British Airways named Maria DaCunha as its new legal director, starting April 1. DaCunha will head up the in-house legal department and report to General Counsel Robert Webb. DaCunha joined BA in January 2000 as a competition lawyer from Lloyds of London. She replaces Stephen Walsh, who is leaving the airline at the end of March to take up the position of general counsel at Associated British Ports.
Mesa Air Group, which owns CCAIR, yesterday denied that CCAIR's decision to send out a Warn Act was tied to pilot contract negotiations. The company asserted that it sent out a 60-day notice that CCAIR could close its doors in July because of finances.
Singapore Airlines has denied that the change of its code-share agreement with Air New Zealand on the Christchurch route has nothing to do with its stake in ANZ being reduced to 4.5% from 34%. Speaking to The DAILY, a SIA official said the airline and ANZ have been discussing the change for several months. "SIA and ANZ have agreed that with effect from March 31, the terms of the code share will be reversed from an air-share to a free-sale arrangement.
Air France plans to continue its fleet modernization plans, in spite of the current traffic slump. The airline will take delivery of 22 new aircraft this year, Executive VP-Europe and North Africa Etienne Rachou said at the International Tourism Exchange (ITB) in Berlin. Air France will phase out its remaining fleet of Airbus A310s, two Boeing 747-200s and one 767-300. Air France will in return phase in six A330s, seven A319s, two A321s and seven 777s.
Singapore Airlines last week launched a new Internet check-in service that enables customers to choose their seats up to two days before departure. The service is available for SIA's frequent flyers, as well as customers who book their flights through the SIA website. Up to seven passengers under the same reservation can check-in together.
Airlines in Argentina this week are expected to increase fares 10-20% due to higher fuel prices that came out of a recent monetary devaluation. Increases will be phased in gradually and depend on individual negotiations between each carrier and its fuel supplier, according to Julio Scaramella, spokesman for Aerolineas Argentinas. "We are trying to lessen the impact as much as possible," he said. "We have yet to adopt new fares and these will depend on what we agree with the suppliers." So far, fuel increases have ranged from 7% by Repsol to 40% by Shell.
Some security costs incurred by airports following Sept. 11 will be defrayed by $175 million in supplemental funds provided for in the 2002 Defense Department appropriation, with smaller airports receiving a greater percentage of expenditures.
In a move called "Operation Dismantling," several government agencies in Brazil have started to repossess service counters and ancillary facilities formerly used by grounded Transbrasil at various airports to collect what the carrier owes them in service fees. High-level officers from the department of civil aviation (DAC) and the agency in charge of airport facilities, Infraero, were meeting this week to discuss the future of Transbrasil, which will lose its operating license June 3, six months after being grounded (DAILY, Feb. 28).
America West plans to recall 170 flight attendants by June and have all furloughed cabin crew back to work by yearend. The airline said yesterday it will recall an additional 38 pilots by June after recalling 75 pilots in February. "As demand for air travel continues to increase, we are responding by adding flights back to our schedule," said Jeff McClelland, executive VP-operations. AWA furloughed 179 pilots and 244 flight attendants due to the downturn after Sept. 11.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will meet the statutory deadlines outlined in the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, DOT Deputy Under Secretary Stephen McHale said yesterday, and will do so with a customer focus. Speaking to the American Association of Airport Executives/Airports Council International Washington legislative conference, McHale pledged that TSA will "communicate in detail" with airport officials going forward, giving his "promise that we will answer all your questions."
Lee Hibbets, project director of marketing-market analysis at Boeing, said the 717 has 94 deliveries and 43 backlog orders. A story in the March 7 DAILY incorrectly stated the number. He cited America West, Air France and Mesa as major and regional carriers that could potentially have a need for 100-seat aircraft. These airlines do not currently have the 717 on order, as the story implied.
TSA will work well in partnership with local law enforcement, Deputy Under Secretary Stephen McHale said, as has been the "philosophy" at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, where McHale, TSA head John Magaw and others at TSA gained experience. TSA is "looking like a hiring program for ATF and the Secret Service," an airport official told The DAILY yesterday, decrying the lack of aviation industry representation among top TSA ranks.
Messier-Dowty named Allan Harvey to the position of acting group VP of the company's Business&Regional Aircraft Business Unit. Harvey will succeed Ken Laver, who will step down from the position due to personal reasons on April 30. Harvey joined Messier-Dowty's Toronto operation in 1986 as the commercial manager, having previously held contract management positions at Indal Technologies, Spar Aerospace and Rockwell Collins.
Kenya Airways confirmed an order for three Boeing 777-200ERs. The new airplanes will be purchased directly from Boeing, and deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2004. "It is the right aircraft at the right price," said CEO Brian Presbury. Kenya Airways began its long-haul fleet modernization program in May 2001, with the delivery of its first Boeing 767-300ER. The carrier also took delivery of two more in June and July. In September 2001, the carrier became the first on the continent to operate 737-700s with blended winglets.
UAL named British Petroleum executive Doug Ford as the representative of salaried and management (SAM) employees to the UAL board. Ford will take the seat vacated by Deval Patrick, who resigned in December. Ford will continue to serve as an executive director of BP, and as the CEO of the company's refining and marketing businesses until March 31.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines reached a final agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) on a one-year contract extension for the company's 620 flight attendants. The union said 71.6% of AFA voters cast ballots in favor of the contract extension. The current contract was ratified in September 1997.
Kuwait will provide a soft loan of US$20.5 million to partly finance the construction of a new airport in Jiuzhaigou, in the southeastern Chinese province of Sichuan. Known as the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the loan will be payable over 20 years with a grace period of four years. The ministries of Finance of China and Kuwait signed the loan agreement.
The European Union transport ministers are expected to agree on the launch of Europe's future satellite navigation system at their meeting on March 25 in Brussels. They were asked to release EUR450 million in EU funds. This shift is considered a victory for France and Italy, which promoted Galileo, while other nations, such as the U.K., Germany and The Netherlands resisted entering an expensive project that would compete with the U.S.'s GPS system.
Aviation, facing financial and security pressures, needs the involvement of all parts of the industry to educate and inform the public of the benefits, safety and the needs of the industry, according to Cecelia Hunziker, FAA Great Lakes regional administrator. Speaking to the Women in Aviation International conference in Nashville last week, Hunziker urged attendees to ensure that the future direction of the industry is for its "well-being rather than at its expense."
Singapore Airlines last week confirmed previously discussed plans to start service to Las Vegas beginning Aug. 2. The new flight will operate from Singapore to Hong Kong to Las Vegas three days per week. SIA will operate a new Boeing 777-200ER on the route in a two-class configuration. Las Vegas will be the airline's seventh destination in North America.
Delta and its pilots have broken off talks about crew rest seats on Boeing 767-400s -- an issue that effectively stalls the airline's attempt to restart flights from Atlanta to Honolulu and Anchorage. Pilots rejected as "inadequate" the offer of a first-class seat with more reclining ability.
The Canadian government next month will renew two private aircraft border-crossing programs that were suspended after Sept. 11. The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) announced plans to reinstate the CANPASS Private and Corporate Air programs, beginning April 2, for aircraft traveling to designated airports in Canada from the U.S. The programs are designed to ease border crossing for pre-approved, low-risk flights that originate in the U.S.
American CEO Don Carty last week decided to step down from his board position at restaurant owner Brinker International, which he has held since June 1998. Brinker said Carty is leaving the board to "devote more time to managing the recovery of American."
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic February 2002 (000) Febraury Febraury % 2002 2001 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 925,800 898,400 3.0 Available Seat Miles 1,413,000 1,371,000 3.1 Load Factor (%) 65.5 65.5 America West
