Briefs

United Airlines CFO Jake Brace said that his airline expects SkyWest and Air Wisconsin to follow Atlantic Coast Airlines' (ACA) example and ask the court overseeing United's Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization to require the carrier to make a decision whether to accept or reject their code sharing agreements by the end of February. Air Wisconsin said that it has not yet made the decision, but is "contemplating that right now." SkyWest said it also is considering legal action, although it does not want to "complicate things by filing that."

Mesa Air Group Inc. reached a tentative agreement for a new contract with the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents the airline's 1,300 pilots. The two also reached an agreement concerning participation in the US Airways Group's "Jets for Jobs" regional jet expansion program. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Mesa said the agreement is subject to ratification by ALPA membership. In October, Mesa agreed to add 20 more 50-seat regional jets to its code sharing agreement with the bankrupt airline. Mesa also agreed to participate in the "Jets for Jobs" program, which would allow some of the new regional jet flights to be flown by furloughed US Airways pilots. Mesa also provides regional connecting service for America West Holdings Corp. and Frontier Airlines Inc.

Embraer delivered 131 aircraft in 2002, including 41 in the last quarter. The total was one airplane less than it projected for the year. The company said that it is sticking to its 2003 delivery projection, spurred by the order from the Polish national airline LOT. Of the delivered aircraft, 121 were regional jets, including three ERJ 135s, 36 ERJ 140s and 82 ERJ 145s. Eight of the deliveries were to the corporate market and two to the military.

Chicago Express, a subsidiary of American Trans Air, has voted against joining the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA). By law, pilots who support a union must wait a year before making another attempt to get the pilots into ALPA.

Air Alps, the regional airline based in Innsbruck, Austria, will initiate a new scheduled service between Bern, Switzerland, and Amsterdam, Holland, on March 30 using 31-passenger Dornier 328 aircraft. The flights will code share with KLM to operate three round-trip flights during the week, one on Saturdays and two on Sundays. Bern will be the fourth destination linking Air Alps to Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, along with Innsbruck, Salzburg and Linz.

Aurigny, the Channel Islands airline, will launch a new year-round daily service between Bristol and Guernsey, UK, beginning with the 2003 summer schedule. The service will be provided using a 33-seat Saab 340 turboprop. In the last four years the airline has successfully launched flights between Guernsey and London Stansted, Manchester, East Midlands in the UK and Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines will suspend air service and close its maintenance base in Texarkana on April 30. The Delta Connection carrier said it will focus its efforts on regional jet maintenance at a new base in Baton Rouge. The 67 employees in Texarkana will be able to transfer to other ASA locations.

Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. said it is buying three Dash-8 aircraft from Bombardier to add to its regional fleet beginning in May. They will replace leased earlier-model Dash-8 planes. No financial details were immediately available. Qantas Executive General Manager of Subsidiary Businesses Narendra Kumar said the acquisition of the three new 50-seat aircraft demonstrate the airline's long-term commitment to regional Australia. Qantas operates its regional services as QantasLink. "QantasLink is a substantial operation throughout Australia, with 32 Dash-8 aircraft and 29 jet aircraft, and it is continuing to support industry and tourism in regional areas," Kumar said in a statement. QantasLink flies to 55 cities and towns throughout Australia, and operates more than 400 flights daily.

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