Italian Minister of the Industry Antonio Marzano confirmed yesterday that his government is considering selling up to 14% of Alitalia's capital to Air France. "It is a possibility that we are examining," Marzano said. The Italian carrier, which is 53% state-owned, is seeking funds to finance a restructuring and refinancing plan. The French carrier did not confirm the news. An Air France spokesman said existing plans, drawn up last July when Alitalia joined SkyTeam, aimed at an equity swap that would grant Air France between 2% and 3% of Alitalia.
Austrian Airlines wants to be the first western airline to fly to Afghanistan, CEO Vagn Soerensen said at the AviationWeek European Transport Leaders conference in London. The plan was part of a strategy to find profitable niches for the airline. Austrian plans to take up services to Kabul, "when it becomes possible," Soerensen said.
Delta, in a bold move to further slash expenses and drive direct bookings, decided yesterday to eliminate all U.S. domestic base travel agent commission payments. The action, effective immediately, affects tickets sold in the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and Canada. Delta last year paid $540 million in passenger commissions, down 18% from 2000, but the latest move will result in "significantly" lower commission costs this year.
Irish no-frills carrier is in talks with 40 additional European airports, five of which could end up being additional bases, according to CEO Michael O'Leary. In Germany, where the airline focused its latest expansion, the company has signed deals with three additional airports in addition to Lubeck, Hahn and Friedrichshafen, but will disclose them only at the last minute, O'Leary said at the European Transport Leaders Conference.
Retirement of older jets and increased reliability of newer components have led to a dip in the demand for airliner spare parts, an SH&E study concluded. "The study determined that the aviation spare parts market effectively matured in late 1999," said SH&E Senior VP Clive Medland. "It also showed that, for the period June 1999 to June 2001, even though the number of aircraft in service rose by 13%" -- from 13,664 to 15,397 - "the demand for spare parts fell by 2%" -- from $1.30 billion to $1.28 billion.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In Revenues And Expenses Per Employee Third Quarter 2001 Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total (000) (000) Employees AirTran 150,677 148,911 4,035 Aloha 84,455 85,706 2,862
NTSB needs more "teeth" to push for faster action on recommendations, House Transportation aviation subcommittee members said yesterday. NTSB Chair Marion Blakey spoke before the subcommittee seeking reauthorization approval, which members said they strongly support. The current authorization expires Sept. 30 and the NTSB has a budget of $70 million annually. Several subcommittee members questioned, however, whether NTSB has enough funds or staffing to carry out its mission and pressed Blakey to tell them what the board needs.
Crossair is looking at another tough three weeks until the official relaunch as Swiss after Crossair's pilots union, CCP, launched a lawsuit protesting the airline's negotiations with Swissair union Aeropers and threatened to strike. CCP accused Crossair of having broken the terms of an existing wage agreement that ruled out negotiations with Aeropers. It has applied at a local court to be released from its obligation to refrain from industrial action.
Israel Aircraft Industries posted a net profit of $101 million in 2001, including a $28 million gain from selling Galaxy Aerospace to Gulfstream. Civil market sales dipped "slightly" from 2000 levels but still made up 38% of the $2.09 billion in total 2001 sales, IAI said.
ICAO adopted a resolution "strongly" condemning the Israeli military for "the destruction of Gaza International Airport and its air navigation facilities" in December and January attacks. ICAO "strongly urges" the Israeli government to "take the necessary steps" to get the three-year-old airport operational again "as soon as possible."
General aviation flights still will not be permitted to resume at Washington National, Mineta DOT Secretary Norman told The DAILY, even though the airport is authorized to return to its full schedule of pre-Sept. 11 flights as of April 15. The issue is "under continued study," he said, adding that he hopes that "at some point" GA services will be permitted at DCA. The GA community is "very anxious," Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority CEO James Wilding said, adding that the challenge is to devise security comparable to that for commercial operations.
FAA traffic data for last Monday show that demand is rebounding in spots. Chicago facilities handled 99% of single-day traffic, compared with an average Monday in 2001, while Atlanta stood at 102% and Cincinnati at 128%.
Lufthansa Chief Financial Officer Karl-Ludwig Kley said at the Aviation Week European Transport Leaders Conference that the U.S. "should stop subsidizing U.S. carriers." He stressed that in his view the approach was anti-competitive, as the airlines used the state support to slash airfares on transatlantic routes, amongst others. Kley referred to recent EU initiatives to punish third-country airlines if they get state financial support.
Pilots at TWA, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, are preparing to face a court battle over seniority integration issues. The National Mediation Board ruled this week that TWA and American airlines are a single carrier for the purpose of labor representation, and TWA ALPA contends the pilots at American, represented by the Allied Pilots Association, are trying to impose a seniority list in federal court.
AirTran yesterday began new nonstop service to Rochester. AirTran offers two daily nonstop flights to Rochester from Atlanta and two between Rochester and Baltimore Washington International.
DOT Secretary Norman Mineta this week swore in the first seven Federal Security Directors (FSDs) -- the beginning of what will comprise the on-airport leadership corps of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) at the 429 U.S. commercial airports.
Raisbeck Engineering, the only company to have its Phase II cockpit door kits installed and flying, has quietly pulled out of the market and told customers that they should buy kits offered through the aircraft manufacturers.
Low-fare airline EasyJet in the next few days will announce its plans for daily Paris Charles de Gaulle slots it has been allocated by the French authorities, according to CEO Ray Webster. It is expected to introduce services from its new second London base, Gatwick airport, to attract more business traffic.
The first passenger flight between China and India will take off from Shanghai for New Delhi on March 31, when China Eastern Airlines launches the service, using an Airbus A300-600R. China Eastern will operate twice-weekly flights to the Indian capital from Shanghai and also twice weekly from Beijing. The Shanghai-based Chinese carrier has been granted the exclusive rights by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to operate the flights between the two countries.
Air Canada recently signed a five-year, US$60 million deal for the full maintenance and repair of Atlantic Coast Airlines' fleet of Canadair Regional Jets. The agreement comes six months after ACA awarded a 16-year $285 million contract to Air Canada Technical Services for the maintenance and repair of certain components of its CRJ fleet. Maintenance work will be performed at Air Canada's Dorval maintenance center located at the company's Montreal headquarters. ACA's CRJ fleet is expected to grow to at least 96 aircraft by the end of 2003.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China has approved the application of Haikou-based Hainan Airlines to acquire 49% stake in Cambodia's new national flag carrier, Air Cambodia. Hainan becomes the first Chinese carrier to invest in a foreign airline. The Cambodian government will hold 41%, while a local firm -- CTG Co. Ltd. -- has the remaining 10%.
