USAir Express affiliate CCAIR Feb. 15 will inaugurate nonstop service between Norfolk/Virginia Beach and Raleigh/Durham, N.C., with three daily roundtrip flights, and continuing service to Greenville/Spartanburg.
Comments on DOT's expanded disclosure requirements for change-of-gauge service (DAILY, Jan. 19) - service with one flight number that requires a change of aircraft - must be received by March 20 to Docket 47546. Replies are due April 19.
Metro 23 manufacturer Fairchild Aircraft announced an ambitious re- engineering effort that it hopes will improve production time to six months from the current 12. The program, however, will require short-term layoffs of 155 employees, most of whom would be recalled later this year, Fairchild said. Company Chairman Carl Albert told The DAILY that the company hopes to recall 100% of the laid-off employees by July, but that it expects that some will find other positions before then.
AMR Eagle has resumed active discussions with Saab Aircraft concerning the acquisition of Saab 2000 aircraft, The DAILY has learned. The number was placed at 20 to 30. But a Saab spokesman said, "We only continue to discuss. We are not even close to a term sheet [initial agreement]." Eagle officials have recently visited the factory in Sweden and have flown the 50-passenger, high-speed turboprop. Eagle carriers currently operate 116 Saab 340 aircraft, which seat 34 passengers.
Flight attendants are objecting to a Sun Country Airlines request that FAA stay the March 1 compliance date of its flight attendants duty time rule pending a court decision. Sun Country filed a petition for review of the rule last Sept. 1 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DAILY, Oct. 24).
Avro Aerospace, the jet-manufacturing arm of British Aerospace, is now part of the joint-venture equation between BAe unit Jetstream Aircraft and Avions de Transport Regional partners Aerospatiale of France and Alenia of Italy. "The French wanted a jet component" as part of the product mix, said a source close to the joint-venture discussions. It was not known whether Avro would become part of the joint venture or simply a marketing partner. Meanwhile, the joint venture is said to be close to fruition, with a large, high-speed turboprop planned initially.
Roque H.R. de Pina, who opened USAfrica's Cape Verde station this month, was killed Tuesday in a car accident on Sal Island, where the airport is located.
Northwest, which was on the verge of Chapter 11 less than 18 months ago, yesterday posted the largest fourth quarter and full year net profits in its history. The three months ended Dec. 31 were the company's sixth consecutive profitable quarter - it achieved net earnings of $35.9 million, up from $10.5 million a year earlier, and an operating profit of $142.9 million. For the full year, Northwest recorded net earnings of $295.5 million, more than half of it - $170 million - in its record-breaking third quarter, and an operating profit of $830.4 million.
In a move that affects $9.5 billion in long-term airline debt securities, Moody's Investors Service yesterday said it is revising its ratings practice on airline equipment trust certificates (ETCs) and pass through obligations. Moody's also said it will consider assigning ratings that could be as high as two notches above the issuing airline's long-term senior unsecured debt rating to all qualifying securities issued to finance new aircraft.
Northwest and AmeriCares, a private disaster relief agency, this weekend will send a Northwest 747 freighter loaded with relief supplies for Japanese earthquake victims to the country's Kansai region. Northwest Chief Executive John Dasburg said pilots, flight and ground crews were donating their time for the effort and fuel suppliers were donating the fuel. He said the relief flight will be the first of many Northwest will make in the weeks ahead. The initial shipment will include medicine, medical equipment and cleanup supplies.
Costa Rican carrier Lacsa has asked DOT for authority to conduct combination service between San Jose, Costa Rica, and San Francisco via San Salvador and Guatemala City. If its request is approved, Lacsa intends to begin immediately daily Airbus A320 service on the route. The carrier notes that the new service "is merely a minor expansion" of its existing authority. It currently offers service between San Jose and Los Angeles via San Salvador and Guatemala City and is authorized to co-terminalize operations at Los Angeles and San Francisco. (Docket 50004)
The transfer of Delta's Detroit-London route to Northwest will "have an overall positive impact on airline employment," according to the two carriers. If the deal goes through, Delta expects to eliminate one permanent full-time and two temporary part-time airport customer service jobs. On the other hand, Northwest expects to hire about 60 flight attendants and 28 ground operations staff for the Detroit-London operation, beginning April. Earlier this month, Northwest agreed to purchase the route authority from Delta for $1.6 million (DAILY, Jan. 6).
Air New Zealand has signed an agreement to use Galileo International's GlobalFares product as its own in-house fares system. Air New Zealand's ticketing offices and retail travel agencies worldwide will have access to the system. GlobalFares is used by all of the 2,054 Galileo travel agency locations in New Zealand and Australia. The airline and Galileo have set March 1 as the target date for cutover to GlobalFares from the SITA Fareshare system.
Comair, which recently filed to provide Boeing 737-300 service between Cincinnati and both Toronto and Montreal under the Dec. 22 agreement between the U.S. and Canada, asked DOT Tuesday to dismiss the applications without prejudice. Senior VP-Marketing Chuck Curran said the application was made to protect the carrier's existing position in those markets - eight daily Canadair Regional Jet frequencies to Toronto and four to Montreal - in the face of an unknown competitive situation. He said the carrier was prepared to operate the 737 service, but saw no need.
Delta and its Air Line Pilots Association negotiators will meet next week to discuss a limited savings package offered by the company as what it hopes will be a catalyst in contract talks.Delta, searching for $340 million in annual cost reductions, said ALPA's contract opener would increase costs $250 million a year.
Amerijet International is seeking authority to operate scheduled all- cargo service between Toledo, Ohio, and Guadalajara, Mexico. The carrier is asking for permission to operate the service independently and in combination with its Toledo-Mexico City authority, awarded Jan. 3. It said it hopes to begin 727-200 service to Guadalajara Feb. 15, 1995, the same day it is slated to start the Mexico City operations. (Docket 50008)
America West plans to eliminate 318 jobs in the next few months by closing its reservations center in Colorado Springs Feb. 3 and outsourcing on-board food service support at Phoenix and Las Vegas, its two main hubs, on April 1. The changes are part of the strategic restructuring plan the airline unveiled last week.
System One will offer its travel agency subscribers ticketless travel on United, beginning in April. United, which offers ticketless travel on West Coast Shuttle by United flights, plans to begin the service across its domestic system this summer. "Our partnership with System One is another key step in opening up electronic ticketing to the entire travel agency community," said United VP and General Sales Manager Chris Bowers. System One said United is the first airline customers to ask it to make electronic ticketing available.
Freshman Congressman David McIntosh (R-Ind.) intends to offer an amendment to the so-called unfunded mandates reform bill (H.R.5) that would allow state and local governments to transfer to the private sector federally financed infrastructure, including airports, without repayment of federal grants, provided the facilities are used for their original purposes. The amendment will be similar to draft legislation prepared this month by attorneys for Lockheed Air Terminal (LAT), which leads one of four teams bidding on operation and management of Indianapolis Airport.
Air Transport Association said a new electronic data interchange (EDI) guide is available. The guide, called ASCX12 Implementation Guide for Corporate Procurement, is a computer-to-computer transmission of machine- processable business information, using standard formats, ATA said. Behind the effort was ATA's EDI Users Group, which wanted a more standardized process for corporate procurement with the air transport industry. For more information, call ATA at 800-497-3326, or 301-490-7951 outside the continental U.S.
McDonnell Douglas is making available its "Flashjet" coatings removal process to commercial and military aircraft manufacturers, operators and maintenance technicians. It said the process, which uses pulsed light energy and frozen carbon dioxide pellets to remove coatings, is cost- effective and environmentally sound, the company said.
Delta joined the chorus of industry representatives urging DOT to reorganize along modal rather than mission lines. "We believe that aviation functions and responsibilities must be preserved as a separate entity," said Rex McClelland, Delta's senior VP-corporate services. "A national air transportation system must be maintained to ensure the proper attention and resources will be devoted to aviation safety and the preservation of a strong national system," he added.
