FAA during the weekend granted Boeing a supplemental type certificate (STC) for a reinforced cockpit door kit covering one configuration of the 747-400 widebody. United installed a prototype door as part of the certification effort (DAILY, July 9). The STC is the first granted by FAA for a widebody door kit. So far, Boeing has committed to producing about 10 different kit configurations for its Boeing-designed widebodies, the 747, 767 and 777. The U.S.
US Airways yesterday implemented steps it hopes will clarify its current vague pricing structure and reward business travelers who pay higher fares. Executives at US Airways and other airlines are trying to combat the trend of business travelers taking advantage of deep corporate discounts and leisure fares while still flying with the same benefits they received with unrestricted, more expensive tickets.
Airline restructuring could put "long-term credit pressure" on airports, especially hubs, according to a new Fitch Ratings report. Recent changes in airline operations and rising security costs may cut profit margins and debt coverage levels over time, although the possibility of general airport revenue bonds defaulting is "remote," Fitch said.
Nav Canada will soon begin the installation of a new air traffic control system at the Toronto and Vancouver airports that is expected to significantly increase capacity. The converging runway display aid (CRDA) will be particularly useful for improving operations on Toronto's closely spaced north-south runways.
Regional jet flying accounts for 23% of flights at American Airlines, 21% of United's flying, 37% at Delta, 32% at Continental, and 26% at Northwest, based on data from Bombardier.
The New York Stock Exchange told Airlease Ltd. yesterday that it will suspend trading in the California-based company's "limited partnership units" before market opening Sept. 9 and that it will delist the units trading under the ticker symbol "FLY." Airlease no longer meets the NYSE's continued listing requirement of maintaining an average market capitalization of at least $15 million over a 30-day trading period. Airlease said it does not plan to challenge the delisting. Instead, it expects its units to start trading on the OTC Bulletin Board on Sept. 9.
Continental Express plans to start daily regional jet flights from Houston to Beaumont/Port Arthur, Texas, starting Sept. 5. Currently, the airline offers flights using the ATR-42 turboprop, which it will replace with Embraer ERJ-145s. Continental Express will upgrade additional turboprops at Southeast Texas Regional Airport and other markets in the coming months and is scheduled to begin all-jet operations during the first quarter of 2003.
American Eagle is considering dropping its Duluth, Minn.-Chicago O'Hare regional jet service Dec. 1 if DOT approves. The airline won the slots under the passage of AIR-21 and is barred from dropping the service until DOT rules on the request. American Eagle asked Aug. 15 for permission to stop the service. American Eagle told The DAILY the route was unprofitable before Sept. 11, and its decision to eliminate the Duluth-Chicago service was part of the capacity reduction plan of parent company American Airlines announced Aug. 13. -LR
United Express will offer new regional jet service from Denver to Palm Springs, Calif., beginning Dec. 13. SkyWest will operate two of the three new flights and Air Wisconsin the third. The new Denver flights also complement United Express service to Palm Springs from Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Service between Denver and Palm Springs will continue year-round, but will be slightly scaled back during the off-peak summer months, the company noted.
Garuda Indonesia plans to add capacity on its trunk domestic routes to cope with growing competition from private carriers. In line with the plan, Garuda has signed a lease for 12 Boeing 737-400s. It took delivery of four aircraft early this month. Another four will arrive next month, and the remaining four will be delivered in the first quarter next year. Four aircraft have already been deployed on the Jakarta-Surbaya, Jakarta-Padang and Jakarta-Jambi routes, boosting to 12 the number of aircraft operating on the network, considered the most lucrative.
The Chinese government has introduced a new ruling that allows a single foreign company to hold a maximum 25% in a Chinese airline, whether private or owned by state or province. Article VI of the new investment rules, however, does not state whether more than one foreign company or airline could acquire a stake in the same carrier. The Chinese would continue to hold the controlling stake. This is a change from the earlier 35% that foreign companies could acquire in a local airline.
United, already suffering from low company-wide morale, yesterday canceled two of its largest employee recognition events as it tries to conserve cash. The two canceled events include regional 25th anniversary luncheon celebrations that were scheduled to begin next month and the yearend corporate and division annual awards. "We are extremely disappointed to have to take this action, but it is the only sensible thing to do in the current economic environment," Patti Carson, VP-human resources, said in a message to employees.
CCAIR's future rests in the hands of a federal judge in Charlotte, N.C., as the court hears arguments today from one of the airline's pilots accusing the Air Line Pilots Association of bad faith bargaining and jeopardizing the airline's future by refusing to ratify a contract the pilots signed in April.
Boeing yesterday made a final offer to the International Association Of Machinists (IAM) in preparation for the union's vote tomorrow. The manufacturer said it would give union workers an 8% wage increase as part of a ratification bonus, which equals about $4,700 per employee. Employees would receive a 2% salary increase in the second year of the contract and a 2.5% raise in pay during the third.
Lufthansa today will announce a new fare structure for European routes. Industry sources said the changes would include cutbacks and fewer restrictions for off-peak flying, mainly to large cities. The carrier could attract more passengers, while not increasing costs significantly, HypoVereinsbank's airline analyst Uwe Weinreich said. The airline has launched an initial set of changes in June for domestic flying. Lufthansa is offering seats for flights from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and after 8:30 p.m. for EUR167-269, a discount of up to 63%.
DOT tentatively granted American's request for six of seven available U.S.-Vietnam, third-country, code-share frequencies for service via Tokyo with JAL, awarding the seventh frequency to United. U.S. carriers may operate a total of 21 such frequencies under a March 2000 memorandum of discussion (MOD); the seven, which had been awarded to Northwest in August 2001, when United and Delta were each awarded seven, were reallocated by DOT after Northwest did not begin its planned service. Delta and United applied for the frequencies, as did Northwest.
More than 100 people working at four Southern California airports have been indicted following a nine-month investigation by the DOT Inspector General's Office, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, Social Security Administration, and other federal, state and local agencies.
Swiss International and British Airways are discussing a possible link-up of frequent flyer-programs, a spokesperson told The DAILY. However, she said that contrary to reports no final decision has been made. Also, the possible agreement is understood to focus on the frequent flyer part only and not on a oneworld membership. Swiss is keen to join the alliance as soon as possible and has reached a bilateral deal with American.
Boeing's inflight entertainment unit Connexion has partnered with Intelsat to use the Intelsat 709 satellite for broadband connectivity in commercial jetliners traveling between Europe and North America. Boeing also plans to lease two transponders from Intelsat to transmit and receive satellite signals. Testing of the satellite system is scheduled to begin in January 2003 on Lufthansa aircraft and in February on the British Airways fleet.
Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines and SAS, in an effort to cut costs, have jointly developed a web site that airline employees and retirees should use when looking for interline pleasure travel on the three carriers. The site, www.flyzed.com, is also accessible by United employees and retirees.
Continental next year plans to launch daily nonstop flights between Newark and Geneva, effective March 6, 2003, subject to government approval. The carrier will operate a 174-seat Boeing 767-200 on the route in its normal international, two-class configuration. The new flight will be the only nonstop service between Geneva and Newark. However, Swiss Air Lines offers daily nonstop New York Kennedy-Geneva flights with Airbus A330-200s and Newark-Zurich flights with the same aircraft. Continental has operated daily Zurich-Newark service since June 1999.
