United and Delta are eyeing destinations in the Bahamas and Canada for their 70-seat planes and are pushing to gain approval to launch service in June. United Express carrier Shuttle America is asking the U.S. Transportation Dept. for approval to start a Saturday-only service, using an Embraer 170 between Washington Dulles and Nassau on June 10, and said it could also operate other routes from the U.S. to the Bahamas.
United and Swiss will expand code sharing from Zurich on April 26, but on the same date Swiss's regional unit will stop carrying United's code on three routes from Zurich.
The European Union's black list of unsafe carriers, which is expected to target a number of African airlines, may prompt retaliation against European companies, Belgian air transport sources suspect. The European Commission is scheduled to publish a list of unsafe airlines in the EU official journal on March 24. An EU committee on airline safety representing the different national authorities finished the preparation work earlier as week.
U.K. airport operator BAA on Friday rejected a GBP8.8 billion ($15.5 billion) purchase offer from Spanish investment giant Ferrovial, making a hostile takeover campaign by Ferrovial increasingly likely. The BAA board confirmed it received a cash offer from a consortium led by Ferrovial. But after reviewing the offer, the board said it had "no hesitation in rejecting this proposal, which does not begin to reflect the true value of BAA's unique portfolio of airport assets."
Lloyd Aereo Boliviano President Ernesto Asbun will face three charges stemming from the Bolivia's investigation in the carrier's legal, technical and financial practices (DAILY, March 13).
The number of modern aircraft parked in the desert rose 2.4% to 591 planes from mid-February to mid-March, according to the Airclaims fleet database. The biggest change is an increase in CFM-powered Boeing 737s and the number of older parked jets remained steady at 1,442. "Aircraft owned by leasing companies may re-enter service faster than aircraft owned by operators given the economics and operations of leasing companies versus operators," says Merrill Lynch analyst Ronald Epstein.
US Airways Express carriers PSA, Allegheny and Piedmont are prepping to debut the new aircraft liveries of their parent airline. PSA will be the first carrier to roll out the livery on March 27, followed by Allegheny April 10 and Piedmont April 27.
FAA says delays for March are up 31%, due to a period of worse-than-usual weather in many parts of the nation. Everything from high winds and thunderstorms to snow has helped slowed the aviation system down. Overall, operations are down 9% so far this month, although LaGuardia operations are up 7.5%.
United on April will resume its Seoul-San Francisco nonstop service after seven months with a daily flight using 777-200. The service which was introduced in 1986 was suspended in September due to weak loads and high fuel prices. Currently UA passengers from Seoul heading for the US have to fly on the airline's twice daily services to Tokyo Narita for their connecting flights.
Southwest cut fares requiring a three-day advance purchase last week, said JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker, which means passengers booking three and six days prior to departure will have to pay the airline's full fare.
Air Berlin continues to strengthen its London Stansted connection with the launch of flights May 2 to Belfast City Airport. The German carrier is offering a daily roundtrip flight during the week and one flight each way on the weekend. The carrier said the route opens its European destinations for passengers from Northern Ireland. Air Berlin launched flights from the Stansted hub late last year and now offers connections from Stansted to Dusseldorf, Hanover, Leipzig, Munster/Osnabruck, Nuremberg, Paderborn and Vienna. -LR
JetBlue's new Embraer 190 markets from Pittsburgh unveiled Friday are profit engines for competitor US Airways, generating almost $26 million in operating profits for the Tempe, Ariz.-based airline. Four daily flights between Pittsburgh and New York Kennedy on JetBlue start June 30, the same day as the airline's two daily flights from Boston to Pittsburgh and three daily trips between Boston and Buffalo.
U.S. leisure fares rose 9% to $111 for the week of Mar. 13, compared with the week before, and business fares were flat at $454. Continental's leisure fares from Newark to Atlanta rose 11% to $104 each way, and American's fare from New York to Los Angeles was up 4% to $129 each way.
Germany's top court yesterday ruled that the government can move ahead with plans to transform Schoenefeld Airport into Berlin Brandenburg International Airport (BBI). The project has been held up for 10 years because of opposition from residents and environmentalists worried about noise and damage to wildlife. "The ruling is good news for Berlin, Brandenburg, the airport, the neighbors and potential investors," said Dieter Johannsen-Roth, managing director of the Berlin Airports. "We now have planning security; BBI is on the way."
EasyJet yesterday was barred from launching service between Paris and Ajaccio in Corsica, as Air France and CCM already operate the route, under a ruling by France's Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC). The French flag carrier and the regional Corsican airline operate the route under a so-called "public service obligation" agreement with the French state that sets conditions in terms of frequency, capacity and seasonality in exchange for state-funded compensation and exclusivity.
Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport earned its fifth perfect rating of zero discrepancies in the past eight years after completing its annual FAA certification inspection earlier this month.
Boeing struck a deal with Japan Airlines (JAL) to manage most of the carrier's spare parts inventory, expanding a 2001 agreement covering management for a limited number of expendable parts. Using its Integrated Material Management structure, Boeing will buy and manage inventory and logistics for the carrier's expendable parts. Boeing and other suppliers will own the parts, and JAL only pays for those parts when it needs them.
