The White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security heard testimony yesterday from family members of victims of 10 airline disasters ranging in time from the August 1983 shooting down of Korean Airlines Flight 007 to the destruction of TWA Flight 800 in July. The commission met later in closed session to receive briefings from tbe CIA and the FBI.
Air France yesterday settled domestic political squabbles and ordered 10 increased gross weight 777-200s and five A340-300Es, in the process restructuring the remaining Boeing aircraft it had on order. The carrier also saw pre-tax profits triple for the first half of its fiscal year, as net profits reached $158 million. The Boeing order includes 10 777 options, and the five A340s ordered follow five A340s ordered in June. The first 777 will be delivered in 1998 and will be powered by General Electric's GE90-90B engines. GE valued the engine order at $300 million.
Jet USA has chosen CMG Communications, New York, as the advertising agency to handle a $6 million account that will help launch the new airline. CMG currently is the agency of record for Virgin Atlantic Airways, and its managing director, Michael Glavin, said it can "make Jet USA the American equivalent of Virgin Atlantic.
National Air Transportation Association officials met yesterday with Illinois legislators in a last-minute push for support to reopen Chicago's Meigs Field. Teamed with representatives of other general aviation interests, NATA Vice President Andrew Cebula campaigned for legislation allowing the state to take over and run the lakefront airport, which the City of Chicago wants to convert into a park. "In conjunction with advice from [Gov. Jim Edgar], we have been targeting some key house members and senators," Cebula said.
Third-party maintenance centers handle many types of hazardous materials, and ValuJet maintenance contractor SabreTech should have known what to do with the oxygen canisters it removed from three MD-80s and later loaded on the ValuJet DC-9 that crashed May 11 in the Everglades, a ValuJet official said yesterday in Miami.
Delta Air Lines applied for new Brazilian combination routes that become available April 1 next year. Delta proposed daily Cincinnati-Atlanta-Sao Paulo-Rio de Janeiro service, with a second daily flight from New York to Sao Paulo. The New York flight would connect in Sao Paulo with the flight from Cincinnati and Atlanta, providing a connection for New York-Rio. Both routes would use 767-300ERs in three-class configuration. Delta said it is the largest U.S.
The Independent Pilots Association (IPA), which represents pilots at United Parcel Service, said the mid-air collision in India last week further demonstrates the urgent need for cargo aircraft to be equipped with traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS). The IPA already has a petition pending at FAA calling for the installation of TCAS II on up to 800 all-cargo aircraft.
Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan and New Zealand are actively considering open skies agreements with the U.S., and a top DOT official who visited the region last month reported "broad support" for the concept, particularly among newer, more aggressive Asian carriers.
Miami charter carrier Rich International Airways, grounded since Sept. 2, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in what President William Meenan said is a step in the right direction toward resuming operations. Meenan said he expects Rich to be flying again "in a short period," and the filing "should not be looked upon as a negative development" for the carrier. The company has been working with FAA to have its certificate revalidated, and the bankruptcy filing will help it conserve cash in the meantime.
DOT has issued two consent orders enforcing rules against false advertising. One is against American Express Travel Related Services Co., partly involving advertisements run by the Thomas Cook agency after it had been bought by - but before it had been integrated into - American Express. DOT said the company published deceptive ads on charter tours between August and December, 1995, in numerous newspapers.
American and Iberia will announce next week an alliance that includes acquisition of a 20% stake in Aerolineas Argentinas by American from Iberia, according to DAILY affiliate Aviation-Latin America&Caribbean. The European Commission is requiring Iberia to sell its 83% stake in the Argentine carrier as a condition of its latest cash infusion from the Spanish government. Sources told Aviation that Aerolineas Argentinas may limit its service in Europe to Madrid, eliminating London and other beyond points, and in the U.S.
The State Department's assistant secretary for consular affairs, Mary Ryan, signed memoranda of understanding with seven U.S. airlines on how to handle airline disasters outside the U.S. The MOUs establish procdures for exchanging information, including passenger manifest information, following a disaster. They do not resolve, however, who will collect the information, who will pay for it, and whether the current proposal imposing different requirements on U.S. and foreign airlines is equitable (DAILY, Nov. 15).
American Airlines is expected to place a $5 billion order today for as many as 100 Boeing aircraft, including about 12 777s and 75 737s, Wall Street sources said yesterday. The order, reported to be in the works by several publications during the past week, will simplify American's fleet and add a long-range widebody to its mix, potentially increasing greatly its presence in the Pacific. American told securities analysts last week that the widebody order was pending and that it was considering buying new- generation 737s to replace its high-cost 727 fleet.
The Allied Pilots Association's board of directors voted yesterday 10-8 to approve American Airlines' contract offer. With the narrow endorsement, the contract will be referred to the union membership for a ratification vote. The four-year contract includes two scheduled pay increases, two stock-option issues and productivity gains in pilot scheduling. It does not restrict American Eagle from operating regional jets. (See related story on Page 304 of the hard copy of this issue.)
DOT will accept applications through Dec. 6 from airlines that want to become the third U.S. airline with authority for third-country code sharing in Poland. United and Northwest already hold authority, effective this month, to operate seven weekly code-share frequencies with a third-country carrier. The third U.S. airline will be added April 1, also with seven weekly frequencies. In November 1997, total frequencies available to the three carriers will increase to 35 a week, with no two airlines operating more than 14 each.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic Second Quarter 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 2,814 19.71 819 2,306,177 America West 4,482 3.56 838 3,755,915 American 16,616 (0.56) 1,129 18,763,473
American will be the first U.S. airline to carry automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) on its aircraft, beginning next spring, and has plans to outfit its entire fleet by the end of 1998. American declined to disclose the terms of the contract for 300 defibrillators, called Forerunner, to be purchased from Heartstream Inc. The president of Heartstream said the units normally cost between $3,000 and $3,500. Forerunner will be installed first on American's overwater aircraft.
The Airport Services Division of EDS will become the chief technology integrator at Las Vegas McCarran Airport's 26 new gates. EDS, which also provides information systems integration at New York Kennedy, will begin updating McCarran's gate and baggage claim systems next spring, to be followed by bringing new airport databases on line and integrating new technology. Airlines will share check-in counters, with electronic displays of their names and logos.
Orlando-based AirTran Airways posted a 50% jump in revenue passenger miles for October on a 16% increase in capacity, which pushed the passenger load factor up 15.3 percentage points to 68.5% from 53.2% in October 1995. AirTran, which began operations in 1994, flew 51% more passengers last month, rising to 89,526. The airline flew 77 million revenue passenger miles and 112.6 million available seat miles during the month. In the first 10 months, AirTran's load factor increased 8.9 points to 66.2%.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic June 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) American Trans Air 467 33.08 1,649 770,531 Carnival 163 17.58 1,197 194,812
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic June 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 1,007 12.12 836 841,621 America West 1,494 (0.50) 849 1,268,533 American 5,746 0.23 1,136 6,528,902
FAA this week awarded Coopers&Lybrand a $900,000 contract to conduct an independent assessment of the agency's financial requirements through 2002. The 90-day study, mandated by the FAA reauthorization act (Public Law 104- 264), also includes a review of FAA's cost allocation among users and the capital needs of U.S. airports, FAA said.
A ValuJet ramp agent told a National Transportation Safety Board public hearing yesterday in Miami that he heard a "clink" while loading five boxes of oxygen canisters on the DC-9 that crashed into a swamp May 11 shortly after takeoff from Miami. The agent, Dennis Segarra, said he could feel movement inside one of the boxes that made the metallic sound as, on his knees in the cargo hold, he wedged the boxes between aircraft tires. Segarra contradicted his boss, lead ramp agent Christopher Ramkissoon, about where the boxes were loaded in the forward cargo bin.
Airbus Industrie, searching for a production and funding mix to launch the double-deck A3XX superjumbo, is discussing sharing some of the risk and the production of the aircraft with at least one North American aircraft manufacturer, Airbus North America Chairman and Chief Executive Jack Schofield said yesterday. "We're talking about a major work share," said Schofield, to spread the estimated $8 billion cost to develop the aircraft. "The investment needed will require a broadening of the four-nation partnership that we have now," he said.
Southwest Airlines Chairman Herb Kelleher and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley said yesterday the airline will back the $722 million Midway Airport Terminal development project. In a memorandum of understanding, Southwest committed itself to repay the debt for the 38-gate facility through landing fees and terminal rents. Chicago made guarantees that would reimburse the airline and let it out of the deal if a regional airport authority or other entity were established to take over Chicago's airports or try to divert funds from them.
