Cargojet Airways recently took delivery of its first two Boeing 727- 200 Advanced Freighter aircraft. Both aircraft were delivered to Hamilton's airport from Miami, where complete maintenance overhaul and painting in the new Cargojet livery were completed. Additional 727-200 freighters are scheduled to be delivered by the end of month and will begin service in the fall. The aircraft are all-cargo versions, meet all Stage III noise requirements and have the capability of carrying 60,000 pounds of cargo.
Allied Pilots Association wants American CEO Don Carty to make AA "the El Al" of U.S. carriers, said APA VP Robert Ames. Carty said arming pilots could divert U.S. attention and resources from "primary" security objectives. But with 85% of AA pilots favoring the right to carry guns -- and 65% of pilots are ex-military -- "it's not a leap," Ames said, "it's a deterrent," adding that the House has "sent a powerful message" in its vote approving unrestricted arming of pilots. AA pilots said it is "not true" that El Al pilots are unarmed.
An incident involving a Swiss Saab 2000 is raising questions about the company's internal operating procedures and is under investigation by German investigation authority Bundestelle fuer Flugunfalluntersuchung (BFU). In the landing mishap at former military base Werneuchen, none of the 16 passengers and four crew was injured, but the aircraft's engines were severely damaged and the gear ripped off.
Boeing remains bullish on the potential of its Connexion inflight Internet service, which lost its airline development partners last year. "Had it not been for Sept. 11, I think we'd be active now," Boeing CEO Phil Condit said last week. "We have two good [trial] programs, one with BA and one with Lufthansa, and I think [Connexion] is going to be important."
Continental this fall plans to start nonstop service between Newark and Santiago in the Dominican Republic. Daily service will begin Nov. 1, subject to government approval, with Boeing 737-800s. "Passenger traffic to the cities of Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata in Dominican Republic has been strong," said Managing Director of Route Planning Karen Warkentin.
Alenia Aeronautica is no longer interested in buying the 728/928 regional jet program from Fairchild Dornier, the company's administrator, Eberhard Braun, said in a statement Friday. Alenia told Braun in a letter that while the 728/928 is a highly interesting and technically outstanding product, the evaluation led to the conclusion that Alenia could not proceed with the acquisition without further partners. Only if a partner was found, could talks resume.
Goodrich added to its Airbus A380 program work, netting contracts to supply composite rear secondary structure behind engine pylons and exterior lighting. The secondary structure will include an aluminum substructure. The lighting, being supplied by Goodrich Hella Aerospace Lighting Systems, includes 23 components.
American Trans Air this week chose Centerpost Corp.'s SmartCampaign, an automated alerting product, to reduce its call center costs and improve customer service. With SmartCampaign, ATA will automate its notification process to proactively send flight status information such as schedule changes, delays, and cancellations to customers via personalized, interactive voice calls. ATA hopes to realize more than 90% cost savings by replacing outbound calls made by staff and reducing the number of inbound calls. -SL
Boeing's huge reorganization of its space, defense, government, intelligence, and communications businesses into one unit will have no ramifications for its Commercial Airplanes group, CEO Phil Condit said. "This one is strictly aimed at the defense business and our communications," Condit said at this week's news conference announcing the move. "I don't see it having any impact on commercial." Boeings $23 billion Integrated Defense Systems unit will be based in St. Louis.
Varig's savings in its restructuring process have been wiped out by the 20% devaluation of the Brazilian real in recent months, according to Ozires Silva, president and CEO. He explained that some 60% of the carrier's total liabilities of $900 million are in dollars. "There is no hedge against this," he added. "The hedge might have been the exchange rate, but this is working against us at a time when we also face higher fuel prices. As a result, Varig may have to return aircraft and fire employees.
US Airways yesterday followed Delta in launching a hassle-free guarantee for passengers on the Shuttle. Under the promotion, US Airways Shuttle customers will be eligible for a $200 voucher toward future travel on the airline, if, on any Monday through Friday, they are unable to make it to their boarding gate within 20 minutes of checking in at the US Shuttle ticket counter or electronic ticket kiosks to make their scheduled departure.
JetBlue this winter will increase its New York Kennedy-Florida flights by 40% over last year, offering up to 42 daily flights to five Florida cities, compared with its peak of 30 daily last year. It will operate up to 16 daily departures to Fort Lauderdale, nine to Orlando, eight to West Palm Beach, five to Tampa and four to Fort Myers.
United's application for government loan guarantees may not get the same favorable response from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board (ATSB) as US Airways, analysts say. The US Airways application approved by ATSB includes significant cost reductions, while United is much further from gaining labor concessions and relies more heavily on revenue expansion, analysts believe. Ironically, United's stronger financial position may also count against it.
Conditional approval of US Airways' application for government loan guarantees is good news for the carrier, but it still faces an uncertain future, leading analysts say. The view is echoed by the airline, which stated that the approval announcement does not lessen the urgency of concluding labor concession talks.
Mongolian Airlines took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 with blended winglets under an agreement with GATX Capital. The leased aircraft is expected to enter service with the Ulan Bator-based carrier this month, serving destination in China, Japan and Korea.
Lufthansa canceled its order for 60 Fairchild Dornier 728 regional jets, making it likely the program will not survive. The airline confirmed yesterday it has formally stepped back from the order, which would have been the largest for the 728. Fairchild Dornier declined comment.
Congress is hearing the message from airlines and airports that the Dec. 31 deadline for 100% screening of checked baggage can't be met in a cost-effective, rational way. Legislators are making moves to change provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act and monitor the Transportation Security Administration's transfer to the proposed Department of Homeland Security.
Midwest Express' yields in June sank 11.1% from the same month last year and 12.7% year-to-date due to the continued weak economy and competitive pricing environment. Despite the grim June results and weak revenues, CEO Tim Hoeksema said the airline holding company will report a profit in the second quarter. The carrier reported that unit revenue fell 16.9% in June and 12.2% year-to-date.
LOT Polish Airlines will discontinue its membership in the Qualiflyer frequent flyer program by the end of December. The move comes as LOT prepares to join the Star alliance and seems to indicate that LOT could become a Star member in January 2003. Meanwhile, Iberia allows Qualiflyer users to earn and burn miles on its network, according to a Swiss International Air Lines report. -JF
Air France's traffic for the April-June period was down systemwide, with domestic services hit particularly hard. Domestic traffic was down 13.6%, European flying revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) fell 4.2% while long-haul was down 3.0%. In the long-haul network, traffic to North and South America was down 9.5% while Asia gained 4.7% and Africa/Middle East 29.5%.
National Airlines is delaying the relaunch of its Washington National-Las Vegas service, citing a delay in aircraft delivery. The carrier had planned to begin one daily nonstop from Las Vegas to DCA plus a daily nonstop to Washington Dulles on Aug. 1; instead it will operate two daily LAS-IAD nonstops, starting Aug. 1, and begin LAS-DCA Oct. 3. National had intended to start the second IAD flight Aug.
American "offered to launch a test program for airline employees in Chicago that we hope will help pave the way for a broader registered traveler initiative," CEO Don Carty said yesterday. Despite Carty's weekly messages to employees, Allied Pilots Association VP Robert Ames said that's "the first I ever heard of it." Carty has not met with APA in 15 or 16 months, Ames said.
