British Airways and its subsidiaries were the target of the most consumer complaints received last year by a U.K.-based airline watchdog, according to the group's new annual report. The Air Transport Users Council (AUC), which is funded by the government's Ci-vil Aviation Authority, last year received 117 written complaints on British Airways, 110 complaints on Air France and 77 complaints on Ryanair. The most common complaints involved pro-blems with tickets purchased on the Internet or by telephone, flight cancellations and lost baggage.
Three persons working at the Manchester, N.H., airport have been indicted for providing false information about their immigration status on airport security badge and employment eligibility verification forms. The three were arrested last week, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Hampshire said this week, after being indicted by a grand jury Aug. 1. A United Parcel Service ground handler is charged with making a false claim of U.S. citizenship. A Continental ramp agent is charged with falsely claiming U.S.
KLM will increase its capacity 7% for the coming winter season, bringing it back to levels that prevailed before the Sept. 11 attacks. "Both passenger and cargo capacity will be at KLM's 2000/2001 winter season level," the Dutch airline said.
Virgin Atlantic Airways said this week it plans to launch weekly Boeing 747 direct flights between London Gatwick and Tobago and Grenada, starting in May 2003. The British carrier also plans to launch a weekly Manchester-Barbados flight in winter 2003. In addition to these new routes, the airline also will expand existing services between Gatwick and Barbados, St. Lucia and Antigua. "Virgin Atlantic entered the Caribbean market in 1998, introducing services between Gatwick and Barbados, Antigua and St.
Attorneys for revamped Aerolineas Argentinas went to court yesterday in Buenos Aires to appeal the ruling handed down Friday at the request of Aeropuertos Argentina 2000, which manages 33 airports throughout the nation. The court ruled to impound two Aerolineas Argentinas Boeing 737s in connection with litigation between the two companies about payment of air0port fees in dollars or pesos.
Federal passenger screeners arrived yesterday at five more U.S. airports, bringing to 37 the number of airports where the Transportation Security Administration has placed federal screeners. The five airports include three in Pennsylvania: Arnold Palmer Airport in Latrobe; Altoona/Blair County Airport, and Wilkes Barre/Scranton Airport, as well as Southeast Texas Regional Airport in Beaumont and the Burlington, Vt., airport. TSA said yesterday it has hired 16,500 screeners and is accepting applications at 415 airports; in a release dated Aug.
Spanish airlines will seek compensation from the national aviation authority Aeropuertos Españ- oles y Navegación Aérea (AENA) for the air traffic controller strike that affected their operations last weekend, said the Spanish association of airlines Asociación Española de Companias Aéreas. "These employment conflicts damage the image of Spain...as a tourist destination summer after summer," said AECA. -MT
The Vietnamese government is expected to issue a request for proposals (RFP) later this year for an Area Air Traffic Control Center, according to Lockheed Martin. Lockheed officials are part of a U.S. aerospace trade mission that will be in Vietnam Aug. 25-31. Lockheed "will be interested in assisting the nation's leadership with their air traffic modernization initiatives," said Lockheed spokesman Thad Madden.
US Airways, as part of its restructuring, next month plans to cut its fleet by 6% and eliminate about 130 flights from its system. CEO Dave Siegel told employees at various meetings around the system that the carrier by yearend expects its fleet to comprise about 280 aircraft, representing a further reduction of about 70 mainline flights. As a result, the airline told employees in an internal newsletter that 200 flights will be eliminated this year but the number of cities in the network will remain at 203.
The Nasdaq market recently notified World Airways that its common stock has not maintained a closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for the last 30 trading days as required by the SmallCap Market. The company was first notified in April that it was not in compliance with another rule, which requires World to meet a minimum net tangible assets, stockholders' equity, market capitalization or net income from operations.
Star alliance yesterday signed a deal with Rockwell Collins to establish a new procurement partnership that the alliance airlines hope will save millions of dollars.
Air China has applied to the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to start a new cargo carrier in a joint venture with Beijing Capital International Airport Co. Ltd. and a local firm, CITIC Pacific. The three parties are currently in negotiations to finalize the equity structure. The DAILY has learned that Air China would hold the majority stake of 60% with the remaining 40% split between BCIA and CITIC. The yet-to-be-named carrier would have startup capital of 2.2 billion yuan (US$301 million.)
Nav Canada reported a significant decline in air traffic service demand for May, compared with a year earlier. However, the May figures are better than those for preceding months. Charging units declined 7.9% for en route air navigation services, and 8.5% for terminal air navigation services, compared with May 2001. For the fiscal year to May, en route charging units were down 11.4%, and terminal charging units declined 11.6%. Nav Canada expects year-over-year air traffic declines to continue through the remainder of this fiscal year. -AS
Midwest Express in November plans to start new nonstop service between Kansas City to three cities, hoping to fill a void created by the demise of Vanguard Airlines. Midwest Express, beginning Nov. 10, will start daily service from Kansas City to Austin and Newark. The carrier will offer seasonal service to Fort Myers, Fla., between Dec. 18 and April 27, 2003. Schedules and fares for the new services will be finalized this month.
United pilots have postponed voting on a concession proposal from the airline and are willing to discuss the renegotiation of the tentative agreement to provide United with the deeper cost cuts it will need to gain government loan guarantees. However, the carrier's other unions are still opposed to granting concessions.
Airport operator BAA estimates that 1.7 million passengers will use its seven U.K. airports over the Aug. 23-26 bank holiday weekend. The busiest day will be Aug. 23, when 450,000 passengers are expected.
DOT Inspector General agents yesterday arrested two men charged with offering illegal payments to federal baggage screeners at Providence, R.I.'s T.F. Green airport to speed up a bag-sealing security system being tested at the airport. A federal grand jury charged the men, at least one of whom is associated security systems company Air Tag Inc., with offering illegal gratuities to public officials. One of the defendants allegedly gave $1,000 to a supervisory screener to "accelerate the process" of sealing check-in baggage.
Transbrasil, grounded for eight months due to financial and management problems, was back in the news last week when former President Antonio Celso Cipriani attempted to regain control of the company. Cipriani asked the court to overturn a judicial ruling in May that blocked a contract between the founding Fontana family, to which he is related by marriage, and the Transbrasil Foundation for transfer of their 54.78% equity shares.
Finnair will acquire a fifth 287-seat MD-11 at the beginning of next year. The aircraft will increase the company's frequencies on fast-growing Asian routes. Finnair operates services to Tokyo, Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore.
UPS has agreed to begin negotiations with its pilots for a new contract earlier than required. The pilots are seeking an industry-leading agreement, which the UPS mechanics and ground handlers are expected to have soon. The cargo carrier will open contract negotiations with pilots in mid-October, Independent Pilots Association (IPA) President Bob Miller told The DAILY. The current contract is amendable on Dec. 31, 2003, and both parties say they want to finalize an agreement before that date.
Transportation Security Administration last week added 20 federal security directors (FSDs), responsible for security at 48 airports, bringing the agency to within about 20 of the total number of FSDs it plans to name. TSA intends for 158 FSDs to oversee security at the 429 U.S. commercial airports -- it had revised that figure downward by more than one-half -- with 137 FSDs now announced. The group of 20 includes several individuals with substantial civil aviation security experience; some had worked at FAA, including two who were federal air marshals.
Ralph Amaya, head of American's Colombia division, said last week the company's downgrading, which includes cutting some 7,000 jobs in the U.S., won't affect its operations in Colombia. "We had already made adjustments in the wake of Sept. 11 by canceling one daily Bogota-Miami flight and closing down offices in Barranquilla. These steps meant 19% less traffic from Bogota, the loss of 54 jobs and some savings in overhead. Fortunately, American continues to be profitable in Colombia, and downgrading is expected instead in Venezuela and Brazil." -LZ
Airbus is working to cut the installation time of its reinforced cockpit door kits for the A320 family from the current 72 hours to 48, and hopes to have the less costly kit certified and available by mid-September.
