Federal Express pilots narrowly rejected the tentative agreement reached in March after two years of talks, sending both sides back to the negotiating table for another attempt at the Air Line Pilots Association's first contract at the carrier. Fifty-eight percent of FedEx pilots voted against the contract, which won the negotiators' agreement, although the ALPA leadership at FedEx later recommended against it. A majority of those leaders were in favor of ratification, however (DAILY, March 20).
In a move to develop Taiwan into a major air transportation hub, Taiwan's Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) is drawing up plans to develop the region surrounding the Chiang Kai-shek Airport (CKS) into an "Aviation City." The plan calls for developing the area within a 10- kilometer radius of the airport into a new city dedicated to aviation- related industries. The area would include a zone for airport operations, passenger and cargo transport, industry and peripheral and support activities.
Taiwan's domestic carriers, stung by low load factors on the heavily traveled Taipei-Kaohsiung route, are offering sharply discounted tickets in an effort to win market share. One-way tickets, which are officially priced at NT$1,409 (US$51.25), are readily available at prices as low as NT$950 (US$34.50), and many travelers have reported paying as little as NT$650 (US$23.65).
TWA, which each month finds itself a poor performer in DOT's Consumer Report rankings, is embarking on an employee incentive program similar to but a little tougher than the one employed by Continental more than a year ago to move itself up from the bottom rung. TWA's initiative, called "Follow the DOT," will award TWA domestic and international employees $65 a month when TWA ranks in the top five in lowest complaints, least mishandled bags and best on-time performance.
House Appropriations Committee budgeted $5.65 million for upgrades to the Loran-C navigation system, but it appears that DOT still intends to abandon the system despite strong objections from aviation groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and from larger groups of marine and terrestrial users.
FAA's proposed rules on flight and duty time contain a few provisions that are pleasing to pilots but, in an apparent effort to appease airlines, many that are not, according to the Air Line Pilots Association. In comments filed at FAA on the agency's notice of proposed rulemaking, ALPA said the rules are a modern form of "pilot pushing" - forcing pilots to fly long hours to maintain schedules.
Air Canada has applied for a two-year renewal of its authority to use United's UA designator code on some of the flights it operates in the U.S.- Canada market, plus an amendment extending this authority to all of its transborder flights. DOT granted a similar amendment to American and Canadian Airlines International, the carrier noted. Air Canada applied for the authority for itself and for its commuter carrier subsidiaries - Air Alliance, AirBC, Air Nova, Air Ontario and Northwest Territorial Airways.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic Fourth Quarter 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 2,592 11.77 818 2,119,184 American Trans Air 1,004 6.92 1,904 1,912,064
Air Transport Association's annual report on scheduled airlines is available to the public. It contains yearend 1995 data on the industry and ATA members, including balance sheets, fleet size, markets, travel trends and employment statistics. Cost of the report is $20. To obtain a copy, call 301-490-7951, ext. 950 in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and outside the U.S. All others call 1-800-497-3326. Request code A826.
Boeing said it has set up a toll-free hotline for reporting suspected unapproved Boeing parts. The company also is taking other steps, including increasing monitoring and educating of its parts suppliers, to "assure that rejected parts and overruns do not enter the system," improving protection of proprietary design data and reclaiming and destroying unapproved parts. The hotline number is 1-888-223-PART. The line, which is available to callers in the U.S. and Canada, is staffed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time Monday through Friday.
U.S. Trade and Development Agency Director Joseph Grandmaison yesterday signed a $1 million grant for a feasibility study he said is expected to lead to more than 11,000 jobs and $2.5 billion in exports of U.S.-made equipment to Uzbekistan's aircraft industry. The Chkalov Aircraft Production Co., Tashkent, and the National Bank of Uzbekistan are the recipients of the grant. AlliedSignal, with project partners Allison Engine Co.
Comair said it is working with the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA on why the landing gear of an EMB-120 would not deploy on approach Sunday at Orlando after a flight from the Bahamas. The crew made several attempts to lower the landing gear using primary and backup systems. The 29 passengers and three crew members escaped injury.
A class action law suit was filed in state court in Fulton County., Ga., on behalf of purchasers of common stock of ValuJet June 9-18. The complaint charges ValuJet and SabreTech violated the Georgia Securities Act and state common law by misrepresenting on concerning ValuJet's business practices, aircraft maintenance and regulatory compliance. The suit was filed by the law firms of Milberg Weiss, Bell&James and others. Milberg Weiss has offices in New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
DOT has issued an order approving Federal Express's complaint against the government of Taiwan. Deferring on the question of imposing sanctions, the department will, as requested by FedEx, initiate discussion with the appropriate Taiwan authorities on a satisfactory resolution of the issue. FedEx is seeking redress for Taiwan's refusal to allow it to self-handle inbound and outbound air express and air freight shipments at Taipei Chiang Kai-shek Airport (DAILY, April 25).
Kiwi International Airlines, which had been looking for an increase in business following the ValuJet shutdown, has reached an agreement with FAA to reduce its flights by 25% for an indefinite period. The carrier last week came under criticism for increasing fares and opening a city ticket office in Atlanta after ValuJet halted operations, but Kiwi said the office and fare increase had already been planned (DAILY, June 20). It reported 17,000 bookings June 19, compared with 11,000 on a normal Tuesday.
British Airways is firming up plans to convert its 15 Boeing 777 options into firm orders and extend deliveries into 1998, the airline said in Speedbird 2000, its internal publication for flight crew members and ground staff. With four 777s in service and 11 more scheduled for delivery by the end of 1997, the carrier said the twinjet and its GE90 engines are operating at technical dispatch reliability rates of about 96% and 99.9%, respectively.
DOT has tentatively allocated the 450 U.S.-Brazil all-cargo charters currently available for the 1996-1997 charter year to six carriers. Millon Air received 99, Southern Air Transport 76, Tower Air 60, Arrow Air 55, Florida West Airlines 53 and Fine Airlines 23. In addition, 84 charters are being allocated tentatively to a pool for ad hoc distribution, set up because the proceeding will not be concluded before the beginning of the charter year on July 1.
Northern Airlines, which planned to launch low-fare service from Syracuse to six northeastern cities in the third quarter, said yesterday it now believes FAA certification will take longer than expected because of the ValuJet DC-9 crash. Northern was quick to distinguish itself from ValuJet, saying it has a "deliberate and controlled growth policy," but Tim Sieber, VP-marketing and customer service, said that in recent meetings with FAA, "likely changes to certification were outlined, such as more detailed programs to monitor maintenance contractors."
Royal Jordanian has set up a city terminal that enables passengers with confirmed reservations to check baggage and receive boarding passes up to 24 hours in advance. It also offers shuttle bus service from downtown to Queen Alia Airport.
Air Inter Europe took delivery of its first A319, becoming the first operator of Airbus Industrie's complete line of twin-engine aircraft. Air Inter Europe currently operates 35 A320s, five A321s, four A330s and six A300s. The A319, along with eight more on order, will be operated on domestic and European routes. Two more will be delivered over the next three weeks and the remaining six at a rate of one a month beginning in October.
Sabreliner, parent of Miami-based SabreTech, which did contract maintenance for ValuJet, said it will review its procedures following the fatal crash of a ValuJet DC-9 on May 11 in the Florida Everglades. SabreTech has acknowledged mistakenly labeling as empty oxygen canisters that were placed on the DC-9. The National Transportation Safty Board is investigating whether the canisters caught fire and caused the crash.
One reason TWA's chief financial officer, Robert Peiser, and its senior VP-marketing, Mark Coleman, were pushed out of the company last week is their tough stance on labor relations, according to Don Jacobs, head of TWA pilots union unit. He says good relations with employees, which were central to the carrier's turnaround, have started to fray in recent weeks.
TWA is extending its one-day booking requirement to three days after reservation for agents booking a leisure fare. Jan Wood, VP of domestic sales, said agents have asked for more ticketing flexibility. "In order to support the travel agency community with an uncapped 10% commission structure, we need their help to reduce unnecessary costs. This new three- day booking rule gives them a tool to meet our mutual goals," Wood said.
Miami-based cargo carrier Arrow Air named Terence Fensome president and chief executive, replacing Jon Batchelor, who after two years as president will return to his previous job as senior VP-international sales and marketing. Batchelor is the son of George Batchelor, who founded the carrier. Fensome previously worked for Laker Airways and was president of Pelican Airways, a flight training school with 15 aircraft. In the early 1980s, Fensome worked at Arrow as assistant VP and helped the company bring the DC-10 into its fleet.
Sabre Travel Information Network is offering electronic ticketing capabilities to travel agents this week for booking on America West. Ron Cole, America West VP-sales, said the carrier "introduced Effortless Ticketing domestically in January of this year and have been pleased with the results, including the positive customer feedback we've received." America West joins United and Southwest in Sabre's electronic ticketing program.
