Continental plans to start new daily nonstop service from Edmonton to Houston, effective May 2. The airline will serve Edmonton with a 104-seat Boeing 737-500, and the city will be the fourth Canadian city Continental serves nonstop from Houston.
US Airways plans to start daily nonstop roundtrip service between Boston and Bermuda this spring, as well as expand service from New York LaGuardia, Washington National and Charlotte, N.C. The new service between Boston and Bermuda will begin on May 4 using 120-seat Airbus A319s. In addition to the new Boston route, US Airways will expand existing Bermuda service. In March, US Airways will resume seasonal Saturday service between Washington and Bermuda, and in April, nonstop roundtrip flights will become daily.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is bullish about the outlook for the economy this year. Thomas Donohue, president and CEO, last week said Chamber economists anticipate the economy will grow 2.5% during the first half of the year, accelerating to 3.5% during the second half. Donohue labeled that a conservative forecast. "We can do better" if government and business "make the right decisions this year to really fire up this economy and set us on a course of sustained growth for the future," he said.
Northwest today is launching a limited "Buy On Board" meals test, but it is expected to be less extensive than a similar program started by America West last week. The Northwest test will run through Feb. 15, and the meals will be offered on four domestic routes and 12 flights. The routes include services from Detroit to Las Vegas and Phoenix and from Minneapolis to New York LaGuardia to Orlando.
Peru's government airport authority (Corpac) issued yearend figures showing the country's airports handled 3,036,920 domestic and international passengers January to November 2002.
AOPA says pilots are on notice that any "inadvertent unauthorized incursion" into a temporary flight restriction area around Cape Canaveral, Fla., could prompt space agency managers to cancel a scheduled Jan. 16 Space Shuttle launch, as well as spur activation of air defenses. An Israeli astronaut is on the mission, and AOPA says heightened security is in effect.
The European Parliament wants speedy adoption of anti-dumping measures to fight what it calls unfair competition from subsidized non-EU airlines, asking that proposed EU legislation be introduced no later than April 1. Last March, the European Commission proposed a draft rule that could lead to imposing penalties on non-EU airlines that benefit from state subsidies and translate them into unfair pricing.
U.S. airlines are expected to report a $2 billion fourth quarter loss, according to Credit Suisse First Boston, a full-year 2002 loss of nearly $7 billion. Continental on Wednesday kicks off the reporting season, followed by Delta on Thursday. Looking ahead, CFSB analyst Jim Higgins forecasts a 2003 full-year loss of $3.7 billion, higher than previous estimates.
Lufthansa's ground staff and cabin crew could go on strike as early as this weekend, if the airline does not come up with another significantly improved offer for a new wage deal. Work stoppages could start on Thursday, German press reports said, citing undisclosed sources.
The DOT's Office of Inspector General (OIG) yesterday released a report accusing regional FAA officials of wrongfully targeting a pilot and contributing toward a fatal air accident in 1999. This is OIG's second report on the crash, upholding claims that pressure from the Kansas City Flight Standards Office led to the pilot not sleeping for three days prior to the crash. House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) has also been pushing the investigation.
Raytheon yesterday reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an informal investigation of the company's commuter aircraft business, specifically, the "timing of revenue recognition" from between 1997 and 2001. Raytheon said the accounting practices at its Raytheon Aircraft subsidiary are "appropriate" and it will "cooperate fully" with the SEC's inquiry. The announcement comes a month after Frank Caine resigned as Raytheon's CFO. Caine was succeeded by Edward Pliner, who previously was corporate comptroller. -SL
Japan Airlines, starting Feb. 1, will offer five weekly flights from Fukuoka to Shanghai, using Boeing 767s. With the start of the new service, five cities in Japan -- Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Naha will have direct air links with Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao, Xian, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Kunming, Tianjin and Dalian, with the JAL Group offering a total of 353 weekly services each way. -WD
Brussels-based Virgin Express said yesterday it will launch daily, low-fare services between Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Rome Fiumicino, beginning March 30, thus ending "the monopoly of Dutch and Italian national airline companies on the Amsterdam-Rome route and the high fares that are linked to it," said Virgin Express commercial director Paul Sies. Fares will start at EUR59 (US$68.28), "between 60% and 80% cheaper than existing scheduled services," the carrier claims.
BAA reported 2002 traffic for its seven U.K. airports was up 3.9% from 2001 to 126.6 million passengers,, 2.3% ahead of 2000's pace. Heathrow passenger traffic rose 4.3% to 63 million but was still 2% below 2000. Gatwick traffic fell 5.1% versus 2001 and 7.6% from 2000, while Stansted traffic was 17.5% up from 2001 and 35.3% higher than in 2000. BAA airports handled 9.4 million passengers in December, up 15.3% over the same period in 2001. Elsewhere in December, Stansted was up 38.6%, Heathrow 13.5%, and Gatwick 9.6%.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) last week said it plans to close its Texarkana, Ark., maintenance center and end service from Dallas/Fort Worth and Texarkana Regional Airport April 30, 2003. ASA said the 67 employees at the Texarkana maintenance plant would be eligible for transfer to other locations. The airline said it wants to focus on its new regional jet maintenance plant in Baton Rouge, La. -LR
Saturday morning, after two days of intensive search by land and air under terrible weather conditions, the wreckage and human remains of the Tans Airlines Fokker 28 missing since Thursday were found scattered over a l,000 square foot area on the foothills of 6,600-foot high Coloque mountain, 10 miles northeast of Chachapoyas in northern Peru's Amazon jungle region.
Lufthansa's maintenance subsidiary, Lufthansa Technik (LHT), and Rolls-Royce are understood to be in talks over a significant deal covering engine maintenance of Rolls-Royce's Trent series. Industry sources said negotiations are still at an early stage, but could be concluded within the next few months. Rolls-Royce is conducting its European maintenance business mainly in house.
Air Canada reported yesterday that it will post a fourth quarter and full-year operating loss, blaming lower-than-expected North American yields and intense domestic competition. The airline was able to report profits in the seasonally stronger second and third quarters, but the "difficult global airline environment" left a fourth-quarter deficit. On the bright side, the airline said the fourth-quarter operating loss will be smaller than those for the same period in each of the past two years.
US Airways employees represented by the International Association of Machinists (IAM),ratified a concession proposal late Friday, meaning the airline has agreements ratified by all its union groups -- three of these, however, were by thin margins.
Delta's reliance on regional jets will deepen this year when it adds 76 aircraft to its Delta Connection fleet, bringing the total to about 372. "Regional jets allow us (Delta) to keep the structural footprint intact, garner enough revenue to cover costs and keep as many schedule options open as possible for the customer," Delta Connection Inc. President and CEO Fred Buttrell told The DAILY.
Aloha Airlines, only weeks after it won a $40.5 million federal loan guarantee, moved forward with plans to boost its U.S. mainland service with additional flights from Maui, Kona and Kauai to the West Coast.
German no-frills carrier Germanwings today will announce new routes in its first significant expansion move after its launch last fall. The airline plans to add new destinations in countries it already serves but is understood to be opening a route from Cologne to Prague, which would be the first no frills-route to Eastern Europe. The airline will also start German domestic services and is looking at setting up a second base, possibly in Hannover, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart or Berlin. -JF
