DOT has granted United Parcel Service a partial waiver from its rules, allowing the carrier to begin marketing its proposed passenger charter services immediately, before receiving certificate authority (DAILY, June 14). "While it is not normally our policy to grant waivers...until an applicant has, at a minimum, tentatively been found fit for the operations it proposes, we find that a waiver is warranted in the particular circumstances presented by this case," said DOT.
DOT Inspector General's office named one former and two current FAA employees in a civil suit alleging violations of buyout incentives for early retirement. The suit, filed by the U.S. Attorney in Oklahoma City, targets Loren Shoop, whom the IG said received a $25,000 buyout payment but now is working under an FAA contract, and LaDonna Douglas and James Seignious, also employed by FAA. The U.S.
The prospective merger of Aerospatiale and Dassault complicates the reform of Airbus Industrie into a company-like entity, because Airbus partners have different ideas of how to carve up Europe's civil and military business. Dick Evans of British Aerospace was hoping Aerospatiale would transfer its civilian aircraft business to Airbus and leave its missile and space activities to other new European entities. On the other hand, Manfred Bischoff of Daimler-Benz Aerospace imagined an Airbus Plc that would do military and, eventually, space work.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses The Year 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American 4,747,806,000 9.89 4,076,829,000 Atlantic 2,058,584,000 11.95 1,711,369,000 Latin 2,316,031,000 8.52 2,059,236,000
Air Europe has requested special authorization to carry blind-sector traffic on some of its charter passenger flights between Italy, the U.S. and Caribbean points. The Italian carrier has asked to carry the traffic on six weekly flights on Thursdays Aug. 1-Sept. 5, operating on a Milan- Orlando-Montego Bay, Jamaica-Milan routing with a traffic stop at Orlando for the discharge and/or enplanement of a partial planeload of about 100 Italy-originating passengers per flight.
Tower Air's June block hours decreased 26.1% from June 1995 to 3,256. For the first six months, the carrier operated 21,665 block hours, a 0.7% increase from the same period last year. For scheduled passenger service, Tower's revenue passenger miles rose 1.5% to 334 million, due mainly to strong domestic traffic. Available seat miles gained 7.1% to 470 million, while the load factor fell 3.8 percentage points to 71.1%.
Southwest traffic grew 12.9% last month, compared with June 1995, but capacity increased by a little bit more, which pushed the load factor down 0.6 percentage points. Capacity grew 13.9%, while the number of passengers boarded increased 5.6%. For the first half of the year, traffic was up 12.9%, compared with the same period in 1995, on a 13.5% increase in capacity, causing the load factor to fall 0.4 points to 63.8%. June 96 June 95 6 Mths 96 6 Mths 95
USAir's traffic rose 3.4% last month, compared with June 1995, on a 2.8% falloff in capacity. Its load factor was up 4.5 percentage points to 72.6%. For the first six months, traffic fell 2% from the level recorded in the same 1995 period, on an 8.5% drop in total service. The load factor for the period was 67.9%, up 4.6 points. June 96 June 95 6 Mths 96 6 Mths 95 RPMs 3,447,997,000 3,333,831,000 18,919,647,000 19,313,804,000
America West has made its flight schedule accessible through the Internet. The carrier plans to improve the site shortly so that computer users will be able to check on arrival and departure information.
Frontier celebrated its second anniversary July 5. It has grown from serving four cities from Denver to 15. Its fleet of 737s has increased from two to nine aircraft, and it now employs 675 people, up from 180 in July 1994.
FAA has adopted a rule it says will "increase the use of flight simulators and flight training devices by permitting their use for most airman certification training, testing and checking tasks." The rule on training centers will provide a "common source for standardized, quality training accessible to any individual or corporate operator and air carriers" and "recognizes industry recommendations for the expanded use of sophisticated flight simulation."
Canadian Marconi said Korean Air selected its CMA-2102 high-gain satcom antenna for new 747 aircraft. The antennas will be used with Collins SAT- 906 avionics for inflight communications.
Continental has added Dollar Rent A Car and EuroDollar to its OnePass frequent flyer program. OnePass members renting a car can earn up to 1,000 miles through Dec. 15 and 500 afterward.
Delta and Austrian Airlines have filed a joint application for authority to operate service beginning on or about Aug. 15 between the U.S. and Almaty, Kazakhstan, via Vienna, under a code-share/blocked-space arrangement. Initially, the carriers would operate twice-weekly service from Atlanta and New York gateways, with Delta flying the Atlanta-Vienna segment with its own Boeing 767-300ERs. Austrian would operate the New York-Vienna and Vienna-Almaty segments, using Airbus A310s.
National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday the probable causes of the Simmons ATR 72 crash on Oct. 31, 1994, near Roselawn, Ind., were incomplete disclosures by ATR to operators of how the aircraft reacted in freezing precipitation and the French Directorate General for Civil Aviation's inadequate oversight of the ATR series aircraft, the DGAC's failure to take corrective action to ensure airworthiness in icing conditions and its failure to provide FAA with timely information from previous ATR accidents in icing conditions.
Pan Am has christened its first aircraft, an A300, Clipper America. The christening was performed by Kristina Trippe, granddaughter of original Pan Am founder Juan Trippe, and Lars Lindbergh, grandson of aviator Charles Lindbergh. The carrier said one-third of its 150 employees worked for Pan Am in the past. Pan Am intends to begin service this summer to New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
ValuJet has filed a plan with FAA to resume scheduled service and will do so as early as the first week in August if the agency approves, the carrier's president, Lewis Jordan, said yesterday. "We are confident that ValuJet will meet and exceed all of the FAA's requirements by Aug. 1, although we cannot predict what specific service resumption date the FAA will authorize," he said. The carrier also announced compensation and structural changes bringing maintenance and engineering functions directly onto its payroll.
A Pratt&Whitney spokesman said yesterday the company has "never seen" a fatigue crack or experienced a breakup of the hub of its JT8-219 engine like the one that occurred in a fatal accident Saturday involving a Delta MD-88 (DAILY, July 9). National Transportation Safety Board officials said Monday night that an inch-deep crack had been found in the hub and appeared to have caused the failure of the hub.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena said yesterday DOT supports enactment of legislation to protect aviation workers who report safety violations to the federal government. The House Transportation aviation subcommittee is holding a hearing today on the bill (H.R.3187). In a letter dated yesterday to Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), Pena said it may be difficult in some cases to aggressively pursue safety concerns brought to FAA's attention on a safety hotline without the protection.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses The Year 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues Alaska 1,162,878,000 7.74 958,411,000 American Trans Air 690,246,630 18.77 355,367,479
Continental filed yesterday in opposition to proposed sanctions against Colombia, urging DOT instead "to accept Colombia's invitation to continue negotiations on U.S.-Colombia aviation issues." The sanctions are a response to Colombia's refusal to allow American to operate New York-Bogota service (DAILY, July 9). (Docket OST-96-1315)
The Senate voted yesterday to reinstate the lapsed aviation excise taxes through Dec. 31 this year as part of a small-business tax relief bill (H.R.3448). The bill, which passed the Senate 74-24, now goes to a conference with the House, whose bill does not reinstate the aviation taxes. If the tax renewal survives a conference and the bill is signed into law, the taxes would resume seven days after enactment. Passenger and cargo transportation purchased before the effective date would not be taxed.
FAA has awarded Harris's Information Systems Division a $72.5 million contract for weather and radar processors for en route, long-range radar facilities. Harris will develop, install and support 24 Weather and Radar Processor (WARP) systems at air route traffic control centers and the air traffic control system command center. It also will provide a lease service for immediate replacement of the Meteorologist Weather Processor system now in use at the facilities.
International Aviation Club will hold its monthly luncheon July 16 at the International Center of the University Club at 1800 K St. N.W., Washington, D.C. Julius Maldutis, managing director of Salomon Brothers, is the guest speaker. Lunch is at 12:30 p.m. and costs $35.
Vietnam Airlines took delivery of the first of 10 new A320s which Airbus said begins a major acquisition program organized in conjunction with Aerostar Leasing. All 10 aircraft are to be delivered by early next year and will be operated from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to domestic and Asian destinations. The aircraft are powered by CFM56 engines.
