China Southern took delivery of the first and only Boeing 747-400F freighter in China. The new 747-400F is the first all-cargo aircraft in the China Southern livery and joins a fleet of more than 110 jet aircraft. China Southern's new 747-400F will be flown to Shenzhen, China, where it will be reviewed, inspected and ultimately certified by the Civil Aviation Administration of China's Central & Southern regions.
A 300-pound sea lion that crossed two runways at SFO before entering a terminal -- all without being detected by ground radar or observed by tower personnel -- has prompted the airport to consider fencing the perimeter, installing motion detectors or adding radar software that picks up "minute amount of metals," spokesman Ron Wilson said. The marine mammal stopped at two American gates. "We weren't sure if he was waiting for the early flight to DFW," Wilson quipped.
In the latest reaction of a European major to no-frills competition, Lufthansa announced it is slashing fares in off-peak periods by up to 63%. Fares vary between EUR167 (US$162) and EUR269 (US$261) per roundtrip and apply to all domestic routes. Tickets are not changeable and must be booked two days in advance. Fares apply for departures between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and return legs after 8:30 p.m. No minimum stay is required. The move is the first significant Lufthansa reaction to rising competition by low-cost carriers.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association has called for FAA to make graphics of restricted airspace available to GA pilots, following last week's incident where a Cessna 182 flew through a restricted area in Washington, D.C. According to AOPA, FAA is developing such graphics but only for flight service station briefers.
LanChile has increased flights from New York to Lima, Peru, to five a week with continuing service to Santiago and connections to other destinations in South America. The move is a response to growing demand, seen as a sign that the industry is slowly emerging from its crisis. The carrier also increased nonstop service between New York and Guayaquil, Ecuador, continuing to Santiago. All flights are operated with Boeing 767-300s. -LZ
U.S. and Cape Verde on Friday initialed an open-skies accord, achieved without negotiations and following communications between the two countries over the past six months, a U.S. official told The DAILY. The pact, in place now under comity and reciprocity, is without conditions or phased effectiveness and includes reciprocal seventh-freedom cargo rights. The U.S. has reached bilateral agreements on open skies with 58 countries, including 12 with African nations.
Virgin Atlantic last week named Victor Anderes to the position of assistant VP-security, North America and the Caribbean. In this newly created role, Anderes will be responsible for the implementation of all corporate security initiatives and directives in the region. He joined the airline as a station manager in Johannesburg in 1996, moving to the U.S. in 1998 as station manager for New York Kennedy.
US Airways and United are still likely to lose money for full-year 2003, according to UBS Warburg, despite labor and other cost savings. In the case of United, even 2004 looks "iffy" for the carrier to become profitable, said analyst Sam Buttrick. Airline and government sources told The DAILY that United will likely file for a loan guarantee even if they don't get concessions from every union by Friday's deadline.
The Swiss parliament's lower house has rejected the air transport treaty between Switzerland and Germany that the two countries agreed on late last year. The treaty would have severely limited operations into Zurich over German airspace and was perceived as a threat to the Swiss aviation industry. The vote was controversial, as Swiss Transport Minister Moritz Leuenberger had urged the house to approve the deal for fear Germany might unilaterally impose even more restrictions on flight operations. The case will go to the upper chamber after the summer break. -JF
SkyWest last week opened a new maintenance base in Tucson, Ariz., that will begin operations July 1 and be fully functional by September. The facility, SkyWest's fifth maintenance base, will exclusively service the airline's fleet of Canadair Regional Jets. The new base will not affect existing SkyWest maintenance bases, which are located in Portland, Salt Lake City, and Palm Springs and Fresno, Calif. "With SkyWest's plans to continue expanding their CRJ fleet, the opening of the Tucson base is a necessary move," the carrier said.
Juan Emilio Posada, CEO of the new Summa Alliance, said the partner carriers -- Avianca, Aces and SAM -- would reinforce cockpit doors of some 30 aircraft that they fly regularly to the U.S. At a cost of $40,000 per plane, new doors will meet FAA safety regulations. The job is estimated to take two months.
United last week dedicated its expanded $63 million cargo building on the southwest corner of Chicago O'Hare Airport. The new facility -- which United claims is the largest in North America for processing cargo and mail -- can handle 100,000 pounds of freight and 7,400 pieces of mail an hour via an automated systems for sorting and moving freight and mail. Thanks to the expansion, total square footage of the building increased from 575,270 square feet to 701,741 square feet.
Spanish carriers Iberia, Spanair and Air Europa said Friday that traffic in Spain returned to normal after the 24h general strike, which grounded some 700 flights. Spain's three largest carriers said services were running on schedule. Spanair confessed, however, that overbooking problems arose on Friday. -MT
US Airways on Friday promoted Rosemary Murray to VP-government affairs, filling the position created by the retirement of company veteran Ronald Reeves. Murray has been director-government affairs for US Airways since 1989 and before that held similar positions with Pan Am for almost 20 years. US Airways also named Tammy Lee managing director-corporate affairs. Lee comes to US Airways from Sun Country Airlines, where she was VP-marketing and corporate affairs. -SL
Swiss International Airlines will likely end up with a "small" equity stake in SR Technics, Swiss CEO André Dosé told The DAILY recently. SAirGroup has five bids for SRT. Dosé would not discuss specifics but confirmed that each bidder has talked to Swiss -- which recently picked SRT for long-term fleet maintenance -- about equity participation.
US Airways last week launched an online cargo service for small and medium-sized U.S. shippers. US Airways Door-to-Door claims to integrate flights with freight trucking operations to offer "seamless service" between pickup and delivery points anywhere in the U.S., including Hawaii and Alaska. Providing six levels of service options, US Airways Door-to-Door was created in association with Integres Global Logistics Inc., a web-based freight forwarding company based in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Denver International Airport reports that all operations continue to be normal despite raging wildfires in Colorado. The Hayman fire in the mountains southwest of Denver is more than 65 nautical miles from the airport and several carriers report that visibility is more than 10 statute miles, leaving airline operations unaffected. Alaska Air said Friday its passenger traffic has not slowed due to the fires.
New York jet fuel spot prices ended last week at $0.70 per gallon, up 7.6% from the beginning of the week and down 16.1% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
20 years ago June 25, 1982: Contractors will help keep FAA's 20-year airspace modernization plan on track, Administrator F. Lynn Helms told a Senate panel, while technology consultants caution that computer upgrades could become quickly outmoded. 10 years ago June 26, 1992: Continental will reinstate a pilot, fired in 1990 as a psychological risk after informing the airline that he planned to undergo surgery for a sex change. Five years ago
Orbis, the flying eye hospital, leaves July 28 on its first mission since the Sept. 11 attacks. FedEx Express is now Orbis's primary aviation sponsor, having completed the annual safety check of the Orbis DC-10. FedEx provides an aircraft maintenance technician to travel on missions in 2002 and 2003 and training for volunteer pilots. It has provided no-charge shipments since the first Orbis mission, in 1982.
Frontier last week signed a deal with Overland Park, Kan.-based Juro International Systems (JIS) to supply new software that will allow the airline to warehouse and study real-time revenue analysis information, including information on flights booked through its various distribution channels.
Transportation Security Administration has filled all its top positions, Deputy Under Secretary Stephen McHale proclaimed last week, including the addition of Adm. James Loy (Ret.), who joined TSA in the recently added post of chief operating officer, which also carries the title of deputy under secretary. But the key position of ombudsman -- intended to serve transportation users and providers --has yet to be filled.
Chautauqua Airlines parent company Republic Airways Holdings expects its upcoming initial public offering price to be between $12 and $14 per share. According to its updated registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company will offer 5,000 shares on the Nasdaq Market, trading under the symbol "RJET." Based on the estimated offer price, the carrier will not be able to raise more than $70 million, less than the $85 million it estimated earlier this year (DAILY, March 12).
