Charles Edelstenne, 62, will succeed Serge Dassault, 75, as chairman and chief executive of Dassault Aviation April 4. Edelstenne is senior VP-financial and economic affairs, while Dassault owns a controlling stake in the company. Dassault Aviation reported a $157 million net profit on $2.9 billion in revenues, 68% of which came from the civil market. "In 1999, we secured orders for 72 Falcon business jets and the production rate recently increased to an average seven aircraft per month," Edelstenne told French financial analysts recently.
British Airways says that under "the most restrictive agreement in the world (Bermuda II of course)" 114 daily U.S.-U.K. roundtrips will be operated this summer in a 50-50 U.S.-U.K. ratio. That compares with 52 daily flights in the U.S.'s largest European open-skies market, U.S.-Germany. BA operates 33.8% of flights in the top 10 foreign-carrier U.S.-Europe country pairs, ranking it 10th behind Swissair, 75.7%; Aer Lingus, 60.9%; Sabena, 55.7%; TAP, 54.8%; Air France, 43.8%, Lufthansa, 43.7%, plus Alitalia, Iberia and KLM. Of 21 monopoly U.S.-U.K.
TOP 15 CARRIERS SERVING SOUTH CENTRAL REGION, RANKED BY O&D PASSENGERS South Central % of South Central Region O&D Region Passengers Per Carrier Passengers Total Day Each Way 1 Southwest 26,288,690 29.8% 36,012 2 American 21,815,990 24.8% 29,885 3 Continental 12,835,400 14.6% 17,583
While two more grounded Avensa/Servivensa aircraft were allowed to operate last week and the carrier gave assurances that its other seven planes were in "perfect condition," talks progressed in Caracas toward a probable merger with Aserca. Both companies have retained investment bankers to study the financial requisites and projections of such a move. The next step, said Aserca Chief Executive Julian Villalba, is to "sit down to negotiate the synergy between the two companies.
Portugalia Airlines joined the Europebyair.com web site last week and immediately began offering special online discount fares. Lisbon-based Portugalia serves a total of 23 destinations in eight countries.
The U.S. accident rate for general aviation aircraft fell slightly last year and charter carriers had no fatal accidents, but commercial aviation accidents rose. The National Transportation Safety Board aviation accident statistics report for 1999, published Friday, shows 12 people were killed in airline accidents. The fatalities included the 11 people who died in the crash of American flight 1420 in Little Rock, and a ground crew worker struck by a rotating propeller in July, also in Little Rock.
Approved a one-year exemption renewal, co-extensive with other of its U.S.-Mexico rights, for America West to provide service between Phoenix and Ixptapa/Zijuatanejo, Mexico...Approved a one-year exemption renewal for Harlequin Air to engage in charters between the U.S.
America West pilots are wondering where senior management and public relations were during the recent Eagle flight planning hardware failure, which caused flight delays and cancellations. A union spokeswoman declined comment, but in a recorded message to pilots, the union said the "Great Eagle Meltdown" was an embarrassment and tremendous financial loss. "The continuing embarrassment suffered by each and every employee of this airline must stop," the union said.
U.S. REGIONAL ANALYSIS -- SOUTH CENTRAL REGION Carrier Ranking, Passenger Flows, Airport Activity and Trends Top 50 South Central Airports, Ranked by O&D Passengers % of Annual O&D Region Average Airport Passengers Total Yield 1 Dallas/Fort Worth 19,358,300 22.0% 19.19 2 Houston 10,162,650 11.5% 17.24
American and Turkish Airlines on Friday signed a code-share agreement that they plan to implement this summer pending government negotiations of the current bilateral pact. The current U.S.-Turkey transport agreement does not specifically authorize code sharing between U.S. and Turkish carriers, but American officials said informal talks between the governments are expected to begin next month on a revised agreement. Under the code-share pact, American will place its "AA" designator code on Turkish flights between the U.S.
British Airways gave a boost to Orlando Airport last week by signing a long-term lease to serve the facility's new south terminal until 2008. With the deal finalized, the airport completed the requirement for beginning "vertical construction" of the new facility. Site work for the project began in September 1998 and Phase I is scheduled to be completed in December 2002. The first phase will include a minimum of 10 to 12 widebody gates and international arrival facilities.
FAA wants Embraer 135 and 145 operators to inspect certain horizontal stabilizer component fittings for production-related problems that, if undetected, could render the aircraft uncontrollable. Brazil's Departmento de Aviacao Civil (DAC) said an operator reported looseness of the hinge fitting attachment of the stabilizer's elevator spring tab, the agency told FAA. The looseness was caused by incorrect installation of fasteners on the production line.
Bombardier Aerospace will add a seventh U.S. service center with the opening this year of a facility at Dallas Love Field. The manufacturer signed a lease with Signature Flight Support to operate a 43,500-square-foot facility that is part of an existing complex at the Signature Flight Support base at Love. The building will be modified over the next couple of months and is expected to open in the spring. Initially, the Dallas center will service all Learjet and Challenger models and will begin adding service for the Global Express next year.
If the 10 major European airlines develop a joint web site quickly, it would reshape the online travel market, according to a new report from Forrester Research. A group of roughly 10 major European airlines are working to launch an Internet travel portal that is supposed to cut marketing costs and expenses for travel agents' provisions. Analyst Jaap Favier believes that European airlines all have a very strong position in their respective home markets but with a joint site, "they obstruct access to these customer bases as T2 U.S.
RightFreight.com, an Internet-based exchange for airfreight transportation and logistics industries, has formed a partnership with the National Transportation Exchange, which electronically matches shippers and carriers for more efficient, point-to-point ground transportation. This brings together leading business-to-business logistics sites for the air and ground freight industries, the companies said.
Ryanair claims that its web site is the "biggest air travel web site in the world."The airline generated I#5 million (US$6.3 million) in online sales from 35,000 average online bookings per week, since Ryanair.com launched Jan. 12, or a rate of 1.8 million annually. With at least 5.6 million passengers this year, the airline is on pace to book 33% of total passengers through Ryanair.com -- 10 times the level of most major U.S. airlines.
The U.S. plans to work with Asian, Latin American and African countries, as well as the European Union, to effect liberalized skies worldwide, DOT Secretary Rodney Slater said last week during a tour of Southeast Asian countries promoting the benefits of open transportation policies. Slater proposed plurilateral -- more than one party on each side -- and multilateral regional agreements to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members in Singapore. The U.S.
Midway Airlines and its machinists union reached a tentative contract agreement Friday covering ramp workers. The deal was reached with the help of National Mediation Board mediator Richard Frey. A ratification vote is scheduled in mid-March.
