Employees worried about safety in light of staff shortages were told by an FAA manager to "shut up or quit," the Professional Airways Systems Specialists union (PASS) said yesterday. An FAA spokesman said, "This indiscretion is being addressed at the highest levels of the agency." Jack Johnson, PASS president, said the incident happened at the Jacksonville air route traffic control center when six radar data processing technicians expressed concerns arising from reduced staff levels.
Douglas Aircraft said the first nose structure for its MD-95 series aircraft has been completed at its Huntington Beach, Calif., facility, where employees will provide parts for the next three noses. The aerospace division of Korean Air Lines in Pusan, Korea, has begun assembly of the second nose and will build all others. The second nose is scheduled to be completed next May.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Commission Expenses Third Quarter 1996 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues Alaska $ 5,781,000 1.74 Domestic 5,560,000 1.74 Latin 221,000 1.74 America West 10,186,804 2.59
Air Canada said it launched "a new offensive in the North American marketplace" yesterday with the delivery of the first of 35 A319s on order. The carrier will operate its A319s in 112-seat, two-class configuration alongside its 132-seat A320s. President Lamar Durrett said, "Just as our open skies routes between Canada and the U.S. are growing and developing, the A319 is making its entrance. The timing couldn't be better." The carrier will receive about two aircraft per month through June 1998, replacing its DC-9 fleet.
The chief executives of Air Transport Association member airlines, along with President Clinton and Vice President Gore, announced yesterday that U.S. carriers will voluntarily begin next year installation of fire detection systems in cargo holds that currently are not so equipped. In addition, airlines will "continue to work with the FAA to develop environmentally, technically and operationally safe fire containment and suppression systems," ATA said.
Charter cargo operator Millon Air has notified DOT of its intention to resume service and wants permission to contract wet-leases until it regains authority to operate with its own aircraft. The filing comes shortly after the department rejected Millon's application for expanded Brazil service and determined the company had effectively ceased operations (DAILY, Dec. 11).
FAA plans in 1999 a two-year demonstration of the support systems for free flight, according to George Donohue, associate administrator for research and acquisitions. Donohue, who testified in a closed session at the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, said he stressed to the commissioners the need to fund the "full-up free flight evaluation," called Halaska because it will be conducted in the airspace between Hawaii and Alaska.
FAA and Raytheon are meeting daily in an effort to avoid what could be a schedule slip in the $1.5 billion Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) program. According to multiple sources, the program has veered into trouble because of differences between the agency and the contractor regarding interpretation of high-level functional specifications.
Federal District Court Judge Catherine Perry has ruled that the National Mediation Board's (NMB) election process is the right forum to decide whether TWA's flight attendants should be represented by the Independent Federation of Flight Attendants or the Machinists union. The ruling is the result of a lawsuit filed by incumbent IFFA against the IAM for organizing activity. NMB is reviewing whether there is a sufficient showing of interest by the flight attendants for an election but has not yet authorized one, an NMB spokeswoman said.
A two-hour strike yesterday by Lufthansa's white-collar DAG union forced the cancellation of 92 domestic flights, the airline said, and no timeframe is evident for the resolution of labor difficulties. Talks between Lufthansa and the DAG, which represents pilots and flight attendants, broke off Monday over the length of the contract and benefits (DAILY, Dec. 12).
Europe's airports generated nearly $16 billion in revenues in 1995, according to a study by Airports Council International-Europe. Nearly one- third of the amount was reinvested in new facilities, according to the trade group. In a new analysis announced Dec. 11, ACI-Europe said total airport revenues for its member airports grew 9.8% in 1995 from the previous year, while total airport investments was up 5.5% to $4.4 billion.
National Transportation Safety Board this week said the probable cause of the inflight activation of the ground spoilers on a ValuJet DC-9 while in flight was the fault of the flightcrew. The Jan. 7 accident caused minor injuries to five persons aboard and substantial damage to the aircraft.
Continental is learning that one can go too far to satisfy customers.The carrier empowered its front line employees a few months ago to appease angry customers with an upgrade to Business First Class, but to use discretion. Authorized employees now have been told to consult supervisors before making offers. It seems full-business-fare-paying customers were being "displaced." $end 421 OMB Proposes Cut In Upcoming FAA Budget, Full User-Fee Funding In Fiscal 1999
Air France Europe said its new domestic shuttle flights, inspired by United's strategy in California, are a "promising" success in their first month of operation. The carrier said it increased its market share 8% on Paris Orly-Marseilles and Orly-Toulouse routes and 2% on Orly-Nice between Oct. 27 and Nov. 26, despite two 48-hour strikes. The airline operates 27 daily frequencies to Marseilles, 26 to Toulouse and 15 to Nice in an attempt to crush competition on the "millionaire" routes, which total 6 million passengers a year.
1995 World Traffic Results, By Route Areas Passengers Psgr-Kms Carried % Flown Route Area (thousands) Change (millions) Within North America - International 6,165 15.8 8,853 North America - Central America 14,770 3.2 25,440 North America - South America 5,340 19.4 18,200
DOT Secretary Federico Pena said the passage of voter initiatives in California and Arizona to permit the medicinal use of marijuana did not alter enforcement of federal bans against drug use. "This very clear warning means that any safety-sensitive transportation worker - such as a pilot, railroad engineer or bus driver - who tests positive under our program may not use Proposition 215 or Proposition 200 as an excuse or defense."
The Australian government enacted a code of conduct agreement with the two major domestic airlines, Qantas and Ansett Australia, and the Australian Federation of Travel Agents that forces all involved to inform travelers if they are booked on code-share flights. Tickets will include printed information advising that a code-share service is being operated and giving the name of the carrier operating the service.
Delta won part of its battle in the allocation of Brazil scheduled combination rights, with DOT deciding to consolidate Tower Air's temporary exemption into a previously separate case to designate a fourth U.S.
Daimler-Benz Aerospace (DASA) and Volvo Group, the premier industrial powerhouses of Germany and Sweden, respectively, have agreed to cooperate in the development and production of aircraft engine parts. An agreement signed Dec. 11 between MTU Munchen, a DASA subsidiary, and Volvo Aero, the aerospace division of Volvo, covers a minimum of 20 years and will generate work worth nearly $600 million. The arrangement stems from the increasing pressure on Europe's aerospace sector to rationalize itself by pooling resources.
Niche startup carrier Pan Am applied for code-share authority with Aeroperu. The carrier would place Aeroperu's code on Pan Am flights between Miami and New York Kennedy, currently operating with Pan Am's A300s.
DOT approved Air Jamaica's bid to start new service between New York Kennedy and Antigua, Barbados and St. Lucia. The carrier's MD-83 flights will start Feb. 6 next year. Air Jamaica currently has more than 120 flights a week from U.S. points to Montego Bay and Kingston.
"The atmosphere" of the EU-U.S. multilateral air talks held in October in Washington "was very positive," said EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock in Brussels yesterday. The next meeting will take place in Brussels next March, Kinnock added. The EU mandated the European Commission to discuss "soft" issues with the U.S. Transportation Department, with the aim of setting up a "common aviation area" across the Atlantic. The issues at stake comprise competition rules, ownership rights, computer reservation systems, safety and dispute settlement.
The European Commission unveiled plans this week in Strasbourg to set up a European organization for civil aviation safety that would have sufficient weight to counterbalance the influence of the U.S. FAA. The existing informal European structure, the Joint Aviation Authorities (JAA) set up in 1990, has several disadvantages, said the EC. "All of its decisions require the unanimity of its 26 member states; its decisions are not legally binding, [and] it does not have sufficient legal nor political weight, particularly against the FAA," an EC official said.
