Quick Takes – Near Midair, Biz Traveler Survey, ExpressJet, Horizon, PSA, ATR, AE

737, 145 in Near Midair In what the FAA is calling a controller error, a Continental 737, narrowly missed a Continental Express Embraer 145 on January 17 at Newark Liberty Airport. While the FAA is investigating, it appears that a controller mistakenly gave the wrong frequency to one of the jets, instead...

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737, 145 in Near Midair
In what the FAA is calling a controller error, a Continental 737, narrowly missed a Continental Express Embraer 145 on January 17 at Newark Liberty Airport. While the FAA is investigating, it appears that a controller mistakenly gave the wrong frequency to one of the jets, instead issuing the frequency for another airport entirely. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association blamed the incident on FAA landing procedures at Newark and is disputing the agency’s conclusion that a controller made an error.
The incident occurred at 2:10 pm when Continental Flight 536 was on approach from Phoenix as it crossed the path of Continental Express Flight 2614 arriving from Halifax. The error occurred when a controller at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Center gave the ERJ 145 the frequency for Teterboro. Consequently, the ERJ 145, flown by ExpressJet, was unable to be contacted by Newark controllers. The two aircraft came within one and a quarter miles and 600 feet of each other.

Business Travelers Demand Refunds for Delays
Travel delays remain a problem for business travelers and a recent survey found that more than 80 percent feel airlines should provide a sliding scale refund if flights are late. Directravel, a leading corporate travel management company, released the results of its questionnaire asking business travelers about their experiences with flight delays.
When asked about their tolerance for the length of delays, the survey found that 83 percent of respondents felt that a delay of up to 30 minutes was acceptable, while 45 percent were upset by delays and 46 percent felt that delays of over an hour were completely unacceptable.
"Better practices for reducing delays must be implemented sooner rather than later," said Directravel's Chairman and CEO Vincent Vitti. "This survey shows there is some tolerance from travelers of the delay situation but that does not mean the solutions offered to date have been by any means successful."
"We recognize that flight delays cause our clients time and productivity losses, in addition to increases in actual hard dollar expenses," said Patrick Fragale, president of Directravel. "Our goal has always been to help manage bottom line expenses and adapt our services so that our clients get the most from their travel program."
The survey also found:
• While 46 percent of those surveyed would be willing to pay a little more if the airline arrived on time, more than half felt that they were already paying for a service that should be delivered as scheduled.
• Sixty-two percent of those surveyed would be willing to travel to a regional airport if they were assured they could avoid delays
• Eighty-four percent would be willing to depart between 10am and 2pm if they could be assured this would avoid delays.
• Twenty-eight percent felt that their flights were delayed 50 percent or more of the time.
• More than half of respondents, 64 percent, did not feel delays were limited to a particular carrier
• Of the comments submitted by respondents, many felt that delays based on weather or for safety-related issues were more easily tolerated, while honesty from airline employees went a long way in reducing the negative impact caused by a delay.

Horizon Air to Serve Prince George, British Columbia
In the first scheduled international air service for Prince George, British Columbia, the economic and commercial hub for central and northern British Columbia, Horizon Air will provide nonstop service to Seattle starting May 1. The once-daily service, the airline’s seventh Canadian destination, will depart from Seattle at 1:20 p.m. and from Prince George at 3:45 p.m. The one-hour, 45-minuted flight will be operated with the airline's 76-seat Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft. Located 471 miles (750 kilometers) north of Vancouver, Prince George, situated at the confluence of the Fraser and Nechako rivers, is the largest city in Northern British Columbia.

Horizon Adds Fourth Santa Rosa Destination
Horizon will also begin new, daily nonstop service between Santa Rosa and Las Vegas starting April 24.
"Since bringing air service back to Sonoma County, we've been flooded with requests for flights to Las Vegas," said Dan Russo, director of marketing and communications. "So we're especially pleased to now be in a position to make it a reality. Las Vegas will be our fourth destination to be served nonstop from Charles M. Schulz - Sonoma County Airport."
Horizon Air began serving Sonoma County on March 20, 2007, with flights to Los Angeles and Seattle. On Oct. 28, the airline added a daily nonstop flight to Portland. These flights, as well as the new Las Vegas flight, are operated with the airline's 76-seat Q400 aircraft. The new Las Vegas flight will take two hours and five minutes each way and will depart daily from Santa Rosa at 7:35 p.m. The return flight will depart from Las Vegas at 10:15 p.m.

LCC Express Adds Gulf Coast
US Airways Express introduces three new ways for customers to access the Gulf Coast when new service begins from US Airways' argest hub in Charlotte, N.C. on April 6 to Fort Walton Beach and Panama City, Fla. as well as to Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss. on May 4. The new service will be operated by wholly owned US Airways Express carrier PSA Airlines using 50-seat Bombardier CRJ 200s.
"The entire Gulf Coast is showing exciting growth," said US Airways Senior Vice President Scheduling, Planning and Alliances Andrew Nocella. "Everything you want is in reach- tourism, beaches, golf as well as a strong government and military presence. We are thrilled to offer this new service so more customers can experience what the Gulf Coast has to offer."

Finncomm Takes more ATRs
In a deal valued at over $90 million, Finncomm contracted for the purchase of five ATR 72-500s. The deal is a follow-on order to the eight-aircraft, ATR 42-500 deal it made it 2005, which included eight options. In 2006 the airline converted four of the firm 42-500s into ATR 72-500s, and also announced the exercise of three of the options into firm ATR 72-500s. The most recent deal completes the exercise of the remaining options, slating the airline to become the largest operator of ATR 500s series aircraft in Europe, with four ATR 42-500s and 12 ATR 72-500s.
The aircraft will be configured with 68 seats, will be equipped with higher rated PW 127M engines, Electronic Flight Bag (EFB), and with the “Elegance Cabin”, and will feature state-of-the-art technological innovations in communications and navaid tools. The deliveries of these aircraft are scheduled between 2009 and 2011.
“They are playing a major role in the consolidation of our network and our strong market position in Northern Europe,” said Juhani Pakari, managing director of Finncomm Airlines. “Our entire fleet of 16 ATRs will allow us to economize more than 70,000 tons of fuel in five years compared to an equivalent fleet of jet aircraft, and to produce some 200,000 tons less CO2.”
Founded in 1993, Finncomm Airlines is headquartered in Seinajoki, western Finland, with operational base at Helsinki, and is a partner company of Finnish national air carrier Finnair. The two carriers have been co-operating since 1998.

American Eagle Increases DFW-Roswell Service
American Eagle will increase its service to Roswell, N.M., beginning April 7 by adding a third daily round trip between Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Roswell International Air Center, using 50-seat ERJ-145 aircraft.