Richard Mintz, assistant to the secretary and director of public affairs at DOT, will leave the department in mid-March to become a senior VP at Ogilvy Adams&Rinehart, a Washington-based public relations firm.
FAA, still expecting to decide in mid-May whether to grant early ETOPS approval to the Boeing 777, to date has seen "no occurrences" that would "preclude" granting the approval, Anthony Broderick, associate administrator for regulation and certification, said Friday.
National Route Program, restructured Jan. 9 after becoming "unmanageable," now is providing the "infancy of free flight," according to Steve Vuocolo of FAA. The altitude for direct trajectories, being lowered steadily from 39,000 feet, is expected to reach 31,000 feet by Sept. 1, and FAA will "assess expansion" of the program below 29,000 feet altitude, Vuocolo says.
British Airways Holidays is offering African safaries, with air-inclusive rates starting at $2,809 per person, based on double occupancy, for a 12- day safari to Kenya. For the first time, BA Holidays is offering its own selection of three air-inclusive packages to Kenya, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
- In Federal Register dated Feb. 17...Proposed an airworthiness directive on certain Bombardier CL-600 series aircraft to require inspection for proper operation of the uplock latch of the air-driven generator...Proposed an AD on certain Jetstream 4101 aircraft to require inspection of a travel stop screw on the flight control assembly...
Antitrust immunity for code-sharing carriers to better market their service is expected to become a hot potato in open skies talks with European countries.It was too hot for the U.S. in talks with Switzerland and did not make it into the agreement. U.S. negotiators are seeking advice from the Justice Department "as we think through this difficult question," a senior DOT official said.
Canadian Airlines International last week extended for another four weeks its special "Reunion" fare promotion for passengers aged two to 11 and 60 or over traveling within Canada. The fare is C$345, or 60% of full coach, whichever is less. Canadian extended the fare because of demand. Travelers can purchase the fare up to seven days before travel, which must be taken by April 13. Passengers 60 or over may travel with a companion at the same fare, but children must fly with an adult at the regular fare.
Bilateral talks with China begin tomorrow and are expected to last through the week, and U.S. negotiators will be trying to get China to deliver on its promise of new frequencies. China is looking to trade in a cargo frequency for service for startup carrier China Southern. The U.S. seeks greater flexibility in operations - for example, to allow Northwest to operate service between Detroit and China.
FAA has broadened a crackdown on unapproved aircraft replacement parts and will "aggressively enforce" regulations governing approval of such parts, Associate Administrator Anthony Broderick said Friday. The agency is publishing a Federal Register notice giving manufacturers 90 days to apply for approval to manufacture parts. FAA will not use any information in PMA (parts manufacturer approval) applications submitted during this period to begin enforcement proceedings, Broderick said.
President Clinton, meeting recently with senior political appointees, cited FAA's pending rule to bring all carriers' safety standards up to Part 121 levels as a prime example of why a congressional moratorium on government regulations might be harmful to public safety, according to FAA Administrator David Hinson. Hinson, who was present at the meeting, said FAA has an "ongoing AD" to ensure a "safe flight environment" that could be impacted by a moratorium. The House approved a moratorium Friday but exempted air safety (see Page 310 of the hard copy of this issue.)
Air Canada will launch twice-daily Toronto-Atlanta service on Sunday as a result of the signing last week of the U.S.-Canada open skies agreement. But new or expanded service by either major Canadian carrier to New York or Chicago likely will not occur for at least a few weeks, industry sources say. In the middle of last week, Transport Canada was expected to rule quickly, possibly as early as today, on competing Air Canada-Canadian Airlines International applications for the 24 Chicago and New York slots it has authority to allocate.
Continental said it still plans to work toward an airport lease pact with Denver despite a lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court by the city seeking $1.37 million in net delay costs at the new Denver Airport. "We had to preserve and protect our rights," city attorney Lee Marable told The DAILY. Talks with Continental have been aimed at new rates and charges for Concourse A, Marable said. Continental said it will use only four of the 20 gates it planned to lease two and a half years ago.
As President Clinton oversees the signing of the new U.S.-Canada bilateral agreement today, U.S. negotiators are preparing for further open skies talks, beginning next week, with the designated European countries. Talks with Belgium are slated for Feb. 28 and March 1, Iceland March 2-3, Austria March 7-8 and Luxembourg March 9-10. Negotiations with Finland are expected to occur March 21-22 or 23-24. All the sessions will be in Washington. Dates for talks with Sweden, Denmark and Norway have not been set.
Canadian Partner Air Atlantic has ordered five 29-passenger British Aerospace Jetstream 41 aircraft with options for an additional five. The carrier, based at St. John's, Newfoundland, plans to use the aircraft to trim capacity by replacing some of its eight 37-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-100s. First delivery is to be in mid-March with a total of three aircraft to be used in the April schedule and the full five in the May schedule. Air Atlantic, which is 45% owned by Canadian Airlines International, also operates three British Aerospace Avro 146-200s.
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.
