After a five-year hiatus, New Eastern Airlines has resurfaced and is aiming to start service next year. "We're about 70% there," New Eastern's chief operating officer, John Ruths, told The DAILY. New Eastern was formed in 1991 with an ambitious service plan and initial backing of $1 million from Pilot Vector, an organization that included former Eastern pilots. Atlanta-based Airline Acquisition Corp.
American Society of Travel Agents will conduct its annual industry march on Washington Sept. 12. The event is intended to educate and inform members of Congress on travel and tourism issues, and this year's focus will be on legislation to clarify the classification of independent contractors and employees, creating a public/private federally chartered organization to replace the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, and alerting Congress to that impact of excessive taxation on the industry. The march will begin at the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency Hotel at 8 a.m.
Association of Flight Attendants has reiterated its call for a hearing on ValuJet safety and compliance disposition of its management in light of a report in Friday's Cleveland Plain Dealer that says that while grounded, ValuJet gave false information to FAA on the condition of its aircraft. An internal FAA document says ValuJet misled the agency about aircraft reinspections, according to the newspaper. ValuJet declined to comment on the report.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has developed an infrared camera that could help airline pilots when weather conditions reduce visibility. Unlike costly military night vision devices, the cameras do away with the need for cryogenic coolers and sophisticated optics and could be mass produced for less than $1,000.
Raytheon Electronic Systems said its advanced air traffic control system for Amsterdam has passed its factory acceptance test. The system is to be installed this fall in a new building at Schiphol East. It will provide ATC en route services for the whole of the Dutch flight information region, approach control at Schiphol and flight data services to the Rotterdam ATC tower.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic June, 6 Months 1996 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) June June % 1996 1995 Change Domestic Freight 713,652 708,802 0.7 Mail 139,348 137,062 1.7 Total 853,000 845,864 0.8 International Freight 642,218 613,078 4.8
American is a sponsor of the third annual Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf&Tennis Challenge, a national golf and tennis tournament for African- Americans, at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami during Labor Day weekend. American has sponsored the event since its inception, and it benefits from a link on Black Enterprise's Internet site and coverage in Black Enterprise magazine.
LOT, which banned smoking over a year ago in its transatlantic business- class section, will ban smoking altogether Oct. 2 on all transatlantic flights. LOT prohibits smoking on European flights under two hours.
American Trans Air has decided to pull out of Boston and five other markets in the next four months because it cannot compete with low-fare competition in them. The carrier has signed a letter of intent to cancel leases on five 757-200s with Pratt&Whitney engines and return them to the lessor by the end of November. More 757 capacity reductions can be expected during the next several months.
The new Pan Am has requested an exemption to carry revenue cargo on the proving flights it will conduct for FAA Part 121 certification. The company is scheduled to begin proving run flights this week and is asking permission to carry cargo on flights in the first week of September, saying it has tentative commitments for cargo shipments if it can gain the exemption. It asked DOT to act by close of business Friday. DOT tentatively approved Pan Am's request for a certificate last week (DAILY, Aug. 21).
Engine Lease Finance Corp., Shannon-based aircraft engine lessor, has been purchased by BTM Capital Corp. of Boston, which is part of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi group. The seller is Potomac Capital Investment Corp. of Washington, D.C. ELF leases large, modern turbofan engines to airlines and other users. ELF Chief Executive Jon Sharp said that "what we are now seeing is the transfer of ownership to the largest bank in the world, which will facilitate the growth we have planned for."
British Aerospace unit Avro Aerospace has taken the RJ70 quadjet out of production. There were few sales of the aircraft, sized to meet U.S. airline scope clauses limiting regional partners to aircraft with a maximum of 70 seats. Subsequent scope clauses, however, have a maximum takeoff weight of 75,000 pounds, 10,000 pounds less than that of the RJ70. As a result, Aero International (Regional), in which Avro is now a partner, is proceeding with its new 58-, 70-, and 84-passenger designs, which in the two former configurations will fall below 75,000 pounds.
An initial decision on Wilcox's protest of FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) contract award to Hughes Aircraft Co. is due Sept. 30, according to a schedule document obtained by DAILY affiliate ATC Market Report. FAA's Office of Dispute Resolution will make a recommendation to Administrator David Hinson by Oct. 7, and Hinson will issue a final decision "some time soon thereafter," the document adds. Martha DeGraaf, the General Services Administration judge named special master in the case, confirmed the schedule.
Air Transport Association's new Electronic Marketplace Committee is working on standards and policies to facilitate acceptance of electronic consumer transactions by the industry. The committee is administered by ATA and Air Travel Card, and Steve Cossette, Continental's senior director of distribution planning, will be chairman.
America West's ability to maintain its airplanes has suffered under recent cost-cutting efforts, according to a recent FAA audit, which also stated that the airline is operating safely.
The government of Sri Lanka, which wants to sell up to 40% of the shares of national carrier Air Lanka to a strategic investor, has finalized a privatization plan in which it would keep 51% control and reserve 9% of the shares for the airline's employees. The investor will have management control for five years, and longer with mutual consent. At a later date, the Sri Lanka government will conduct an initial public offering. The plan was developed by Chase Manhattan Bank and Simat Helliesen and Eichner (DAILY, Sept. 8, 1995).
Negotiations continue between Northwest and its two Airlink carriers - Mesaba Holdings and Express Airlines I - as both marketing agreements approach expiration next April. A major issue is the Minneapolis/St. Paul hub, which the carriers share (Express was the Republic Express carrier at MSP before the Northwest/Republic merger). Mesaba, a native Minnesota regional, would prefer to have the MSP hub to itself, leaving Express its exclusive hold on Northwest's Memphis hub. Express also owns Chicago Express, an American Trans Air partner.
To meet growing service demand, Australia and South Africa completed a new bilateral aviation agreement expanding services between the two countries. Under the pact, "South African and Australian carriers will now be able to operate a fourth weekly service immediately and a fifth from April 1997," said John Sharp, Australia's minister for transport and regional development. He said Qantas is expected to introduce its fourth weekly service to Johannesburg "as soon as possible." The agreement also allows both sides to operate one all-cargo flight per week.
United announced its big Boeing order yesterday and became the first U.S. airline customer for the Airbus Industrie A319 as well. In orders worth $3.5 billion for Boeing and $900 million for Airbus at list price - but with "substantial discounts" from both manufacturers - the carrier said it will replace older aircraft and reduce fuel, maintenance and labor costs more than $100 million per year by 2000.
A proposed reduction in the aviation fuels tax in Australia would save the industry an estimated A$13 million a year, and small airlines and aviation service companies would benefit most. Australia's national government proposed a 0.75 cents-per-liter reduction in the aviation fuels tax for the 1996-1997 fiscal year due to an over-recovery in the 1995-1996 year (DAILY, Aug. 22). The tax cut, included in the national budget proposed Tuesday, would be effective Sept. 1.
FAA yesterday issued nine flight control system design changes it plans to order for 737 aircraft, including one to correct galling and corrosion on the standby rudder and a second to reduce the frequency of yaw damper malfunctions. Although the proposed airworthiness directives stem from a design review following fatal crashes of a United 737 near Colorado Springs and a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh, Tom McSweeney, director of Aircraft Certification Service, said they are "in no way related to the cause" of the accidents.
Jet America Charters has applied for certificates to operate domestic and international charter service. To be known as Jet America, the company proposes non-scheduled charter service from its corporate headquarters at Orlando (Sanford) Airport. Jet America said it will operate a single Boeing 727 aircraft in an all-coach configuration with 173 seats during its first 10 months of operation, adding a second 727 later. It may modify the interior configuration of the aircraft to meet customer requests.
