Northwest, Alitalia and KLM said they have launched reciprocal frequent flyer programs and code sharing to 42 cities in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the U.S. Northwest on April 2 will launch daily nonstop service from Detroit to Rome and Milan using DC-10 aircraft. The flights also will carry the Alitalia code and offer connections at Alitalia's Rome and Milan hubs.
Aloha this week added a second Oakland-Hawaii route with service to Kahului, Maui. Aloha will begin daily nonstop service to Honolulu, its first venture in the mainland market since it was founded in 1946.
Iberia's traffic grew 9.3% to 2.6 billion revenue passenger kilometers in December, and freight volume rose 19.5% to 87.6 million ton kilometers. The airline carried 1.52 million passengers, down 4.3%. For all of 1999, Iberia's traffic rose 6.4% and load factor was 68.9%.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey yesterday compared the agency's audit of U.S. code-share partners to "raising the bar" but declined an offer for additional funding to complete the evaluation. Testifying before the House Transportation aviation subcommittee on the $11.2 billion fiscal 2001 budget request, 12% or $1.2 billion over the appropriated level for fiscal 2000, Garvey outlined the agency's plan to scrutinize the safety levels of code-share airlines, making sure they are "exactly as they should be."
ByeByeNow.com this week finalized a deal with Worldspan to give travel agents in the Worldspan network a web-based system that provides a comprehensive and fully searchable leisure product database. Worldspan has taken an unspecified equity holding in the Internet company and will name a Worldspan executive to serve on the board of directors.
Mario Sruber, former general manager of Austral, was named chief executive of Aerolineas Argentinas, replacing Diego Cuisino, who is retiring. David Cush also will leave Aerolineas, following Spanish holding company SEPI's rejection of AMR's restructuring proposal.
Continental asked DOT for two slot exemptions at New York Kennedy to operate nonstop Houston Intercontinental-JFK service beginning June 14. The route receives service by Delta, which operates one daily roundtrip. LaGuardia has 13 daily Houston nonstops and Newark has eight. Continental wants to route passengers and cargo from JFK to the western U.S., Mexico and Latin America via Houston, and provide connecting Houston-Europe service at JFK with its code-share partners Alitalia, Northwest, KLM, Air France and Virgin Atlantic.
Boeing Chairman Phil Condit and General Electric Chairman Jack Welch yesterday announced the launch of the longer-range 777-200 and 777-300, based on "strong market interest and customer commitments." No immediate launch orders were announced, but Boeing's board Monday gave its go-ahead. "We have more than enough commitments to justify this launch," said Condit. "Our launch book is heavily influenced by Asian carriers," he said without naming specific airlines.
FAA yesterday ordered operators of Boeing 757s to replace transmission assemblies for trailing-edge flaps within three years. The agency estimated the cost at $87,000 per aircraft or $43.5 million for the U.S. fleet. The order was prompted by reports that assembly attachment bolts were breaking and denied a request to extend the compliance time to 48 months. Boeing issued a service bulletin on this last September.
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Regionals January 1999 to December 1999 Total Total Cost Cents Per Gallons (Dollars) Gallon 1999 January Domestic 1,143,573,458 507,066,846 44.341 International 410,585,015 195,317,126 47.570
US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council will decide Friday whether to rescind the letter of agreement that lets the carrier add 35 RJs (see related story, Page 6). Council members from Pittsburgh and Boston who voted against the deal called for the meeting.
British Airways saves "1 million pounds per year in fuel costs" by installing new seats on its Concorde fleet. The new equipment is 20% lighter than the old seats. BA operates seven of the supersonic jets on the London-New York route.
US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council agreed to send a regional jet proposal to its members for ratification vote. The MEC passed a resolution directing that a tentative letter of agreement governing small jets be sent to the rank-and-file with a recommendation for ratification. Ballots are due April 6. The agreement would allow US Airways to add 35 RJs certificated at 50 seats, to be flown under the company's code.
American, Delta and UPS yesterday stepped up their campaigns to be chosen for future frequencies and authority to serve China. American Chairman Don Carty told reporters that DOT's decision on China, due later this year, is "the most powerful and compelling case for new route authority in the history of DOT." American would serve Beijing and Shanghai from Chicago, while Delta sees a market need for nonstops from New York, where there currently are none.
Tower Air, just days after denying that it was headed for bankruptcy court, yesterday filed Chapter 11. The filing, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del., came after the company denied persistent rumors of financial trouble last week (DAILY, Feb. 28), including allegations that engines were pulled from aircraft at New York Kennedy and that Tower pilots were looking elsewhere for work.
The proposed 35% sale of China Airlines (CAL), which had been scheduled last December, has been delayed. An official at the semi-government China Aviation Development Foundation (CAFD), which owns 71% of CAL, said a decision was made to postpone the sale because the price was too low. "Executing the sale would have meant defeating the purpose of the objective," the official said, declining to elaborate. Over the past 20 months, CADF has been trying unsuccessfully to reduce its stake in CAL.
Although the Air Transport Association strongly backs the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), several of its members -- including some of the biggest carriers -- do not see any value in the multi-billion dollar FAA system. WAAS is far behind schedule and far over initial program cost. Many of these carriers would rather see money spent on WAAS go into the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS), because LAAS provides benefits in the terminal area rather than en route. All airline officials except one from United spoke on condition of anonymity.
Calgary-based WestJet's board of directors has approved a stock split on the basis of three common shares for each two common shares held. The split, subject to shareholder approval, will be on or about May 12, and the new shares will start trading May 10. The split will be considered at WestJet's annual meeting on May 4. President and Chief Executive Stephen Smith said the split will make the price level and ownership of WestJet more accessible to investors.
President Clinton has nominated FAA Chief Counsel Nicholas Garaufis to a federal judgeship. Garaufis was nominated for a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. Garaufis, of Bayside, N.Y., has been FAA chief counsel since 1995.
The U.K. has been "flexible" in its dealings under the U.S.-U.K. aviation bilateral while the U.S. has been "unyielding," U.K. Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott told DOT Secretary Rodney Slater in a letter. Prescott was disappointed that the U.S. rejected a recent U.K. offer, which linked new Pittsburgh-London service for US Airways to approval of the American/British Airways and United/British Midland code shares. Prescott said the bilateral requires approval of such code-share applications and that in both instances the U.S.
AccessAir has voluntarily withdrawn from the Airlines Reporting Corp., ARC said. AccessAir, which suspended scheduled service Nov. 29, provides only charter transportation.
Canadian Airlines yesterday posted a net C$222.3 million loss for the year ended Dec. 31, and a fourth quarter loss of C$168 million. Canadian lost a total of C$359.9 million in the last two years. Canadian Chief Executive Kevin Benson resigned yesterday and said the results "reinforce the need for fundamental change in the airline industry in Canada." The Canadian-Air Canada merger is scheduled to begin in April. Benson will remain a director of Canadian Airlines Corp. Transition expert Paul Brotto, Air Canada's senior VP-business development, replaces Benson.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey authorized spending $15 million to fund soundproofing of 20 schools this year against aircraft noise. It is the largest number of schools ever authorized to receive such funds in a single year. The authority approved funding for 11 New York schools near LaGuardia and Kennedy and nine New Jersey schools affected near Newark and Teterboro. "When this latest round of soundproofing is complete, all schools in federally defined noise-affected areas around Port Authority airports will be fully soundproofed," it said.
Mexicana has asked DOT for an exemption for Guadalajara-Las Vegas service. The carrier plans to start serving the route twice weekly on April 1, using Boeing 727 aircraft configured for 150 passengers. (Docket OST-00-6976)
