Emery Worldwide named Steve Wood director-business development for the global logistics unit, Charles Bruno director-marketing and business development and Ron Stevenson director-electronic commerce and industry development.
Air Canada said the 60-day period for the start of the sale of Canadian Regional Airlines began June 30. The sale period was part of Air Canada's agreement to take over Canadian Airlines. During the period, potential buyers will review the "Confidential Information Memorandum" and look into Canadian Regional's books. Air Canada said it will not disclose the names of potential buyers unless and until a definitive agreement has been executed.
Airbus said Qantas has expressed interest in becoming an A3XX launch customer with an initial requirement for as many as 10 aircraft, for delivery beginning in 2006. Qantas, which has always been a Boeing operator, would use the A3XX on its routes from Australia to London and Los Angeles. Qantas Chief Executive James Strong said the economics of the aircraft and passenger comfort make the A3XX an appealing option.
New York jet fuel spot prices ended last week at $0.83 per gallon, up 7.6% from a week earlier and up 72.0% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. More worrisome, however, are oil futures for August, which climbed late last week, reaching roughly $32.50 per barrel.
Alpine Air, which operates Beech 99s in eight western states, is building a new maintenance facility on the Provo, Utah, municipal airport. The building also will house corporate offices and Alpine's flight training school. Alpine, which plans to make the transition into Beech 1900s, said it has become the third-largest, all-cargo, regional airline in the nation.
Swissair's daily Zurich-Singapore route, currently operated by the MD-11, would be one of the first that could be served with the Airbus A340-600 when Swissair introduces the aircraft into its fleet in 2002. According to Heiny Rohrer, Swissair general manager for Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia, the carrier's fleet of 19 MD-11s used on long-haul flights will be completely replaced by the A340-600s by March 2006.
Atlantic Southeast Airlines last Saturday launched Delta Connection nonstop Canadair Regional Jet service between Dallas Love Field-Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth-Amarillo and DFW-Savannah. At Love Field, ASA introduced six daily flights to Atlanta from the new Legend Executive Terminal. From DFW, ASA expanded service with six additional daily fights - three to Amarillo and three to Savannah.
TWA has two more days to respond to a takeover offer by Global Aviation. Now that AirTran has pulled out of merger talks, it appears that the field remains open for Global, an airline that at the moment has no operations. Global has given TWA until the evening of July 7 to take or leave its offer. Requests by The DAILY to speak with TWA officials went unanswered last week as AirTran announced it was ceasing all talks with the company.
SkyTeam partners may be courting Alitalia for possible membership in the alliance following Alitalia's recent breakup with KLM. "If Alitalia would be desiring at least a conversation, we would be willing to have that conversation," Delta CEO Leo Mullin told The DAILY recently. Alitalia has many options, he noted, but SkyTeam believes the shakeup in the so-called Wings alliance "clearly has created a situation for a further step."
China Aviation Suppliers Import&Export Corp. and China United Airlines signed an agreement to purchase a Delta-owned 767-300ER that is being delivered new from Boeing and will get a VIP interior before entering service as the "Air Force One" of China. Malcolm Armstrong, Delta executive VP, said China contacted Delta about purchasing an aircraft it was to receive this summer. "We were very willing to assist the Chinese in this effort as it will further enhance Delta's multi-level cooperation with China in the future," he said.
United's quest to improve its dismal baggage handling proficiency is not working. The airline's results have not come close to its internal goal of 6.5 mishandled bags per 1,000 North American passengers, even though the 6.5 rate is far worse than most carriers' performance. For last month, through June 28, United lost 8.4 bags, or one for every 119 customers.
U.S. and U.K. negotiators resume talks today in Washington aimed at achieving a liberalized agreement by yearend, with more meetings likely later in the summer and fall. The two sides will be looking at proposals to phase in liberalization, a British spokesman told The DAILY. This week's meetings follow "fairly constructive" discussions held last month in London, he said. The U.S. has "modest expectations" given that British Airways' commercial direction "is not clarified with the British government," said a U.S. official. The U.K.
National Transportation Safety Board last week recommended that FAA require the use of alternative corrosion protection methods instead of nickel-cadmium plating on steel rotating engine parts "to eliminate the hazards introduced by improper NiCd plating." The board cited uncontained engine failures during takeoff experienced by a Continental 727 and a United 737. In both cases, the captain rejected the takeoff following the engine failure.
AirTran Airways' new advertising campaign launched during the U.S Fourth of July holiday weekend, features the debut of the carrier's new tagline, "Your airline has arrived." The "Revolution" campaign comprises two 30-second television advertisements, a 60-second radio spot, and print and outdoor placements that include headlines such as, "The Revolution Begins in Coach" and "Tear Down the Business Class Curtain." The campaign will run through September, with the first television spots appearing at Atlanta-based stations.
Midway Airlines plans to start its own daily jet flight to Norfolk, Va., from its Raleigh/Durham hub, beginning Aug. 8. The airline will use Canadair Regional Jets for the new service, which will complement the current four daily flights operated by Midway's commuter partner, Corporate Airlines. Corporate operates 19-seat British Aerospace Jetstream 31s and competes with US Airways Express on the route.
Several Chinese airlines operating Chinese Yuns and Russian-made Tupolevs are protesting a decision by the Civil Aviation Administration of China to ground these aircraft on June 1, 2001. The carriers said CAAC is going back on its word after saying late last year they could continue to operate the aircraft indefinitely. The common opinion is that 11 months to evaluate and decide on an aircraft type and train pilots to replace a fleet is too brief.
European Regions Airline Association said a recent study showed that about 90,000 metric tons of fuel is burned each year by taxiing aircraft, which is not good environmental PR, says ERA Manager Infrastructure and Environment Simon McNamara. Fuel burn could be cut around 10% using flexible taxi times, which currently run 20 minutes, although the actual distance from stand to runway usually is less than 10-20 minutes. A trial is under way using an alternate 16-minute taxi time for some runway combinations.
