KLM has picked the Boeing 777-200ER, Boeing 747-400 freighter and the Airbus A330-200 for its new long-haul fleet. The decision is a major boost for Airbus, which has finally succeeded in placing aircraft with one of the last Boeing bastions in Europe.
Aviation security continues to underline every aspect of the industry, Sean O'Holleran, DOT assistant secretary for government affairs told the American Bar Association air and space law forum yesterday in Washington. "We are still at war," he said, emphasizing however that capacity problems aren't going away and need to be addressed. DOT faces three major multi-billion dollar issues, he said, including huge startup costs for the Transportation Security Administration, which is seeking more than $4 billion in extra funding as it faces shortfalls.
Continental yesterday signed an "enhanced marketing and financial relationship" with Expedia. Continental is a co-founder of the Orbitz online travel site. "We want to give our customers the ability to book us at the point they choose, and Expedia's tools and resources complement the high quality services we provide on the air itinerary," said Dave Hilfman, VP-international sales and revenues programs.
In the three months since Bolivian entrepreneur Ernesto Asbun took over management of Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB) from Brazil's VASP, the revamped carrier has increased the number of operating aircraft from 40% to 70%. Final equity transfer still is subject to court action against Wagner Canhedo and other VASP officers. LAB's fleet now totals 11 aircraft, of which only two are leased, and includes Boeing 737-200s and -300s and Airbus 300s and 310s.
Former America West and Western Pacific Chairman Ed Beauvais is the new CEO of startup Northern Airlines, which intends to launch from Syracuse, N.Y., using Boeing 717 aircraft. "We're pretty excited about what we see here," Beauvais told affiliate AviationNow.com. He joined Northern as president and CEO last year.
A FedEx A300-600F, the third Airbus to have a special ultrasonic inspection requested by safety officials working the American Flight 587 probe, was deemed airworthy and returned to service over the weekend after a check found no damage to the plane's tail, the DAILY confirmed. The checks, requested by NTSB (DAILY, Feb. 27) and subsequently ordered by FAA (DAILY, March 25) are being done to A300-600s and A310s that have experienced high lateral loads during their service lives.
In a surprise decision, John Weston has resigned as CEO of BAE Systems. "After more than 30 years in the company and 16 years in senior management I have decided to look for fresh challenges in new fields", Weston said in a company statement. "Following the transformation of the company through the MES merger, the series of U.S. acquisitions and the successful integration of these into BAE Systems, the company is well placed for the future," Weston pointed out. He was replaced by Mike Turner with immediate effect. Turner has been chief operating officer.
FAA is finalizing a draft rule that will require "hijack" modes for U.S. airliner transponders that, when activated, will continuously broadcast a distress code and key flight path information. The move, in the works for some time, is in response to the Sept. 11 hijackings and a recommendation by the aircraft security rapid response team convened following the attacks. The notice of proposed rulemaking is expected out "later this year," an FAA spokesman said.
The events of Sept. 11 have rekindled a decades-old dispute between the U.S. and the European Commission over subsidies and state aid. This time, ironically, it is the EC crying foul, arguing that payments made under the Air Transportation Stabilization Act (ATSA) to U.S. carriers constitute state aid and have subsidized service across the Atlantic. At the same time that EU carriers receive Sept. 11 compensation from their governments, the EC is straining the definition of "subsidy" in an attempt to paint U.S.
McGraw-Hill's Aviation Week, which owns The DAILY, has signed an agreement with Montevideo, Uruguay-based AviaGlobal.com to produce the first Spanish language information service for the aviation industry. Details of the agreement will be announced April 3 at the Fidae 2002 Air Show in Santiago. AviaGlobal.com is the first and only Spanish language portal for the aviation and aerospace market.
Flight attendants at Mesaba, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, have ratified their first contract. The deal goes into effect April 1 and was approved by 81%. Negotiations had been going on since May 2000. The deal protects jobs in the event of a merger or transfer of ownership; increases pay rates, holiday pay and per diem and guarantees an eight-our duty period, among other benefits.
US Airways this week inked several deals to sell 97 narrowbody aircraft, many of which have been parked since late last year. The details of where the planes are going and for what price they were sold are not being released, per confidential agreements. The sales will close by March 31. Included in the sale are 55 Boeing 737-200s, 26 DC-9s and 16 MD-80s. Along with the aircraft, US Airways sold the related spare engines and spare parts inventory.
Japan Airlines and its domestic subsidiaries next week will launch a campaign to support the Japanese national soccer team during the World Cup. From April 1 through June 30, JAL will decorate its airport facilities and will unveil a Boeing 747-400 painted with a soccer theme livery. Commemorative seat headrest covers will be installed starting April 10. JAL has been an official sponsor of the Japanese national soccer team since 1999.
U.S. passenger airlines, which received a $4.5 billion post-Sept. 11 bailout from the government, will have to absorb more than that amount in added security costs and insurance premiums, a Salomon Smith Barney analysis shows. Security and insurance costs alone for major airlines, which have jumped tenfold in some cases, will soar to $2.5 billion annually, SSB said.
Air Canada yesterday unveiled the name and logo for its regional airline division. AirBC, Air Nova, Air Ontario and Canadian Regional have been consolidated to form Air Canada Jazz, with aircraft bearing colored maple leaves on the tails. Joseph Randell, president of Air Canada Jazz, said each regional carrier has "strong brand awareness within its regions...and acts as a metaphor for being youthful, vibrant, innovative, flexible and part of the local community."
KLM, after a series of failed merger attempts, said it is focusing on deepening alliances rather than mergers. "We don't see the need for any mergers in the coming years," Chief Financial Officer Rob Ruijter told The DAILY. KLM would like to extend a six-month pact with Continental that expires in April. KLM also is talking with five European carriers on top of British Airways and Italy's Volare.
DOT asked Vanguard, which has applied for a loan guarantee from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board, to explain why it has "failed to properly remit passenger facility charges to several airports." DOT told the airline it understands that Vanguard is overdue on $210,000 in PFCs to Dallas/Fort Worth, $220,000 to Kansas City "and has not paid any PFCs at [New York] LaGuardia since October 2001."
Continental in May plans to terminate its code-share partnership with America West after eight years, as the financial value of the linkage has waned to almost zero this year. Code sharing will cease on May 1 and the airlines' reciprocal frequent flyer and airport club agreements will end on Sept. 24. Because America West is becoming more leisure-oriented and Continental is increasing targeting business traffic, Continental decided to break off the partnership.
Orbitz CEO Jeff Katz yesterday went on the offensive, blasting his competition for spreading misinformation about Orbitz and restarting an expensive "food fight" among the industry's largest players. He told journalists that he is "quite confident" that DOT will conclude at the end of its current informal investigation that Orbitz "has done everything we said we were going to do." He believes that competition has increased since Orbitz launched last year sites like Travelocity and Expedia have grown and prospered at the same time.
AirTran yesterday said it would begin serving Milwaukee, its 38th market, with a daily nonstop to Orlando and two daily nonstops to its Atlanta hub, starting June 19. Delta, which operates four daily Milwaukee-Atlanta nonstops, said it would add a fifth, midday nonstop in the market July 1.
Fairchild Dornier is understood to be close to insolvency, industry and company sources indicated yesterday. The company might be forced to file for insolvency as early as Tuesday, April 2, since its cash reserves are almost gone. If that happens, the company would be run by an administrator, who would be tasked with keeping the company going and finding investors who would want all or part of the company.
