LOT Polish Airlines is converting six ERJ 145 options and purchasing another three of the 50-seat regional jetliners. LOT now has placed 15 firm orders for the aircraft, up from six firm and six options announced in February 1999.
Information in the soon-to-be-made-public docket on the EgyptAir Flight 990 crash investigation casts serious doubt on the much-publicized theory that the first officer purposely flew the jet into the ocean, sources with knowledge of the probe told The DAILY. The theory was given life after preliminary analysis of the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) revealed an EgyptAir pilot left alone in the cockpit -- most likely first officer Gameel el-Batouty -- manually disconnected the autopilot and uttered a prayer just before the aircraft began a steep dive.
Galileo International launched its new wireless service yesterday, which the company claims is the industry's "first-to-market suite" of travel services for wireless devices. Galileo Wireless allows passengers to change flight reservations remotely, and also will notify travelers of on-time flights, delays and cancellations.
FAA is seeking the services of a system engineering contractor in the development, evaluation and implementation of next-generation surveillance products for the Communications, Navigation and Surveillance Advanced Technologies Integrated Product Team (AND-500). The systems and technologies include Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, VHF communication buoys, Safe Flight 21/Capstone activities, Traffic Collision Avoidance System, Traffic Information System, Flight Information System, Airport Surveillance Detection Equipment-X, and Gyroscope research.
FAA said yesterday that El Salvador does not comply with international safety standards set by ICAO and gave the nation a Category 2 rating. This means El Salvador's civil aviation authority does not provide adequate safety oversight of its air carriers.
KLM and its partner airlines raised its fares for the Dutch market by 3% yesterday. The increase, the second hike this year for KLM, applies to all tickets issued on or after July 1. The carrier said the increase was added to "compensate" for the high fuel prices.
After British Airways and KLM admitted that they are discussing a merger, attention in Europe -- as in the U.S. -- is shifting toward possible industry consolidation. The move comes after all three of the biggest European airlines -- British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France -- now have settled in transatlantic alliances. Air France's CEO Jean-Cyril Spinetta yesterday was the first after BA's announcement to make remarks on the airline's future and Lufthansa CEO Juergen Weber may comment at the company's annual shareholders meeting Thursday in Berlin.
Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard said on Tuesday that three more airlines had expressed interest in becoming launch customers for the proposed A3XX. This puts the number of airlines interested at 11. Forgeard did not disclose who the airlines were, but said that Airbus was in serious talks. In his view, Airbus has to launch the aircraft soon if it does not want to risk losing credibility.
San Francisco airport backed off from its proposal to cut congestion by limiting aircraft operations at the delay-plagued airport last week after United offered a plan to refine their scheduled service. Flight delays are projected to drop by one-third this fall once the measures are implemented. United will improve its system notifying passengers of expected weather-related delays. The carrier makes delay and cancellation information available to passengers at their request via pager, mobile phone, computer or hand-held wireless device.
QSI Payments Inc., was selected by Virgin Blue Airlines to integrate its e-payments architecture with the airline's flight booking system, Open Skies. QSI's payment solution is expected to be operational by June for the airline's launch in July. Virgin Blue will use QSI's secure payment technologies to provide customers with the option of booking through a call center or online through its web site. QSI of Australia recently received an injection of $12 million from a Goldman Sachs-led investment group to row its U.S., Asia and European operations.
US Airways Block Hour Cost For Boeing 737-300/700 80.2% Higher Than Southwest US Airways' block hour cost to operate the Boeing 737-300/700 are 80.2% higher than Southwest's cost, and 14.7% higher than merger partner United. According to DOT data for MD-80 block hour operating costs (See Page 7), US Airways also pays 109% more than Northwest, 97% more than Delta and 72% more than American to fly the same aircraft type.
The House Transportation Committee yesterday was overwhelmingly negative about the potential merger between United and US Airways. Members of Congress were not convinced by claims from United CEO Jim Goodwin and US Airways Chairman Stephen Wolf that combining the two major airlines would be good for the flying public. In a comment typical of congressional reaction to the merger, Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) told the two executives, "I think this is a win-win for you, your stockholders and probably for most of the people" in the hearing room - a reference to lobbyists.
National Transportation Safety Board yesterday recommended that FAA require all airports with scheduled passenger service to have a ground movement safety system that will prevent runway incursions by providing a direct warning to flight crews. The board was not impressed by FAA's Airport Movement Area Safety System (AMASS), saying that it "does not appear to be able to provide sufficient warning time to prevent even some runway collisions" because warnings must be routed through air traffic controllers.
Malaysia Airlines and Middle East Airlines (MEA) will start twice weekly code-share flights on the Sydney-Beirut route via Kuala Lumpur starting Friday, using Boeing 747-400s. The service increases to three times a week on July 19.
Philippine Airlines reported a profit of US$1.05 million for the financial year ended March 31, the first for the carrier in seven years. PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Avelino Zapanta said the mere profit was nothing to shout about but considered it an achievement compared with 1998's $242.2 million loss. Zapanta attributed the performance to stringent cost cutting measures and the confidence that Filipinos regained in PAL. The airline had projected a US$16.4 million loss due to escalating fuel prices.
TWA signed a deal with Nomad Networks to install its BlueStreak wireless internet access in TWA Ambassadors Clubs beginning this fall. Passengers will be able to log on to the Internet from anywhere in the club without using a power outlet or a telephone. The first Ambassadors Clubs to go wireless will be in St. Louis, New York Kennedy and LaGuardia. TWA plans to have every club in the system live by January 2001. TWA and Nomad Networks also expect to eventually enable TWA gates with the new technology.
Oneworld partners British Airways and LanChile reached a code-share agreement yesterday to provide joint service between Santiago and London. BA admitted that it has "struggled to make a profit" on its direct flights to the Chilean capital since they were introduced in 1993. BA, which currently flies London-Buenos Aires-Santiago five times per week using Boeing 747-400s, considered ending service to Chile. LanChile does not fly to the U.K. BA will fly London-Buenos Aires-Santiago until Aug. 1, when it will stop Santiago service.
The Nigerian government has set up a Judicial Commission of Inquiry (JCI) to investigate and probe the activities of Nigeria Airways' past management from 1983 to 1999. The JCI was initiated following an inquiry that was conducted by a senior team from the Nigerian Air Force headed by Jonah Jang. According to newly appointed managing director and CEO of NAS, Edmund Abayomi Jones, the team examined the performance of the national carrier during this period and uncovered several irregularities.
Australia's "new aviation policy" offers international carriers unrestricted access to all its international airports except Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. According to Australia's Deputy Prime and Minister for Transport and Regional Services John Andersen, Australia is liberalizing its routes and has incorporated regional open skies into five recent air services agreements. Andersen did not identify them, while Qantas CEO James Strong declined to give details.
Windward Islands Airways International (Winair), based in St. Maarten, and Air ALM have reached an operational agreement which covers passenger and ramp-handling services and will eventually include "cooperation and merging in areas of common interest." These joint areas could include scheduling, marketing, sales and joint purchasing with an eye toward reducing costs and increasing efficiency for both parties.
Airports Council International said that for 1999 Latin American and Caribbean airports reported a total of 10.8 million passengers, for a growth of 2%, while cargo increased 10.2% for a total of 198,403 tons.
