The proposed agreement between the U.S. and Canada to ban use of leaded aviation gasoline will "devastate the already depressed general aviation industry," according to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. AOPA told EPA and Environment Canada no high octane unleaded fuel can be used safely in high-power piston engines. The proposed ban is part of an effort to clean up the Great Lakes Basin.
Boeing rolled out its next-generation 737 over the weekend by kicking off a newly aggressive marketing campaign against rival Airbus Industrie that portrays the A320 single-aisle twin as the embodiment of a "technology for technology's sake" design philosophy. Airbus has suggested that the 737NG is merely a freshening up of original 1970s technology, while the A320's combination of fly-by-wire and advanced autopilot/autothrottle helps squeeze more efficiency from the aircraft and more productivity for the pilot.
Finnair and Aer Lingus signed a code-share agreement linking Dublin with Stockholm and Helsinki. Beginning May 1, Finnair will operate three weekly flights with the Aer Lingus code, using DC-9s seating 122 passengers in two-class configuration. Finnair also sold the majority holding of its restaurant and hotel unit, Nordic-Hotel Oy, to Arctia Ltd. The airline also sold the Hotel Inter-Continental in Helsinki to a real estate company run by the owners of Arctia, as well as its 49% share of Moscow-based Infa- Hotel Oy company.
Saega Airlines, a unit of Malaysia's Ekran Bhd, has placed a preliminary order for 10 Boeing 737 aircraft, according to sources in Kuala Lumpur. The sources said Boeing was notified recently of Saega's intention to purchase the aircraft, and signing of a firm order is expected next year. Saega probably will wait for completion of a hangar now being built at Miri before confirming the order, sources said. When the hangar is finished, the company intends to move its center of operations to Miri from Kota Kinabalu.
One year after launching its World Wide Web site, United is receiving more than two million hits (pages viewed) per month, nearly 67,000 per day. The carrier will offer real-time access to promotional fares by March, and late in 1997, users will be able to book and ticket travel from the site.
A user fee structure proposed this year by the seven largest U.S. airlines would shift almost $600 million in costs from the Big Seven to low-cost carriers and "could have substantial competitive impacts," the General Accounting Office said in a Dec. 9 report to Congress.
Canadian Air Line Pilots Association (CALPA) voted Friday 90% in favor of a proposed Canadian Airlines restructuring plan, leaving the Canadian Auto Workers as the only union that does not back airline President Kevin Benson. The Canadian government voted last week to force the CAW to bring Benson's plan to a vote, but CAW President Buzz Hargrove is resisting government intervention. Hargrove called on the government recently to reregulate aviation in an attempt to halt the downturn in the country's airlines.
U.S. carriers fly 61% more flights into the 17 "beleaguered" Category 2 and Category 3 countries of Latin America than all the airlines of the region combined, according to Morten Beyer Associates. The civil aviation oversight ratings, issued under FAA's International Aviation Safety Assessment program, limit access to the U.S. by airlines of the rated countries. Category 2 nations' carriers are in danger of having their air service to the U. S. revoked, and those of Category 3 nations cannot serve the U.S.
Air France has saved nearly $1 billion in two years by improving its fleet utilization rate 14%, to 10.7 hours per day from 9.4 hours in 1994. The efficiency gain equals the cost of operating 15 additional aircraft.
Continental proposes to issue a private placement of $250 million of 9.5% senior notes due Dec. 15, 2001. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes.
Since Meigs Field closed, traffic delays at Midway Airport are worse than when Midway Airlines was operating there, according to Remmers Aviation President Ron Remmers. He says this leads him to believe that closing Meigs has "effectively destroyed the possibility of any new airline service from Midway." The Illinois legislature has passed a bill providing for state acquisition and operation of Meigs.
Bilateral relations and the fate of the American-British Airways alliance were clouded last week as open skies talks ended without measurable progress and the alliance parties were informed their partnership could not go forward without revision.
Northwest will reduce fares by as much as 45% for travel Jan. 13-March 19 between the U.S. and Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Manila, Singapore, Taipei and Bangkok, effective immediately. Sample fares include Los Angeles-Manila, as low as $780 roundtrip versus $981, and Detroit- Beijing, $1,062 versus $1,927.
FAA's new procurement rules may be tested in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit in St. Louis, where Kansas City-based Wilcox Electric, filed a protest against FAA's transfer of the Wide Area Augmentation System contract from itself to Hughes Aircraft, which had been a Wilcox subcontractor. In October, FAA denied a Wilcox protest of the sole-source Hughes award, citing a special master's conclusion that it did not have to compete the award (DAILY, Oct. 10). Wilcox had argued that FAA violated its new acquisition program, which took effect April 1.
The potential Delta/Continental merger, coming to be called "Deltanental," may never materialize due to the cost of integrating such dissimilar fleets, some industry observers said.The two airlines have 20 different fleet types and eight different basic engine types. Want a narrowbody? The merged airline would have 727s, DC-9s, MD-80s, MD-88s, MD-90s, 757s and four versions of the 737.
National League of Cities has asked DOT to reconsider its ruling that the City of Los Angeles should return $31.1 million to the city's Department of Airports. In a letter to Secretary Federico Pena, NLC Executive Director Donald Borut said the organization views DOT and FAA legal opinions on the issue "with grave concern because they appear to confirm the FAA's views that all airport entities are answerable only to the federal government." The instructions to return the money "could set an awkward precedent of intrusion."
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is negotiating to purchase a stake in private Indonesian airline Sempati Air. SIA officials have confirmed that talks are under way but have declined to provide details. Sempati Air, which was set up in 1968 as a charter airline flying oil crews and drilling equipment to sites within Indonesia, began scheduled domestic service in 1990, followed by international service in 1991. It now serves 25 domestic and five international destinations.
Aero International (Regional) named Jean-Michel Leonard president- marketing; Jean-Daniel Leroy president-American support and Alan Stiley VP- sales and marketing of AI(R) Marketing.
Alaska Airlines' November traffic rose 4% to 739 million revenue passenger miles on 3% higher capacity, forcing the load factor up 0.6 percentage points to 65.2%. For the first 11 months of the year, traffic jumped 14.9% and capacity rose 7.9%, boosting loads to 65.7%. Nov 96 Nov 95 11 Mths 96 11 Mths 95 RPMs 739,000,000 711,000,000 9,029,000,000 7,858,000,000 ASMs 1,134,000,000 1,101,000,000 13,739,000,000 12,733,000,000
Gordon Bethune, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental, will be the keynote speaker at the American Bar Association's 1997 Annual Update Conference on Air and Space Law, scheduled Jan. 30 at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel, Washington, D.C. Legislative and regulatory updates on FAA reform, victim assistance, tax treatment for heavy maintenance, computer reservations systems and fitness reviews for new entrants are planned. An international aviation panel will consider open skies, 1997 negotiating strategies, U.S.-U.K.
