Euroatlantic Airways-Transportes Aereos applied at DOT for passenger charter rights under open skies. The Portuguese carrier wants to operate combination service in the market and seeks exemption as well as foreign air carrier permit authority. The carrier would "focus its attention initially on the group movement of passengers" between the two countries to "points beyond Miami, principally island nations in the Caribbean," and contemplates fifth-freedom services as authorized under open skies. "Euroatlantic hopes to operate its first flight to the U.S.
Subject to appraisal and negotiations over the next few weeks, the Argentine government will sell its remaining interests in airport service facilities throughout the country. It will divest 20% of duty-free shops and 55% of warehouses used to store all exported and imported goods. Together they have total annual billings of $330 million. In both cases, the government's partner is the Exxel Group, which in 1997 bought shares in the two companies formerly owned by holding company Villalonga Furlong for $146 million.
Amadeus, the European global distribution system, and BTopenworld, BT's international Internet business, yesterday announced a new joint venture company to sell travel in Asia over the Internet. Their joint venture portal initially will target Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, where it will be headquartered. Philippe Chereque, Amadeus Senior VP Corporate Strategy, said that online travel sales in Asia Pacific are expected to reach US$7.6 billion by 2003.
FAA proposed a rule to require operators of GE-powered Boeing 767s to modify the nacelle strut and wing structure to prevent fatigue cracking. The proposal was prompted by reports that actual operational loads on the nacelle are "higher than the analytical loads that were used during initial design."
E-commerce in Asia is forecast to grow to $35 billion in 2001, up from $2 billion in 1998, Victor Fung, chairman of the Hong Kong Airport Authority, told a Washington cargo forum last week. China's membership in the World Trade Organization "will be felt around the world," he said.
FAA plans to rebuild the top sections of the air traffic control tower at Miami Airport to give controllers an unobstructed view of their surroundings. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association said the new, 320-foot tower's glass-enclosed cab room will be rebuilt to remove four 14-by-14-inch columns were part of a design to withstand hurricane-force winds. The FAA will strengthen the roof, reinforce the large windows of the cab with mullions, and rearrange workstations and equipment, NATCA said. The tower is expected to be opened by July 2002.
House and Senate staffers will try within the next week to work out a bill strengthening standards for airport security screeners that would be acceptable to both the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation Committee without going to conference, congressional sources said this week. If Congress fails to act on a Senate-approved bill before adjournment, then the process will have to restart with the new Congress in January.
Alaska Air Group Chief Financial Officer Brad Tilden said yesterday he does not expect third quarter earnings to meet estimates by market analysts. "We expect to report a profit in the range of 50 to 70 cents per share, compared to analyst estimates that range from $1.05 to $1.50 per share." Results will be issued Oct. 17. Wall Street estimates "were high cross the board." Tilden said that "this obviously is not good news.
Consortium led by French bank BNP-Paribas has been selected to advise the Saudi government on the privatization of Saudi Arabian Airlines. Simat, Hellisen&Eichner will be the lead airline advisor. Participating are the Gulf and Saudi investment banking group GIC-GIB and the consulting and accounting firm KPMG. The Saudi carrier has taken delivery over the past two years of a fleet of Boeing 747-400s, 777s, MD-90s and MD-11Fs, giving it one of the youngest fleets. The project is expected to take 17 months to implment.
U.S.-U.K. negotiations, scheduled for Oct. 18-20, have been put off for the near term, according to sources from both governments. The decision to cancel talks came yesterday, following discussions between the two sides during DOT's International Transportation Symposium in Washington. Officials from both sides acknowledged that they considered an interim agreement, but there was not enough common ground to pursue a mini-deal, a U.S. official said. The U.K.
An FAA-sponsored air traffic watchdog group last week recommended the agency terminate or limit its high-speed air traffic test at Houston Intercontinental Airport. They said the test, called Houston 250, heightened midair collision risks and other pitfalls, according to DAILY affiliate Airports. The group, meeting in Washington as the Air Traffic Procedures Advisory Committee (ATPAC), voted 8-6 to approve the recommendation last Tuesday after a heated debate with FAA managers and a Continental representative, who said the test should continue.
British Airways unveiled a wide-ranging overhaul of its route network yesterday in an attempt to restore the struggling carrier to profitability. BA CEO Rod Eddington said, "Our drive to return our business to proper levels of profitability is moving up a gear. We must address poorly performing routes and assets that are not adding value." BA will cut system capacity by 10% in the summer of 2001 and transfer some intercontinental flights from London Gatwick to Heathrow. "Available seat kilometers at Heathrow will reduce by 9%, and at Gatwick by 15%," BA said.
SAS's September traffic was up 10.1% year over year, outpacing a capacity increase of 0.7%. Load factor rose 6.1 percentage points to 71.0%. Passenger boardings rose 6.4% to 2.1 million, and business class traffic rose 9.5%. SAS noted that September 1999 was an "exceptionally weak" month.
Finnair has sold two MD-80 aircraft to PacificLifeCorp of the U.S. and another MD-80 aircraft to a different U.S. firm, Pacific Coast Group, for EUR41.2 million ($35.8 million). "Gains from the sales amounted to EUR 18.7 million" ($16.3 million), Finnair said. The aircraft have been leased back to Finnair for three years, after which they will be replaced by newly ordered Airbus A320s. The carrier is using the funds from the sales to finance the A320s. Finnair is already operating seven A320-family planes.
The European Commission announced yesterday that it was taking the U.K. to the Court of Justice of the European Union over the "Golden Share" that the British government holds in BAA Plc.
AIRCRAFT TRANSACTIONS FOR JUNE 1 - JUNE 14, 2000 Seller/ New Type / Previous Operator Owner Engine Operator C-S Aviation Aero Aero Boeing Continente Continente 737-200/ Adv / JT8D-17
DOT signed open-skies agreements with Morocco and Rwanda yesterday at the International Transportation Symposium in Washington. DOT also signed an open skies agreement reached earlier this year with Ghana. An open skies agreement with Malta is scheduled to be signed today, bringing the total U.S. open skies pacts to 50.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund -- Income Statement October 1, 1999 - August 31, 2000 RECEIPTS (Revenues) August 2000 Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas 82,017,000.00 Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. 612,146,000.00 Use of International Travel Facilities 123,430,000.00
Ethiopia's Transport Minister challenged African nations to make good on commitments to complete regional aviation accords yesterday during the International Transportation Symposium in Washington. "Aircraft potential is paralyzed" by restrictive bilaterals between African countries, he said, noting that Ethiopia is working toward open skies with the U.S.
An analysis of transpacific polar air route potential by Canadian and Russian aviation officials concludes that operators and the two countries would realize tremendous benefits if the routes were modernized and opened up. For the past few years, several airlines have been flying limited demonstration runs along four Northern Hemisphere polar routes set up after the Cold War thawed.
SAS will launch an electronic travel market place with Swedish Telecommunications operator Netcom and European global distribution system Amadeus. The venture, dubbed "Nordic Travel Hub," is expected to be launched in March and fully operational in August 2001. The market place, which aims at both business and private travelers, will be 60% SAS-owned. The Scandinavian airline expects to reduce its stakes as additional partners join.
Gulfstream yesterday announced launch of the next-generation GV-SP with first flight scheduled in late 2001 and certification a year later. The new airplane will provide a range of 6,750 nautical miles, a 250-mile improvement from the current GV. The announcement came at the National Business Aviation Association convention in New Orleans, where Gulfstream also announced an order from Executive Jet for 20 and long-term maintenance worth more than $800 million.
US Airways last week introduced self-service kiosks at Washington National and Boston, with plans to expand the equipment to New York LaGuardia. Manufactured by IBM, the kiosks have touch-screen technology, enabling customers to purchase a ticket for a same-day, domestic flight or to check in at the airport for an electronically ticketed reservation on US Airways mainline, Express, Shuttle or MetroJet. Boston has 13 kiosks, Washington 17 and LaGuardia will have 16 later this year.
Members of the European Regions Airline Association are formally opposing a proposal being considered by Eurocontrol that would drastically increase the average operating cost of most regional carriers. Eurocontrol's Possible Price Mechanism Taskforce is looking at two possible changes to the formula it uses to impose navigational charges, and ERA says those changes could increase the cost to regional operators by as much as 83%.
