Union leaders fighting Sabena's latest cost-cutting plans say they may turn again this fall to the "lightning" strikes they staged last winter if the airline does not scale down its restructuring goals. The five labor unions that represent Sabena personnel met this month and agreed not to accept salary cuts, increased workloads or changes in core business units, all of which figure in Sabena's plans.
Tom Appleton's appointment as president of Bombardier's Amphibious Division came as a shock to many in the industry, especially some competitors. He has been selling regional airplanes at de Havilland, Canadair and Bombardier since becoming de Havilland's VP-sales in 1986 - more than 700 aircraft, to be precise. Before that, he was a de Havilland test and international ferry pilot (DAILY, Aug. 16).
The new separation criteria FAA issued last week so airliners can avoid potentially dangerous wake turbulence failed to consider general aviation, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said yesterday. The Air Transport Association and the Regional Airline Association also criticized the new standards. AOPA President Phil Boyer said a controller is "now allowed to position a Cessna 152 three miles in trail behind a three-engine Falcon 50 business jet because both are now classified as small aircraft.
Croatia Airlines is the first carrier to relaunch scheduled passenger service to Sarajevo since the beginning of the war, in 1992. The Croatian flag carrier launched service Aug. 19 to the Bosnian capital from Zagreb twice a week, operating a 42-seat ATR 42 aircraft.
Innovative Solutions&Support said it has introduced a reduced vertical separation minimum system to the commercial business jet market, and Gulfstream selected it for retrofit on G-II aircraft. The system will help operators meet regulations, effective next March, that will require aircraft to meet 1,000 feet instead of 2,000 feet separation at specified flight levels on North Atlantic routes. Similar separation minima likely will be extended to Europe and other areas during the next several years.
Fuel cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Large Regionals July 1995-June 1996 Total Total Cost Gallons (Dollars) 1995 July Domestic 1,099,220,526 577,590,554 Internationa 417,787,108 243,829,374 System Total 1,517,007,634 821,419,928
FAA's proposal to ban or curtail future air tour operations over Rocky Mountain National Park makes "numerous fallacious characterizations and contradictory statements" and should be dropped, air tour operators charged.
Bloomington, Minn.-based Great Lakes Aviation intends soon to consolidate its Brasilia fleet in the Midwest, replacing three 30-passenger aircraft now being used for Midway Connection operations in East Coast markets with 19-seat Beech 1900s. In its 10-Q statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the quarter ended June 30, it said the three relocated Brasilias would be flown under the United Express banner, focusing on operations at the senior partner's Chicago and Denver hubs.
Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council says the Democratic Party will include the travel and tourism industry by name in its 1996 National Platform, to be approved next week at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. Aubrey King, executive director of the council, said, "Getting recognized in the Democratic Platform is a sign of the growing comprehension of our industry's enormous economic contributions." He said the council's goal was to be included in both parties' platforms this year.
Fresno, Calif.-based Air 21 has named Peter Robertson to the newly created position of full-time public relations manager, reporting directly to Mark Morro, chairman, president and chief executive. Air 21 recently received its fifth Fokker F28 aircraft. It intends to have 15 in service by the end of next year (DAILY, Aug. 13).
Northwest and Mahalo Air signed a marketing agreement providing for code sharing in Hawaii that will complement Northwest's current agreement with Hawaiian Airlines. Starting Sept. 15, Mahalo will operate Honolulu- West Maui and Honolulu-Molokai code-share flights that connect with Northwest's service between Honolulu and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. Hawaiian offers limited service to Molokai and does not serve West Maui.
German regional airline Eurowings will operate 84-seat BAe 146-200 aircraft instead of a 68-seat ATR 72 on its code-sharing service with Air France between Hannover and Paris, from Sept. 1. According to Eurowings Marketing Director Ulrich Sigmann, "demand for flights between Hannover and Paris rose 38%, to more than 40,000 passengers, from January to June compared with the same period of 1995." The BAe jet, which will reduce journey time by 20 minutes to one hour and a half, will be operated on three of the four daily services between the cities.
Turkish Airlines has opened an office in Tbilisi and started operating twice-weekly RJ70 flights to the capital of the former Soviet republic of Georgia. The Turkish carrier, the first from outside the Commonwealth of Independent States to serve Georgia, will use the Avro RJ70 on the route until October, when it will switch to a Boeing 737.
Saying he has discussed U.S.-Japan aviation issues with Prime Minister Hashimoto, President Clinton told Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) the administration "will continue to press the government of Japan to resolve outstanding disputes and to ensure that rights under the current treaty are honored, so that we can begin the process of expanding opportunities for the benefit of both countries."
Former Chief Operating Officer of Texas International and co-founder of former discount carrier People Express is making a bid for Midway Airlines, based in Raleigh/Durham. Struggling Midway is seeking investment capital, and a carrier spokeswoman confirmed that a group led by Burr is one of several interested parties. "There is no deal at this time," she said. Industry sources said Burr is considering moving Midway to New York and resurrecting People Express after buying the name back from Continental.
TriStar Airlines has named Giles Hietpas VP-maintenance and John Quilling director maintenance. Industry veteran Hietpas's nearly two decades of aviation management include 16 years as manager-quality assurance and director-maintenance for Air Wisconsin (like TriStar, a BAe 146 quadjet operator). Quilling has more than 19 years of aircraft maintenance experience, and has been director-maintenance and director- quality control for Viking International Airlines and Eagle Jet Charter.
Regional airline load factors increased again in July. A DAILY sampling of 14 of the nation's largest regional carriers resulted in an average load factor of 53.5%, compared with 51.1% in July 1995. Three carriers posted load factors of 60% or more - United Express Air Wisconsin, 64.4%; AMR Eagle, 62.5%, and Horizon Air, 62.3%. Another six were in the 50%-60% bracket - Delta Connection Comair, 59%; Mesa Air Group, 58.6%; Northwest Airlink Mesaba Holdings, 56%; Continental Express, 54.4%; Delta Connection SkyWest, 53.5%, and Gulfstream International, 50.1%.
Allied Pilots Association has called a board meeting tomorrow in anticipation that contract talks with American will continue another week to 10 days at most and end either in agreement or a 30-day cooling-off period. American and APA have agreed on pension provisions and smaller issues, but the big roadblocks remain - pay, scope and work rules. APA said American has not budged on its short-haul flying proposal, which would cut pilots' pay 30%.
Reflectone reported operating income of $1.9 million and net income of $1.6 million for the second quarter. Both represent gains over operating income of $1.5 million and net income of $739,000 during the same period last year.
Aspen Mountain Air (AMA) will begin scheduled operations in late fall in the Denver-Aspen market. AMA is a unit of Fort Worth-based Lone Star Airlines, which has operated Dornier 328s between Dallas/Fort Worth and Aspen since the start of ski season last year. CEO Phil Trenary says he will operate two aircraft out of Aspen with five to six daily Denver trips and two to three DFW trips, depending on the season. The carrier is operating under financial guarantees from Peak International, an Aspen air services company.
John Coleman is director of DOT's Office of Aviation Analysis but apparently does not work there anymore. After a newspaper article described him this week as the bureaucrat who will have the last word on whether ValuJet will be allowed to fly again, Coleman returned to his quarters on the sixth floor at DOT headquarters to find a sign on his door alerting him that he now works in the "Office of Obscurity." Coleman says he is not the final decisionmaker in the ValuJet case.
Tom McClain, former president of Dornier Aviation North America, is the front-runner to become the general manager of new Western Pacific feeder carrier Mountain Air Express (MAX). The Colorado Springs-based carrier recently ordered 12 Dornier 328s with options for an additional 12. McClain is a TWA veteran, and before he joined Dornier he was in charge of Pan Am's European operations during that carrier's shut-down. MAX plans to launch operations Dec. 4 with service to all the major Colorado ski resorts, bypassing the Denver hub.
U.S. and Colombia were putting the final touches on an agreement yesterday, sources said, likely including permission for American to resume its three-times-weekly New York-Bogota service. The carrier would be able to operate daily service in the market, but it would have to subtract the frequencies from its Miami-Bogota service. The deal also may include a two-year freeze on service between the countries.
Air Transport Association's estimates of how much FAA's proposed pilot flight/duty time rules would cost were based on running actual schedules as they would operate under the rules, according to ATA President and Chief Executive Carol Hallett. She challenged Air Line Pilots Association President Randolph Babbitt's description of the estimates as not credible and "overblown," a comment Babbitt made to a handful of reporters following his speech at ALPA's Air Safety Forum this week (DAILY, Aug. 21).
