Dairo Air Services, operating as DAS Air Cargo, has asked DOT to extend for one year its authority to operate Abidjan-Dakar-New York Kennedy flights for Air Afrique under a long-term wet-lease agreement. DAS's current authority to provide the service for Air Afrique is set to expire Nov. 1. The carrier provides up to two weekly scheduled flights on the route, using Boeing 707Fs.
Mesa Air Group said Friday it has an unofficial, tentative agreement with FAA to settle maintenance and training concerns, providing for several changes in its maintenance and training practices. Mesa agreed to a civil penalty of $500,000 stemming from past inspection findings but will be forgiven half of it when it completes the changes. Mesa said it agreed to change the number of flight, maintenance and ground personnel and improve training and internal audit programs.
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the United States National Tourism Organization Act tomorrow, which sent the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council into action Friday to mobilize the industry to communicate its support to Congress. The bill (H.R.2579), which is on a suspension calendar, needs a two-thirds majority to pass. The legislation would create a national tourism organization to promote the U.S.
Northwest Airlines has appointed former Pepsi-Cola executive James Lawrence as executive VP-finance and chief financial officer. He will resign, effective immediately, from TWA's board of directors. At Northwest, Lawrence will be responsible for treasury and corporate finance activities, strategic financial planning, and fuel and aircraft purchasing subsidiaries. He has been president and chief executive of Pepsi's Asia, Middle East and Africa business. He succeeds Mickey Foret, who left Northwest in June to join Atlas Air.
Rep. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked the administration to "postpone any judgement" on the American-British Airways alliance. New Yorkers "deserve more competitive rates and better services," Schumer said in a letter to White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. "I am not sure that allowing two carriers to create a monopoly is in the best interests of the consumers."
Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.) last week dropped a proposed Senate FAA bill amendment that would have required FAA to adopt criteria for granting exemptions from the Age 60 retirement rule for pilots. Simpson gave in after aviation subcommittee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said he would consider holding hearings on the issue. On the off-chance FAA might rescind or modify the rule, Frontier Airlines has a policy of placing pilots on leave of absence for five years rather than forcing retirement. Pilots retain seniority, medical insurance and pass privileges.
China Airlines posted an 8.4% gain in first-half revenues and a pre-tax profit of NT$384.8 ($13.9 million) for the period ending June 30. The Taiwanese flag carrier reported revenues of NT$24.9 billion ($896 million) for the first half. Rising fuel costs and increased pension contributions hurt China Air's pre-tax income, but the carrier did not divulge the financial impact.
Delta's Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council has elected Mark Halsor to serve as the non-voting, pilot representative on Delta's board of directors. He begins his one-year term Oct. 1. Halsor is a New York-based 727 captain who has been involved in stock-related issues on behalf of the pilots, ALPA said.
Since it unveiled its GG24 single-board combined Global Positioning System/Glonass receiver last June, Ashtech Inc. sees a very positive trend in the market. "It is selling very well," Leonard Kruczynski, director of strategic relationships at Ashtech, told DAILY affiliate ATC Market Report. The GG24 uses signals from both the U.S. GPS and the Russian Glonass system to derive its positioning information. Kruczynski said there has been no large volume of sales, but the new system is being purchased in the hundreds.
Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries of Japan, which participate in Rolls-Royce's Trent 800 engine for the Boeing 777, are among Asian companies invited by Rolls to join the Trent 900 program. The new engine is intended to power Boeing's 747-500X and 747- 600X derivatives and the prospective Airbus Industrie superjumbo, and Rolls's negotiations with the Japanese companies are expected to reach a conclusion within six months. Their potential share of the program was not known.
Karen Purdy, a veteran public relations official who has worked for several manufacturing companies, joined the Regional Airline Association last week as director of public relations.
Continental, the originator of "peanut fares," is putting a lot of thought into upgrading its domestic First Class menus. Sixteen chefs are meeting to devise more choices, discuss food trends and provide a mix of ethnic foods. They will recommend dishes in mid-October to upper management, which is targeting the introduction of new meals in January.
Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has agreed to become a shareholder in the Abacus computer reservations system's National Marketing Company (NMC) in Thailand. CAT will take a 29% equity stake in the joint venture, and the remainder will be held by Abacus; JVK Holdings, Abacus's partner in Thailand, and CMIC Finance&Securities Public Co. Ltd., a finance house. Abacus said it expects a final joint venture agreement to be signed by the end of September.
International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations presented its President's Award to Marcel Felton, VP-IAOPA European Region, and its Service Award to Sylvain De Weerdt, IAOPA European Union representative.
Superior Air Parts appointed Robert Williams national sales manager, Bill Peterson program director-piston products, Dan Andrews northern regional sales manager, Chris Baker southern regional sales manager and Ray Burdsall southeastern regional sales manager.
The U.S. has received feedback from some of the Asian countries it has targeted for open skies, and the initiative is "on the front burner," a U.S. official said. Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan were given model U.S. open skies agreements recently to study. The official cautioned that process is likely to be slow.
The proposed American-British Airways alliance continued to draw fire last week despite an apparent freeze in progress on a new U.S.-U.K. bilateral and, hence, approval of the proposed alliance. "If that combination takes place - a union that will limit competition and hurt the flying public - then we should be honest enough to call it by its true name - not an alliance, but a monopoly," said United Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald Greenwald to members of the American Chamber of Commerce in London last week.
America West has consolidated its sales regions, eliminated some sales positions, promoted two managers to director and hired from outside the company to enhance its passenger sales team. The sales divisions have been reorganized into five regions, each with a sales director, from nine. Anthony Alesci and Kathy Hasenpusch were promoted to director from within the company, and the carrier hired Richard McGee from Reno Air and Patrick McQuaid from American. The fifth director will be announced soon.
