Aerolineas Argentinas is planning to set up a hub in Madrid and operate scheduled services to London, Frankfurt and Paris, starting May 31, an Aerolineas source told The DAILY Friday in Madrid. The Argentinean airline, which was acquired by the Spanish-led private consortium Air Comet last October, intends to operate one or two MD-88 aircraft on the new routes with Argentinean crews. Plans relating to frequencies and commercial policy have not been finalized.
American Airlines Cargo has opened its priority-shipping center at Dallas/Fort Worth, the company said last week. The 14,000-square-foot center is located in the middle of all three American passenger terminals. The mid-field location and entrance via access roads enable customers avoid toll costs and parking charges at DFW, the company said.
United has signed a corporate contract with AOL/Time Warner, making the company one of United's largest corporate customers. "For the past 17 years, AOL/Time Warner has been a customer with American," said Chris Bowers, senior VP-marketing sales and reservations. The new account "represents significant new revenue for United, he said.
IATA appointed David O'Connor, former special counsel-government and international affairs for Pan Am, corporate secretary in addition to his current role as senior director-government and industry affairs.
American Trans Air's pilot union on Friday voted in favor of a strike if negotiations with management do not result in a contract. ATA's 970 crewmembers, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, began negotiations in May 2000. Talks are still being supervised by the National Mediation Board, which has yet to declare a 30-day cooling-off period.
Intheairnet LLC last week signed a deal to buy all the assets of California-based Passenger Networks LLC, a manufacturer of airborne digital products -- servers, satellite antenna systems and cabin software "imap," a moving map program for passengers. Passenger Networks has delivered equipment for Connexion by Boeing programs and business jets. Intheairnet CEO Michael Rogerson said the industry reached an "inflection point" on Sept.
American Airlines Cargo has opened its priority-shipping center at Dallas/Fort Worth, the company said last week. The 14,000-square-foot center is located in the middle of all three American passenger terminals. The mid-field location and entrance via access roads enable customers avoid toll costs and parking charges at DFW, the company said. The new facility will centralize handing Priority Parcel Service shipments into one location.
Airbus expects to have FAA certification on April 22 for its cockpit door upgrades, the company will report at a conference today in Hamburg. Narrowbody kits for in-service planes will be available immediately, while kits for its widebodies will be available in early May.Boeing will tell attendees that its first kits will be available in May.
JetBlue could launch its initial public stock offering by the end of the week, sources said. CEO David Neeleman is completing a multi-city U.S. road show to brief investors about the airline. JetBlue hopes to raise $132 million in the IPO, based on its stated IPO price of $22 to $24 per share.
Air Tahiti Nui received French government approval to operate two flights per week between Papeete, Tahiti, and Paris, with flights operating via Los Angeles in each direction. Air Tahiti already holds U.S. government rights and will provide twice-weekly nonstop service between LAX and Paris, effective May 5. To accommodate the route and other expansion, the carrier acquired a second Airbus A340-300.
America West projects that upgrading its 142-plane fleet with all-new cockpit doors will saddle the carrier with $2.6 million in "lost opportunity" costs, mostly for aircraft downtime. The airline also says that Airbus narrowbody upgrades will cost $14,400 per plane in labor, or some $9,000 more than each Boeing narrowbody.
Following recommendations from Brazil's BNDES development bank that it seek a capital infusion from new investors to return to financial health (DAILY, April 5), Varig will go on the road this week to make presentations on the subject before investment banks, pension funds, institutional investors and other potential capital sources. Its immediate objective is to raise $400 million in new equity shares. Both in Brazil and abroad, these presentations will be orchestrated by Banco Fator and Credit Lyonnais.
Alaska Airlines this summer plans to add a third daily nonstop flight between Seattle and Washington when it starts its second flight to Dulles Airport. The carrier currently operates one daily nonstop flight to both Dulles and National airports. "What started seven months ago as a single flight to Reagan National Airport has blossomed into a popular business and leisure-travel route," said Gregg Saretsky, executive VP-marketing and planning. The new flight starts June 9 and will add an early-morning departure from Dulles and late-evening departure from Seattle.
LanChile Cargo plans to apply a fuel surcharge on all cargo shipments to offset recent fuel price hikes. Effective April 18, a fuel surcharge of $0.05 per kilogram based on actual weight will be imposed on all shipments, with a minimum of $5 per shipment.
Raytheon and Northrop Grumman are joining forces to become the general contractor for installation and maintenance of explosives detection system (EDS) and explosives trace detection (ETD) equipment -- an accelerated competition limited to seven bidders -- that could be worth $3-4 billion.
RICONDO & ASSOCIATES, INC. is pleased to announce the addition of Eugene Peters to the position of Director and Philip Hogg to the position of Managing Consultant in our Chicago office
Albania has become the 31st member of Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control group. The Albanian civil aviation authority "has undertaken a number of actions necessary to... bring its air traffic management system and services to the same level as that of other Eurocontrol states," Eurocontrol said.
Air Canada plans to double its domestic fuel surcharge due to sharply higher prices. Effective April 11, the charge will increase from C$7.50 one-way to C$15.00 on all tickets for travel within Canada. The carrier first introduced a fuel surcharge of C$15.00 on May 24, 2001, but this was cut by 50% on Nov. 20. "When the fuel surcharge was introduced, Air Canada indicated that it would be adjusted according to market fluctuations in fuel prices," the carrier said.
Intheairnet LLC last week signed a deal to buy all the assets of California-based Passenger Networks LLC, a manufacturer of airborne digital products -- servers, satellite antenna systems and cabin software "imap," a moving map program for passengers. Passenger Networks has delivered equipment for Connexion by Boeing programs and business jets. Intheairnet CEO Michael Rogerson said the industry reached an "inflection point" on Sept.
New York jet fuel spot prices ended last week at $0.69 per gallon, up 6.5% from the beginning of the week and down 12.7% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
AirTran Airways appointed Alfred Smith senior VP-customer service, replacing Tommy Kalil, who will retire this year. American named Gerard Arpey president and chief operating officer. Boeing Air Traffic Management named Francisco Escarti VP-business development, Europe, and Tim Neale director-communications. Greenbriar Equity Group appointed John Daileader a principal.
April 10, 1997 -- Upcoming presidential summit with the G-7 countries could give President Clinton opportunities to announce a bilateral liberalization framework and make additional inroads on open skies with G-7 partners.
