Northwest's web site was awarded best airline Internet honors in the Gomez Advisors Fall Airline Scorecard for the second straight quarter thanks to a wide range of improved features and strong customer service. New site developments and technology enhancements are the hot trend, Gomez said, as U.S. airlines compete to attract and retain customers through their own web sites. Many airlines have improved telephone customer service centers for passengers booking through their web sites, but many online inquiries went answered.
Source One has opened a web site -- Sourceonespares.com - where airlines can buy, exchange or lease refurbished flight control, nacelle, actuation and other rotable airframe components. The site will include parts from Source One's inventories in Houston and London as well as from several OEMs' consigned inventories.
Aviation Management Services, consultants for aviation issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, has selected Juror International Systems IDB2000 data management systems for use with its airline clients. This state-of-the-art program will enable AvMan to perform more efficiently in detailed market analysis, determine true O&D revenues and traffic flows, and reveal untapped revenue sources.
Delta's pilots yesterday asked company shareholders to vote in three proxies that would take executive performance more into consideration when determining pay, rein in senior executive packages and more closely tie a portion of executive stock option grants to company performance. Chuck Giambusso, chairman of the Delta Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council, said that in the union's view, the proposals would "strengthen the board's ability to ensure effective management performance while preserving hard-earned corporate resources."
America West wants to slide a slot at Washington National airport in order to continue its DCA-Columbus, Ohio, service following loss of a slot it had been using under a slot swap arrangement for Chicago O'Hare slots with American, which did not renew the trade. America West has operated service on the route for eight years, during which time the market has grown by 37.5%, it told DOT.
The 12th Annual International Aviation Womens Association conference will be held Nov. 8-10 at the Omni Colonnade Hotel in Coral Gables, Florida. FAA Administrator Jane Garvey and NTSB's Carol Carmody are featured speakers. Online registration is available at www.IAWA.org.
Galileo International and WorldTravel BTI signed a new multi-year, multi-million travel bookings deal, making WorldTravel BTI one of Galileo's largest global customers. With this contract, WorldTravel BTI, previously known as WorldTravel Partners, will significantly boost its business and open new partnership opportunities. Specifics of the contract were not disclosed.
Charter airline SunExpress will introduce scheduled flights from its Antalya, Turkey, hub to London and Frankfurt in March 2001. The airline is a subsidiary of Lufthansa charter carrier Condor and Turkish Airlines. Both own 50% of the company. SunExpress wants more stable growth and hopes to depend less on leisure traffic. Currently, it primarily flies leisure routes between Germany and Turkey using four Boeing 737-800s and one 737-300. The -300 will be replaced by an -800 soon, but the airline plans to take one additional -800 for its scheduled flights.
Delta signed a letter of intent to enter a new three-year contract with Precision Industries, which oversees Delta's Ground Support Equipment (GSE) parts purchasing and distribution network. Through an expansion of responsibilities, distribution operations will be decentralized through Precision Industries' staffing of locations in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles, New York, Salt Lake City and Orlando. Precision has been providing centralized GSE services through Delta's Atlanta-based warehouse since 1995.
American Eagle has converted the last remaining turboprop flights between Chicago O'Hare and Toledo to regional jet service and completed the conversion at Milwaukee, Wis., Peoria, Ill., and South Bend, Ind. By the end of the week, American will introduce RJ service at Dubuque, Iowa, and will have RJ service to all 31 cities it serves from O'Hare. The transition will be finished on Nov. 2, when the remaining turboprops used on routes from O'Hare to three Midwest cities are replaced by RJs.
Air Jamaica last weekend abruptly terminated its flights to Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, only four months after it launched service to the city. Competing with BWIA on the heavily traveled route, Air Jamaica found it was not feasible to operate in the market due to the dramatic capacity boost over the summer. "Our study showed that the Port-of-Spain route certainly was capable of supporting two Caribbean-based carriers," said CEO Christopher Zacca.
DOT can more easily designate the New York subway's 4 Train to Yankee Stadium a "Millennium Trail" during the World Series -- the 7 Train to the Mets' Shea Stadium is one of 16 already designated -- than it can award U.S.-China rights, an industry official quipped this week. At last week's U.S.-China event in Washington, an American official promised all attendees free upgrades should American be awarded the designation.
Air Canada's financial results, due out today, will mark yet another quarter of profitability, CEO Robert Milton told The DAILY in Montreal. Milton declined to reveal exact figures before the results are unveiled but noted that this will be one of the most profitable years in the company's history despite the hurdles inherent in integrating Canadian this year and problems this summer at Toronto Pearson. "We're right on track for integrated benefits [of] C$650-C$800 million per year," Milton said.
AIRCRAFT TRANSACTIONS FOR AUGUST 11 - 14, 2000 Seller/ New Type / Previous Operator Owner Engine Operator Boeing Balair Flightlease Boeing 767-300ER/ PW4060 Boeing Delta Delta Boeing
LanChile took delivery of its first Airbus A320-200 last weekend for use on regional routes. The aircraft is the first of four that will be delivered before yearend to replace Boeing 737s. Powered by International Aero Engines' V2500, the aircraft will be configured with a two-class design.
The French Bureau Enquetes Accidents (BEA) has called into question the quality of the part thought to have caused the crash of the Air France Concorde. In its preliminary report, BEA said the width of the metal piece varied between 29 and 34 millimeters and holes were not drilled in regular intervals. This could mean the part was not made by an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Atlas Air yesterday reported a 64% increase in third quarter net profits to a record $23.1 million. Revenue totaled $208.6 million, up 29% from the same 1999 period, and operating income grew 30% to $62 million. CEO Michael Chowdry attributed the company's growth to Asian markets. "With shipment backlogs already being experienced in countries such as Korea and Hong Kong predicting a record cargo year, the outlook for Asian cargo, in particular, remains very positive," he said.
America West initiated its daily nonstop service between Las Vegas and Washington National. While America West is the first airline to operate scheduled nonstop service between the two airports it will not be for long as National Airlines starts daily service Friday on the same route.
DOT scheduled public meetings beginning today for a cross-industry committee to determine categories for carrier delay reporting, which DOT Secretary Rodney Slater announced in late August as part of a government-industry effort to improve customer service. The Categories of Delay for Air Carrier On-Time Reporting Advisory Committee, with a membership of about 20 -- comprising representatives of airlines, consumer groups, labor organizations and airport operators -- meets Oct. 25-26, Nov. 1-2 and Nov. 8-9 at DOT, with a report due Nov. 21.
UPS may poised to be designated as the fourth carrier designated for U.S.-China service if Chinese officials accept ideas proposed by the U.S. to open the market for non-incumbent carriers, industry sources said yesterday. An award of some of the 10 available frequencies for other all-cargo services proposed by incumbents FedEx and Northwest would be consitent with newly established permanent normal trade relations between the U.S. and China and China's entry into the World Trade Organization, a source told The DAILY. The U.S.
FAA's Office of Airports will "take into consideration" the fiscal 2001 Transportation Appropriations' unprecedented earmarking of Airport Improvement Program discretionary funds but will continue to use its rating system for AIP awards, an FAA spokeswoman said yesterday. The spokeswoman's response to a query from The DAILY appeared to put FAA in the comfortable position of considering what the appropriators have done without committing the agency to follow them.
Continental Express will add weekend service between Cleveland and Daytona Beach, offering one flight each on Saturday and Sunday, using Embraer ERJ145s.
Delta flight attendants will participate in the company's shareholder meeting today to express concerns about Delta's "vicious anti-union campaign and job security at the airline," according to the Association of Flight Attendants, which is trying to unionize the company's cabin crew. Delta is the only major carrier whose flight attendants are not unionized.
Boeing is developing a plan to use its expanding capabilities to lead a rebuilding of the U.S. air traffic management system and later expanding the program worldwide, a company official told The DAILY yesterday at the Air Traffic Control Association's annual meeting in Atlantic City. Ronald Hill, program manager for commercial information systems at Boeing, said three teams are exploring the best ways to get the project under way. The effort is expected to cost more than $1 billion.
