United named Jim Brennan VP of its Pacific South region, replacing veteran Don Curran, who is stepping down for health reasons. Brennan, who will be based in Hong Kong, will oversee all of United's offices and operations in the Pacific South region. The carrier this year will launch nonstop service from San Francisco to Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul, and from Los Angeles to Paris.
Three leading banks will provide US$1.94 billion in financing for Saudi Arabian Airlines' purchase of 25 aircraft from Boeing. National Westminster of Britain and France's Societe Generale would provide US$1.04 billion, while the remaining $903 million would come from the Private Export Funding Corp. of the U.S. The lead arranger for the loans is Chase Manhattan Bank and the deal is backed by guarantees from the U.S. Export-Import Bank.
Singapore air show this week likely will feature several "interesting orders" for aircraft from the region's airlines, Association of Asia Pacific Airlines Director General Richard Stirland told The DAILY.Many carriers are facing a "capacity crunch" while traffic is growing in double digits. Boeing will hawk the 777X long-haul derivative at the show, and a launch order by Singapore Airlines could come this week.
National Airlines plans to add its sixth weekly flight between its Las Vegas hub and San Francisco, beginning March 16. The flight will operate only on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. "The demand for quality service between the Bay Area and Las Vegas continues to grow," said Mark Suman, senior VP-marketing and strategic planning.
Introduced Jan. 27 by Rep. Tom Campbell (R-Calif.) to direct FAA to treat certain aircraft as amateur-built aircraft for the purposes of issuing experimental certificates for the operation of such aircraft. Referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
US Airways' MetroJet unit will not launch service from Boston Logan to Chicago Midway March 5, as announced last month. The company said the quick reversal was a "business decision," and it still plans on launching additional frequencies from Boston to three Florida cities.
Italian regional carrier Air Dolomiti achieved a revenue increase of 18% to 183 billion lire in 1999. The airline, which declined to reveal its profit situation, says it flew 687,000 passengers. On scheduled services traffic grew 27% and on charter flights 17%. The 55.8% load factor was not as high as 1998's 58.7%. The airline says this is due to its capacity increase. Air Dolomiti operates 13 aircraft and had two Fokker 100s on wet-lease from Alpi Eagle between May and December.
Association of Women in Aviation Maintenance received the Vocational Education Equity Council's "Breaking the Tradition" award and FAA's special recognition award for promoting aviation safety through participation in FAA's Aviation Maintenance Technician Awards program.
DOT Inspector General plans to audit FAA's Aircraft Safety Research, Engineering and Development Program. The assessment will cover FAA aircraft safety research efforts with emphasis on cost, milestones, anticipated products and coordination with other agencies, such as NASA. "We also plan to determine the extent of FAA's research work on aging aircraft with emphasis on non-structural items, such as wiring and hydraulics," the IG said.
Boeing said Norma Clayton, VP-Lean Manufacturing and Quality at the Boeing Military Aircraft and Missile Systems Group, was named the recipient of the 2000 Black Engineer of the Year Award for professional achievement in industry.
British Airways has identified Madrid Barajas Airport as a "good location" for a planned BA European hub. Commercial Director Carl Michel told The DAILY last week that despite the air traffic delays in the region, there is "growth potential within Europe." Madrid has partner Iberia and strong traffic to Latin America. The airport recently opened a third runway that boosted flight movements 50%.
The Philippines and Taiwan resolved their often bitter air feud after four months of negotiations and hard bargaining. At the end, officials at the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in Manila and Philippine Airlines walked away red-faced as the Taiwanese had their way. Throughout the negotiations, China Airlines and EVA Air maintained they had in no way violated the bilateral agreement signed in 1996 during the previous administration. The agreement was reinstated, giving China Airlines 21 flights a week -- 14 between Manila and Taipei and seven to Kaohsiung.
The three airlines in the SAirGroup reported an 8.9% increase in traffic for full-year 1999, surpassing an 8.0% capacity increase. Swissair, Crossair and Balair reported overall passengers carried rose 16.6% and the combined load factor grew 0.5 percentage points to 69.5%. Swissair alone posted a strong 15.5%, ahead of a 15.0% capacity increase. Its load factor increased 0.4 points to 72.7%. Separately, SAirGroup said last week its information technology unit Atraxis entered a 12-year deal to manage South African Airways' IT activities.
Superior Air Parts appointed Dan O'Neill director-marketing, Robert Williams director-engine programs and Ted Faircloth director-information technology.
Singapore Airlines and British Airways agreed Friday to withdraw immediately the lawsuits against each other after holding settlement talks in Singapore. Both airlines initiated legal proceedings after BA claimed that SIA infringed on BA's patent when SIA introduced its first-class sleeper seats in 1998. BA introduced its own first-class, fully reclining seats in 1996. "SIA and BA have each acknowledged the other's legitimate concerns that gave rise to this dispute and are happy to have found a sensible compromise," the carriers said.
Go, British Airways' low-cost subsidiary, is expected to make a major announcement this week, which may include withdrawal from at least one current route, such as London Stansted-Munich.
Delta Friday asked DOT for authority to operate service three days a week between Cincinnati and Beijing, with continuing service to Shanghai. DOT is in midst of a carrier selection case to allocate 10 new frequencies for service to China. Last week's Cincinnati application is part of a broader proposal by Delta for daily nonstop flights connecting New York Kennedy with Beijing, also with continuing service to Shanghai. If its request is approved, the airline said it would begin the service April 1, 2001.
Lufthansa Technik announced a number of management changes last week due the addition of two new board members and the resignation of its head of aircraft maintenance. Rudolf Tewes left the company Feb. 1 to join C&N Touristic. August-Wilhelm Henningsen will begin April 1 as executive board member for product and services. Wolfgang Warburg assumed his new position as executive board member of personnel last month. Other moves include the promotion of Gerald Korbler to head the engine division in Hamburg.
Air New Zealand finally will gain full control of partner Ansett Australia under an agreement last week in which ANZ will buy News Corp.'s 50% holding. The new group will continue to operate each airline under its own brand, and Ansett would continue to be based in Melbourne. ANZ will make an immediate A$580 million (US$367 million) cash payment to News Corp. in addition to 10.5% in ANZ stock for the stake in Ansett. The initial payment would be made using A$230 million (US$145 million) from ANZ cash reserves and A$350 million (US$221 million) from credit lines.
-- In Federal Register dated Feb.14...Proposed to supersede an airworthiness directive on Airbus A300 family aircraft concerning inspections of certain pylons. -- In FR Dated Feb. 15...Proposed an AD on A320 family aircraft to require inspections of the sliding tube subassembly on the main landing gear.
Introduced Feb. 10 by Rep. Bob Franks (R-N.J.) to require air carriers to force passengers before boarding an aircraft to provide government-issued identification. Transportation and Infrastructure
Introduced Feb. 15 by Rep. James Hansen (R-Utah) for himself and 13 others, to help ensure general aviation aircraft access to federal land and the airspace over that land. Committees on Resources, Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure
Continental Chief Executive Gordon Bethune said last week the airline remains in "preliminary discussions" with Northwest about the acquisition of 14% of the stock shares Northwest gained in a 1998 deal. Bethune mailed a letter to Northwest executives last week "responding to some of their questions and concerns," and expressed hope to have the buy-back completed by yearend.
