On July 19, TACA Peru will start roundtrip passenger, cargo and mail services from Lima to Miami, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, San Jose (Costa Rica) and Panama following approval from all the governments involved. TACA Peru, which will use Airbus 320s on the routes, also has applied for rights to Quito, La Paz and other points. The carrier, an affiliate of Grupo TACA, had been operating domestic routes since November between Lima and Iquitos and Cusco.
Malaysia Airlines' delay in joining the Northwest-led Wings alliance has resulted in the carrier looking at its option to cross over to the oneworld team. Qantas and British Airways, both members of oneworld, are courting MAS, fearing the imminent impact of Singapore Airlines' equity ties with Ansett and Air New Zealand. MAS Executive VP Bashir Ahmad told The DAILY that the carrier was seriously looking at joining oneworld, pointing out that a decision would be made later this month. "We are waiting for the approval from the board," Bashir said.
Senior officers at United have been addressing employee merger concerns throughout the carrier's system. In addition to an open forum on the airline's internal newsline, President Rono Dutta, Senior VP-International Stuart Oran and others have visited employees from Sydney to Boston to hear feedback. Dutta noted United's 1986 acquisition of Pan Am's Pacific division and the job security that resulted.
Kenya Airways will phase out its two aging Boeing 737-200s and four A310-300s by 2002 and 2003, respectively. The airline has ordered two next generation 737-700s and three 767-400ERXs, being the launch customer for the latter. Three 767-300s also would be leased next year for the longer regional routes. Delivery of the -700s would be one next year and the other the following year, while the -400EXRs will start delivery in 2004. The aircraft would be deployed on the Nairobi-Europe routes.
Pilots at Kitty Hawk Air Cargo want the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to rescind a complaint filed with the AFL-CIO that halts for one year the pilots' ability to elect the Air Line Pilots Association as their representation body. Kitty Hawk pilots last month held a representation election in which 304 out of 341 eligible voters -- 89% -- wrote in votes for ALPA. One voted for the Teamsters and four voted for the in-house Kittyhawk Pilots Association (KPA).
Used Regional Aircraft Deliveries For December 1999 999 Previous Carrier # Type Engine Operator A.T.R. 1 ATR-42-300 PW120 Inter Gabon A.T.R. 1 ATR-72 PW127 Mount Cook Aero Littoral 1 Saab 340B CT7-9B Aerotaca Aero Littoral 1 Saab 340B CT7-9B Mesaba
DOT granted Delta exemptions to serve Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, as well as Leon and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, from Atlanta. Delta intends to operate daily nonstops on each route (DAILY, May 23). For service to the Mexican points, required 90-day dormancy conditions begin on the dates Delta said it would begin service -- Oct. 1 for service to Leon and Nov. 1 for San Jose del Cabo. The carrier plans to start the Turks and Caicos service Dec. 1. (Dockets OST-00-7389, 7390)
Virgin Atlantic will launch its London Gatwick-Las Vegas service tomorrow, the first nonstop service on the route. The U.K. last December selected Las Vegas as a new gateway point to replace Pittsburgh, which British Airways stopped serving. Virgin Atlantic will operate twice weekly, using Boeing 747s, and will operate London-San Francisco flights the other five days during the summer.
The five major airlines creating a new travel web site dubbed "T2" will announce the site's official name today in Washington. Delta, United, Northwest, Continental and American are major investors in the site, which has come under fire from travel agents and competing on-line travel agenc web sites, which have charged that the site competes unfairly and will have exclusive rights to the investors' low web fares.
Sabre last week made changes in its organizational structure by creating three business units -- travel marketing and distribution; outsourcing and software solutions, and emerging businesses. The travel marketing and distribution group will fully leverage new Internet technologies for travel agencies, corporate travel departments and other travelers. Outsourcing and software solutions will leverage Sabre's full portfolio of software solutions targeting customers in the global travel and transportation industries.
The Mexican secretary of communications announced granting the concession to manage 13 airports in the north central area of Mexico to a consortium headed by the Mexican corporation ICA, which also includes French associates Societe Generale d'Entreprises and Aeroports de Paris. This group won the bidding with an offer of $91 million. The airports involved are Acapulco, Ciudad Juarez, Culiacan, Chihuahua, Durango, Monterrey, Mazatlan, Reynosa, San Luis Potosi, Tampico, Torreon, Zacatecas and Zihuatanejo.
To help solve transportation problems in the middle Magdalena region of Colombia due to the presence of armed groups, Aces is implementing a contingency plan for scheduled service between the cities of Barrancabermeja, Ocana and Bucaramanga. Using de Havilland Twin Otter turboprops, Aces is the only carrier serving these routes. The plan calls for roundtrip flights between Barrancabermeja and Bucaramanga several days each week and service between Ocana and Bucaramanga in a near-daily schedule.
Rick Dubinsky, chairman of United's Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council, will address the US Airways ALPA MEC meeting today. He will talk about the United-US Airways merger and its effect on the two pilot groups, neither of which was told about the deal ahead of time. United pilots say they would consider supporting a merger but not as currently structured, and the US Airways pilots still are studying its implications. The meeting will run through Thursday.
JetBlue Airways will take delivery of five new Airbus A320s at a fairly rapid pace over the next three months. The airline received its fourth aircraft Friday. The fifth will arrive on June 23, two more in July, and the eighth in August. JetBlue expects to serve 10 cities by yearend with 10 new A320s.
With the announcement by Virgin Atlantic, five companies have publicly stated their interest in becoming a launch customer for the proposed Airbus A3XX. Air France said it could order around 10 aircraft; Singapore Airlines is discussing firm orders for 10 plus six options; ILFC Corp. is considering an initial order of five, and Emirates would want to place five firm orders and five options. According to Reuters, Virgin would like to introduce about six aircraft, starting in 2005, and secure six options.
Ranking House Transportation Democrat Rep. James Oberstar (Minn.) Friday asked Justice Department antitrust division chief Joel Klein in a letter to consider the downstream effects of the proposed United-US Airways merger and warned that it would lead to reduced competition throughout the U.S. and higher fares. Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) told The DAILY Friday that each proposed merger has to stand on its own merits -- and that the United-US Airways proposal, with a 13% overlap, "very clearly" meets the competitive yardstick.
Merger focus this week shifts from closed corporate quarters to the political arena as the House Transportation Committee starts hearings tomorrow on the proposed United-US Airways merger, with a follow-on hearing Thursday. House Judiciary Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) will chair a hearing on the deal Wednesday, the same day the Senate antitrust subcommittee plans to take it up. The Senate Commerce Committee will hold its merger hearing June 21.
New Regional Aircraft Deliveries For December 1999 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engine Delivery Air Dolomiti 1 ATR-42-500 PW127E 0 Air Guyane 1 ATR-42-500 PW127E 0 Air Wisconsin 1 Canadair RJ200 CF34-3B1 4
Nine hydrogen peroxide leak incidents in air transportation have prompted a U.S. National Transportation Safety Board investigation and a bundle of recommendations to improve emergency responses. NTSB made 10 recommendations to FAA, Northwest, the Air Transport Association, the Hydrogen Peroxide Safety Producers Association and the U.S. Postal Service calling for ways to help airline employees identify a spill and for airlines to establish procedures to minimize dangers from hydrogen peroxide spills.
Peruvian aviation officials concluded two days of "frank, productive" talks late last week, a senior U.S. official told The DAILY. The two sides "worked hard," he said, and the U.S. "listened closely to their concerns" regarding restrictions on operations to the U.S. by airlines of Peru. "A central goal" of the U.S. is for Peruvian carriers to be able to "fly their own aircraft to the U.S." without having to wet-lease, the official said.
While Congress sinks its teeth into United-US Airways this week, an important piece of business for FAA will take place tomorrow, when the Senate Appropriations Committee takes up the fiscal 2001 transportation money bill. The transportation subcommittee will mark up the bill in the morning and the full committee will clear it in the afternoon. The House last month approved $12 billion for FAA.
