French police stopped American and Charles de Gaulle Airport officials from using explosives detection devices that could have thwarted suspected terrorist Richard Reid's attempt to set off explosives in his shoes on an American flight in December, House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.) said at a hearing on aviation security. The incident raises questions about international cooperation and uniform security procedures and equipment, he added.
Chile and Peru expect to sign an open-skies agreement by May, subject to final approval by Peru's president and Chile's congress. In the meantime, the neighboring countries will continue serving current routes and frequencies until March 31.
Policymakers at DOT were livid at not being consulted before the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy issued a directive creating an interagency working group to review and develop national aviation and intermodal transportation policy (DAILY, Jan. 23). Particularly galling was the statement that there is "currently no national policy for aviation or intermodal transportation that crosses agency and departmental lines."
In a bid to restart growth at its second major hub, Lufthansa will significantly boost its long-haul operation at Munich Airport in the summer schedule. The airline will offer flights to San Francisco, New York Kennedy, Tokyo and Shanghai, while increasing services to Hong Kong from six times weekly to daily. San Francisco and JFK also will have daily flights, while Tokyo will have six frequencies per week and Shanghai five.
China Airlines President Christine Tsung last week was named Taiwan's new economics minister. Tsung replaces Lin Hsin-I, who was named vice premier. Tsung served at China Airlines since July 2000 and has been credited with improving the airline's maintenance and safety programs, as well as boosting service levels and its financial situation.
US Airways CEO Stephen Wolf, meeting last week with pilot union leaders, accepted a union proposal addressing the company's need to expand the regional jet cap beyond 70 aircraft and "also satisfy the union's desire to preserve pilot jobs through a pilot-funded early retirement program and caps on pay and flying time," the company said.
Iberia on Friday announced a surprising EUR50.19 million net profit for 2001, in contrast with alarming loss forecasts suggested after the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. "It was a difficult year, but we did largely better than what we had forecast," said Chairman Xabier de Irala. Following the attacks, Iberia's first estimates saw a loss of between EUR24 million and EUR48 million, the company said.
Frontier last week predicted that it would post a fiscal third quarter profit, including the federal grant funds. Without the government money and other one-time items, the airline will post a loss in the range of $0.05 to $0.10 per share. As a result, Merrill Lunch raised its quarterly estimate for Frontier from $0.15 per share loss to a $0.07 loss, which translates to a $2 million deficit for the period.
Former Braniff CEO Harding Lawrence died recently at age 81. Lawrence died of pancreatic cancer at his home in St. Vincent, West Indies. He became president and CEO of Braniff in April 1965 and retired from the airline in 1980, two years before Braniff filed for bankruptcy.
Aircraft lessors for Sun Country have moved their petition to force the airline into involuntary liquidation from Delaware bankruptcy court to Minnesota. Sun Country has not yet filed Chapter 11, according to the airline's attorney, John McDonald, but may do so in a week or two.
Alaska Airlines expects to save $200,000 per year by removing little-used seatback phones from its fleet during scheduled maintenance visits. Much of the savings will come from reduced fuel burn -- each system includes about 150 pounds of equipment. Removals on Boeing 737-400 and MD-80s will be done by June, and the rest of the fleet in early fall. American also plans to pull its onboard phones.
United Hub Profile Chicago, O'Hare Origin and Destinations, Segment Summary and Top Nonstop Markets Origination and Destination Data 12 Months 12 Months Ended June Ended June 2001 1997 Chicago, Ohare Total (All Carriers) O&D Passengers 26,547,540 26,719,090 -0.6% Passengers Per 36,366 36,601
In anticipation of the scheduled Feb. 14 FCC report and order on ultra-wide band, Aerospace Industries Association is working with DOD and other federal agencies to ensure national security and civil aviation safety needs. "There is widespread support from affected government agencies and industry for the FCC to identify spectrum above 6 GHZ for the operation of UWB devices," AIA says.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association last week asked the U.S. appeals court in Cincinnati to set aside a lower court ruling and order FAA to cancel its contract tower program. The 6th U.S. Court of Appeals was told that an executive order by President Clinton in December 2000 establishing a Performance-Based Organization at FAA "reaffirmed our main argument" that air traffic control is inherently a government function. There are about 210 towers in the privately run program with NATCA, and PATCO represents only a small percentage of the towers.
In the wake of Malaysia's approval for local second-tier carriers to compete with national flag carrier Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia has slashed its fares on all domestic routes by 60% with immediate effect. The low prices, however, come with a condition that there would be no refund for no-shows or passengers who fail to observe stipulated check-in times. Passengers will be charged for inflight refreshments. Air Asia has become the first no-frills, budget carrier in Asia.
LanPeru, a subsidiary of LanChile, will soon add an Airbus A320 to its fleet to expand schedules with added frequencies in its domestic trunk lines -- Lima-Cusco, Lima-Arequipa and Lima-Puno -- which are operating at 70% to 80% load factors during the January vacation period.
Argentina's serious economic crisis and recent monetary devaluation have led British Airways to cut three of its six weekly widebody flights between London and Buenos Aires. BA said the change is provisional until the market picks up. Reservations have dropped 70% in the last few weeks, the carrier said.
DOT may put out a show cause order today in the U.S.-U.K. Alliance Case -- in advance of U.S.-U.K. formal talks that might take place Monday or Tuesday in Washington -- that would provide a prescriptive remedy for market dominance by American and British Airways, several sources told The DAILY.
The White House has withdrawn without explanation a directive that would have established an interagency working group to develop a national transportation plan.
