Air New Zealand established three new departments this week to strengthen its e-commerce initiatives. The three new divisions -- E-Direct, E-Agency and E-Technologies -- are being launched to give the airline "a competitive edge" in a "changing environment," according to Allister Paterson, general manager of commercial. E-Direct will "drive"
Air France will unveil a new sales initiative today for several of its Internet projects. Last month, the company said it "speeded up" its efforts to boost its online presence and identified five strategic development projects, including a new generation of Air France web sites to go live by yearend.
Japan's Skymark Airlines reported an unconsolidated net loss of 1.73 billion yen for the six months ended April 30 and revenues of 6.39 billion yen. Facing intense domestic competition, Skymark's load factor averaged 67% on its three routes, according to Dow Jones. On the Tokyo-Fukuoka route, the load factor was 80%; Osaka-Sapporo averaged 56%, and Osaka-Fukuoka 49%. The airline sees increased demand for the rest of the year, however, and it continues to try to cut costs. Skymark forecasts a reduced full-year net loss of 2.16 billion yen for the period ending Oct.
SkyTeam will be unveiled Thursday as the name of new Delta-Air France-Korean Air-AeroMexico global alliance, sources in Europe and the U.S. tell The DAILY. It will be the latest brand to enter aviation and will be matched against Star Alliance and oneworld. Delta is recruiting other partners and more are expected to join SkyTeam by yearend.
The South African government has issued an operating certificate to African Star Airways (ASA), the country's newly formed private carrier that will operate international cargo and passenger services. According to ASA CEO Joseph Kirama the airline has been designated South Africa's second national carrier for service to Germany and the U.K. The British Department of Environment, Transport and Regions has acknowledged ASA's status, while the Federal Ministry of Transport in Germany has yet to do so.
Virgin Atlantic's Chairman Richard Branson told Reuters Television that he expected profits for his airline to fall by more than 50% this year due to high fuel prices. Branson said that Virgin made a $182 million profit in 1999 and that he hopes it will reach the same level of profitability next year.
Delta and Kurt Manufacturing's Theradyne division are in the final phases of testing the first hydraulic lift carry-on chair that will be used to move passengers with disabilities onto aircraft. The airline said the "Delta Air Chair" was created to help transfer passengers into seats that do not have a movable aisle armrest. The chair has a patent pending hydraulic lift system that elevates passengers to the height of the handrail so the airline employee can pass them over the armrest and lower them into their seat.
American has launched its OneStop Express check-in service, which allows passengers to check baggage with a skycap at the curb and obtain a boarding pass at the same time. OneStop Express check-in is available in 35 U.S. cities and is scheduled to be operational in another 30 cities by early July. American claims to be the only major U.S. airline to install mobile ticket counters for indoor and outdoor operation using wireless radio frequency technology.
Pilots at Canadian carrier Bearskin Airlines, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association International, filed a written notice Friday of their intention to engage in a legal strike if they "are unable to reach a fair and equitable labor agreement" with management by midnight June 18. Under a recent amendment to the Canada Labor Code, unions are required to provide written notice of their intention to strike at least 72 hours prior to their strike deadline.
TWA is in preliminary discussions with AirTran on a possible merger, The DAILY confirmed Friday, but TWA sources said executives also are talking with other carriers in addition to AirTran about potential deals. Following reports that the two signed confidentiality agreements, a TWA spokesman said, "We talk to lots of people about lots of things," but he would not comment specifically about a deal with AirTran. Last month, TWA CEO Bill Compton told The DAILY that he is "working hard" to develop alliances with U.S.
Texaco Global Aviation Marketing and Statoil Aviation have unveiled the formation and operational launch of Jet Fuel Alliance to gain entry into European airports where neither is represented. Under terms of the alliance, the companies will have an equal interest and will align their European supply services, network development activities, operations, and logistics and co-market their services.
Congressional hearings on the planned United-US Airways merger shift to the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday. Although Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has been relatively restrained in his comments on the proposed merger, he said he was "very concerned" that the merger proposal could lead to a new round of consolidation in the airline industry (DAILY, June 7). On June 23, the House Judiciary Committee hears the airline point of view on their opposition to a third Chicago airport in addition to Midway and O'Hare.
Fuel edged down a bit but is still much higher year over year. New York spot prices last week were $0.77 per gallon, down 1.1% from the week earlier but up 63.7% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown.
American named Dan Huffman senior VP-maintenance and engineering; William Culhane VP-maintenance and engineering negotiations; Gregory Hall VP-line maintenance; Carmine Romano VP-Tulsa base maintenance, and Randall Phillips VP-engineering/quality assurance.
Sen. John McCain is continuing to hold up confirmation of Phil Boyer, president of AOPA, to serve on the FAA Management Advisory Committee. The Senate Commerce Committee did not forward Boyer's name along with those of six other nominees to the full Senate. Boyer instead got an additional three pages of follow-up questions from McCain. The two differ over user fees, with Boyer opposing fees on any class of general aviation.
Satena, the airline operated commercially by the Colombian air force, will start in July with two daily roundtrip flights from Bogota to Armenia, in the heart of the country's coffee-growing region, using 32-passenger Dornier 328s.
Sources in Mexico City report that a group of Mexican and U.S. investors have made an bid to acquire Taesa, now grounded and in bankruptcy court. If the bid is accepted, the carrier would fly again by the end of July to 25 destinations, three more than when it was taken over by the government in February. Although the amount of the bid was not disclosed, it is suppose to include $8.17 million in employees' back pay. The condition of Taesa's 17 B-737-300s is described at best as questionable.
FAA said Friday it plans to extend the Advanced Qualification Program (AQP), which provides an alternate but currently voluntary method for airlines to train and certify crewmembers, dispatchers and other operating personnel. Air carriers electing not to participate in AQP may continue to operate under traditional FAA provisions for training and checking for now. FAA says that the advantages of the program are "numerous," including the flexibility to tailor training and certification programs to a carrier's particular needs and operations.
Continental has started daily nonstop service between Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and its Newark hub with Boeing 737s, in addition to its daily nonstop in the market. Another new destination in Latin America is Aguascalientes, Mexico, which the carrier serves from Houston with Embraer ERJ-145 regional jets. It also is adding a second daily RJ service from Houston to Chihuahua and Tampico with ExpressJet equipment.
The Regional Airline Association is backing a legislative measure requiring background investigations for aviation screeners and supports FBI fingerprint background check in lieu of the current 10-year employment investigations. RAA recommends that a task force be formed to ensure fingerprint criminal history checks can be done before they are required. RAA also opposes legislative language on mandatory termination or suspension of personnel responsible for security lapses.
