Workers are making "good progress" assembling the four wing panels of the first MD-95 test aircraft, according to a Douglas Aircraft official. Steve Fisher, director of program and production definition, said that although Douglas is manufacturing the initial MD-95 wing set, later sets will be produced in Korea by Hyundai Space and Aircraft Co., one of 15 global supplier-partners on the program. The next step will be to "stuff" the wing boxes' wing fuel systems and install fixed leading edges, trailing edges and flight control systems, Fisher said.
DOT's Enforcement Office filed a motion Tuesday for summary judgment against AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and Sabre computer reservations system in the Preference MAAnager Case (DAILY, Nov. 14). The add-on software to Sabre permits travel agents to list American and American Eagle flights preferentially, an ability the Enforcement Office says violates bias-display rules.
Two French companies, Aeroports de Paris and Sode Changes, won contracts to design a terminal building at the new Pudong Airport in Shanghai. An international selection committee chose the two French firms over four competitors from Europe and America.
Machinists union Air Transport District 143 in St. Paul, Minn., which represents employees at eight aviation companies, announced that Keith Foster is the new president of the 30,000-member district. He replaces Marvin Sandrin, who has become special grand lodge representative in the union's International Transportation Department. Foster, who has been the general chairman for the district since 1987, moves into the president's position in accordance with the bylaws.
Rockwell Avionics&Communications received a supplemental type certificate from FAA for the Collins AMS-850 avionics management system on a Beechjet 400A, making "primary means satellite-based navigation a reality for business aircraft."
China, the European Union and Europe's major aerospace companies will spend $3.5 million in 1997-98 to implement the EU-China cooperative program in aeronautics, Geoff Shuman, deputy secretary general of the European Association of Aerospace Industries (AECMA), said in Beijing.
Universal Avionics Systems Corp. used its corporate jet last month to make the first transoceanic flight using combined Global Positioning System and Glonass satellite navigation technology. An Ashtech GG24 GPS&Glonass receiver board, packaged in a 1MCU sensor feeding into Universal's UNS-1D flight management system, was used on the Bombardier Challenger aircraft in a seven-hour, 10-minute flight from Shannon to Teterboro.
Airlines will be very active at the bargaining table this year, negotiating labor contracts on the heels of a healthy return to profits and several major aircraft orders. From a management standpoint, the coming year could prove to be a rough one for carriers that hope to whittle away at labor costs, or at the very least keep them stable, considering that 1997 is expected to be even better financially than 1996.
Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar has promised a compromise on the Meigs Field issue whereby Meigs would remain open for seven years, but thereafter, the City of Chicago and the Park District could "unilaterally determine the fate of the airport." Edgar noted that Mayor Richard Daley in 1990 signed a grant contract pledging to keep the airport open for 20 years. "There are 14 years remaining on that commitment, and I am proposing what I believe is a reasonable compromise to release the city from its commitment in half that time," he said.
China Northwest Airlines will acquire 10 A320 airliners as the next major step in its fleet expansion program. The purchase is part of a 30- aircraft order placed with Airbus Industrie last April by China Aviation Supplies Corp., and the European consortium expects a further commitment this year. China Northwest, a new A320 customer, will be the third Chinese operator of the aircraft, after Sichuan Airlines and China Southern Airlines. Deliveries to China Northwest will take place between 1997 and 2000.
Asiana Airlines of Korea has ordered General Electric CF6-80C2 engines valued at $175 million to power three 747-400s and two 767-300s scheduled to enter its fleet beginning in 1988. Asiana placed options for three more 747s and two more 767s with the GE engines.
Civil Aviation Administration of China has scheduled the 1998 China International Airport Facilities and Air Service Exhibition for May 12-15, 1998, at Beijing. Airport equipment, airplanes, air service products and gifts, and land shopping products will be displayed.
Boeing Commercial Airplane Group will move its headquarters from the current site on the south end of Lake Washington in Renton to a new building in Longacres Park, a 12-acre site near SeaTac Airport. The 300,000-square-foot building will house executive offices, sales, contracts, legal, human resources, marketing and communications. Design will begin in January, site preparation will follow in April and completion is scheduled for October 1998.
FAA, following a recommendation of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, is acquiring 54 explosives detection systems from InVision Technologies under an initial $52.2 million contract. The CTX-5000 SP systems are to be delivered over 12 months, starting this month. FAA has an option to buy additional units that would increase the value of the contract to $110.9 million. The CTX-5000 SP, developed with FAA support, is based on CAT scan technology - using X-rays, it maps objects inside baggage for analysis by a computer.
The Canadian province of Alberta yesterday dropped its aviation fuel tax to 1.5 cents per liter from five cents a liter, dropping fuel prices there "below all provinces west of the Maritimes," according to the government. A slightly smaller reduction had been slated for January 1998, but the reduction was accelerated "in light of developments at Canadian Airlines."
Baltia Air Lines, a U.S. startup that has been working to launch operations since at least 1992, has asked DOT for permission to delay operations again, this time until late spring. DOT found Baltia fit and willing to operate foreign scheduled service last Feb. 7, and the carrier plans to fly between New York and St. Petersburg, Russia, with a 747. It said in its filings that it is well on its way toward meeting financial and certification requirements.
United and SITA signed a service performance agreement covering the Managed Data Network Services that SITA provides to the carrier around the world. The pact also provides for closer cooperation.
In a move to shorten domestic and international air routes, the Indian government has directed the defense ministry to allocate more air corridors to civilian flights. The directive was prompted mainly by allegations from aviation industry analysts that the Chakri Dadri midair collision last month could have been avoided with better air traffic regulation. Two government-appointed committees are investigating the accident.
New Jet Deliveries September 1996 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Jamaica 1 MD-83 JT8D-219 - Air Nippon 1 737-500 CFM56-3C1 2 Ansett 1 A320-200 CFM56-5A1 -
The Machinists union has sued Walt Disney Pictures&Television for $50 million for negative characterizations in the studio's movie "Ransom." The two co-writers of the script also are named in the suit. The Machinists complained that a character in the movie is described as a corrupt Machinists union official, and there are other references to Machinists union indictments and strikes. The union said it has received "hundreds of inquiries and expressions of concern" from union members and the general public since the movie was released.
Federal Express, continuing its seven-year effort to build and operate an express cargo warehouse and handling facility at Chiang Kai Shek Airport in Taipei, asked DOT to defer action on two pending EVA Airways applications for expanded intermodal authority between the U.S. and Taiwan. FedEx does not oppose Taiwan-based EVA's bid to renew and expand its authority, but it wants the U.S. to help exert pressure on Taiwanese authorities to permit construction of the facility.
Taiwanese domestic carrier Great China Airlines has begun operating what it plans to be three-times-weekly charter flights between Kaohsiung and Subic Bay, the Philippines, using aircraft leased from another domestic carrier, U-Land Airlines. GCA joins Far Eastern Air Transport Corp., Taiwan's largest domestic airline, which also offers three charters per week in the market.
United is establishing an employee awards program and intends to hold an annual awards banquet to recognize 50 to 100 employees. In an employee news bulletin, United said it will choose winners at the division level in six categories - safety first, customer satisfaction, leadership excellence, most valuable player, vision and the United We Care community service program. Names will be forwarded to the company level for recognition at the dinner, to be held April 17.
Even as Europe's giants struggle to integrate the continent's air traffic control systems, tiny Latvia and Lithuania are quarreling over carving up airspace of the former Soviet Union in the Baltic area. Lithuania claims that its proposals to divide the airspace, opposed by Latvia, have been approved by Russia, Poland, Sweden, Finland and the International Civil Aviation Organization. But the former USSR's air control center for the Eastern Baltic region was located in Riga and has been under the authority of Latvia since Latvia became independent in 1991.
