New Aircraft - Orders and Options For December 1999 ORDERS AND OPTIONS FIRM ORDERS OPTIONS Carrier # Type # Type Engines Air 2000 2 A320-200 0 CFM56-5 Air 2000 (CI) 2 A320-200 0 CFM56-5 Air 2000 (IL) 1 A320-200 0 CFM56-5
Jorge Fernandez, Delta's director for Latin America, told media last week in Sao Paulo that the carrier may acquire up to 20% of TAM or Transbrasil -- the maximum allowed by Brazilian law for foreign investment in domestic airlines. "The Brazilian market presents an excellent opportunity for Delta...If we receive a sale offer, we would sit down and negotiate. But for the time being, we would like to concentrate on our accord with Transbrasil," Fernandez said.
SkyWest's capacity growth will average 28% each year for three years, starting with fiscal 2002, Merrill Lynch projects. The company is maintaining its strong "Buy" rating on the airline, one of the few to show year-over-year earnings and margin growth.
Belgian charter carrier Sobelair has taken delivery of two Boeing 767-300ER that replace two aircraft of the same type being returned to the lessor. In the summer, Sobelair will introduce one Airbus A320 and one Boeing 737. The airline says its average load factor was 86% in 1999.
Cuba is among a dozen Latin American countries supporting the U.S. position in its ICAO Article 84 complaint against the European Union's hushkit rule.A Cuban representative to the Latin American Civil Aviation Council meeting on May 11 -- who was involved in the 1996 Cuban complaint filed at ICAO against the U.S. -- voiced her opposition to the EU's action, agreeing with the U.S. that it is unilateral, discriminatory and outside ICAO standards.
EasyJet launched a contest last week asking people to guess how much money British Airways' low-cost division Go lost last year. Always looking for a way to taunt BA, EasyJet will give away 50 pairs of tickets to those who guess closest to the actual amount. In the four days after the competition began, almost 2,000 people offered a guess, with an average estimate of #20 million.
FAA has issued a proposed rule that will require airlines to equip large jet transports with defibrillators and additional equipment in the currently required emergency medical kits. The action was required by Congress because with passenger enplanements numbering in the hundreds of millions, it was anticipated there would be an increase in those needing inflight medical assistance. "The most commonly observed serious inflight medical events appear to be cardiac in nature," FAA said. Comments must be received before Sept. 21.
Hong Kong will not bow to pressure from U.S. carriers and some regional airlines to sign an open-skies agreement with the U.S. Hong Kong's civil aviation officials gave notice of their intention when talks with the U.S. held recently in the city ended in stalemate. Billy Lam, a civil aviation official, told The DAILY that Hong Kong's consent to open skies would only mean giving U.S. carriers universal access to its aviation market without reciprocal rights for local carriers to fly to U.S. domestic points.
House aviation subcommittee chairman Rep. John Duncan (R-Tenn.) last week offered to provide "some input" from members of the subcommittee and staff to help DOT's troubled Essential Air Service program. Duncan's offer came near the conclusion of a subcommittee hearing on the EAS program, created in 1978 as part of the Airline Deregulation Act to ensure that small communities did not lose air service.
SkyWest saw a 19.3% jump in revenues to $123.1 million for the quarter ended March 31 and an operating income that grew 19.9% to $21.4 million. The St. George, Utah-based regional reported a 34% rise in yearend income from continuing operations of $57.1 million. Annual revenue increased 22.2% to $475 million, while expenses for the year rose 19.7% to $388.1 million. Yearend operating income jumped 34.8% to $86.7 million. Chief Financial Officer Bradford Rich said margins were stronger despite revenue challenges and higher fuel costs.
New York LaGuardia regional jet service applications add up to more than 600 new flights, which "simply, literally cannot happen," Will Ris, American senior VP-government affairs, told the American Association of Airport Executives last week. He urged airports to "focus on capacity," adding that the market "will adjust when delays become intolerable."
World Airways won a new revenue contract from Sonair Servico Aereo to provide regular private charter air service between Houston and Luanda, Angola. The new service supports the country's emerging petroleum industry, and Sonair is a subsidiary of Angola's National Oil Company, Sonangol. The initial term of the agreement is for 14 months, and with options to renew for up to two additional years, the total value of the agreement could exceed $79 million.
Singapore Airlines will finalize installation of its new Matsushita Audio-Video-on-Demand Wisemen system on its last Boeing 747-400 June 19. The system will be in place on 15 747-400s in 70 first- and business-class seats per plane at an installation cost of $27,500 per seat.
BAX Global promoted Mark Mazza to VP and general manager of U.S. international operations; Rick Whitaker to VP-international gateways, and Greg Davis to VP-Latin American operations.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater encouraged airports and airlines to "make announcements or play Taps over public address systems" to support Memorial Day on Monday.
