DOT invited interested parties to respond to American's complaint against Avianca and the government of Colombia. American charges that Colombia is refusing to honor the carrier's permit authorizing nonstop service between New York Kennedy and Bogota, with continuing service to Quito, Ecuador. American is urging DOT to retaliate by holding up authority for Avianca to serve the New York-Bogota market. The complaint follows unsuccessful talks between the U.S. and Colombia last month in Washington (DAILY, April 29).
In-Flight Phone Corp. was granted a supplemental type certificate for installation of FlightLink on an America West A320. In the first use of FlightLink on a fly-by-wire aircraft, IFPC is equipping all 20 of the carrier's A320s with the system.
Latin America, Europe and North America account for 66% of airport approach accidents, according to a Flight Safety Foundation study, most likely because of the high level of commercial air carrier activity in these regions. Lowest rate of approach accidents is in North America, four per million movements, compared with 32 per million in Latin American
U.S. Major and National Carriers Food Expenses Fourth Quarter 1995 Cost Per Systemwide Passenger America West $ 9,165,277 $ 2.18 American 162,443,000 8.46 Continental 31,681,000 3.76 Delta 77,752,000 3.56 Northwest 59,054,000 4.87
British Midland has signed up Royal Brunei as its 14th code-share partner. The accord allows British Midland to collect passengers in the U.K. and transfer them to Royal Brunei flights at London Heathrow for travel to the United Arab Emirates and the Far East. British Midland passengers flying from Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds Bradford and Teesside can connect to Royal Brunei service to Dubai, Singapore and Bandar Seri Begawan. The airlines will check baggage and assign seats for one another under the pact, effective immediately.
United has created McDonald's Magical Radio, an inflight audio channel for children, in conjunction with McDonald's and Kid Rhino. The program will broadcast through Aug. 31 on all United flights with audio programming. Headsets and McDonald's Fun Time magazines will be distributed free to children - and parents who request them.
Air Canada appointed Todd Dirks regional sales manager-Denver and Tom McHenry regional sales manager-Houston. Eastwind promoted Herman Gillis to VP-director of operations. Skyways Airlines appointed Chris Beer to head its Skyways Aviation subsidiary.
Northwest Airlink operator Mesaba will add a fifth daily roundtrip July 15 between Muskegon and Detroit Metro Airport, using a 37-passenger de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft.
AAR appointed Jean-Philippe Schumacher VP-trading, Europe, Middle East and Africa, for AAR Allen Group International, and Irvin Lucas VP- inventory programs for AAR Aircraft Turbine Center. Airline Tariff Publishing named Thomas Gregorson product manager- rules. Allison Engine named Norman Egbert executive VP-engineering. AT&T Wireless Services appointed Gayle Bock VP-marketing of its Aviation Communications Division, based in Seattle.
Horizon Air canceled about 300 flights last Wednesday when a fire in a U.S. West telephone switching station shut down the carrier's central dispatch facility in Portland, Ore., for seven hours. The fire occurred before 11 a.m., and the station did not return to operations until 6 p.m. The carrier was able, through communications relays, to dispatch three to four flights per hour versus a normal one flight per minute. Some 4,000 passengers were boarded during the day versus a projected 10,300. It was not a nightmare, but it was a "bad dream," said a spokeswoman.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Commission Expenses Fourth Quarter 1995 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues America West $ 30,985,588 8.44 American 294,604,000 8.98 Continental 97,109,000 8.91 Delta 245,899,000 9.00
Laker Airways has gained DOT approval of its application for authority to operate scheduled combination service between Miami and London Gatwick and between Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Orlando, on the one hand, and Manchester and Glasgow, on the other. DOT deferred action on Laker's request for scheduled Fort Lauderdale-Gatwick service. Laker plans to use DC-10-30s for all flights.
New Regional Aircraft Orders and Options February 1996 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Del Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Dates # Type # Type China Southern 1 CE208B - PT6A114A Feb 96 3 B0777-200 - Hainan Airlines 10 Metro 23 - TPE331- 96 - -
DOT has made final its selection of Great Lakes Express to provide essential air service at Alliance, Chadron and McCook, Neb. The United Express carrier will operate two roundtrips each weekday using 19-seat Beech 1900 aircraft over an Alliance-Chadron-Denver routing for an annual subsidy rate of $693,726. The carrier will offer the same service between McCook and Denver for a $657,724 subsidy. (Dockets 42115&41291)
Transborder market between Canada and the U.S. has been significantly altered by the new open skies bilateral between the two countries, with Air Canada and the Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ) becoming dominant players. In February 1994, for example, Canadian carriers operated only 153 nonstops between Toronto and the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area airports. In February 1996, the number was 704, according to Statistics Canada. Service by U.S. carriers over the same routes declined during the period from 368 to 273.
USAir is offering $198 roundtrip weekend fares between Charlotte, N.C., and Boston, Washington National, Philadelphia and New York LaGuardia. Travel must be nonstop and completed no later than June 16. The fares are good for travel all day Saturday through noon Sunday.
United and Northwest are urging DOT to dismiss Continental's application to operate scheduled combination service between Houston and Tokyo, Newark and Tokyo, and Newark and Osaka. "None of these authorizations is consistent with the existing U.S.-Japan bilateral air services agreements and understandings under which Continental operates," said United.
Cincinnati-based Comair Holdings logged unit costs of 15 cents per available seat mile for its fiscal year ended March 31, just 0.2 cents higher than the prior period (DAILY, April 29). But yields grew faster - 0.7 cents to 34.7 cents per revenue passenger mile from 34 cents. While yields for the quarter ended March 31 dropped a penny to 34.8 cents per RPM from 35.8 cents, unit costs gained only 0.1 cents to 15.5 cents from 15.4 cents in the prior period. 3 Mths Ended 3 Mths Ended FY Ended FY Ended
Boeing Commercial said this week it will expand the "industry's first on- line service" providing aircraft technical drawings and parts lists, which it launched one year ago. The company said the expanded digital maintenance data, called On-Line Data, will provide recent service bulletins, the complete Service Bulletin Index, specifications and processes for parts and materials, and the Boeing Component Maintenance Manuals.
Comair this week began nonstop jet service between Charleston, S.C., and Newark International, operating three daily nonstop flights wtih Canadair Regional Jets. The Delta Connection affiliate said the new service "will offer local business travelers more nonstop flights to the New York City area from the Charleston International Airport than any other airline,"
The 34.9-cent yield per revenue passenger mile recorded by Mesa in the quarter ended March 31, the second of its fiscal year, was a 4.1-cent decline from 39 cents in the same 1995 quarter, the regional reported this week (DAILY, May 1). Revenue per available seat mile showed a one-half cent increase to 19.7 cents from 19.2 cents, however. Unit cost declined to 18.4 cents per available seat mile from 18.8 cents, while stage length increased just one mile to 168 from 167. 3 Months Ended 3 Months Ended
National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne has praised the House aviation subcommittee for rejecting specific age limits or other restrictions on children flying aircraft. Coyne said the subcommittee's bill (H.R. 3267), which limits record-breaking flights by non-pilots, is a "better alternative...than that called for by DOT Secretary Pea" following the crash that killed child pilot Jessica Dubroff. Pea's plan to prevent persons under 15 from operating aircraft controls would discourage the industry's attempt to attract new pilots, Coyne said.
Following its own investigation and in response to continuing work of the General Accounting Office and the DOT inspector general, a Senate Governmental Affairs subcommittee called this week for improvements in FAA's aircraft inspection system. At a hearing, Oversight Subcommittee Chairman William Cohen (R-Maine) said interviews of more than 180 industry and government officials by his panel's staff demonstrate problems with training, data integrity and oversight.
FAA signed a 180-day contract to keep Hughes Aircraft Co. at work on the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) while the parties negotiate a comprehensive agreement to complete the program, George Donohue, the agency's associate administrator for research and acquisitions, said yesterday (DAILY, April 30). Hughes supplants Wilcox Electric as prime contractor for WAAS, intended to enhance the Global Positioning System for civilian use, and the agency's decision to drop the Kansas City company did not please Sen.
