Los Angeles airport pioneer Clifton Moore died last week at age 80. Moore was first hired in 1959 as a building superintendent and became instrumental in transforming LAX from a two-runway regional airport into one of the busiest in the world. He became executive director of the LA Department of Airports in 1968 and retired in 1993.
British Airways signed a deal last week to sell a majority stake in its India-based data management company World Network Services to private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Under the terms of the transaction, Warburg Pincus will acquire a 70% stake in WNS, including certain U.K. assets of Speedwing International Ltd. British Airways will retain a 30% shareholding in WNS.
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.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic Third Quarter 2001 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 3,563 2.44 875 3,116,862 2.99 America West 4,981 (2.40) 982 4,890,272 (1.37)
Iberia announced the sale of Binter Canarias, its wholly owned regional subsidiary based in the Canary Islands, to a group of local investors for EUR52.6 million. "The sale comes within Iberia's strategy of strengthening its trunk lines," Iberia said. In 2001 Binter Canarias, profitable, carried 2.2 million passengers with 11 ATR-72 aircraft.
Airbus yesterday announced supplier agreements with four Japanese companies for A380 work. Jamco Corp will make the upper-floor deck carbon cross beams and other structural parts and Sumitomo Metal Industries will supply titanium sheets, while Toho Tenax Corp. and Toray Corp. will supply intermediate carbon fiber filament. Value of the contracts exceeds $650 million, Airbus said.
Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise has strengthened its presence in the U.S. with the opening of a marketing office in San Diego. Its other office in the U.S. is in Washington D.C. Its headquarters is in Singapore and it also has an office in London. In line with the latest development, SALE appointed Charles Salazar executive VP-marketing for the San Diego operations.
A Lima, Peru, court issued a verdict of not guilty in the case against Fernand Zevallos, former AeroContinente president, who had been charged with money laundering and illicit enrichment. Judicial proceedings lasted seven years.
Emirates plans to phase in a second daily frequency between Dubai and Frankfurt on Oct. 1. The service will be operated with Airbus A330-200s. Next week, Emirates will start three weekly flights from Dubai to Khartoum, Sudan.
American and Finnair yesterday applied for antitrust immunity, in an effort to create a partnership that would give AA increased access to Scandinavia and the Baltic region. The AA-Finnair link, however, will be much smaller and less lucrative than the abandoned AA-British Airways partnership. AA and Finnair have an existing code-share agreement and are partners in the oneworld alliance. Antitrust immunity would enable AA and Finnair to cooperate on scheduling and pricing.
Brazil's state-owned development bank, BNDES, implementing the government's request that it should study ways and means to assist the country's airlines in overcoming their worst crisis in history, just issued an overall report in which it recommends an infusion of capital for Varig. The funds would come through purchase by new investors of a minority equity position or debentures leading to an initial public offering. The final official decision is now subject to a business feasibility study to be submitted by the carrier to BANDES over the next few weeks.
Virgin Express has successfully managed its turn around its finances, as it posted a net profit of EUR 130,000 (US$115,000) in 2001, versus a net loss of EUR 65.2 million in 2000. "This result has been achieved in spite of the disruptions caused by the 11th September tragedy and the bankruptcy of Sabena on 7th November 2001," said Virgin. The company's agreement with Sabena accounted for 40% of revenues.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic Third Quarter 2001 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change AirTran 2,035 0.30 545 1,109,572 0.80
Embraer said yesterday it is installing special security equipment on aircraft destined for the U.S. or already operating there. Among the latter are 80 planes operated by SkyWest. The new systems include armored cockpits, bullet- and entry-proof doors, remote access systems and custom-built decompressors for regaining air pressure when the cabin becomes destabilized.
BWIA West Indies Airways plans to start nonstop flights between Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Paramaribo, Suriname, beginning April 17. The evening flight to Suriname and subsequent morning departure will be timed for connections through the Port-of-Spain hub.
America West this week extended the sign-up period for Agency AWArds, its new travel agency commission program, through April 5. The program was implemented after the carrier eliminated base commissions and now allows travel agents the opportunity to earn commission payments in exchange for bookings that exceed the airline's "normally expected market share." Agency AWArds is structured similarly to airline frequent flyer programs, with agencies categorized and compensated based on performance.
US Airways CEO Dave Siegel yesterday unveiled his new executive team -- including a new chief financial officer -- who he hopes will guide the airline's recovery. Former Northwest executive Neal Cohen will become executive VP-finance and CFO. Cohen will replace Tom Mutryn and oversee corporate development, financial planning and analysis, controller, purchasing, treasury, information technology and corporate real estate.
Philippine Airlines and privately owned Cebu Pacific are engaged in a heated debate as to which carrier should be given the rights for the additional frequency on the lucrative Cebu-Seoul route. Both carriers have rights for three weekly flights, and PAL has rights for a fourth on loan from the local regulatory body, the Civil Aeronautics Board. The Philippines has rights for a total of seven flights a week on the route. PAL is using all its rights, operating Airbus A330-300s, while CP operates a weekly service using Boeing 757-200s.
Boeing Sales VP for Latin America Daniel Da Silva yesterday praised the region's governments and airlines for making concerted efforts to offset the short- and medium-term effects of the current industry crisis. At the FIDAE 2002 international air show in Santiago, he emphasized three areas vital for Latin and Caribbean airline competition. First, a reduction of high fees now charged by governments for airport, air navigation and related services; second, prompt tax relief comparable to levels in the U.S.
Philippine Airlines and privately owned Cebu Pacific are engaged in a heated debate as to which carrier should be given the rights for the additional frequency on the lucrative Cebu-Seoul route. Both carriers have rights for three weekly flights, and PAL has rights for a fourth on loan from the local regulatory body, the Civil Aeronautics Board. The Philippines has rights for a total of seven flights a week on the route. PAL is using all its rights, operating Airbus A330-300s, while CP operates a weekly service using Boeing 757-200s.
IEM Airfinance B.V. concluded sale-and-leaseback deals with Singapore Airlines for one Boeing 747-412 and one 777-212. They are the first such deals involving widebodies for the Amsterdam-based lessor, which now boasts a 23-aircraft portfolio.
Six Latin American airlines attending the FIDAE 2002 air show in Santiago met yesterday and agreed to offset their current crisis by setting up an operational and cost-cutting alliance within the next 60 days. The group would code share and conduct joint maintenance and ground services. Participating airlines so far are Aerolineas Argentinas, LanChile, Varig, TAM Paraguay, Avianca/Aces and Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela.
