Year-over-year growth of online leisure and unmanaged business travel sales in the U.S. will slow from the current triple-digit rate, according to Jupiter Communications, which tracks Internet commerce. Airline tickets will continue to be the No. 1 online travel purchase, however. Jupiter said sales are expected to reach $28 billion in 2005, as agencies and suppliers continue expanding their offerings beyond their usual scope, resulting in more consolidations and mergers. Jupiter noted that U.S.
Eastern Europe has about 300 regional carriers waiting to be born, according to Michael Hovel of INAVIA Consultants in Germany. Hovel notes that political and legal instability is scaring off many investors, but he estimates that in five years Eastern European regionals will be an attractive investment.
Aircraft Owners&Pilots Association gave the Joe Crotti Award for Aviation Advocacy in California to Richard Dyer, California Department of Aeronautics.
FAA Friday issued eight airworthiness directives dealing with wiring on MD-11 aircraft. The ADs give operators either six months or a year from the May 19 effective dates to check several areas. Areas targeted include circuit breaker panels, electrical connectors, external power feeder cables and clamping, generator ground studs, generator power feeder wires, seat wire assemblies and wire bundles behind a cockpit control panel. The ADs stem from FAA's "re-examining" of the MD-11 following the Swissair crash.
Russian cargo airline Volga-Dnepr finalized the details last week of a $1.5 million medium-term guarantee from the U.S. Export-Import Bank to buy 11 sets of Honeywell traffic collision avoidance systems (TCAS) for its fleet of cargo aircraft. The deal is the first new transaction financed by Ex-Im Bank in Russia since the 1998 Russian financial crisis, Director General Alexey Isajkin told The DAILY.
US Airways Express carriers filed at DOT for 156 New York LaGuardia slots and announced that, from July through October, they would add new routes and significantly increase service from LaGuardia to small hub and non-hub communities. They plan to operate the service with Dash 8, Beech 1900 and Saab 340 aircraft and with Embraer 145 and Canadair regional jets. The carriers -- Allegheny, Chautauqua, Colgan Air, CommutAir, Mesa and Piedmont -- said they would add service to Bedford, Mass.; Binghamton and Elmira, N.Y.; Hartford, Conn., and Manassas and Roanoke, Va.
Regional Aircraft Transactions Used Aircraft Deliveries For November 1999 Previous Carrier # Type Engine Operator 491549 Alberta 1 Beech 99A PT6A-27 First Air Aboitiz Air 1 YS-11-100 DART543-10K Japanese CAB AeroVIP 1 Jetstream 32 TPE331-12UAR-704H CCAIR Air Botnia 2 F-28-4000 SPEY555-15P SAS
Icelandair and SAS want DOT approval and antitrust immunity of their coordination agreement by Oct. 1 to grow their joint transatlantic services via Reykjavik and the Scandinavian capitals. The carriers gained code-share rights from DOT in November 1999 and began code sharing in January, with SAS placing its code on Icelandair flights from points in Scandinavia, via Reykjavik, to Baltimore/Washington, Boston and Minneapolis.
U.S. negotiators will meet April 18-20 with their counterparts in Hong Kong to discuss opening skies for cargo and passenger service. Open-skies talks are scheduled in Africa with Ethiopia May 10-12 and with Kenya May 15-17. Talks with the U.K. are planned June 12-15 in London, with another meeting in early July in Washington. The U.S. intends to continue its periodic discussions with Russia in Moscow in June, with plans to meet with Lithuania in late May or early June. Follow-up talks with Vietnam are planned June 14-15 in Washington. The U.S.
Berlin Brandenburg Flughafen Holding had its "most successful year" so far in 1999, claims the company that manages Berlin's airport system. "We have managed to resume the successful business development of the past two years...in spite of difficult conditions," said Andreas Foidl, BBF's finance director. The group posted a net loss of 8.8 million marks (US$4.3 million) and an operating profit of DM19.2 million ($9.4 million). Turnover grew 2.3% to DM317.7 million ($152.2 million) last year.
Aerolineas Baleares, a startup airline in Spain, is ordering three Boeing 717s plus 17 options. The airline will take delivery of the first aircraft in June and operate it on routes from tourist-heavy Palma de Mallorca. Aerolineas Baleares is closely associated with Spanair and will feed Spanair's long-haul and European flights.
Thailand's second-tier airlines, Bangkok Airways and Angel Air, continue to expand in the wake of national carrier Thai Airways' desire not to capitalize on the region's increase in demand for travel. Starting March 30, Bangkok Airways offers three weekly flights from Sukothai, Thailand, to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and four from Pattaya to Phnom Penh. Bangkok spokesman Boonrak Pulasok said after Thai Airways' decision not to use its rights, the Thai government has given the approval for the private carriers to expand.
Air Maldives (AMD) has suspended operations and fired its managing director, Fauzi Ayob. Financially strapped AMD has grounded its three Airbus A310-300s as it failed to keep up with its lease payments. The three airplanes were leased last year for five years. It could not be determined who the lessor was. Malaysia Airlines Executive Chairman Tajudin Ramli, who holds 49% in AMD through his holding company Naluri, declined comment on the issue. The suspension of AMD adds to Tajudin and Naluri's financial woes.
House aviation subcommittee Chairman Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) yesterday gave qualified endorsement to the National Transportation Safety Board recommendation for a new standard putting video cameras in the cockpit of commercial airliners. He told The DAILY that having a camera in the cockpit "would be a good thing" if done in a way that "is not unduly expensive to the airlines" and if it "can be done in a way that the pilots wouldn't have a stroke about" it. Pilots, concerned about invasion of privacy, oppose the camera issue, .
Delta will begin code sharing with South African Airways on flights from Johannesburg to Windhoek, Namibia, on May 1. Delta and SAA currently provide daily, nonstop service between New York Kennedy and Atlanta to Johannesburg and Cape Town. Delta also code shares on SAA flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London and George, South Africa.
Continental began using the eDistribution Manager this week, an interface designed by PROS Revenue Management and LastMinuteTravel.com that will link the airline's revenue management system to the Internet.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund -- Income Statement October 1, 1999 - February 29, 2000 RECEIPTS (Revenues) February 2000 Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas 73,065,000.00 Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. 517,455,000.00 Use of International Travel Facilities 103,507,000.00
Investment firm Clayton, Dubilier&Rice has finalized a deal under which it will take over more than 90% of Fairchild Aerospace. The move was announced in December 1999, but negotiations on details of the transaction continued until this week. CD&R and Allianz Capital Partners jointly invested $400 million, and Fairchild has secured bank loans for $740 million. Part of the loans is backed by the German federal and Bavarian state governments. Fairchild needs the money to develop the 728JET family.
Boeing said the 757-300 in its first year of revenue service with Condor Flugdienst achieved a reliability rate of 99.64%, "the highest rate ever by any commercial airplane model in its first year of operation." Condor has used each of its seven 757-300s an average of 8.7 hours a day.
Fasteners that do not meet specification may have been installed in about 20 in-service airplanes, including 737s, 757s and 777s, Boeing said yesterday. "We are working with affected airline customers to develop an inspection plan," the company said. The fasteners, made from an aluminum alloy prone to cracking, are in the engine casings of the aircraft, it said. "We currently are assessing the situation daily to understand the impact, if any, on deliveries.
Regional Airline Association named Scott Foose VP and liaison with FAA on air traffic control issues. He also will be responsible for a variety of operational and security matters. Foose was director of safety and regulatory compliance at Allegheny Airlines.
