MessageMedia Inc. signed an agreement last week to provide Rosenbluth Interactive with outbound e-messaging services for its biztravel.com web site. Rosenbluth Interactive, the online affiliate of Rosenbluth International, claims to be the world's third-largest travel management company.
Copenhagen Airport CEO Niels Boserup expects a decision shortly by the Danish government that will allow the airport to compete more aggressively internationally. The airport, which took a $40 million hit last year after European Union duty free was abolished, pulled out of bidding for the Berlin airport franchise but sees a good investment opportunity in Mexico's airport privatizations.
Delta's pilots will hold informational picketing at all eight pilot bases on May 2, and union leaders are hoping for a big turnout to help bring contract talks to a successful conclusion. Negotiators have been meeting, with the union saying the pace has slowed as they look at more complex contract sections.
Varig, Brazil's largest airline, increased losses to $54 million in 1999 from $14.3 million the previous year, mostly attributable to the sharp devaluation of the currency in January 1999 in the context of Brazil's acute recession. Actual revenues rose to $2.5 billion from $2 billion the previous year.
Aldeasa, the Spanish company specializing in duty-free and duty-paid shops at airports, will expand its operations in Latin America. In Chile, besides facilities it already operates at airports in Santiago and Arica, Aldeasa plans to open new ones in Iquique, Antofagasta, Concepcion and Punta Arenas. Sales are expected to increase to $23 million this year from $17 million in 1999. Expansion will cover several new countries in the region, including Venezuela, Colombia and Peru, with Mexico and Central America having first priority.
American Eagle plans to build a 26,000-square-foot satellite terminal at Dallas/Fort Worth, expected to open by September. The terminal is part of the airline's plan to expand regional jet service at DFW. American Eagle will add a 13-gate facility on the east side of the airport featuring covered boarding at all gates. It will have large windows and skylights and will be accessible via a shuttle that runs every two minutes from the ground level lobby of Terminal A.
TWA and Air Malta applied at DOT for blanket code sharing between points in the U.S. and points in Malta, proposing to begin reciprocal services May 1 under their agreement (DAILY, Feb. 24). TWA wants to place its code on Air Malta flights from Malta to Milan and London Gatwick. Air Malta would place its code on TWA flights between Milan and New York Kennedy; Kennedy and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami and Orlando; Gatwick and St. Louis, and St. Louis and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orlando, Houston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami.
National Airlines will add a third roundtrip flight between its Las Vegas hub and Philadelphia, beginning June 15. The airline originally launched service between the two cities in November 1999 and Senior VP Mark Suman said the route has become one of its strongest markets in terms of load factor and advanced bookings. The additional flight will be available in all computer reservations systems by April 10.
Almost 500 passengers were left stranded since Saturday at Trinidad's Piarco Airport because of Tower Air's financial and operational problems. They were finally flown back to New York Monday by the troubled carrier. Tower is now in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. According to media reports, BWIA has been concerned about recent passenger complaints of irregularities by Tower and other operators offering budget flights from and to the U.S.
Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), said yesterday that he is skeptical of airline industry claims that carriers are not colluding on ticket prices, conditions or sales, and is asking the Justice Department to look into the matter. DeFazio wants Justice to review the industry's compliance with a 1994 agreement designed to combat price fixing, citing price increases over the past year, identical and nearly simultaneous cuts in travel agent commissions and the industry proposal to launch a web site for ticket sales.
Frequently feisty aviation relations between the U.S. and U.K. are no longer as contentious as they have been, and a new bilateral between the two allies is expected by yearend, according to DOT Secretary Rodney Slater. "We have returned to the positive climate of last year," Slater said yesterday. Recent discussions between President Bill Clinton and U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair have included a directive to Slater and U.K. Transport Secretary John Prescott. "We've been challenged to get this done as expeditiously as possible," Slater said.
EasyJet will implement a new booking policy May 1 that aims to further boost its soaring online sales. The new policy, introduced this week, requires that customers booking a ticket more than two months in advance must purchase the seat over the Internet. If the ticket is purchased within two months of the departure date, it can be bought by telephone or the Internet. "EasyJet has aggressively pursued its strategy of offering incentives to encourage people to book seats via the EasyJet web site," the carrier said.
Embraer said Solitair Corp. converted 20 ERJ 145 options to firm orders and signed a new contract, increasing its total order to 90 aircraft. Certain of the aircraft will be operated by Chautauqua Airlines or other affiliates of Wexford Management. Chautauqua has code-share agreements with both US Airways and TWA to operate up to 40 ERJ 145 aircraft. Chautauqua President Bryan Bedford said, "Our objective is to move forward quickly to introduce regional jet service in a number of markets."
Shuttle America wants 12 slots at New York LaGuardia for service to Bedford, Mass. The carrier plans to operate the first nonstops in the market, using 50-seat Bombardier Dash 8-300 aircraft. It projects that it would carry 150 passengers each way daily -- about 45,000 annually. Bedford's Hanscom Field gained commercial service in September 1999, when Shuttle America launched nonstops to Trenton, N.J., the carrier said, noting that it has since begun service from Bedford to Buffalo and Greensboro, N.C.
Greek regional Aegean Airlines, looking to expand its route network this summer as it acquires new aircraft, has been talking informally to potential global alliance partners. With no further hope of forging a partnership with Olympic Airways, Aegean said it needs to find more ways to grow its market. "Nothing has happened [in talks with Olympic], so we had to go ahead on our own and literally grab market share by offering a different product in what we thought was a niche market," said General Manager Antonis Simigdalas.
JetBlue is adding service from New York Kennedy to Orlando June 21 with one-way fares ranging from $79 to $99 on a 14-day advance purchase and from $109 to $129 with a seven-day advance purchase. The walkup fare is $159 one way. JetBlue also introduced a low fare for JFK-Tampa/St. Petersburg service allowing parties of two or more to travel at the lowest rate, with a one-day advance purchase. Fares are $79 per person for off-peak and $99 for peak travel.
InVision Technologies received a contract with a potential value of more than $40 million over three years from the FAA for its new CTX 2500 explosive detection systems. It was the third FAA contract, after one for the CTX 9000 and another for the CTX 5500, that the company has signed in the last two weeks.
Financially troubled Avensa won its first legal battle Tuesday when a civil judge in Caracas threw out the demand for "judicial occupation" of its premises filed by a creditor, a shareholder and a former employee. The judge explained his ruling will not affect the substance of the bankruptcy suit filed separately by a group of creditors. A third suit has been filed against Avensa by the company that manages Caracas Maiquetia Airport for a substantial amount owed for airport fees. Talks about a merger of Avensa and Aserca continue, but no decision is imminent.
Grupo TACA will cater to the heavy vacation summer travel by adding a second daily roundtrip between Miami and San Salvador, its major hub, from June 12 through the end of August.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic February 2000 Revenue Ton Miles (000) February February % 2000 1999 Change Domestic Freight 823,678 752,655 9.4 Mail 172,652 157,651 9.5 Total 996,330 910,306 9.5 International
Sun Country will begin one-stop connecting service to San Diego from Boston, Milwaukee or Detroit via Minneapolis/St. Paul on Sept. 6. Travel agents who book electronically will receive a 10% commission.
Dragonair began twice-weekly nonstop service yesterday between Hong Kong and Sanya on Hainan Island. With the new route, Dragonair serves 17 destinations in mainland China.
Continental applied for the seven weekly U.S.-Colombia frequencies available now to U.S. carriers and asked DOT to consolidate its request with Delta's bid for the frequencies by instituting a comparative selection proceeding. Continental proposes daily Houston-Cali nonstops, noting that it would "offer the only gateway for U.S.-Cali traffic in the western United States" to beyond points throughout the U.S. It would begin serving the market, using Boeing 737-700 aircraft, within 120 days of a final DOT order awarding the frequencies.
