FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring inspection of some Hartzell propellers used on smaller and older types of commuter aircraft, such as the DC-3 (supplemental type certificate-modified), the Shorts SD3 and the Twin Commander. FAA has reviewed and approved Hartzell's alert service bulletin that contains a list of affected propellers and describes inspection procedures. The AD requires that the inspections be performed within 10 hours of service. FAA said it received a report of an inflight blade separation on a Shorts S312 in the U.K.
Travel to the U.S. from the U.K. increased 4% in 1995 from 1994 to 2.888 million visitors, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. Only Japan accounted for more visitors, 4.598 million. ITA predicts that travel from the U.K. will increase 2% in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and 3% in 1999, reaching 3.2 million visitors.
Business Travel Contractors Corporation (BTCC) announced the formation of the Business Travel Coalition - a group of corporations from the U.S. and abroad that will participate in the debate of key industry and public policy issues. The coalition will operate under the corporate structure of BTCC, and only corporate senior financial and administrative executives, and travel and purchasing managers, will be invited to join.
Five carriers have filed applications for service to Toronto in the U.S.- Toronto Third Year Service Proceeding. DOT will select up to four primary carriers and four backup carriers to operate two daily, scheduled, combination frequencies each between the U.S. and Toronto. The frequencies, made available by the 1995 air services agreement between the U.S. and Canada, will be available beginning February 1997. TWA, Delta and Continental are seeking to add two daily flights to Toronto from St. Louis, Atlanta and Newark, respectively.
India's private domestic carrier, Modiluft, which fell out with partner Lufthansa last month, said it will sue the German airline for $100 million in damages for breach of contract, misrepresentation and breach of trust, Modiluft officials said yesterday. The petition, to be filed in Mumbai High Court, cites Lufthansa for "tortious liability" during the tenure of their partnership. Modiluft contends that Lufthansa unilaterally snapped its ties with the Indian carrier without giving six months' notice as stipulated in the contract.
Southwest will stretch its reach to southern New England Oct. 27 when it inaugurates service to T.F. Green Airport in Providence, R.I., with eight daily flights from Baltimore/Washington Airport. Southwest previously announced its desire to begin operating to Providence but did not reveal the point of origin. The new flights will boost its operations at BWI by 30%. Southwest also is reducing fares at Baltimore to longer-haul destinations, such as Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Correction: Because of a data processing error at DOT, three figures of American Trans Air's financial results were misstated in a DAILY chart on U.S. national carriers' operating and net profits, first quarter 1996 (DAILY, July 30). The correct numbers are: First quarter 1996 net profit, $2.353 million; first quarter 1995 operating profit, $10.619 million, and first quarter 1995 net profit, $5.404 million.
The probable cause of an engine explosion on a ValuJet DC-9 last year was the failure of an engine repair contractor, Turk Hava Yollari, to detect a crack in a high-pressure compressor disk, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded yesterday. THY was the foreign repair station performing maintenance on the engine. The aircraft was departing Atlanta for Miami on June 8, 1995, when a "loud bang" was heard.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee First Quarter 1996, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total (000) (000) Employees American Trans Air 207,135 201,919 3,358 Carnival 78,305 75,155 1,243
LanChile has hired Paul Gartlan as director-international affairs. He most recently was VP and general manager-North America for Ladeco Chilean Airlines. Gartlan will be responsible for developing international markets, particularly Asia, and strategic alliances.
Philippine Airlines has become the newest A340 operator, Airbus Industrie said yesterday. A second A340 is to be delivered in September. Both aircraft are leased A340-300s and "precede the start of deliveries of Philippine Airlines' own fleet of 28 Airbus Industrie aircraft in October."
Capping more than 30 years of effort, IATA today filed with DOT two intercarrier agreements on passenger liability limits, and Director General Pierre Jeanniot said he is urging the U.S. to approve them "rapidly" so they can take effect by Nov. 1. The agreements increase passenger liability limits from $75,000 in the U.S., $150,000 in much of Europe and $350,000 in Australia to full "compensatory damages," and they relieve a claimant from having to prove an airline was at fault in order to receive full compensation for death or serious injury.
Air France has signed a participation agreement with LatinPass, the frequent flyer plan of 15 Latin American and Caribbean airlines. By yearend, Air France's Frequence Plus members will be able to redeem miles on LatinPass, and members of LatinPass will accrue and redeem miles on Air France.
National Business Aircraft Association said its membership has exceeded 4,000 for the first time in its 49-year history, reaching 4,058. NBAA started out with 19 members in 1947. "During the past two years, NBAA membership has increased by more than 20%," said NBAA President John Olcott. "I believe that much of our growth directly reflects the expansion of business aviation, both in the U.S. and around the world."
Officials of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association announced yesterday the establishment of the National Aviation Research Institute, an organization charged with promoting the consideration of human factors in development of technology, programs and procedures for air traffic control. NARI is a not-for-profit corporation that will seek grants and industry, government and academia sponsorships for research, and offer active controllers to participate in studies and act as consultants.
USAir sued its major alliance partner British Airways yesterday for breach of contract, and American and BA for seeking to undermine USAir's competitive position through the proposed BA/American alliance and attempting to limit competition in the U.S.-U.K. market.
Vanguard Airlines is offering double credit to its frequent flyer program members until Dec. 19. One flight will count as two, so passengers earn a free trip after four roundtrips or eight one-way flights instead of the normal eight roundtrips or 16 one-way flights. The free flight is good for one year.
House and Senate negotiators have agreed in principle to reinstate the aviation excise taxes, but the duration of the taxes was unresolved late yesterday. The House version of the small business-tax relief bill (H.R.3448) includes no aviation tax provision, but the Senate bill would renew the taxes through April 15, 1997. House conferees on H.R.3448 proposed yesterday to accept aviation tax reinstatement through Dec. 31, 1996. Taxes would take effect seven days after enactment, and tickets purchased before then would not be taxed.
Travel Industry Association of America (TIA) will release The Minority Traveler Report Aug. 6. The study, which TIA said is the first of its kind, examines the travel habits of the three largest minority groups in the U.S. - African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Asian Americans.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In RPMs And ASMs Per Employee First Quarter 1996 Revenue Available Passenger Seat Miles Miles Total (000) (000) Employees American Trans Air 2,465,762 3,370,491 3,358 Carnival 766,274 1,189,274 1,243
ValuJet probably would not have been forced to shut down last month if it had not experienced the May 11 crash that focused "intense" media attention on FAA's oversight of its maintenance problems, Anthony Broderick, former deputy administrator for regulation and certification, said yesterday. In his first media interview since leaving the agency June 30, he said FAA is too politicized; many of its budget problems stem from DOT, not the White House or Congress, and the agency no longer benefits from being part of the cabinet department.
The proposed American-British Airways alliance cleared an important hurdle yesterday as the British House of Commons Transport Select Committee opposed referring the proposal to the U.K. Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC). While the committee has no jurisdiction over the proposed alliance, its recommendation will influence the U.K. Office of Fair Trading's decision on whether the U.K. MMC should investigate it. Over a two-week period, the panel conducted public hearings featuring testimony from the alliance partners as well as representatives from major U.S.
Continental is proposing to begin service to Lisbon, Portugal, as its eighth destination in Europe from Newark. Subject to government approval, the carrier said it will begin the service May 1. It also announced plans to expand seasonal service to Dusseldorf to daily nonstop flights on Feb. 28, 1997. It will operate 757s to Lisbon.
Supporting DOT's tentative decision to impose sanctions on Japan Airlines in response to Japan's refusal to allow Federal Express to operate new beyond-Japan services, the Economic Strategy Institute is urging the department "to pursue these sanctions towards the goal of a long-term solution to the air service conflicts that have disrupted transpacific operations for years." DOT has proposed prohibiting JAL from transporting on its scheduled Japan-U.S.
San Francisco budget analyst Harvey Rose told his Board of Supervisors that San Francisco Airport should raise by 25% the amount of non-aeronautical revenue it pays into the city's general fund. Under a 1981 settlement agreement with the airlines serving San Francisco, the airport, grandfathered under federal airport revenue diversion law, makes annual service payments equal to 15% of its non-aeronautical revenues - about $16.9 million a year. The agreement and the payments expire June 30, 2011.
