Shareholders of record on Dec. 20 will receive 10% of the new common stock, and 51% of the new common stock will be issued to unsecured creditors owed more than $2,000.
British Airways has installed a new senior management team at its BA Regional unit in an effort to improve route performance. Three senior managers will be responsible for all services operated by BA Regional and will report to George Cooper, managing director of the operation. Cooper said the commitment to improved revenue results calls for a tighter, non- duplicated management structure.
- In Federal Register dated Dec. 27...Superseded an airworthiness directive on Jetstream 4101 aircraft concerning inspections for damage of the ball bearings in the aileron quadrants...Issued an AD on certain Fokker F28 aircraft requiring inspection for cracking of the side stay attachment lugs of the fitting subassembly of the main landing gear...
Amerijet International is seeking authority to operate scheduled all- cargo service between Toledo, Ohio, and Mexico City. If its request is approved, the carrier plans to conduct five weekly flights on the route using Boeing 727-200 aircraft beginning Feb. 15.
USAir's Air Line Pilots Association unit will meet with the carrier's Association of Flight Attendants, Machinists and Transport Workers Union leaders in Washington tomorrow to provide an update on talks with management over wage cuts and other measures to see if a labor coalition solution can be reached. Not only have talks with the company stalled, but AFA and ALPA are bickering over pay cuts that AFA says would be a clear advantage to ALPA's members.
Four men who hijacked the Paris-bound Air France flight at Algiers on Dec. 24 snuck onto the aircraft wearing Air Algerie uniforms. Air Algerie handles Air France at Algiers.
Alliant Techsystems named Richard Schwartz president, chief executive and a member of the board. Amadeus Marketing appointed Julia Sattel director-markets, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. CIT Group/Industrial Financing appointed John Dorenbecher district manager-West and Northwest regions in the Business Aircraft Division. FlightSafety International named Donnie Nunn manager-San Antonio Learning Center.
More serious for Boeing was the lack of orders for its 777, while Airbus sold 29 competing A340s, including a Singapore Airlines order for 10 in December. Airbus' big twin, the A330, also did not sell, however. The story was the same among single-aisle twin-engine aircraft, with Airbus selling 120 of its A320 variants and Boeing 70 of its 737 and 757 series.
The Bombardier Business Aircraft Division has expanded its field service network by adding representatives in Toluca, near Mexico City, and Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. "This enables us to address the needs of the growing Challenger fleet based in both of these regions plus the increasing number of North American and European operators now flying there," said David Orcutt, VP-product support. The additions give Bombardier 22 field service representatives.
ChallengAir is seeking authority to perform charter passenger and cargo service between Brussels and points in the U.S. Despite the fact that several U.S. and other airlines fly between the U.S. and Belgium, ChallengAir maintains there "exists additional need for a Belgian charter airline to fly between the two countries, particularly to and from mid- sized market in the rapid growing American Southeast." At present, the carrier anticipates operating between Brussels and Orlando using DC 10-30 aircraft.
El Al Israel Airlines has been named "Best Airline For Travel to the Middle East" for the third year in a row by the readers of Business Travel International Magazine. The survey is conducted by Simmons Market Research Bureau. El Al currently serves 48 destinations worldwide from Tel Aviv.
LTU International Airways plans to add a fifth weekly flight from Dusseldorf and Munich to Miami to meet demand during the winter season. The German carrier is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 1995. During the year, LTU is scheduled to take delivery if its first A330.
Before Nov. 8, it appeared that the aviation industry was facing two big legislative issues in the first session of the 104th Congress: the transportation fuel tax and Airport Improvement Program funding. FAA reform would have survived as an issue, but the positions of the key members of Congress were so different from those of key Clinton administration players that dramatic change seemed unlikely. The air traffic control corporation was dead politically, and there was no reason to believe the administration would warm up to an independent FAA.
Air-India appointed Prannivas Sinha manager-USA. Emirates promoted Ghaith Al Ghaith to senior general manager- commercial operations, Middle East, Africa and the CIS, and Rashid Al Noori to general manager-commercial operations, Europe and North America. The new manager-UAE is Abdul Rehman Abdulla, and the new manager-Pakistan is Mohamed Qassim Ali. Federal Express named Lynn Gorman VP-vehicle maintenance.
January promises to be a busy month for U.S. negotiators. Formal talks between U.S. and Canada are expected to begin soon after New Year's, and there is an outside chance that the U.S. and the nine European countries offered open skies will begin nailing down agreements. Also scheduled are further talks with Ukraine, beginning Jan. 9, and the Philippines, Jan. 23.
Travel management firm Business Travel International has expanded into South America with the addition of American Lloyd of Brazil and Argentina's City Service Travel Agency to its list of partners. "The increase in companies doing business in South America has created more demand for business travel there," said David Radcliffe, chief executive of BTI, which bills itself as the world's largest corporate travel joint venture. American Lloyd is based in Sao Paulo, has a 96-person staff and recorded total 1993 billings of $24 million.
Airbus Industrie outdid itself in 1994, surpassing Boeing in aircraft orders for the year, according to a preliminary count.The International Lease Finance Corp.'s order for 30 Airbus aircraft in the waning days of the year pushed Airbus sales to about 120, compared with 111 for Boeing.
