Boeing, which some in the industry saw as a prime contractor candidate for FAA's lucrative En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) program, has instead joined a Lockheed Martin-led team bidding for the work, the companies said yesterday. Other high-profile members of the team are Computer Sciences Corp., Harris Corp., and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin will serve as lead integrator, and the team will include "a full range" of other technology companies.
Switzerland's new airline Swiss is expected to announce a bilateral alliance with American today, but it will not yet commit to joining oneworld, according to industry sources. Swiss also said it would release details of a multi-billion dollar, long-haul aircraft deal for the Airbus A340-300 or the Boeing 777-200 to replace the airline's 13 MD-11s, starting next year.
KLM plans to begin phasing in electronic tickets on April 3. Passengers initially will be able to purchase e-tickets for flights from Amsterdam to 37 destinations served by KLM and partners. E-tickets will be available through the normal booking channels, including travel agents, KLM ticket offices, KLM reservations and its website. E-tickets will not be available for special offers via the KLM website until later this year. It will gradually extend its range of e-ticket destinations, as well as the number of countries where KLM customers can purchase e-tickets.
British Airways plans to launch a morning departure from Washington Dulles to London Heathrow, starting March 31. The daily nonstop flight, which will operate with a Boeing 777, will leave Washington at 8:40 a.m. and arrive in London at 9 p.m. local time. The return westbound service departs Heathrow at 7 p.m. and arrives at Dulles at 10:05 p.m. In addition to the morning departure, BA operates two evening flights from Dulles to London. The three daily roundtrip flights restore the BA Dulles-Heathrow schedule to pre-Sept. 11 frequencies.
New marketing promotions are increasing Continental's passenger sales 10% annually, Marisea de Loaiza, Continental regional director for Peru and Venezuela, said last week. She also emphasized that a steady local demand supports establishing a Latin American hub in Lima. Peru generates about 20% of sales in the South American market, after Brazil, Venezuela and Colombia, and Continental is seeking alliances with other companies to bolster its current positioning.
Pilots at Mesa Air Group boycotted a recent company investors conference to show their frustration over "lack of progress" in contract talks, union leaders say. ALPA MEC Chairman Andy Hughes said pilots usually attend the event to showcase good labor relations. Talks are stalled by a debate over merging seniority lists with Mesa subsidiary CCAIR, among other issues.
UAL Corp. Friday decided to close its ambitious Avolar business jet operation for good after the parent company terminated the struggle to raise needed funding. The company plans to proceed with an "orderly shutdown" of the operation, and officials said that customers who already signed deals for fractional service were informed of the decision and will receive a complete refund. UAL, which already invested more than $100 million in Avolar's startup, decided to cut its losses to avoid future financial exposure, sources said.
American, stepping up its battle to gain four mainline slots at constrained Long Beach Airport, sent a letter to the city Friday explaining that only a fraction of the slots are in use and it should not be prevented from starting service in June. Even though AA has not won the slots, it intends to start twice-daily nonstop service between Long Beach and both Chicago O'Hare and New York Kennedy on June 15. While American earlier this month was offered some of Long Beach's 25 commuter/regional slots, the airline said it still plans to operate MD-80s on the routes.
Finnair's new Aero Airlines subsidiary will begin flying with the start of Finnair's summer schedule on March 31. Estonia-based Aero will operate six daily roundtrip flights each business day with ATR turboprop aircraft between Estonia's seaport capital of Tallinn and Helsinki. A lighter schedule will be in effect on weekends. Finnair jet service, one flight a day, will continue on the route during the week and on Sundays.
FAA Friday published the immediate-adoptive airworthiness directive ordering special inspections of Airbus A300-600/A310s subjected to "extreme lateral loading" in flight, which the agency defined as exceeding 0.3g. Areas requiring checks include the vertical and horizontal stabilizers, pylons, wing and some fuselage areas. The agency determined the checks were needed after Airbus and American recently found damage to the tail of an A300-600 involved in a May 1997 inflight upset after doing an NTSB-requested ultrasonic inspection (DAILY, March 12).
Alaska Airlines does not plan to start nonstop service between Anchorage and Honolulu, but the route has a place in the carrier's history. Fifty-four years ago next month, the airline flew the first-ever commercial flight between Alaska and Hawaii -- a charter DC-4 carrying 50 passengers. "Low average fares and heavy usage of frequent flyer awards make it less attractive than other, higher-yield markets," the airline said.
Air Jamaica this summer plans to more than double its current service to the U.K. Starting June 1, Air Jamaica will offer daily service from London Heathrow to Montego Bay and four weekly flights to Manchester. The airline currently offers five weekly flights to London. The new flights are starting thanks to the recent acquisition of two Airbus A340s.
The Council of European Union Transport Ministers, meeting tomorrow in Brussels, is expected to adopt new EU rules on airport noise that would replace a hushkit ban scheduled to become effective April 20. Consequently, the U.S. is expected to withdraw a complaint against the ban it had filed with ICAO in March 2000. The new rules allow airports that are confronted with noise issues to restrict access of the noisiest aircraft. The new rules are in line with an ICAO agreement and were approved by the European Parliament on March 13.
British European is adding 7% more seats to its summer schedule over last year's summer schedule and maximizing use of its aircraft types. The airline will launch its new schedule March 31, offering more frequencies on several key routes, including Birmingham-Edinburgh and Brussels-London City-Isle of Man and Edinburgh. British European is also offering a new route from Newcastle to the Isle of Man.
KLM on Friday announced an internal reorganization that confirms the group's intention to develop low-cost operations. The Dutch carrier launched the London Stansted-based buzz service in January 2000 as a part of KLM uk, while Basiq Air started operating from Amsterdam Schiphol in December 2000 as a unit of KLM's charter subsidiary Transavia. "Its experiences with both low-cost operations has led the KLM Group to decide to continue to play an important role in this fast-growing market," the Dutch carrier said.
Raytheon last week finalized the formation of a joint venture between its fractional aircraft ownership business, Raytheon Travel Air and Flight Options Inc. The new company, Flight Options LLC, will have more than 1,600 customers and a fleet of about 200 aircraft, and will be based in Cleveland. The joint venture was announced on Dec. 20, 2001. Under terms of the agreement, Flight Options holds 50.1% ownership of the new business and Raytheon 49.9%. Raytheon Aircraft Co. also has a contract with Flight Options to supply 115 new business jets over five years.
The development and operation of European satellite positioning system Galileo will create "some estimated 100,000 new jobs, and an equipment and services market of some EUR9 billion per year by 2010," the European Association of Aerospace Industries said Friday in Brussels. European transport ministers are expected to confirm the launch of Galileo at their meeting tomorrow in Brussels.
The European Union transport ministers tomorrow are expected to support a two-month extension of government coverage for airlines' war and terrorism risk insurance. The current system is scheduled to expire March 31. "The European Commission would see no obstacle to a two-month prolongation of the existing system if the [EU] states want it," a spokesman for Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio said Friday. The fact that the U.S. extended the duration of a similar scheme until May, 20 is expected to overcome the hesitations of reluctant EU member states.
The industry could "eke out a net profit of $270 million by the September quarter" if current financial trends continue, predicts Merrill Lynch analyst Michael Linenberg.
