Korea and Taiwan civil aviation and transport authorities are working toward resuming flights between the two countries, which were suspended by their airlines in 1992 due to political reasons. According to air transport sources in Seoul, negotiations are on with an earnest desire to resume Seoul-Taipei flights as soon as possible.
FAA is confident that a wide range of enhancements will strengthen its oft-maligned Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS), which both internal and government reports have recently criticized as having significant shortcomings (DAILY, April 11).
Olympic Airways lost EUR85.1 million (US$74.6 million) in 2001, after a deficit of EUR76.3 million in 2000, according to a report presented this week to the Greek parliament by Greek Transport Minister Tassos Mantelis. The ailing Greek carrier has not provided financial data since 1999. The report blames the losses on a strategy that focused on expansion rather than cost cutting; on high fuel, labor and aircraft leasing costs, and on the downturn of the air transport market.
Keeping labor and regulatory compliance costs in check are two key steps that the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector -- and to an extent the entire airline industry -- must achieve to rebound from the financial doldrums of the last year, a top Delta executive said yesterday at Aviation Week's MRO Conference & Exhibition in Phoenix. Fred Reid, Delta's president, called "the rising cost of labor" a critical hurdle for aviation maintenance businesses to overcome -- as critical as the well-publicized shortage of labor in the sector.
Revamped Aerolineas Argentinas announced Tuesday that it would renew its fleet with Airbus equipment, replacing some Boeing aircraft. The carrier said it also intends to reopen most of its former routes from Buenos Aires to Europe and merge its brand with domestic subsidiary Austral's. The delivery of six Airbus 340-600s is scheduled for 2004-2005. Next month, AR will base two MD-88s at its Madrid hub to serve London, Paris and Frankfurt.
JetBlue's estimated share price for its initial public offering was raised yesterday to $25-26 per share, up from $22-24. The IPO is expected to occur Friday, and the carrier could now raise $140 million.
Keeping labor and regulatory compliance costs in check are two key steps that the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector -- and to an extent the entire airline industry -- must achieve to rebound from the financial doldrums of the last year, a top Delta executive said yesterday at Aviation Week's MRO Conference&Exhibition in Phoenix. Fred Reid, Delta's president, called "the rising cost of labor" a critical hurdle for aviation maintenance businesses to overcome -- as critical as the well-publicized shortage of labor in the sector.
Dutch Caribbean Airline, based in Curacao, will expand to Miami and several major destinations in the Caribbean and South America, according to Hubert La Croes, general manager for U.S. and Canada.
United yesterday in Chicago held a one-day sales blitz to tout the advantages of flying the airline of out its hometown. More than 100 employees from United's North America Sales force joined the Chicago sales department and a group of employee volunteers for the blitz of the city. A total of 175 employees distributed information about its O'Hare schedule build-up and all of its online and airport products and services. The sales force and volunteers visited more than 700 travel agencies and corporate travel departments.
The devaluation of the peso, higher fuel prices and a serious recession may deepen the ongoing airline crisis in Argentina, according to Patricio Sepulveda, IATA's regional director for Latin America. At the FIDAE air show in Santiago last weekend, he said, "This doesn't mean real domestic airfare increases because right now it's difficult to transfer them to the traveling public." Instead, carriers have opted to eliminate fares discounted for advance sale, which resulted in hidden increases ranging from 20% to 48% since the beginning of this month.
DOT's Inspector General (OIG) and FAA disagree over the Air Transportation Oversight System's (ATOS) effectiveness, with OIG citing several huge hurdles as contributors to a lack of progress, while FAA says the effort is evolving essentially as planned.
A proposal to connect Washington Dulles Airport to the city's Metrorail subway system and points in between, gained momentum recently when transit officials approved a draft environmental impact statement for the project. The Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project is the responsibility of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The 24-mile airport link, which would replace the bus rapid transit, would be implemented in stages and finished in the second phase.
A proposal to connect Washington Dulles Airport to the city's Metrorail subway system and points in between, gained momentum recently when transit officials approved a draft environmental impact statement for the project. The Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project is the responsibility of the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, the Federal Transit Administration and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The 24-mile airport link, which would replace the bus rapid transit, would be implemented in stages and finished in the second phase.
B/E Aerospace posted a net loss of $104 million, including special charges, on sales of $680 million for the 12 months ended Feb. 23, but the company believes it will rebound once traffic bounces back and airlines resume discretionary spending on projects like cabin upgrades.
Since Sept. 11 the larger European hub airports have been gaining traffic at the expense of smaller hubs, according to the 2002 Global Hub Factbook that will be released next week by Salomon Smith Barney. This mirrors the findings of the report that U.S. hubs have increased their traffic share compared to non-hubs (DAILY, April 10).
Japan Airlines in July plans to add the city of Toyama to its domestic network, with a twice-daily roundtrip flight from Tokyo Haneda. In JAL's original route plan for the current fiscal year issued in January, JAL hoped to operate three roundtrips a day. The new flights will be operated with Boeing 767s. JAL's Okinawa-based subsidiary, Japan TransOcean Air will also operate seasonal service to Toyama from July 16 to Aug. 31 with four weekly flights to and from Naha, Okinawa, with 737-400s.
B/E Aerospace posted a net loss of $104 million, including special charges, on sales of $680 million for the 12 months ended Feb. 23, but the company believes it will rebound once traffic bounces back and airlines resume discretionary spending on projects like cabin upgrades.
The motion by GE Capital Aviation Services in a Sao Paulo court that grounded Transbrasil is declared bankrupt was postponed yesterday for the third time. On Monday, GECAS repossessed an engine of the carrier's last operational Boeing 767-200. The other two 767s have no engines.
JetBlue's estimated share price for its initial public offering was raised yesterday to $25-26 per share, up from $22-24. The IPO is expected to occur Friday, and the carrier could now raise $140 million.
Revamped Aerolineas Argentinas announced Tuesday that it would renew its fleet with Airbus equipment, replacing some Boeing aircraft. The carrier said it also intends to reopen most of its former routes from Buenos Aires to Europe and merge its brand with domestic subsidiary Austral's. The delivery of six Airbus 340-600s is scheduled for 2004-2005. Next month, AR will base two MD-88s at its Madrid hub to serve London, Paris and Frankfurt. -LZ
DOT's Inspector General (OIG) and FAA disagree over the Air Transportation Oversight System's (ATOS) effectiveness, with OIG citing several huge hurdles as contributors to a lack of progress, while FAA says the effort is evolving essentially as planned
A German regional court has ruled that Lufthansa cannot reduce fares to the level of low-fare competitor Germania on the Frankfurt-Berlin route. According to the ruling, Lufthansa's cheapest one-way fares must be EUR30.5 above Germania's. The ruling, effective imminently, could have severe consequences for Lufthansa if applied similarly in other cases. The airline would not be able to react if other low-fare competitors, such as Ryanair, opened new services.
