All Ops & safety articles – Page 1220
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News
KLM, Alitalia produce the goods with cargo deal
Peter Conway LONDON Airline alliances tend to generate much rhetoric about cargo partnerships, but little action. However, the tie-up between KLM and Alitalia, announced in July, looks set to be different. Cargo departments within the two carriers have already gone further in their planning than KLM's long-running tie-up with Northwest. ...
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Negotiating change at ALPA
Karen Walker WASHINGTON DC ALPA's new president, Duane Woerth, says he is not afraid of change. But the US pilots he represents are beating the same drum: they expect to see their airlines' profitability reflected in new contract negotiations. If Duane Woerth is looking for a fight, he does a ...
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ARINC kicks off next classic upgrade talks
ARINC is talking to two flight management system (FMS) suppliers about the next stage of its cockpit upgrade programme for classic aircraft. The move follows recent US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certification (STC) for phase one of the communication upgrade for Boeing 747 Classic aircraft. The first phase ...
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Philippines toughs out 'protectionist' attack
Nicholas Ionides ATI SINGAPORE The Philippine Government has come under attack for growing protectionism in its air services policy, but mounting criticism appears only to have toughened its stance. Accusations of protectionism were lodged by Taiwan in July when its national carrier, China Airlines (CAL), was hit with a 30-day ...
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Better times beckon in the South Pacific
David Knibb SEATTLE Airlines of the South Pacific islands have had one of their best years ever, led by Fiji's Air Pacific. Two of the region's chronic losers are showing profits, but the scene at Air Niugini stays turbulent. Fijian flag carrier Air Pacific had a record year, posting ...
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Brazilians refute merger speculation
Brian Homewood RIO DE JANEIRO Brazil's four major airlines have described reports that they are considering merging into two as "mere speculation". But the Brazilian airline industry remains awash with rumours that Varig, Vasp, Transbrasil and Tam could join forces. Varig says that company president Fernando Pinto, who went on ...
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United offers more business legroom
Jane Levere NEW YORK Battling, like every other carrier, for the higher-yield market, United Airlines is installing improved seating at the back of the cabin in its domestic fleet in order to reward its most frequent or full-fare economy passengers. The carrier is reconfiguring the first six to 11 rows ...
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CAL crash raises fresh fears
Brent Hannon/TAIPEI Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE The crash on 22 August of a China Airlines (CAL)Boeing MD-11 at Hong Kong International Airport has placed both the airline and the airport authority on the defensive. In a bad week for Asia-Pacific air safety, the crash was followed days later by a ...
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US carriers gripe over China routes
David Knibb SEATTLE All three US carriers that have been tentatively awarded new rights to China have asked the US Department of Transportation (DoT) for more flights than they have received. Of the 17 new weekly flights allowed under the China-US bilateral between now and next April, the DoT ...
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China's fortunes improve
Nicholas Ionides SINGAPORE The Chinese Government is claiming success in its struggle to turn the country's unprofitable airlines around, but has warned that the industry is not out of the woods yet. The state-run China Daily newspaper says total losses by the country's 30-plus airlines in the first half of ...
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FedEx deal condemned
The UK has granted fifth freedom rights from Prestwick Airport to US carrier FedEx, allowing it to load freight at the Scottish terminal for delivery to third countries. Although a similar application for London Stansted was rejected, the move has been branded a "sell-out" by UK cargo carriers seeking improved ...
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Controlling the future
Peter Bennett VIENNA Commercialisation, privatisation and the empowerment of Eurocontrol are possible solutions to Europe's growing delays. The solution for Europe's air traffic delays is simple. First, look at the causes - a fragmented air system controlled by a patchwork of control centres that leads to the inefficient management ...
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European wrangle looms over EASA's powers
A special committee of European member states and the European Commission (EC) has finished preparing a draft convention for the planned European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The document is due to be sent to relevant European aviation bodies for comment this month. A battle is expected between aviation organisations ...
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Eurocontrol training goes to FANS
FANS Information Services has been contracted by Eurocontrol to develop an online training course for pilots, air traffic controllers and airline operational staff on procedures to be followed for 8.33kHz channel-spacing. Seven European countries - France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - are due to introduce ...
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Mind games
Twenty months into one of the most controversial accident investigations of the decade, SilkAir has told the world that a pilot who apparently intended to kill himself and 103 others was "by the best standards of the industry-fit to fly". To put it charitably, this demonstrates a disturbing readiness ...
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Punctuality hits new lows
When the Association of European Airlines (AEA) issued its punctuality report for the first quarter of the year, it warned that delays in 1999 were shaping up to be worse even than the infamous summer of 1989 when European delays last hit a peak. The prediction was on target. ...
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Raising the internet stakes
Dennis Blank ORLANDO The explosion of online travel booking in the USA - stimulated by offerings of bargain basement ticket fares - is attracting the wrath of travel agents. But US major carriers cannot ignore this rapidly growing marketplace. This year, the customary late summer round of airfare bargains across ...
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SAirGroup the latest to suffer slump
SAirGroup is blaming a 29% fall in first-half operating profits on an "accelerating deterioration in yields" in its airline operations, coupled with air traffic control (ATC) restrictions caused in part by the Kosovo conflict. It has become the latest major European airline group to report a slump in profits, ...
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Proton scheduled for launch in September
The first Proton launch since the failure of a new Proton M on 5 July is scheduled for 6 September, when two Russian Yamal communications satellites will be carried into space by a Proton K on a domestic launch. International Launch Services (ILS), meanwhile, has established an independent Failure ...
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Management teams
Carriers in need of change are looking to new boardroom teams for results. Analysis is by Michael Bell, who leads the Global Aviation Practice for senior-executive search firm Spencer Stuart The past few months have brought into focus a new form of leadership at troubled carriers around the world: management ...