Flight Visions said its FV-2000 head-up display is the "first-ever HUD to be certified as a primary flight display." Certified for use in instrument and visual conditions, the HUD "can be used as the sole reference for flight information," according to Flight Visions. The company said it had to prove to FAA that the system is suitable for unusual attitude recovery and that pilots can transition easily from head-down to head-up displays. The unit also passed established high intensity radiated field and lightning requirements.
Pilots at United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines voted in favor of a new three-year contract agreement, the first negotiated under interest- based bargaining procedures that are designed to speed the negotiating process. ACA and the Air Line Pilots Association negotiated for 10 months. According to ALPA, the agreement provides for better cooperation between pilots and management on safety issues, increased compensation and improved work rules.
KLM is disputing Sabena Chief Executive Paul Reutlinger's claim that the Sabena/Delta/Swissair team is the first alliance to fly smoke-free across the Atlantic (DAILY, Jan. 24). KLM and Northwest, as well as KLM partners Martinair and Transavia, all banned smoking on Atlantic flights Oct. 29, 1995, KLM said.
The Allied Pilots Association has not apprised the Association of Professional Flight Attendants at American of the status of its negotiations with the company or whether it plans to strike Feb. 15, nor has it asked for support in informational picketing, according to Denise Hedges, APFA president. She also said, "This is their fight." APFA is preparing for the possibility of a strike, however.
National Air Transportation Association is urging members to endorse an FAA proposal to allow use of single-engine aircraft for carrying passengers. NATA says their support is "essential" - "The pilot unions are opposed to the rule...making it imperative that members support" the proposal.
European Commission is holding a closed-door hearing on the American- British Airways alliance today and tomorrow. The hearing, part of the EC's investigation of competition issues raised by the alliance, includes presentations by opponents and supporters, including the airlines themselves.
Travel Industry Association has named the next three sites for Discover USA, its expanding program of trade shows intended to promote international travel to the U.S. The event will be held in Houston Oct. 13-16, 1997, Fort Lauderdale, Oct. 5-8, 1998, and Los Angeles Sept. 27-30, 1999. Discover USA has been in limited testing for two years to promote travel from South America. Now, it will be expanded to attract tour producers from Latin America and Europe.
Russian government representatives are scheduled to visit Airbus Industrie executives this week in Paris to discuss yet another approach to a superjumbo jetliner - a passenger version of the Antonov 124 cargo aircraft. The Russian delegation, to include Aviastar Managing Director Viktor Mikhailov, also will raise the possibility of equipping Antonov aircraft with non-Russian engines.
Raytheon's Equipment Division will build the Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS) under a contract valued at up to $44.5 million, FAA said. ITWS, which FAA calls the "21st century weather prediction system," will generate predictions of microbursts, gust fronts, storm cell movements, runway winds and other phenomena up to 10 minutes in advance, giving air traffic personnel and pilots more and better information on weather hazards in airspace within 60 miles of an airport.
Northwest has taken the unprecedented step of telling a passenger who was abusive to a crewmember last month that he may never fly Northwest again. The passenger, without provocation, attacked and injured a Northwest pilot Jan. 6 in Detroit, Northwest said.
Association of European Airlines Traffic November 1996 Passenger Data RPKs % Change ASKs Region (Mil) 96/95 (Mil) EUROPE 7,399.7 8.4 13,360.8 NORTH AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST 1,312.6 14.1 2,120.6 LONGHAUL North Atlantic 8,942.7 14.1 12,653.1 Europe - Far East 7,464.9 13.6 10,334.0
In an unusual public dissent, Japan is challenging policy recommendations by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to expand international aviation liberalization. Paris-based OECD, most of whose 29 member nations formed the group in the wake of the Marshall Plan's reconstruction of postwar Europe, makes the recommendation in a study to be issued next month, The Future of International Air Transport Policy. OECD has no legal authority outside the actions of individual nations, so its policies are usually arrived at by consensus.
Airlines' use of "safe harbor" rules for depositing the aviation excise taxes last year, coupled with a lapse in the Treasury Department's authority to transfer money to the aviation trust fund, apparently will cost the trust fund $1.5 billion to $2 billion that FAA was counting on this year. Based on an interpretation from the Internal Revenue Service, airlines held excise tax receipts during the fourth quarter last year and are not required to deposit them until Feb. 28.
Aero International (Regional) CEO Patrick Gavin said this week there is a large market for the Jetstream 41 as a replacement for 19-seaters, despite the fact there were only orders for 13 of the 29- to 30-passenger aircraft during 1996. Twelve of those were from United Express Atlantic Coast. Jetstream Aircraft has made major advances in the production line at its Prestwick, Scotland, manufacturing facility, he added, including the flexibility to adapt the production rate to demand.
Fairchild Dornier's 1996 orderbook lists 39 firm orders and 16 options, 12 orders and 12 options of which - for the Do 328 - came from Western Pacific regional unit Mountain Air Express. Twenty-seven units of the high-speed turboprop 328 were sold during the year, as were nine Metro 23s and three Do 228 19-seaters. Fairchild Dornier said the Do 328 has achieved a 23% market share in the 20- to 39-seat category. The combined Metro 23/ Do 228 market share, in the 15- to 19-seat category, has reached 35%, the manufacturer said.
USAir's customer service and reservations employees have voted down representation by the Communications Workers of America (CWA) (DAILY, Nov. 19). Of 9,272 employees eligible to vote, the National Mediation Board counted 3,973 ballots in favor of the CWA. USAir Chairman Stephen Wolf told employees yesterday that "your decision allows us to continue to expand our employee participation program, which we believe to be in everyone's best interest.
Recommendations in the Gore Commission draft report on aviation safety contain few suggestions that did not arise in its hearings, except for mention of a second ranging signal for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) as an air navigation enhancement. A second signal probably would mean an independent navigation payload on two dedicated satellites that would augment the constellation of Global Positioning System satellites. The Gore Commission's final report is due Feb. 11, and the draft is tightly held.
Federal Judge James Rosenbaum has approved the settlement to travel agencies in the class-action commission cap suit brought against six airlines by the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and other plaintiffs. Distribution will be based on Airlines Reporting Corp. reports documenting domestic ticketing for the period in question, according to ASTA. Six defendant airlines and TWA, which signed an earlier settlement, will pay $86.9 million (DAILY, Sept. 5).
Hong Kong Airport Authority has increased the traffic forecast for its new Chek Lap Kok Airport. Previously, it predicted 29.5 million passengers in 1998, the year the facility opens, but now it expects 33.9 million. It also sees sizable growth in 2001, up from 33.2 million to 40.7 million.
FAA's proposed amendment to its Commuter Rule likely will contain few changes, including an exemption for Alaskan carriers from certain dispatch requirements, according to industry sources. The rule calls for the transition of Part 135 operators of 10- to 19-seat aircraft to Part 121 by March 20, but some of the new dispatch requirements are nearly impossible for Alaskan carriers to fulfill.
Although several airlines agreed recently to install fire detection equipment in Class D cargo compartments on aircraft, "it is time to require cargo compartments with adequate fire safety systems to protect aircraft and occupants," according to Bob Chipkevich, chief of the National Transportation Safety Board's Pipeline-Hazardous Materials Division. Chipkevich, speaking yesterday at the IATA Dangerous Goods By Air Conference in Atlanta, reminded airlines they have until Feb.
Bombardier's new 70-passenger CRJ-X - officially launched last week and now designated the CRJ-700 - will offer a huge reduction in direct operating costs compared with the 50-seat CRJ. The General Electric CF34-8C1 will provide specific fuel consumption that is 8% lower than that of the CRJ's CF34-3A1. The smaller costs, coupled with the additional 20 seats over which to spread them, should make the aircraft's direct operating examples very attractive to potential operators.
F28RE Partnership is expected to select one of three candidates within 30 days to re-engine the Fokker F28 regional jet. The partnership consists of The Perry Group, a Salt Lake City-based aviation consultancy, and Fokker Services BV., which owns the type certificate. The partnership will select from the BMW/Rolls Royce Br710, the Rolls Tay 620 and the GE CF34-8C. A 45-inch plug and use of the F70/100 wing leading edge and tips also is being considered.
