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Monday, February 20, 2006

Quick Takes

  • The judge overseeing the Northwest Airlines [NWACQ] bankruptcy case has given the carrier one more week to strike a deal with its pilots and flight attendants. The judge was expected to rule on Feb. 17 whether Northwest could void its labor contracts. That decision will now be handed down on Feb. 25. The carrier and its unions have been negotiating daily since mid-January. According to the pilots, Northwest continues to seek major scope changes that would allow its regional carriers to fly aircraft with up to 76 seats. The pilots are conducting a strike authorization ballot with all votes due by Feb. 28. The flight attendants are conducting a similar vote with their ballots due on March 6. Both unions have promised to keep talking up until their balloting deadlines. By coincidence, Northwest AirLink partner Mesaba Aviation [MAIR] will begin a hearing on Feb. 24 in its bankruptcy court on voiding its union contracts. The Mesaba pilots are also voting on a strike authorization with a Feb. 24 deadline.
  • Pacific Airways, of Ketchikan, Alaska, has applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to provide commuter service within Alaska. The carrier has been operating since 2000 as an on-demand charter service. In its application, it proposes using six, six-passenger seaplanes to provide scheduled service to Craig, Hollis and Thorne Bay. >>DOT Docket: OST-2005-23898.<<
  • As part of the transition from its Jetstream 41s to an all-jet operation, Trans States Airlines has filed notice with the DOT that it will terminate service to Springfield, Mo., Columbia, Mo., Springfield, Ill., and Decatur, Ill. Once Trans States pulls out, three of the four communities will no longer have any air service and are entitled to participate in the essential air service program. DOT will solicit proposals to continue to provide the air service. United Airlines [UAUA] flies from Springfield, Ill., to Chicago.
  • Cirrus Airlines, a German regional carrier, has joined the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) as part of its expansion plan. Cirrus, founded in 1995, flies a mixed fleet of turboprops, RJs and a narrow-body mainline jet. It has a code-share relationship with Lufthansa. Cirrus is eyeing an expansion of its routes into the Balkan nations.
  • Angel Flight America, an organizer of charitable transportation services, has issued a reminder to all U.S. governors to develop emergency relief plans that incorporate small aircraft landing on portions of the interstate highway system as emergency air fields. The interstates were designed so that every five miles there would be a straight area on which small aircraft could land. Angel Flight coordinated the general aviation community's response to Hurricane Katrina and its attempts to use the highways were rebuffed.
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