ITA Software and OAG data yesterday signed a deal to provide OAG airline schedule information for use with ITA Software's airfare pricing and travel planning system. ITA Software licenses its technology to companies such as Orbitz, Delta, America West, SITA, Accovia and Amadeus. "Combining the most comprehensive data with the most comprehensive pricing and search system provides unparalleled levels of choice and accuracy for our customers," said ITA Software CEO Jeremy Wertheimer.
French Finance Minister Francis Mer confirmed plans to sell the state's majority stake in Air France by the end of this year or early next year (DAILY, July 30). Mer said that all preparations were made for the sale to take place when market conditions are favorable. France holds 54.4% in the airline and wants to reduce the stake to less than 20%.
China Airlines Tuesday took delivery of a Boeing 737-800, taking the fleet strength to 11. On Monday it took delivery of the 10th aircraft. The -800s are deployed on regional Asian routes. The arrival of the aircraft also saw the complete phase out of the MD11s. There are plans also to phase out the A300-600Rs.
Continental plans to start twice-daily, nonstop service from Newark to Daytona Beach, Fla., beginning Dec. 12. The new Continental Express flights will operate with Embraer ERJ-145s and represent the only nonstop service between the New York City area and Daytona Beach, which received funds through a new federal program designed to improve air service in smaller communities.
Federal screeners are being deployed today to staff all passenger checkpoints at the Columbus, Ohio, and Hartford Bradley airports as well as at two terminals at Orlando, Transportation Security Administration said yesterday. The screeners arriving today are part of TSA's mobile screener work force that will train newly hired federal screeners and begin the transition to a permanent federal work force. TSA also deployed screeners to the Athens, Ga., airport. TSA now has federalized checkpoints at 10 U.S. airports. -AL
The Senate Commerce Committee has tentatively scheduled a confirmation hearing tomorrow for FAA Administrator nominee Marion Blakey. Committee leadership wants the hearing held before the August congressional recess. If it cannot be scheduled this week, the hearing will have to be held in September, and an interim administrator would have to be appointed when Jane Garvey leaves the post Aug. 4.
Delta next month plans to start interline electronic ticketing with United, targeting Aug. 14 as the launch date. Delta said it will expand interline e-ticketing with several other major U.S. carriers late this year and early 2003.
The National Commission to Ensure Information and Choice in the Airline Industry, which has heard from airlines and brick-and-mortar and on-line travel agents at its three daylong hearings, holds a final hearing today in Washington. The nine-member commission will hear from "neutral, objective" parties who are "less involved" in competitive industry issues than those who testify at hearings held in Washington, Chicago and San Francisco over the past several weeks, one of the commissioners told The DAILY.
Argentina's judicial authorities ruled Friday that the consortium Aeropuertos Argentina 2000 (AA2000), which manages 33 airports throughout the country, must cease charging fees in dollars (DAILY, July 26) and collect them in local currency (18 pesos instead of 18 dollars).
Madagascar's government has retained Lufthansa Consulting (LCG) to help restructure Air Madagascar. The two-year project "is a basic overhaul of all the airline's operations," LCG said. The first priority: "stabilize the airline," LCG said.
Northwest promoted Jeffrey Putnam to the newly created position of VP-system operations control (SOC) and flight operations administration. He will be responsible for the finance, administration and scheduling functions of these two departments. Putnam, who joined Northwest in 1992, has held positions in financial planning and SOC.
U.K. aviation officials want to meet with their U.S. counterparts in informal, government-to-government talks next month -- the first since talks were shelved following rejection by American and British Airways of the U.S. terms for antitrust immunity. The U.S. has been awaiting word on a U.K. government position on revising the U.S.-U.K. bilateral, which has just now been hammered out, sources tell The DAILY. "The U.K. has indicated that they have some ideas that they want to present to us," a U.S. official said. The U.S. anticipates that the U.K.
Shuttle America named Scott Chambless as director of safety for the airline. He comes to the airline from Corporate Airlines, an AmericanConnection affiliate, where he was director of safety. Shuttle America operates a fleet of Saab 340 turboprops as a US Airways Express code-share partner.
Atlas Air yesterday reported a $34.2 million second quarter net loss but said it sees improvement in key markets. The loss was narrower than last year's deficit of $49.0 million. "While the air cargo market has still not yet returned to acceptable levels, we saw signs of improvement in key markets, particularly Asia, and expect revenue to substantially improve in the third and fourth quarters of the year," said CEO Richard Shuyler. Revenues grew 58% to $235.6 million, primarily due to the inclusion of Polar Air in the results.
National Mediation Board yesterday officially released Midwest Express and the Association of Flight Attendants from arbitration over a new contract. The 30-day, cooling-off period will expire Aug. 29. The release follows AFA's recent rejection of binding arbitration (DAILY, July 30). Midwest Senior VP-Operations David Reeve said, "We believe the company's proposals are fair to flight attendants." AFA said it will strike if no agreement is reached during the next 30 days.
A wide range of industry groups -- from manufacturers to major and regional airlines -- contend price-based measures to reduce airport congestion are unnecessary, costly and counter-productive. Airlines argue that there is no congestion problem, that capacity improvement is a better approach and that "market-based" initiatives such as congestion pricing or slot auctions would hurt airlines financially. Airport groups, however, say airports should have the power to use pricing to manage their limited capacity.
A parliamentary report released yesterday heaped another layer of criticism on the U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) organization and its new business plan. The House of Commons select committee on transport said NATS has not delivered the benefits promised when it was set up, and its financial structure heightened the effect of the air traffic downturn. The report said proposed staff cuts are unwise, and it questions whether NATS will be able to take part in a more centralized European air traffic control system.
Japan Airlines, starting tomorrow, will add another flight on the Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo run, making it a daily service. Five of the existing MD11 flights will be replaced with the Boeing aircraft -- the 747-400 operating three and the 777 two.
GE Engine Services' Xiamen facility yesterday received its Repair Station Certification from the FAA and is now able to perform full maintenance on the CFM56-3 engine. The facility previously was CAAC-certified for the engine in June 2001.
Swiss pilots union CCP failed to show up at a meeting with senior management of newly set-up Swiss International Air Lines scheduled yesterday afternoon. The move further deteriorates the relationship between management and flight crew. CCP is representing pilots formerly flying for regional carrier Crossair that served as the basis for Swiss. Backed in part by the findings of a court evaluation, pilots want the same seniority ranking as widebody ex-Swissair pilots and to receive the same holiday package and pay. Swiss yesterday nevertheless came up with a compromise.
Orbitz's largest competitors yesterday elevated their letter writing campaign in Washington, reiterating their concerns about the website to President Bush and urging him to take action. The CEOs of Cendant, Expedia.com, Sabre, Travelocity, Trip Network and the American Society of Travel Agents told Bush in the letter obtained by The DAILY that Orbitz "poses a clear threat to airline competition and consumer welfare." They added that Orbitz is a "dangerous model" for e-commerce and "is creating a crisis in our industry."
Investigators examining the Pulkovo Airlines Ilyushin Il-86 crash that killed 14 crewmembers said they were focusing on a possible malfunction of the horizontal stabilizer that spontaneously shifted to an extreme angle. The shift led to the Il-86's crash into a forest just after takeoff from Moscow on Sunday. According to the Associated Press, the stabilizer shifted two seconds after takeoff, and six seconds after the shift, the plane's pilot tried to compensate by thrusting the control stick forward as far as possible.
