The Airbus partners are expected to announce the "authorization to offer" their new 550-seat A3XX aircraft as well as the transformation of their consortium into an integrated company today in Paris. The announcements would coincide with the publication of the details of the flotation of European Aeronautic, Defence and Space company (EADS), scheduled the same day.
Former Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad launched a national grassroots coalition in Charlotte, N.C., this week, calling for airlines to provide increased direct air service to small communities around the country. Known as the Global Aviation Improvement Network (GAIN), the organization aims to unite elected officials, businesses and local leaders to promote the "economic development of emerging cities" through expanded air service.
The SkyTeam founding partners -- Air France, Delta, AeroMexico and Korean Air -- plan to launch an aggressive attack on the dominant Star Alliance today, taking full advantage of the members' potential hub growth and longstanding cooperation. CEOs of the founding carriers formally unveiled the group's membership and identity yesterday at a New York news conference but looked like old friends, claiming they have all had well-established bilateral partnerships for several years.
While FAA officials continue to pore over Alaska Airlines' action plan in response to a recent threat to suspend heavy maintenance, the carrier is close to getting an audit report from an independent team brought in by management to assess operations and safety. FAA now expects to respond to Alaska's plan sometime next week, a spokesman said yesterday. The team, made up of 13 industry veterans, completed the on-site part of its probe in late May and is putting the finishing touches on its final report.
Virgin Atlantic plans to start twice-weekly, nonstop service between London Heathrow and Delhi July 5 under code share with Air-India. Virgin will operate the route with Boeing 747 equipment, using Air-India's code. A third weekly flight is planned in October. The new entry is expected to ignite a fare war with British Airways, the only other carrier operating nonstop service on the route.
Midwest Express Holdings said yesterday that it faces lower earnings for the third and fourth quarters and its board of directors has approved a plan to repurchase up to $15 million of common stock. Second quarter earnings are predicted at 40-50 cents per share compared with 91 cents in 1999. The company has been dealing with higher fuel prices and slower-than-expected planned growth at Midwest Express and Skyway. The growth slowdown stemmed from a shortage of trained pilots, which resulted in higher unit costs.
Utica, N.Y., hometown of startup Oneida Airlines, could lose all scheduled service unless DOT comes to the rescue. CommutAir d/b/a US Airways Express filed a 90-day service termination notice at DOT, telling Oneida County that it has "experienced significant losses over the past several years" in providing service to Newark via Syracuse with 19-seat Beech 1900D aircraft . DOT might subsidize service by CommutAir or another carrier, Commut-Air said.
The first production Traffic Management Advisor was declared operational June 21 at the Minneapolis/St. Paul en route center, six days ahead of schedule, said Charles Keegan, director of FAA's Free Flight program. The event means the agency has "turned the corner in its airspace modernization effort," he added. Two prototype TMAs are in operation at Dallas/Fort Worth, which has seen about a 5% increase in capacity, said Tony Willett, chief of staff of Free Flight One.
The Washington Airports Task Force (WATF) says it wants the proposed United-US Airways merger to go through as soon as possible. WATF threw its weight behind the deal even as the merger proposal undergoes intense scrutiny on Capitol Hill. WATF said it wants the deal approved immediately. "The Task Force believes this acquisition, coupled with the divestiture of many slots at Washington National to a new airline or other airlines, is likely to produce a better outcome for the regional than the incremental decay or downsizing of US Airways," WATF said.
A study of Egypt's aviation industry reveals that the sector's growth over the next 25 years will generate demands on its aviation system that the local Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is unlikely to be able to meet and manage in its present state as a government agency. The study, by Mitre Corp., said that an examination of global trends shows corporatization in civil aviation is on the rise in many countries, primarily to secure funding for development.
International Association of Machinists has lost its bid to represent Mesaba customer service employees, the National Mediation Board said this week. Of the 924 eligible employees, 322 voted for IAM.
Spanair introduced a new configuration on its two long-haul Boeing 767-300s that increases its business-class seat pitch. The conversion boosted the pitch from 42 to 50 inches in business class and reduced the number of coach seats from 241 to 234.
French air traffic controllers are preparing for a 26-hour strike, to begin at 6 a.m. local time June 26, that "could be serious," according to an Air France spokeswoman. Some carriers have begun canceling flights. American canceled its roundtrip flights from New York Kennedy, Los Angeles and Miami to Paris Charles de Gaulle leaving June 25. All French ATC facilities will be affected by the strike.
SkyWest, which flies as United Express, will add service Oct. 1 at Denver, offering twice-daily nonstops to Fresno with Canadair Regional Jets. It will launch three daily nonstops to Bozeman, Mont., Nov. 1.
Delta this week started code-share flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Kiev, Ukraine, with its alliance partner Air France. The roundtrip flights will operate five times a week with Air France's Boeing 737s.
FAA issued a proposal to make changes in the way airports are certificated, particularly those serving scheduled air carrier operations with aircraft seating 10 to 30 passengers. The aim is to bring smaller airports closer to safety standards required at airports serving larger aircraft.
Debis AirFinance is proposing to buy fellow aircraft leasing firm AerFi Group, which originally became well known as GPA. The two are close to finalizing a memorandum of understanding, and it is understood to be an all-cash deal. No financial details are being released, and AerFi was unavailable for comment yesterday. DaimlerChrysler owns 45% of AirFinance, with the rest owned by a group of German banks.
Southwest has chosen Orbix 2000 for continued development of its Internet reservations system. Orbix 2000 will enable Southwest to integrate ticketing systems, customer databases and other support applications to make its site easier to use.
All Nippon Airways received approval yesterday from the Japanese Ministry of Transport to begin code-share services with TWA to fly mail handled by the U.S. Postal Service. Starting today, TWA will code share on eight ANA-operated routes: New York-Tokyo, Chicago-Tokyo, Los Angeles-Tokyo, San Francisco-Tokyo, Honolulu-Tokyo, Honolulu-Nagoya, Honolulu-Osaka, and Guam-Osaka. Mail transport services will begin on the same date.
American wants U.S.-Pakistan rights, planning to code share with Swissair in the market, beginning July 26. American would place its code on Swissair's Zurich-Karachi flights, connecting with U.S.-Zurich flights operated by American or Swissair. Swissair's Zurich-Karachi flights are one-stop via Abu Dhabi or Dubai. The code share would be the first online service to Pakistan for American. Pakistan receives service from the U.S. by Pakistan Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Swissair.
British Airways renewed its franchising agreement with London Gatwick-based GB Airways yesterday, boosting a relationship begun in February 1995. Under the new contract, the arrangement has been extended for an eight-year period. GB Airways' aircraft are painted in the standard BA livery, operate with BA flight numbers, and its employees wear the standard BA uniforms. GB Airways serves 17 destinations, with most flights originating at Gatwick or London Heathrow.
American will settle two class-action law suits directed at its frequent flyer program, which could mean extra miles for more than 4 million program members, the Associated Press reported. The suits charge the airline changed the terms of its program to lower the value of the miles without notifying customers beforehand. The settlement likely will total tens of millions of dollars, American said.
U.S. Industry Traffic Market Share, as of May 2000 RPMs Share (%) 1. United 10,829,802 18.09 2. American 10,014,647 16.73 3. Delta 9,539,225 15.93 4. Northwest 6,814,688 11.38 5. Continental 5,489,711 9.17 6. US Airways 4,055,927 6.77 7. Southwest 3,664,797 6.12 8. TWA 2,353,185 3.93
Senate Commerce Committee approved by voice vote a bill introduced by Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) that establishes annual travel budgets for National Transportation Safety Board members' non-accident travel. The bill also authorizes the DOT inspector general to review the business and financial management of the board, which currently has no standing IG oversight. It also establishes a chief financial officer position to oversee internal audits and travel budget reports.
