<B>Bag Match Program Tested</B>
The nation's passenger airlines are in the midst of a two-week test of a positive baggage match system to gather practical information on how such a system could be integrated into a comprehensive security program to protect aircraft from terrorist attacks.
The test, which involves the 18 passenger carrier members of the Air Transport Association, covers domestic routes that include major airports as well as less frequently used facilities. The test also is designed to include several aircraft models. Passengers, however, are not seeing any physical evidence that the test is taking place, said ATA spokesman David Fuscus--although a delay can result if an unaccompanied bag is discovered and taken off an aircraft.
<A NAME="art2"><B>Aviation Tax To Be Continued</B>
The agreement between the White House and Republican congressional leaders for a balanced budget by the year 2002 includes the assumption that the aviation ticket taxes will be restored within the next five years.
For now, the taxes are in place temporarily until the end of this fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30. Although details of the high-profile budget agreement are still sketchy, the reference to prolonging ticket taxes doesn't assume that the current system will remain in place, only that some type of user fee be in place to finance Federal Aviation Administration operations. A new task force, headed by former California Rep. Norman Mineta, is expected to devise revenue-generating options that include assessing user fees on airlines.
<A NAME="art3"><B>Open Skies Pacts Signed In Latin America</B>
The United States has signed five U.S. open skies agreements with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater inked the pacts during President Clinton's state visit to Mexico and Central America last week. The agreements eliminate all passenger and cargo restrictions on fares and cargo rates, routes, the frequency of flights and the aircraft types that may be flown on routes to and from the United States.
A separate pact with Panama was signed at an earlier date, but attempts to reach a similar agreement with Belize were unsuccessful.
<A NAME="art4"><B>FAA Proposes Ice Detection Systems</B>
The Federal Aviation Administration wants to require that ice detector systems be installed on Embraer EMB-120 aircraft to alert commuter pilots to in-flight ice buildup. The directive would affect 220 twin-engine, 30-seat turboprops that are operated in the United States by commuter carriers Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Comair, Continental Express and United Express. Flight crews on these aircraft currently use visual cues to detect ice buildup.
The FAA said installation of an ice detection system would cost a total of $4 million and would be required to be completed within six months. The proposal, which is subject to a 45-day public comment period, is based upon extensive review of pilot reports and service experience data, said an agency spokesperson.
<A NAME="art5"><B>FAA Buys More Explosives Detection Equipment</B>
The Federal Aviation Administration, continuing its publicized efforts to boost aviation security, announced earlier this month that it is purchasing an additional $12.2 million worth of trace detection equipment for major airports.
The equipment can identify rapidly minute traces of different types of explosives in carry-on articles or checked baggage. Over the next two years, the FAA plans to purchase 500 of these units. Companies that won contracts for the current round are Thermedics Detection Inc. of Chelmsford, Mass.; Barringer Instruments Inc. of New Providence, N.J., and Ion Track Instruments of Wilmington, Mass. Deliveries are to begin in 60 days. Congress last year approved a supplemental $144 million for the FAA to install airport security systems.
<A NAME="art6"><B>Regionals Capture More Traffic</B>
U.S. regional airlines carried 61.9 million passengers last year, a new record and an increase of 8.3 percent over 1995, according to figures just released by the Regional Airline Association. Last year, more than one in nine of the nation's airline travelers flew on a regional airline. For 1996, Simmons Airlines, operating as American Eagle, ranked as the largest regional by transporting more than 6 million passengers. Comair, a Delta Connection partner, came in second with 4.6 million. Mesa Airlines, which flies as US Airways Express, United Express and America West, ranked third, carrying more than 4.1 million passengers. The average passenger flew 230 miles on a regional airline trip last year, up 3 percent over 1995, the RAA said.