ATR Senior VP-Sales and Marketing Alain Brodin said last week that the company will build 30 aircraft this year, five fewer than in 1999. He confirmed that talks with Indian Airlines are going well and that ATR is speaking with other operators in the region. Brodin noted that "while there has been a definite shift in emphasis, that is not to say that we have no hopes or expectations in the U.S.
American Eagle is expanding its regional jet service at New York LaGuardia by adding flights to four cities, beginning in July and September. The American regional affiliate on July 18 will launch three daily LaGuardia-Greenville, Spartanburg, S.C., flights, which it already serves from Chicago and Dallas/Fort Worth. On Sept. 1, it will begin four daily LaGuardia-Richmond and Norfolk, Va., roundtrips. American Eagle currently offers RJ service between these cities and Boston. On Sept. 6, it will start RJ service to Greensboro, N.C., with three daily roundtrips.
Datalex completed its merger with Sight&Sound Software yesterday, creating a powerful travel booking engine producer. Sight&Sound Software's leading product, BookSmart, is an online travel booking engine, and Datalex is a provider of e-business applications, such as the BookIt! suite of Internet booking engines, and travel industry products, such as the ARIVA CRM suite and web-hosting. First announced last month, the combined company claims to be "better positioned" to serve new customers and "bring innovative solutions to market faster."
AirTran Airways is working with SpeechWorks International to set up a telephone-based speech recognition system that will provide customers with flight departure, arrival and gate information. The system is expected to be launched in the third quarter, when customers will be able to obtain flight details by speaking into the telephone.
Indian Airlines' board will extend for two years the dry-lease arrangement for two Airbus A300B4 aircraft beyond the lease expiration date of May 2000, carrier officials said. The extension of the lease arrangement, entered with GE Capital, was made on the same terms and conditions negotiated when the lease period began in 1998, they added.
El Al selected SITA to provide passengers worldwide with online ticket sales over the Internet using the i-traveldirect booking engine. El Al plans to introduce the Internet booking facility by mid-year, adding personalized customer service applications by yearend. SITA offers i-traveldirect in partnership with Equant Application Services as a fully managed service using its web hosting facilities or installing it at specific customer sites.
Mercury Air posted a net loss of $1.3 million for its third quarter ended March 31, compared with a net profit of $1.1 million for same quarter last year despite a 68% increase in revenues to $89.9 million from $53.6 million. The quarter included a bad debt expense of $3.6 million -- $2.7 million resulting from the bankruptcy of Tower Air and a bad debt provision of $900,000 due to higher fuel prices.
Regional jets will almost "completely supplant" turboprops as mainline feeders in the next five years, says TWA CEO Bill Compton. "Any time a jet competes with a turboprop, the customers will chose the jet," Compton said at the International Airline CEO Conference. "That's the end of the story -- and it will be the end of turboprops in all but the smallest airline markets." He added that RJ growth will "diminish" the power of hub and spoke networks.
World Trade Organization yesterday concluded that Brazil has failed to implement a recommendation made Aug. 20 to withdraw export subsidies for regional aircraft within 90 days. The WTO said Canada has complied in part but not sufficiently to prohibit future export subsidies. The WTO board specifically found that the Technology Partnership of Canada met the guidelines but that the Canada Account program did not.
Lufthansa will not buy the Airbus A3XX superjumbo because its current markets do not require such an aircraft. CEO Juergen Weber told The DAILY that apart from the huge cost of the aircraft, maintenance is another factor the carrier has considered. Weber said Lufthansa is happy with the aircraft types it currently has for long-haul flights, pointing out that the Boeing 747-400s and Airbus A340-300s are very viable and cost-effective. "We would continue to be cost-effective in our operations, including that of the entire group," Weber said.
Jeffrey Katz, CEO of Swissair, will speak May 16 at the monthly International Aviation Club meeting at the Marriott Metro Center hotel. For more information, call 202-675-4221.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) is in the final stages of completing its plan for reforms in aviation -- a plan that promises to including dramatic changes in China. Zhu Ru, a senior CAAC official, told The DAILY that the paper would be completed before the end of the year, with implementation expected during the first quarter of 2001. Widespread reforms would cover the two dozen airlines CAAC controls, including airline mergers, airport management and privatization, general aviation changes and the future roles of provincial administrations.
Detroit-based Pro Air has suspended service to Indianapolis and Seattle to improve its overall reliability and profitability for its network, VP-Marketing Eric Steinwinder said yesterday. He said the company was having trouble with its schedule mainly because of weather and air traffic control delays on the East Coast.
Boeing has launched a new web site, myboeingfleet.com, as a single source of online maintenance, engineering and flight operations data for its airline customers. The site uses personalized e-business technology from Broad Vision, which enables content to be customized for each user. The company said the secure site consolidates current online offerings -- Boeing Digital, Web BOLD and Flight Technical Services On-Line -- and will serve as a platform for new and expanded airline support services.
Trans States pilots, who face a midnight May 27 deadline of their 30-day, cooling-off period following failed contract negotiations, will conduct informational picketing next week in New York, Boston and St. Louis. The pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, say they hope to avoid a strike and shutdown over Memorial Day weekend. Pilots have been working under an amendable contract since November 1998.
As the ranking member of the House subcommittee on aviation, I took umbrage at the recent opinion piece "Congress Should Stop Micromanaging Aviation" (March 29, 2000). First of all, Congress did not earmark a single specific airport project in the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century. Rather, AIR 21 guarantees Airport Improvement Program funding at over $3 billion for the next three years.
Lastminute.com signed an agreement this week with South African travel company Tourvest to launch a Lastminute.com web site in South Africa. The terms of the alliance include plans for a new South African joint-venture company that will offer late-availability or time-dependent travel products in South Africa via a localized "Lastminute.com" web site. Under the agreement, Tourvest contributes its "considerable local travel expertise, products and supplier relationships" and guarantees to give Lastminute.com access to its last-minute inventory.
House aviation subcommittee member Merrill Cook (R-Utah), considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent congressmen running for re-election, failed to win 60% of the Republican state party convention votes needed for his party's nomination. Cook narrowly beat political novice Derek Smith, 53% to 46%, in a second-round ballot, and the two will meet in a primary June 27.
U.S. Major Carriers Latin Share of Service Fourth Quarter 1999 Total Revenue Departures Alaska 2,632 America West 1,073 American 23,279 Continental 10,598 Delta 3,882 United 4,070 US Airways 1,465 Total 46,999
SAirGroup confirmed that its partner Taitbout Antibes acquired British Airways' 86% stake in French airline Air Liberte for 457 million French francs (US$63.2 million) at the end of last week. Jointly with Netherlands-based Taitbout Antibes, a joint venture of two French financial groups, Marine Wendel and Groupe Alpha, SAirGroup already controls France's AOM and Air Littoral. Alexandre Couvelaire, AOM chairman, is expected to replace Marc Rochet as chairman of Air Liberte.
South America is "lagging behind" other world regions in taking advantage of the benefits of open skies, according to DOT Secretary Rodney Slater. Speaking yesterday to the International Airline CEO Conference, Slater told delegates that many Latin American airlines also are behind in attracting U.S. tourists to the region. Citing a recent AvMan report, Slater said the percentage of U.S. citizens traveling to South America is "woefully low and going down."
Indianapolis-based American Trans Air has asked DOT for 10 slots to serve three city-pairs. The airline wants to operate three daily roundtrips to Chicago Midway and one each to Los Angeles and San Francisco.
International Civil Aviation Organization President Assad Kotaite yesterday warned the opening session of the World Radiocommunication Conference in Istanbul that the "safety, regularity and efficiency of international civil aviation depend on the continued availability of protected frequencies essential to the aviation sector." IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot said the spectrum used by aviation must "not be reallocated to the telecommunications industry." The four-week conference, sponsored by the International Telecommunications Union, is where government repre
Argentinean Transport Secretary Jorge Kogan, speaking before the Joint Congressional Commission on Privatizations, described as "more than grave" the financial crisis Aerolineas Argentinas is experiencing, according to local press reports. He said the company lost $240 million in 1999, and if its Spanish majority stockholders do not put up $500-$600 million, bankruptcy is unavoidable because there are no viable political solutions.
Continental Airlines took the top Frequent Flyer/J.D. Power&Associates awards yesterday, ranking No. 1 in airline customer satisfaction for short-distance (less than 500 miles) and long-distance flights. Continental placed high in the awards five years in a row. This was its fourth year in the top spot for long-haul, and it rose from third to first place in short-haul. The airline finished first or tied for first in six of nine short-haul sub-categories, ranking especially high in customer service-oriented categories, such as airport check-in quality.
