Orally approved an exemption for Japan Airlines to fly seven weekly combination frequencies between Sendai, Japan, and Honolulu through Jan. 6, 1997...Orally approved an exemption for Aeromexico to operate combination service between Culiacan, Mexico, and Los Angeles through Dec.
Tower Air filed in the Brazil flag carrier case after being attacked by Delta for the "waste" of its "valuable Brazil route opportunity" (DAILY, Nov. 27). The carrier, which declined public comment when Delta first raised the issue in the dockets, said it "strongly opposes Delta's request to throw Tower Air out of Brazil." Delta said Tower's authority, which is up for renewal in March, should be consolidated into the current proceeding to select a fourth U.S. flag to service Brazil.
Saying FAA's priorities are driven by budget considerations rather than user benefits, the Air Transport Association laid out last week the airline industry's priorities for air traffic control modernization. In testimony to the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, Ed Merlis, ATA senior VP-government affairs, charged that FAA prioritizes its capital budget without input from ATC customers.
A promotion by Carnival Air Lines offers a $97 roundtrip companion fare on select flights from the Northeast to Florida, valid for travel Jan. 7-Feb. 13 with some restrictions. The routes are Washington Dulles-Fort Lauderdale, Newburgh, N.Y.-Fort Lauderdale, Hartford-Fort Lauderdale, Hartford-Palm Beach and New York Kennedy-Fort Myers.
Southwest announced "Winter Freedom Fares" with prices ranging from $29 to $129 each way, based on roundtrip travel. The tickets, good for all of Southwest's points including new Jacksonville service starting Jan. 15, are available for purchase through Dec. 12 for travel between Jan. 6 and March 6, 1997. Typical fares include $29 each way between Phoenix and San Jose; $49 for Seattle-San Diego, and $69 for Chicago Midway-Albuquerque.
United and Shuttle by United experienced record Thanksgiving weekend traffic. On Dec. 1, United boarded 282,024 passengers, surpassing the previous one-day record of 279,245, set June 30, 1995. Also on Dec. 1, Shuttle set a one-day record of 43,822 passengers.
As the new Pan Am expands, remnants of the old Pan Am continue to fly. Two original Pan Am 707s, now in cargo configuration, and one early 747-100, all bearing "PA" tail numbers, are being sold by various firms.
UPS aircraft mechanics and utility workers represented by the Teamsters signed a new agreement that runs through Aug. 1, 2001. The union declined to specify the tally or describe the size of the majority. Local 2727 President Joe Darmento and UPS VP-Airline Operations John Beystehner said the pact provides improved wages and benefits while maintaining competitiveness. Mechanics at top scale receive a wage increase of about 3% a year over the six-year period.
Airport Group International, Glendale, Calif., said it received a two-year contract, with a five-year renewal option, to provide all maintenance and operations support for facility equipment in the recently completed terminal at Guam Airport.
USAir Express affiliate CCAIR flew 12.1 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 0.4% decline from November 1995. Capacity dipped 0.2% to 25.9 million available seat miles..
TWA's previously announced plans to reduce operations will result in a 3% cutback of total flights, starting Jan. 13. A bulletin to employees said there would be no layoffs in January as a result of the smaller schedule, but staffing requirements for February and beyond "are under review." A company spokesman described a number of the cutbacks as seasonal, saying some points may be reinstated next summer. Service will be added on "sun and ski" destinations this month.
Potential merger of Delta and Continental poses an interesting question for Delta Connection Business Express, since both it and Continental Express are heavily involved in the Northeast. The latter is a wholly owned Continental subsidiary and recently ordered up to 200 Embraer EMB-145 50- seat regional jets. BizEx, on the other hand, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy with current management, creditors and others fighting over its fleet of 37 Saab 340s and extensive slot holdings at three high-density airports.
Air Line Pilots Association's Master Executive Council at USAir, positioning for a battle with management over rationalizing the airline's costs, voted out their chief, Bob Gaudioso, and elected Capt. Jon Bryan chairman. The regularly scheduled election was expected to go in Gaudioso's favor, but the 8-to-6 vote indicated support for both men.
Five plaintiff airlines jointly asked DOT Tuesday to dismiss Dade County's request for determination of the reasonableness of the equalized ratemaking methodology at Miami Airport (DAILY, Nov. 26). The carriers want DOT to dismiss the request so that it can be consolidated with their pending Part 13 complaint at FAA. The carriers further asked DOT to order that the consolidated proceedings be reviewed under FAA's new Part 16 expedited rates and charges policy, set to take effect Dec. 16.
Delta Connection affiliate Comair was scheduled to add a nonstop flight from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Fla., Dec. 1, using Embraer Brasilia aircraft. In addition, all of the regional's daily nonstop flights between Fort Lauderdale and Key West and Fort Lauderdale and Freeport, Bahamas, will be upgraded to 30-passenger Brasilia aircraft - from 19-passenger Metros, beginning Dec. 15.
Comair staged a fly-off between the Canadair Regional Jet and the Embraer EMB-145 regional jet with the 145 turning in impressive results on two of four legs. The 145 was flown in trail behind a scheduled CRJ from Cincinnati to Minneapolis and Cleveland. Comair employees were passengers on the 145. Because of ATC and fuel restrictions, only the return trips were "apple-to-apple"comparisons. Block time from Minneapolis was one minute slower for the 145 and identical from Cleveland, while fuel burn was 10% less on both.
French cockpit and cabin crew unions called for another 48-hour strike, this one Dec. 10-11, to protest liberalization of the air transport sector. Saying their aim is to protect French jobs, the unions are asking for "a credible air transport policy" that would "not be based on the degradation of pay and working conditions." They demand "an immediate halt to delocalization, chartering and franchising agreements with foreign companies."
Alaska Air Group subsidiary Horizon Air last month offered 115 million available seat miles, a 6.6% increase from November 1995's 108 million, but traffic decreased 0.5% to 65 million revenue passenger miles from 66 million in the prior period. As a result, the load factor dropped 4.1 percentage points to 56.5% from 60.6%. Passenger enplanements declined 4.5% to 282,100 from 295,400. Nov 96 Nov 95 11 Mths 96 11 Mths 95 RPMs 65,000,000 66,000,000 792,000,000 767,000,000
Tsai Tuei, officially sworn in as the new director general of Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration, said his priorities as CAA chief will be to upgrade aviation safety, promote development of Taiwan as an aviation hub, and gain more international routes for Taiwan's airlines.
KLM and the Dutch government agreed yesterday to privatize the airline further by creating a separate class of 17.3 million shares that will be sold by the state to the airline. The gain to the government - and the cost to KLM - will be roughly one billion guilders ($570 million). KLM will finance the transaction from its own financial resources. The sale, on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, will occur Dec. 10-13, at a discount of 2.5%. It will reduce the government's voting stake to 25% from 38.2%.
Allison Engine Co. won U.S. FAA certification for its AE 3007A turbofan, which powers Embraer's 50-passenger EMB-145 twin-engine regional jet, and the full aircraft/engine combination should win its certificate before the year is up.
National Transportation Safety Board has developed a proposal for classifying airline accidents "based upon the severity of their consequences." An improved classification system that provides more meaningful measures of airline safety is mandated by the FAA Reauthorization Act, and NTSB was required to develop it by Jan. 7. Comments are due Dec. 16. The board proposes four "mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive" accident categories for Part 121 aircraft:
Aerolineas Argentinas applied for an exemption to operate new scheduled combination service between Buenos Aires and Orlando, with beyond service to Cancun, Mexico, and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, using its current authority to Miami as a co-terminal point. Buenos Aires-Orlando service would start during the first week of January, using 747s to fly three roundtrips a week, including beyond service to Miami. Scheduled service beyond Orlando to Cancun and Punta Cana would operate three times a week using 727-200s wet-leased from AV Atlantic of the U.S.
FAA documents indicate that some agency officials are worried that, in an effort starting in the late 1980s to meet diversity goals, the agency may have violated federal guidelines by setting quotas for hiring and promoting minorities. One agency analysis said that "actions taken to discipline those who violate stated Affirmative Action, Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity Policies will be publicized." The analysis said that "this policy, apart from implications in the goal vs.
