PartsBase.com said yesterday it is relocating operations to a facility in Boca Raton, Fla. The company provides business-to-business services with more than 18,000 members, who buy and sell new, used and overhauled parts.
The "New Labour" government of Prime Minister Tony Blair seems closer to backing British Midland's plans to launch transatlantic services between Britain and the U.S., said British Midland Chairman Michael Bishop. "The tenor of statements from the government is very different from at the start of the year," Bishop said during a ceremony observing the launch of new British Midland flights from London to Madrid. The airline already has approvals for Washington, New York, Boston and Miami, but the long-stalled U.S.-U.K. open-skies talks have held up the formal go-ahead.
Air Transport Association and the Air Line Pilots Association are scheduled to meet today with FAA Administrator Jane Garvey in an attempt to salvage a rule which goes into effect May 27 on land-and-hold-short operations (LAHSO). ALPA believes the order does not conform to an agreement reached between the parties in February 1999 and is threatening to halt the practice, which airlines say is needed to cope with increasing traffic at a large number of airports in the U.S.
Priceline.com's board yesterday named Daniel Schulman CEO in addition to his existing role as president and chief operating officer. Schulman, 42, succeeds Priceline.com Chairman Richard Braddock, who was CEO but will continue as chairman. In conjunction with these changes, Heidi Miller, senior executive VP and chief financial officer, will assume additional operational responsibilities and will lead Priceline.com's international and business to business initiatives.
Pegasus Aviation, an aircraft leasing company based in San Francisco, announced completion of a credit facility led by Union Bank of California totaling $70 million in commitments. Pegasus has more than 200 aircraft on lease to 60 airlines.
British Airways appointed three new board directors, including new Chief Executive Rod Eddington as an executive director. Martin Broughton, chairman of British American Tobacco and Martin Read, managing director and chief executive of Logica, were named non-executive directors. The three new directors still are subject to election by shareholders at the company's annual meeting in London on July 11. Michael Angus, currently non-executive deputy chairman, will step down at that time, having reached the statutory age of retirement.
China's three-year ban on the purchase of new aircraft enforced in 1998 by the Civil Aviation Administration of China did not deter China Xinjang Airlines (CXA) from ordering three Boeing 757-200s worth $250 million. CAAC reinforced the moratorium three months ago when it issued a directive for Chinese carriers to continue to adhere to the ban strictly, indicating that it would delay or even cancel orders to manage the country's airline capacity.
Delta will embargo accepting pets as checked baggage during June, July and August but will continue to accept small pets in the airplane cabin. Delta said last week it will accept animal shipments only from commercial animal shippers or licensed breeders, but they must book in advance. No live cargo will be shipped when the temperature is forecast to exceed 85 degrees Fahrenheit at any point in the animal's journey. Pug or snub-nosed dogs will not be transported when any portion of their flight will exceed 70 degrees F.
Representatives of major European airlines support the introduction of a Transatlantic Common Aviation Area (TCAA), according to statements at the International Aviation Symposium last week in Phoenix. U.S. carriers seem to be far more cautious about TCAA but did not oppose the idea in principle. Lufthansa General Manager for Government Relations and Sales Wolfgang Waeber said he expects increased traffic flow when a common aviation area is introduced.
The battle of European airline Internet sites grew more intense yesterday when Ryanair started a new policy that guarantees the lowest air fares on the Internet and promises to refund double the difference to any customer who can find a lower fare on the Internet than that sold by Ryanair.com. The lower fare must be for the same day and the same itinerary and airport. The fare can be found on any other airline or travel web site.
Israeli and Jordanian government officials have agreed to share an international airport at the border of the two countries near their southernmost towns of Eilat and Aqaba, according to UPI. The two countries will share the runway that already exists in the desert valley on the Jordanian side of the border. On its side, Jordan intends to build a terminal that will temporarily serve Israel-bound passengers until Israel completes construction of the terminal on its side of the border, UPI reported. The Jordanian terminal should be ready by the summer of 2001.
KLM tomorrow likely will report its worst full-year financial results in several years."The only way out is either through a massive downsizing strategy and/or aligning itself with a major European airline, preferably British Airways, Air France or Lufthansa," said Schroder Salomon Smith Barney analyst Andrew Light. KLM should seek a full merger with another airline instead of the "virtual" merger tried with Alitalia, he said.
Jet fuel spot prices in New York ended last week at $0.72 per gallon, down 5.3% from the beginning of the week and up 65.7% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. Crude oil futures for June crept up last week, trading at roughly $29.50 per barrel, the highest price in two months, but still down 16% from a nine-year high of $34.13 on March 7.
Airsys-ATM, a joint venture between Thomson-CSF and Siemens, has been awarded a contract for the production of Category 1 instrument landing systems for the FAA. FAA can order up to 105 units of the Mark 20 systems over three years. The Mark 20A is the only commercial ILS approved by the FAA for Cat 1, 2 and 3 operations, the company said. They are compatible with Wilcox-developed systems purchased by FAA.
Latvia-based Air Baltic faces a major challenge among Eastern European regionals -- a small market. The airline took in 22.7 million lats (about US$14 million last year) and lost 5 million lats (US$3 million). "The average income is rather low, so the market share [of people who can afford] to fly is limited," Air Baltic spokeswoman Vija Dzerve told The DAILY recently. Air Baltic, a joint venture of the Latvian government and SAS, is one of the more successful Eastern European regionals despite its financial losses, according to industry analysts.
Airline pilot hirings continue at record levels, according to Atlanta-based AIR, Inc. In April 1,564 pilots found jobs, and so far this year hirings have reached 6,349. Ninety-four percent of airlines hired pilots in April. National carriers added 505 pilots, with 30 of the 33 companies hiring in April. If the current hiring rate continues, AIR Inc. predicts 19,000 pilot jobs this year, compared with 15,747 for 1999.
Cargo's next big innovation could be alliances among smaller carriers, said Dick Haberle, CEO of Miami-based Florida West Airlines. "If the smaller carriers don't combine their resources...we're always going to be the low-yield" segment," he said last week in Orlando. The industry may need someone from the outside "with dot com money and a new idea."
House Appropriations Committee is scheduled to mark up the fiscal 2001 transportation appropriations bill tomorrow, which includes $12 billion for FAA. Senate Appropriations has not settled on a date for either subcommittee or full committee markup.
Continental Express and its flight attendants, represented by the Machinists union, have reached a tentative contract agreement. The 54-month deal contains improvements in pay, holiday pay, profit sharing and 401K accounts, reserve scheduling and domestic partner benefits.
Continental Express Friday opened a $25 million training center that will be used by its flight operations, inflight and airport services training departments. The facility houses a new full-motion flight simulator and a non-motion Level 6 training device for the Embraer regional jet.
