DOT has dismissed Royal Air Lines application to start up service as a regional carrier in the northeast on U.S. Despite repeated requests for pertinent information between September 1994 and April 1995, the department said the Royal's "application remains materially deficient." One key area lacking in the material furnished by Royal was "the company's plans for financing the operations proposed in its application," said DOT.
FAA has scheduled two more public meetings this month on the agency's proposed rule to upgrade commuter operations and certification standards. A meeting will be held at 9 a.m. June 14 at McCormick Place, East Building, 2301 South Lake Shore Drive in Chicago. Another will be held at 9 a.m. June 21 at the Hacienda Hotel, 3950 Las Vegas Blvd. South in Las Vegas, Nev. Direct requests to present a statement or questions regarding logistics to Linda Williams, FAA Office of Rulemaking, telephone 202-267- 9685, fax 202-267-5075.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will not continue plans to connect LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, a port authority source told The DAILY. Although the authority has abandoned the idea of connecting the two airports, it will continue to study connections from each airport to other modes of transportation in the region, as well as a line from Manhattan to LaGuardia. The port authority applied earlier this year for the right to collect $663 million in passenger facility charges to pay for the project, drawing fierce opposition from the airlines (DAILY, May 26).
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines will expand service at its and United's busiest East Coast cities in July. ACA plans to begin service between Boston Logan and New York Kennedy July 1, and will inaugurate new service July 16 from Washington Dulles to Reading, Pa., and Elmira, N.Y. It will operate five roundtrips every weekday between Boston and New York, and offer weekend flights, with British Aerospace J41s. As of July 1, ACA will be operating 23 flights from Boston to four markets - Washington Dulles, New York Kennedy, Portland, and Newburgh, N.Y.
U.S. Major Carriers Productivity In RPMs And ASMs Per Employee Fourth Quarter 1994 Revenue Available Passenger Seat Miles Miles Airline (000) (000) America West 2,872,281 4,621,311 American 25,034,788 38,236,441 Continental 9,596,794 15,813,914
Gulfstream International of Florida, which has a marketing relationship with United, is not a United Express affiliate, as reported last week (DAILY, May 26).
China Airlines and Garuda Indonesia have started weekly, all-cargo flights between Taipei, Taiwan, and Jakarta. CAL is operating the service with a 747-200 freighter.
DOT issued a proposal yesterday to exclude mechanical delays and cancellations from on-time data in its Air Travel Consumer Report. At the same time, the department issued delayed reports for the first three months of the year. In those reports, which include mechanical delays, the average on-time performance for all reporting carriers was 77.3%, with Delta ranking first in January with 78.9%, Northwest in February with 82% and Continental in March at 83.1%.
Fokker Aircraft and its unions have agreed to 945 job reductions as part of the aircraft maker's effort to become more competitive through restructuring. Fokker, controlled by Daimler-Benz Aerospace, continues to negotiate with its worker groups with a view to cutting another 615 jobs by the end of the year, making a total of 1,560 reductions this year. Fokker hopes to eliminate another 200 positions through outsourcing next year, achieving total reductions of 1,760 - its previously announced target - by the end of 1996.
Mesa Air Group directors today will consider a proposal from Continental Airlines to acquire wholly owned subsidiary Continental Express in exchange for a 33% stake in Mesa Air Group. The deal would involve the issuance of 16 million shares of Mesa stock while giving Continental effective control of the regional airline holding company, Mesa Chairman Larry Risley said in an interview with The DAILY.
Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee yesterday approved a draft notice of proposed rulemaking to allow operators to fly certain single- engine aircraft under Part 135 in instrument flight rule conditions. The draft NPRM, developed at the request of FAA, will be sent to the FAA for action. The proposal, which primarily affects Cessna Caravan, Pilatus PC- 12 and TBM 700 operators, stipulates reliability standards and equipment requirements for single-engine aircraft operation in IFR conditions.
FAA Eastern Region yesterday took over Bermuda airspace from the U.S. Naval Air Station on the island which is closing down (DAILY, May 4). FAA also hired six former Navy controllers who will work at the New York Center and will be responsible for the new airspace. The airspace covers a 180- nautical mile radius at all altitudes surrounding Bermuda.
Southwest is offering $22 fares from Seattle to Oakland and San Jose through June 22. Tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance, and seats are limited.
Low-cost carrier ValuJet could soon see an increase in labor costs now that its flight attendants have voted to unionize. Of 230 eligible voters, 133 voted for representation by the Association of Flight Attendants, according to ballots counted yesterday by the National Mediation Board. The flight attendants say they are among the lowest paid in the industry and lack many benefits, such as paid vacations. The NMB also will count ballots June 20 from ValuJet's mechanics and related workers for representation by the Teamsters union.
Innsbruck, Austria, regional carrier Tyrolean Airways took delivery of the first of three Fokker 70 aircraft it had on firm order. The airline will use the aircraft to serve routes between Vienna, Zagreb and Innsbruck. The second aircraft, scheduled for delivery in July, will serve routes between Salzburg, Frankfurt and Zurich. The third aircraft is scheduled for delivery this August.
SAS was continuing negotiations with its pilots until late yesterday to avoid a 24-hour strike threatened to begin today and a second scheduled June 9. Swedish, Danish and Norwegian pilots for SAS are protesting for higher wages. The pilots said the action will affect the operation of non- nordic flights, and an SAS spokesman said if the strike happens, 306 flights will be canceled, while 640 will continue to operate. Flights would be disrupted to 50 of its 120 destinations. The negotiations involve some 650 pilots, he said.
Air Transport Association's annual report, including airline balance sheet and income statements, fleet size, leading markets and employment, is available for $10 by calling 301-490-7951 ext. 950 from Virginia, Washington, Maryland and outside the U.S. All other calls should be directed to 1-800-497-3326.
U.S. Major Carriers Productivity In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee Fourth Quarter 1994, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Airline (000) (000) America West 344,078 313,544 American 3,675,604 3,711,781 Continental 1,177,538 1,233,714
Cathay Pacific Airways and Air Canada plan to launch a joint, twice-weekly 747-400 freighter service between Toronto and Hong Kong on July 27. The code-shared flights are subject to government approval and will be operated by Cathay Pacific. Both airlines will market the services in Canada and Hong Kong. Air Canada will provide the ground-handling in Toronto, and Cathay Pacific's agent will do so in Hong Kong. Air Canada said the joint venture will allow it to enter the Hong Kong market in advance of the scheduled Dec.
Frontier Airlines has promoted Jeffrey Truax to the newly created position of director-pricing and scheduling from manager-pricing. Before joining Frontier, Truax had similar roles at Mesa, America West, NPA Airlines and Aspen Airways.
Japan Airlines Chairman Susumu Yamaji and Air France Chairman Christian Blanc signed an agreement in Tokyo yesterday continuing the cooperative efforts of their carriers. Under the agreement, the two airlines will link their frequent flyer programs on Nov. 1. On the same day, JAL will move its current Tokyo-Paris flights from Terminal 1 to Terminal 2, the Air France international hub at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. The two carriers already operate twice-daily code-share Osaka-Paris service from Terminal 2.
Taiwan's nine international and domestic airlines have agreed to ban smoking on nearly all flights, beginning in July. The only exception, according to the agreement, will be China Airlines' flights between Taiwan and Japan. A CAL spokesman said that the majority of passengers on its Taiwan-Japan routes are smokers and that they have strongly protested the proposed smoking ban. EVA Airways has taken the extra step of announcing that it will no longer sell duty-free cigarettes aboard aircraft flying international and domestic routes.
Commerce Secretary Ronald Brown, Defense Secretary William Perry and NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin have signed an agreement to combine the nation's military and civil weather satellite programs into a single system in a move expected to save taxpayers up to $300 million through 1999 with additional savings thereafter. The new program, stemming from Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review, will "result in a major reduction of acquisition, operational and facilities costs," said James Baker, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere.
National Transportation Safety Board yesterday called for a national standard for all air tour operators and for a database on air tour operations, saying that lack of such a database "precludes effective evaluation of the accident rate...on the traditional basis of flight hours, cycles and passengers carried." These recommendations were among 10 the board advocated following a special investigation of the air tour industry last year.
