TRAFFIC DATA FOR FEBRUARY 2000 RPMs Change ASMs Change In From In From Load Airline Billions 2/99 Billions 2/99 Factor AirTran 0.34 +8.7% 0.49 +2.4% 70.2% Air Wisconsin 0.11 +10.5% 0.17 +8.3% 67.1% Alaska 1.04 +2.5% 1.49 +1.7% 69.5%
FAA yesterday published an emergency rule on MD-11 aircraft concerning the cockpit map light assemblies after determining that a broken bulb housing could expose the power contactor, which in turn could cause the light to short or overheat and result in smoke or fire in the cockpit. The rule requires deactivation of the map light assemblies or modification of the insulation blankets near the map lights.
President Clinton, in signing the FAA reauthorization bill yesterday, said he remains "concerned" about the bill's possible impact on "future appropriations for air traffic control and other crucial safety functions" at FAA.Clinton asked Congress to join him on a "systemwide reform of air traffic control."
Aerolineas Uruguayas (AUSA) received DOT approval for all-cargo scheduled service between Monte-video and Miami with aircraft wet-leased from LanChile.
Alitalia has activated six IBM self-service kiosks at Rome Fiumicino Airport, seven at Milan Malpensa and four at Milan Linate in an effort to boost electronic ticketing. The airline plans to install 42 kiosks in 11 Italian airports by yearend. Each kiosk contains an IBM PC and 15-inch LCD screen and is linked into Alitalia's reservations and departure control systems using IBM middleware.
Cielos del Peru seeks seventh-freedom all-cargo rights for property and mail for both scheduled and charter operations. The carrier wants to begin service April 12 under wet-lease with a U.S. or foreign carrier. (Docket OST-00-7153)
FlyteCom Corp. released its WebTrax 2.0 real-time flight tracking Internet tool. WebTrax allows the viewer to observe the actual location of any commercial flight in the U.S. or Canada over the Internet. The display includes a map of aircraft location with detailed flight information including altitude, speed and ETA.
DOT reported for the first time in its Air Travel Consumer Report the number of flights canceled by the top 10 U.S. carriers, which in February averaged 3.4%. Southwest posted the lowest percentage, 1.1%, and Alaska the highest, 8.8%. TWA, with the third best record, 2.1%, canceled the lowest number of flights, 441. United, which canceled the greatest number of flights, 3,305, was eighth, 5.3%. The carriers posted an on-time record of 74.8% in February, better than January's 73.7% but lower than the 78.9% posted in February 1999.
The soon-to-be-established European Aeronautic, Defence and Space Company (EADS) has offered Italy's Finmeccanica 5% of its 80% stake in Airbus, according to Reuters. Both EADS and BAE Systems are trying to pull the Italian group and its subsidiary Alenia Aerospazio into a wide-ranging alliance, primarily for defense. EADS' move is the first also to include civil business into the deal. DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Germany), Aerospatiale Matra (France) and Casa (Spain) together own 80% of Airbus, with the remaining 20% held by BAE Systems.
British Airways named Mary Thomas its new general manager for commercial partners. Thomas, 33, succeeds Robert Falkner, who is leaving the airline after 17 years to become director of finance for On Line Travel Corporation. Thomas will be responsible for all of BA's partnership marketing including financial cards, insurance, hotels, telecommunications and financial services.
DOT granted United authority for U.S.-Cyprus service, noting that the carrier intends to operate under code share with "with its foreign code-share partners." United, which sought broad rights, plans initial service via Frankfurt, placing its designator code on Lufthansa flights between Frankfurt and Larnaca (DAILY, Dec. 13, 1999). An earlier application filed by Northwest and Cyprus Airways for reciprocal U.S.-Cyprus code-share service via Amsterdam remains pending (DAILY, Nov. 5, 1999).
LanChile CEO Enrique Cueto, speaking at an IATA-sponsored event in Santiago, Chile, last week, said the carrier is still interested in operating in Argentina and is exploring partnerships. He did not discard Aerolineas Argentinas as a potential partner but noted that there are "no deadlines or any need to hurry, so no one should expect any short-term surprises." The airline recently began service in another South American nation, Peru, with its LanPeru subsidiary.
Vanguard plans to launch three daily nonstop flights between Denver and Chicago Midway on June 1. Chief Executive Rocky Spane said yesterday the carrier "already has strong customer support" for its lower fares and friendly service in both Chicago and Denver. The launch of the service is possible because of the delivery of its 14th Boeing 737. The new service will compete directly with American Trans Air and Frontier, which also operate daily nonstops on the route.
Top 20 City-Pair Markets Nonstop Daily Daily Rank Market Miles Passengers Revenue 1 Los Angeles - San Francisco 341 1,928 $143,037 2 New York/Newark - San Francisco 2,574 1,377 $483,152 3 Chicago - New York/Newark 723 1,281 $265,791 4 Los Angeles - New York/Newark 2,467 973 $290,707 5 Chicago - Washington 591 919 $147,152
Ryanair plans to launch two new routes this summer, with new service between London Stansted and Shannon beginning April 13, and flights between Shannon and Frankfurt Hahn starting on May 18. The airline is offering a roundtrip fare of just 7 pounds to Shannon, where Ryanair will battle Virgin Express and Aer Lingus. The airline blasted Shannon's airport management firm, Aer Rianta, for charging a departure fee of #7.20, which Ryanair Commercial Director Michael Cawley called "ridiculous" and unfair.
Midwest Express yesterday applied at DOT for four Washington National and 14 New York LaGuardia slots. The carrier wants to operate twice-daily DCA-Des Moines service -- the first nonstops to Des Moines' third-largest origin&destination market, using DC-9 or MD-80 aircraft. Midwest Express wants to slide DCA slots from 9 p.m. to 7 a.m. to revise its service pattern to add daily Kansas City-DCA service via Des Moines and to include nonstops among its three daily roundtrips in the market.
Legend's long-fought battle to fly out of Dallas Love Field paid off yesterday as the carrier initiated nonstop service to Washington Dulles. The airline will begin service to Los Angeles and Las Vegas today. President and Chief Executive Allan McArtor said the company was "elated" to introduce its business product to the market. Legend spent millions fighting off American's legal challenges to its right to operate from Love Field.
TAP Air Portugal gained new broad U.S.-Portugal rights consistent with open skies. DOT granted the carrier an exemption for scheduled service behind and via Portugal and intermediate points to points in the U.S. and beyond, plus charters. (Docket OST-00-7003)
TACA and Air France have agreed to code share, which should improve connections from Central America to Europe. The pact includes daily flights on both carriers via Miami and Guatemala City. Grupo TACA also has expanded code sharing with American from Miami to seven cities: Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Orlando, Seattle and Denver.
TWA's stock hit a new 52-week low yesterday, as shares dropped to $2.00 before finishing the day unchanged at $2.06. This is down 66% from its 52-week high of $6.13. TWA now has a market capitalization of just $123.7 million. For comparison, Boeing's list price for a single 747-400 starts at $174.5 million.
Avianca announced an increase of 12% in international passengers in 1999. This is a direct result of the hub it has developed in the past two years in Bogota, which now links international and regional routes and improves long-haul connections.
FAA this week opened a new web site that informs passengers about weather at major U.S. airports -- www.fly.faa.gov. A direct feed from the Air Traffic Control System Command Center at Herndon, Va., it provides airport-specific weather-related delays for passengers to check before they leave to catch a flight. The 45-day effort is part of a larger White House-directed initiative to cut down the number of weather-related delays this spring and summer, according to Scott Chamberlin, FAA web administrator for the information technology division.
Mesaba Airlines has joined aviationX, Inc., a neutral, global e-commerce network, as a beta test user. Mesaba, which operates as Northwest Airlink, is the third airline to agree to participate in the aviationX network after it is launched in the second quarter. Express I and Chautauqua signed similar agreements with aviationX last month.
