American is seeking an exemption to operate scheduled combination service between Chicago and Moscow under a code-sharing agreement with Transaero Airlines. American would place its designator code on flights operated by Transaero, beginning April 1, 1997, and to do so, it needs underlying route authority for service between Chicago and Moscow. Transaero holds authority between Moscow and Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Orlando, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
Continental launched a summer fare sale for up to 40% off on travel July 12-Sept. 30 on 14-day advance purchase tickets. The sale fares are available only on Tuesdays and Wednesdays except for travel to Florida, Monday through Thursday, and from Florida, Tuesday through Friday. Other carriers are offering similar savings. USAir said fares are reduced by 40% in more than 10,000 markets. Most carriers also announced significant savings for Independence Day, cutting fares by as much as 70% on travel July 3-6.
Five hundred ATR aircraft have been ordered since the launch of the ATR program in 1991, Aero International (Regional) announced yesterday. AI(R) said it logged six recent orders that achieved the 500 mark - two ATR 42-500s to Air Mauritius for delivery in April and June, 1997, two ATR 42- 500s to an undisclosed European customer for a Maritime Patrol aircraft (delivery dates also undisclosed) and two ATR 72-210s to Yangon Airways, a new company based in Myanmar. The ATR 72 deliveries to Yangon Airways are scheduled for October and November or December this year.
Boullioun Aviation Services, Seattle-based subsidiary of Sumimoto Trust and Banking Co., ordered eight 737-300 aircraft valued at $350 million, Boeing said yesterday. The company currently leases eight 737-200s, seven 737- 300s, four 737-400s and one 757 to airlines, and it manages 10 airplanes on lease for other investors.
Corporacion Aeroangeles S.A., a Mexican air taxi operator of executive aircraft, asked DOT for an exemption to provide charter combination passenger service using small aircraft between Mexico and the U.S. and, subject to prior department approval, between other countries and the U.S. Aeroangeles also requested stopover privileges and relief from the requirement to obtain advance approval for each Mexico-U.S. flight. (Docket OST-96-1487)
Allied Pilots Association asked members yesterday to call their congressmen to protest a provision - due for a vote imminently - that was included in the transportation appropriations bill report by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), directing the National Transportation Safety Board to conduct another study of the Age 60 rule. Saying that FAA decided to continue the rule after five years of review, APA said there is no need to reopen the debate.
British Aerospace Asset Management has renamed its two operating units and announced a series of new transactions. British Aerospace Asset Management Organization, the BAe 146 jet sales and leasing business, was renamed BAe Asset Management - Jets (AMJ), while JSX Capital Corporation, the turboprop remarketing arm, was dubbed BAe Asset Management, Inc. - Turboprops (AMT). The two names formally take effect July 1. The company also announced a new U.S. address: British Aerospace Asset Management, Inc., 15000 Conference Center Drive, Suite 200, Chantilly, Va.
Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. said it completed a modification program on a LOT 767 in which it added passenger seats, relocated the cabin individual video system, installed a traffic alert and collision avoidance system and made the aircraft capable of extended-range twin engine operations.
U.S. officials are disappointed by Japan's rejection of open skies and continuing refusal to allow pending fifth-freedom service at U.S.-Japan talks begun yesterday in Washington (DAILY, June 27). "Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Japan's negotiators rejected the United States' open skies policy in a proposal tabled [yesterday]," said Stuart Oran, United executive VP. Noting Japan's "refusal to honor the existing air service between the two nations," Oran added that "Japan's proposal makes explicit their real intent, which is to offer the U.S.
Bay Area Rapid Transit board of directors has certified the final environmental impact statement for the rail extension to San Francisco Airport. The board adopted the plan that calls for aerial tracks over Highway 101 that run into a station at the airport's new international terminal and on to a joint BART/CalTrain station in Millbrae, south of the airport.
Passenger boardings for May increased an average 9.9% for 15 of the nation's largest regional airlines. The carriers together boarded just over four million passengers, compared with 3.7 million in May 1995. The only airline whose enplanements decreased was Business Express, 24% to 120,000. AMR Eagle's four wholly owned regionals alone carried more than one million passengers for a nearly 4% increase. The second-place group was Mesa Air Group's six carriers, which carried more than 552,000 passengers, up 2.6%.
Northwest, which is marketing its lowest fares via its World Wide Web site, is sponsoring a contest to find a creative name for the tariffs, with a prize of free tickets for travel in North America. For the next few weeks, a list of city-pairs with prices as low as 70% off the regular excursion will appear on the Web site each Wednesday, Northwest said. "Depending on the success of these offers, the airline hopes to continue offering these special, low fares," Northwest said in its announcement.
Greenwich Air Services said yesterday it was awarded contracts valued at $25 million by ING Aviation Lease for engine heavy maintenance and field support services for CF6-50 engines, which power ING's Airbus A300-B4s. Greenwich said it also received an $8 million contract from Vanguard Airlines to provide engine heavy maintenance and field support for the airline's JT8D-9A-15 engines, which power Boeing 737-200s.
Meeting with congressional and government officials in Washington yesterday, Virgin Chief Executive Richard Branson pressed his campaign against the proposed American-British Airways alliance. The carrier has set aside a "fighting fund of $15 million-$20 million" for the effort, he said, adding that "a lot of that will be spent on advertising." He also plans an energetic lobbying campaign in the U.S. and U.K and the European Union, if necessary. In Washington, he met with DOT and Justice Department officials as well as several senators and members of Congress.
Flights over the Atlantic have been involved in two near midair collisions this week and six since Oct. 1, according to the controllers' union local in the New York air route traffic control center (ARTCC). Joseph Fruscella, Eastern Region VP of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, said FAA is trying to save money by refusing to use its Oceanic Display and Planning System (ODAPS).
Continental and the Machinists union, which represents its flight attendants, have reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement. The company and the union would not release details because of an information blackout imposed by industry mediator Robert Harris. National Mediation Board Chairwoman Magdalena Jacobsen assisted in the negotiations. The two sides came together before the contract became amendable this month and worked quickly to reach the agreement.
Lone Star Airlines is offering what it calls a "96 Olympic Hurdle" fare of $96 one way between Dallas/Fort Worth and Knoxville for customers who want to fly during the Olympic Games and avoid Atlanta "at all cost," the carrier said.
Virgin Atlantic will be able to provide live datalink of EKG (electrocardiogram) information in the next month or two, Chairman Richard Branson told The DAILY this week. Branson said a hospital in Chelsea, U.K., is working with the airline. He said it is harder to find a U.S. partner because U.S. medical institutions are hesitant to take part due to legal issues.
AMR Eagle, according to word on the street, is considering acquiring the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ), with a potential order for 60 plus 60 options. The carrier is said to be concerned about jet competition from Delta Connection carriers Atlantic Southeast at its Dallas hub and Comair in Florida. ASA and Comair operate BAe 146s and CRJs, respectively. AMR has a large Saab 340 fleet and was thought to be a customer for the Saab 2000 high-speed turboprop.
Midwest Express Airlines intends to inaugurate nonstop flights from Kansas City to Boston and Omaha Sept. 9 with DC-9s. The carrier will operate twice-daily flights to Boston on weekdays. The flights to Omaha will be operated 10 times a week on weekdays, two of them by Midwest Express and the others by Skyway, the Midwest Express Connection, with Beech 1900Ds.
A late 1995 incident in which a Simmons Airlines Saab 340 lost power in its left engine and made an unscheduled landing at Corsicana, Texas, was probably caused by engine ice ingestion and the failure of an automatic system to reignite the engine, the National Transportation Safety Board determined this week. None of the 30 passengers and three crew was injured in the Nov. 17, 1995, incident, and no aircraft or engine damage was found.
American and the TACA Group of carriers have signed an agreement on a code- sharing alliance between the U.S. and Central America and other destinations, and for other cooperative programs, beginning Nov. 1. The alliance also benefits AMR's Sabre Travel Information Network, which won a marketing alliance to promote Sabre to Central American travel agents and for telecommunications services linking agencies with Sabre's host system.
