Sporadic announcements by former investors and employees of Aeroperu to rescue the company from bankruptcy court limbo have led the Peruvian government to hold off on reassigning the carrier's former routes. Alberto Lopez, general manager of LanPeru, said freezing the routes jeopardizes his carrier's expansion plans. He said LanPeru has provisional authority for one year to operate seven weekly frequencies from Lima to New York, Los Angeles and Santiago, but it wants a more permanent solution.
British Airways and BAE Systems, Aviation Services, said they will offer Total Maintenance Support Solutions (TMSS) for operators of Airbus A320-family aircraft, and KLM and United Technologies are teaming with the ultimate goal of providing "nose-to-tail" aircraft, component and engine maintenance services. BAE Systems will provide airframe base maintenance capacity and BA inventory support. Component overhaul expertise will be provided by BA Avionics Engineer and BA Component Engineering.
National Airlines achieved profitability in March, 10 months after it launched operations from its Las Vegas hub, becoming one of the fastest new entrants in modern history to make money. The airline operates 11 Boeing 757-200s providing nonstop service from Las Vegas to eight cities, but it has aggressive plans to expand its network to several new U.S. cities with a total of 20 aircraft by yearend.
DOT Office of Inspector General recommends that FAA carefully examine cost data presented by airlines in their attempts to receive higher fees for collecting passenger facility charges. FAA's Office of Airport Planning and Programming plans to issue a notice of petition for rulemaking in response to a House report that a number of airlines have complained to Congress that their compensation for collecting PFCs is too low under current FAA regulations.
European Commission is expected to authorize the creation of the European Aeronautic, Defense and Space Company (EADS) by tomorrow, the deadline for the current examination of the case, a source said. The consortium, set up by DaimlerChrysler Aerospace, Aerospatiale Matra and Construcciones Aeronauticas, was asked to review its position on some minor segments of the satellite launcher component market, where it would hold a quasi-monopoly in Europe.
The House transportation appropriations subcommittee late Monday gave voice vote approval to a fiscal 2001 FAA appropriations of almost $12 billion, a boost of roughly 25% or $2.5 billion over the level enacted in fiscal 2000, the current year. The boost was largely due to AIR-21, the three-year authorization that funded capital accounts through the Airport and Airway Trust Fund, conceded subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.), an opponent of this approach.
LIAT's new CEO Garry Cullen believes "less analysis and more action" will help the money-losing carrier recover. His strategy includes a major internal cost-cutting plan and strategic scheduling in cooperation with BWIA. Record traffic performance during the Easter season despite growing competition encouraged Cullen in his approach.
IAAIM, the independent agency responsible for managing Caracas Airport at Maiquetia, will invest $100 million in three years to implement its Project Maiquetia 2000. This will allow new and expanded facilities to handle 6 million passengers per year by 2001. First priority will be given to the international passenger terminal, planned in 1973 for 2.5 million passengers and now obsolete to handle the current 3.3 million annual traffic. Second priority will be modernized facilities for cargo, a major source of revenue for the airport.
Venezuela's Aeropostal forecasts profits of $25.4 million on revenues of $180 million for this year. It also is considering a code-sharing agreement and equity investments with either American or Continental.
Mexicana expects incremental revenues through its Star Alliance membership to rise to $100 million in five to six years, Executive VP-Marketing and Sales Antonio Martinez Salinas told The DAILY. The airline increased revenues through its partnership with United by $26 million and by $4 million with Lufthansa in 1999, and it expects this to rise in total to $45 million in 2000. Mexicana is speeding up the integration of its network with other Star carriers.
Protection from predatory pricing and capacity dumping should be included in open-skies negotiations, said Bob Booth, president of AvMan Inc.Booth yesterday received a positive response to the suggestion from DOT Secretary Rodney Slater. "I will definitely take that into account," Slater said. Booth alleges that pricing and capacity concerns torpedoed Colombia full open-skies talks discussions recently.
U.S. Major Carriers Atlantic Share of Service Fourth Quarter 1999 Total Revenue Departures American 6,162 Continental 4,136 Delta 6,640 Northwest 2,386 TWA 1,642 United 5,097 US Airways 2,002 Total 28,065
Lufthansa's long-term competitiveness and growth are contingent on the proposed construction of a third runway at Frankfurt Airport, the airline's home base. A critical decision lies first with the 250,000 people living in residential estates surrounding the airport. If they say they can tolerate the additional noise generated by increased flight movements with the third runway, the decision falls to the state government of Hesse.
Lockheed Martin has signed a 10-year agreement with Airways New Zealand to modernize New Zealand's airspace management and establish a technology center to support the nation's air traffic management program. Airways is credited with being one of the first fully commercialized air navigation services organizations. Under the agreement, Lockheed Martin will replace the current air traffic control system, including three area control centers and 17 tower systems with its SkyLine air traffic management technology.
America West has launched a new travel booking system powered by GetThere. The site provides advance air booking capabilities and enables users to book complete trips through www.americawest.com
In a surprise move, the Indian government has given its approval for a foreign carrier to acquire up to 74% in national carrier Air-India amid protest from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MCA). Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee told the Indian parliament that the carrier needs the investment for it to continue. Vajpayee's decision drew an outburst of protest from MCA, with officials saying the government's decision is tantamount to losing ownership of Air-India and selling the carrier's identity.
TWA's proposed DCA-LAX nonstops would connect with feeder service to Southern California points operated by Chautauqua Airlines, provided TWA receives DOT authority for DCA slots by July 6.
United and American Trans Air joined American and TWA in proposing nonstop Washington National-Los Angeles nonstops as carriers filed for 12 within-perimeter and 12 beyond-perimeter slots at DCA. ATA also proposed a daily DCA-San Francisco nonstop as well as requesting within-perimeter slots for Chicago Midway nonstops that would continue to the two California markets. Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines filed for within-perimeter slots to operate three daily DCA-Jacksonville, Fla., nonstops.
LTU of Germany plans to acquire 18 A320 family aircraft and seven A330-200s as part of a fleet renewal program, Airbus said yesterday. The carrier signed an initial contract to buy six A320 family aircraft, which it will operate on medium-haul routes from German airports to vacation points in the Canary Islands, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The new aircraft means LTU will have an all-Airbus fleet by the end of 2003.
Boeing Chairman Phil Condit said yesterday in New York that Michael Sears, a 30-year veteran of the company, will be its new chief financial officer. He succeeds Debbie Hopkins, who went to Lucent Technologies. Harry Stonecipher, who turns 64 this month and was due to retire in May 2001,will remain another year as president and chief operating officer. This places two former McDonnell Douglas officials in top spots at Boeing.
Mesaba is taking delivery of three more BAe Avro RJ85s by June, bringing its RJ fleet to 36, BAe said last week. The 69-seat aircraft will be used mainly for hub feed from Northwest's hubs in Minneapolis, Detroit and Memphis. London Gatwick-based British Airways subsidiary CityFlyer Express recently accepted its ninth Avro RJ100, with the 10th arriving in June, according to BA. The additional aircraft will give the airline 26% more capacity, with 70% of CityFlyer passengers traveling on RJ jets. The entire RJ fleet will be refitted with leather seating.
Reports that British Airways plans to sell its low-fare operation, Go, is "pure speculation," Honor Verrier, spokeswoman for BA told The DAILY yesterday, adding, "We don't speak for Go." Go could not be reached for comment yesterday. Verrier was responding to a report in the Financial Times that BA's new chief executive, Rod Eddington, will consider selling Go in a move to eliminate redundancies. The newspaper reported that Eddington is laying plans to cut BA's costs, a move that could eliminate 2,000-10,000 jobs as the airline cuts capacity by 12%.
Continental Express plans to start daily nonstop service between its Houston hub and Hermosillo, Mexico, capital of the northwestern state of Sonora. Service to Hermosillo is set to begin Aug. 1, pending government approval, and will be operated with 50-seat Embraer ERJ145 regional jets. With the addition of Hermosillo, an agricultural and manufacturing center, Continental will serve 21 destinations in Mexico.
TRAFFIC DATA FOR APRIL 2000 RPMs Change ASMs Change In From In From Load Airline Millions 4/99 Millions 4/99 Factor Vanguard 84.2 +22.0% 136.7 +41.0% 61.6% Midwest Express 171.2 +4.6% 259.1 +4.6% 66.1% Skyway 9.1 +31.1% 20.4 +46.5% 44.6%
Sabre Holdings said yesterday it has completed the second part of a three-phase, $10 million project to create a centralized operation control system for China Southern Airlines. The second phase involves integrating Sabre's SteadyState weight and balance system for safe, optimal aircraft loading, and Sabre FlightMonitor real-time flight monitoring system for the Sabre generated Systems Operation Control facility in Guangzhou, China. China Southern will become the first airline in China with an automated load planning system.
