American Association of Airport Executives and Airports Council International-North America created a single legislative department to represent them before Congress.
GE Capital Aviation may set up a second training facility in Hong Kong following tremendous response it received after the opening of the first last month at the Cathay Pacific (CX) flight training center. Known as the GE Capital Aviation Training (GECAT), the 180,000-square-ft facility, is an alliance with CX. GECAT's objective is to make Hong Kong a one-stop facility, which will include maintenance and flight attendants" training.
Cathay Pacific plans to start service between Hong Kong and Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, on Sept. 1. Cathay will operate three times a week via Bangkok with Airbus A330-300 equipment in a two-class configuration.
Air Canada's pilots union yesterday voted overwhelmingly in favor of a strike if the union and management fail to reach a contract settlement. The two sides will meet again tomorrow, when Air Canada is expected to present an alternative to its June 4 proposal, which was rejected by the union. Air Canada Pilots Association Master Executive Council Chairman Raymond Hall yesterday promised the public that pilots would not call for the 72 hours' notice required before walking off the job until tomorrow's talks are complete.
LASV Enterprises, Inc. unveiled plans yesterday to purchase a 75.1% majority interest in a U.S.-based airline, believed to be North American Airlines. CEO Patrick Strasburger, former managing director of international operations with Continental, was in New York last week negotiating the purchase price and terms of the agreement and plans to announce the deal as early as today. The airline LASV intends to purchase has been profitable for 10 years and operates a fleet of Boeing 757-200s and 737-800s.
A high-powered Embraer team was in India last week lobbying strongly for Jet Airways to consider the ERJ145 as its regional jet. The team of Peter Obeysekere, VP-Asia Far East&South Pacific, Corporate Affairs Director Jose Roberto Serricchio and an engineering team together demonstrated the ERJ145. They made the dash to Madras after getting wind that the private Indian carrier is unhappy with its acquisition of five ATR 72-500s. The same Embraer team earlier was in China and Kuala Lumpur.
Brazil's Vasp, which owns 50% of Bolivia's Lloyd Aereo Boliviano (LAB), is planning to sell it to Lufthansa, according to local reports. LAB also announced it is undergoing an external audit to clear up doubts and rumors about Bolivia's flag carrier since it was capitalized in 1996 by VASP.
Ansett New Zealand will be rebranded as Qantas New Zealand after Qantas decided to extend its franchise to another carrier for the first time. A launch date for the new airline will be announced "shortly," and will be operated by Tasman Pacific Airlines of New Zealand. The new carrier will offer Qantas products and services, with aircraft carrying the Qantas livery and front line staff wearing a Qantas uniform. The airline also will be affiliated with the oneworld alliance.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Under 750 Mile Fourth Quarter 1999 Short 4Q99 Average Haul Mkt Nonstop Pax Top Carrier Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day (% Share) 1 2 Chicago - New York 723 7,727 United (35.9) 2 3 Boston - New York 183 7,493 Delta (44.9)
SAS plans to add a third class of service on long-haul flights, bridging the gap between economy and business class. Details on the new class -- including the name -- will be announced late this year. SAS will roll out the three classes when it introduces new Airbus A340s in September 2001 for intercontinental operations. The aircraft will operate to eight destinations -- Bangkok, Chicago, New Delhi, New York, Beijing, Seattle, Singapore and Tokyo.
Sabre plans to acquire a 51% stake in Hamburg-based Dillon Communication Systems (DCS) to boost its presence in Germany substantially. DCS claims to be the fastest-growing supplier of electronic travel distribution services in Germany, and the deal would increase Sabre's presence in Germany from 1,000 travel agency locations to 5,900. DCS and Sabre together will have a combined market share of 30% of all German travel agency locations.
Continental Express flight attendants, represented by the Machinists union, ratified a four and a half-year contract. The deal was reached after eight months of talks.
EVA Air plans to announce orders for at least seven Boeing 777s today and will give details on its fleet expansion.The carrier signed a letter of intent for the aircraft in April and said it wanted 777s for transpacific routes. EVA currently operates a fleet of 35 aircraft -- 747s, 767s and MD-11s -- and will receive its first 747-400 freighter next month.
A Runway Safety National Summit was told yesterday in Washington that FAA has very little time to come up with remedies for halting the growing number of runway incursions at airports across the U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.), chairman of the House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, expects answers before Congress recesses in early October. Wolf said FAA "needs to get tougher" on deliberate attempts to "hide" runway incursions. "Action should be quick and the punishment severe" for filing to report incursions.
Argentine Secretary of Infrastructure Nicolas Gallo said Friday Argentina will not support any rescue plan for Aerolineas Argentinas that calls for personnel layoffs. Gallo's remarks followed an earlier attack by President Fernando De La Rua on the plan presented by Spain's SEPI (DAILY, June 26). The Spanish stockholders countered by stating that the company will be liquidated if the government rejects their restructuring scheme.
United said Friday it will file a petition to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which last week found in favor of flight attendants who sued the airline over weight discrimination. United allegedly had a policy from 1980-1984 requiring female flight attendants to weigh significantly less than their male counterparts. About 16,000 flight attendants could receive damages. United has asked the 11-judge panel of the 9th Circuit to review the decision.
A new wave of startups is hitting Indonesian aviation as domestic travel picks up, prompting the government to issue another eight air operating certificates (AOCs) for scheduled domestic and regional carriers. The eight are Mega Air, Air Wagon, Bayu Indonesia, Jatayua Indonesia, Camar Nuansa and three Air Indonesias, tagged locally as Air Indonesia 1, 2, and 3. This brings to 16, including Garuda, Merpati Nusantara Airlines and Bouraq Airlines, the number carriers that can operate domestically.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Over 750 Miles Fourth Quarter 1999 Long 4Q99 Average Haul Mkt Nonstop Pax Top Carrier Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day (% Share) 1 1 Los Angeles - New York 2,467 8,389 American (31.8) 2 5 Atlanta - New York 756 6,955 Delta (66.9)
Air-India's seven underutilized Boeing 747-200s will be put up for sale in November together with three Airbus A300B4s. the aircraft will be replaced as the carrier leases six A310s and four 747-300s. According to airline spokesman Jitender Bhargava, the aging 747s are flying an average of only three hours a day due to the suspension of several routes.
Ghana Airways should not be awarded additional rights to serve the U.S. while it has unresolved outstanding debts, Florida-based World Fuel told DOT in its objection to the carrier's request for expanded service under U.S.-Ghana open skies. Ghana Airways owes more than $400,000 to World Fuel -- Advance Petroleum, World Fuel Services Inc. and World Fuel Services Ltd. -- "despite numerous promises to pay," the company told DOT.
National Airlines of Las Vegas has reached agreements to acquire up to eight new 757-200s with options for 12 more. The carrier will take four aircraft during 2001, all leased from GE Capital Aviation Services. Four more are to be delivered in 2002. National operates a fleet of 15 757s, all powered by Rolls-Royce engines.
Delta and Air France told DOT they intend to expand their third-country code sharing to India. Delta plans to display its code on Air France flights between Paris and Mumbai and Delhi beginning about July 22. The carriers noted that U.S. carriers designated for U.S.-India service -- as Delta is -- are not limited in their third-country airline partners or frequencies. Delta previously received DOT approval to code share in the market with Air France, Austrian and Swissair.
European Union Transport Commissioner Loyola de Palacio denounced "the disinformation and the manipulation behind the strike of the national air traffic controllers' union in France," which grounded 90% of flights in France yesterday.
American Trans Air's wholly owned subsidiary ATA Connection plans to begin nonstop service between South Bend, Ind., and its Chicago Midway hub, beginning Sept. 15. The airline will start service with four nonstops every weekday. In conjunction with the startup of service, ATA Connection signed a lease agreement for a hangar on the airport property, and plans to relocate its Saab 340B maintenance facility there from Grand Rapids, Mich.
