AIRCRAFT TRANSACTIONS FOR NOV 3 - NOV 6, 2000 Seller/ New Type / Previous Operator Owner Engine Operator El Al Hydro Air Hydro Air Boeing (Pty) Ltd (Pty) Ltd 747-200C/ JT9D-7J Braathens T.A.M debis Fokker 100 Malmo AirFinance TAY650-15
The fuselage and parts of the Airbus A380 aircraft are too large to fit into Airbus's giant Beluga transporter, and plans to ship them by road to Toulouse through rural regions of southern France are causing an uproar. Road transfer of massive parts was jeopardized Jan. 9 when authorities in Lot-et-Garonne county refused to allow gigantic convoys to transit for environmental reasons.
SAS yesterday signed an agreement with Telia and Seattle-based Tenzing Communications to test Tenzing's system for wireless Internet access onboard aircraft. When the system is in place, SAS passengers will gain access to e-mail and the Internet using portable PC or Mac laptop computers. SAS claims to be the first European airline to test wireless onboard e-mail and Internet services for passengers when starts the tests later this year.
Vienna Airport's passenger numbers increased 6.6% to 11,939,571 in 2000. This figure includes 3.3 million transfer passengers, now representing a 28.4% share of total passenger volume. "Vienna International Airport's position as a major crossroads to Eastern Europe has significantly expanded in the past year," said Flughafen Wien, the listed company that manages the airport. Last year, "the highest increase, 14.2%, was recorded in the number of passengers flying via Vienna to and from Eastern Europe," said the company.
AVTEAM, Inc. signed a deal with WestJet Airlines to be the Canadian carrier's primary supplier of Pratt&Whitney JT8D engine overhaul work through 2002. The deal "should provide 30 to 40 engine repairs over the next two years," AVTEAM Chairman and CEO Donald Graw said.
FAA stood firm on a proposal to require Boeing 737 fuel system wiring checks in six months but agreed to relax the deadline for planes that have had required work done under a related rule. Yesterday's airworthiness directive orders 737-300, -400, and -500 operators to check part of the plane's fuel quantity indication system (FQIS) wiring in the right main fuel tank for damage. FAA also wants operators to make sure wiring in that area is adequately separated from the surrounding structure to prevent arcing.
American Eagle will use sister company Regional Aircraft Maintenance Center, Inc.'s (RAMCI) Sawyer International Airport facility for overnight maintenance on its Embraer regional jets, starting Feb. 1. The Marquette, Mich., facility currently does work on Eagle's ATR-72s. Sawyer International is a former Air Force base. RAMCI set up shop there five years ago and has been doing work for Eagle ever since. AMR Eagle Corp. owns both companies.
American yesterday blasted Continental and Northwest for trying to purchase certain TWA assets and potentially delay American's efforts to expedite a bankruptcy court hearing this weekend. Earlier this week, Continental told the Delaware bankruptcy court the airline was prepared to offer $300-$400 million for TWA's slots, gates and airport facilities at congested airports, such Washington National, New York LaGuardia and Chicago O'Hare.
Pro Air CEO Kevin Stamper yesterday said he hopes to restart operations from its new headquarters in Detroit about March 1. FAA revoked Pro Air's certificate Sept. 28, 2000, and, after some discussions, re-instated it Nov. 8, Stamper said. The carrier had to rewrite its manuals, a process it completed yesterday. Pro Air in November reached a settlement agreement with U.S. regulators to correct alleged regulatory violations that were uncovered during several audits (DAILY, Nov. 15, 2000). Pro Air Relocates
Regional carriers will continue doing well in today's tighter economy as majors faced with rising costs outsource more of their flying, airline industry analyst James Parker of Raymond James& Associates said this week.
Lenders who had promised Legend Airlines $20 million in funding say they need a few more days to get the money together, and meanwhile the airline has had to put its employees on inactive status because it cannot meet the payroll. CEO Allan McArtor told The DAILY that the hold-up is costing Legend $750,000-$1 million in lost revenues every week.
Continental plans to boost service to Hawaii this spring with the addition of five weekly frequencies and aircraft with more capacity. Starting May 2, Continental will add a second DC-10 nonstop flight between Houston and Honolulu that will operate five days a week during the summer travel season. The seasonal service will cease Sept. 5. Continental also will switch from a 242-seat DC-10 to one with 282 seats on its Newark-Honolulu route for greater capacity. Continental currently serves Honolulu with three flights a day; one from Houston, Newark and Los Angeles.
Tame, a commercial airline managed by the Ecuadorian air force for 25 years to serve unprofitable domestic routes as a public service, is looking for an equity partner. Tame would like a partner from the north ready to invest $150 million for fleet renewal and international consolidation and expansion. The airline recently expanded internationally to Cali, Santiago, Lima and Havana.
U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Share of Service Second Quarter 2000 Total Revenue Departures Alaska 38,290 America West 53,287 ATA 16,240 American 183,920 Continental 98,892 Delta 226,034 Northwest 140,354 Southwest 223,643
Midwest Express plans to announce a new aircraft order by the end of the first quarter. CEO Tim Hoeksema told analysts this week that he has met with teams from Boeing and Airbus to discuss their respective proposals, and airline executives are nearing a decision. In addition to MD-80s, Midwest Express operates a fleet of roughly 20 aging DC-9s.
U.S. Major Carriers Systemwide Share of Service Second Quarter 2000 Total Revenue Departures Alaska 40,781 America West 54,265 ATA 18,238 American 215,333 Continental 114,791 Delta 238,345 Northwest 149,352 Southwest 223,643 TWA 71,332
United selected Minneapolis-based Fallon Worldwide to manage all of its advertising. The carrier last month decided to consolidate all advertising business with one agency, creating a "single strategic resource to manage the airline's brand voice worldwide." United began working with Fallon in 1996. Since then, the agency managed the airline's North American advertising, while New York-based Young&Rubicam managed all international advertising.
FAA yesterday reaffirmed that it followed the correct collaborative procedures to reach a landmark agreement with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association on operational errors, despite complaints from the Federal Managers Association. The agreement with NATCA to reduce air traffic operational errors first revealed in The DAILY Jan. 24 is "another collaborative effort with the controllers union to address operational errors and improve safety," said FAA spokesman Bill Shumann.
Norman Mineta told the Senate Commerce Committee yesterday that rather than "suppress demand," overscheduling of airlines at peak times should be dealt with by speeding up the time it takes to go to the airport and building additional runways. Trying to deal with overscheduling on the demand side "would be the wrong way to do it," he testified shortly before the Senate approved his nomination as DOT secretary unanimously, 100-0.
Grupo TACA will aid thousands of victims of a recent earthquake in El Salvador by offering fares discounts to allow Salvadorians living in the U.S. to assist relatives. The company also allowed a 50% discount on excess baggage for relief supplies. TACA will provide free space on all cargo flights from five cities in the Americas to carry humanitarian and relief supplies during the next 30 days; it expects to average 10,000 pounds of supplies per flight. TACA operated emergency flights from New York and Washington for cargo.
Mexicana plans to boost its code-share flights with United this year, adding 300 additional daily flights to and from 68 U.S. cities. The new flights aim to connect Mexicana's key international gateways in the U.S. mainly through Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago O'Hare and Denver. This code-share expansion between Mexicana and United will take place in phases throughout the year.
All Nippon Airways announced plans to use a new independent Internet service -- Jet-A.com -- for some of its fuel purchases when the exchange is scheduled to launch in the second quarter of 2001. Jet-A.com claims to be a business-to-business electronic marketplace comprising airline portals and jet fuel suppliers working to standardize the "procurement process."
Amsterdam Schiphol Airport said it was back to normal after a fire disrupted operations last week. Departure Halls 1 and 2 had to be temporarily evacuated because of smoke. The cause of the blaze still is unclear, but there was an explosion in one of the public toilets of Schiphol Plaza, where most of the shops and restaurants are situated. Because roads to the airport had to be kept clear for emergency vehicles, 2,000-3,000 passengers missed their flights and five European flights were canceled.
Southwest.com brought in $1.6 billion for the airline last year, as double- and triple-digit growth in online bookings is taking the carrier into a new dimension. More than 30% of Southwest's passengers booked online last year, nearly all of them using the airline's simple Southwest.com site. In the fourth quarter, nearly 35% of tickets were booked online, with 98-99% of those booking using Southwest.com, according to Kevin Krone, VP-interactive marketing.
Pratt&Whitney Canada Corp. (P&WC), which last month serviced its 50,000th engine, signed a 10-year deal to use JenaNet.com's Internet-based engine management and diagnostic software as part of its aftermarket services efforts. Following three to six months of testing, PW&C plans to add JenaNet's products to its engine data management capability and will pay a monthly subscription fee for each engine registered with JenaNet.com.
