EasyJet has ordered 17 Boeing 737-700s, plus 30 options, to expand its fleet. The U.K. low-cost carrier currently operates 18 737-300s and previously ordered 15 -700s. EasyJet says it plans to operate 44 737-700s by 2004. The work force will be more than doubled in the same timeframe from 1,200 to 2,500, Chairman Stelios Haji-Ioannou said. The order is worth $600 million.
Oneida Airlines is expected to apply for DOT certification this week. Operations officials from the startup airline met with the Albany FAA flight standards district office last week and is believed to have $180 million in funding in place. If its application proceeds smoothly, Oneida hopes to begin flights from its Syracuse base in October with a fleet of DC-9s.
The U.S. and the Special Administration Region of Hong Kong government will hold talks April 18-20 on revising the current air services agreement between the two countries to allow code-share flights by U.S. and Hong Kong airlines. The call for revision follows protests from United about Cathay Pacific's plan to place its CX designator code on American's domestic services beyond Cathay's gateway cities, as well as on flights between the U.S. and certain Latin American destinations with the summer schedule.
Philippine Airlines' net profit for December surpassed PAL's projections by 31.1% or US$5.9 million. According to PAL Executive VP Henry So Uy, the airline's rehabilitation plan, approved by regulators last June, projected a net loss of US$16.4 million for the year through today. So Uy indicated that the profit achieved can be attributed to cost cutting and higher-than-expected revenues despite the suspension of the Manila-Taipei flights.
Spirit fired a shot this week in the ongoing battle over control at hub airports and competition by filing a suit against Northwest charging the major carrier with trying to force Spirit out of Detroit by undercutting fares and preventing it from using gates at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. In a filing with the U.S.
IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot said that if the ITU World Radio Conference in May reallocates certain radio frequencies now reserved for aviation to the growing mobile telecommunications services, "the aviation industry's growth and on-time performance could be severely hampered." Jeanniot told an air transport conference in Santiago, Chile, that "we are mobilizing the support of all parties with a stake in our industry in a common effort to protect aviation's essential airwaves."
Alitalia Chairman Fausto Cereti said the airline will explore the formation of a new carrier in southern Italy to serve point-to-point markets, mostly within Italy. "We will develop a Southern Italy Presidium," he said at the Aviation Week/Merrill Lynch Aviation Investors Summit yesterday in London. Most passengers from places like Palermo in southern Italy are forced to connect through Rome. "And we don't want that," he said. While Alitalia has not settled on an independent operation, Cereti hinted that it is a possibility.
ANA and Air Canada told DOT that consideration of their request for reciprocal code sharing via the U.S., on a Toronto-Los Angeles-Tokyo routing, should not be delayed by a concern raised by Delta. Delta wants DOT to "pursue assurances from Japan" that it will act promptly on future code-share applications by U.S. carriers before acting on the ANA-Air Canada application.
Continental on April 2 will introduce new Boeing 777 equipment on its daily flight from its Houston hub to Paris Charles de Gaulle, replacing one of its aging DC-10s. Continental's 777 carries 283 passengers, compared with 242 for the DC-10. The carrier has 14 777s in its fleet and operates them on routes to London, Paris, Manchester, Frankfurt, Rome, Milan, Tokyo and Tel Aviv.
U.S. and U.K. aviation negotiators, after months of little progress, said yesterday that both sides are working toward an agreement that will likely lead to restoration of direct Pittsburgh-London service soon and a new bilateral agreement by the end of the year. In a meeting yesterday at the British Embassy in Washington, U.S. and U.K. officials discussed their mutual desire to work on broad liberalization of both passenger and cargo services. They agreed to develop specific proposals and begin new negotiations by June that would result in a new bilateral agreement.
LastMinuteTravel.com named Kenneth Ray chief financial officer and board member. Ray joins the Atlanta-based company from BellSouth Telecommunications, where he was VP-sales of interconnection services.
Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (BARIG) has sharply criticized plans by Dusseldorf Airport to raise landing fees by 7.1% April 1. The increase has been approved by the state ministry of economy and transport in Dusseldorf. BARIG, which represents 102 airlines, says its members will pay only the current fees. The body wants the German antitrust commission to investigate the matter.
Northwest yesterday said on April 4 it will implement new procedures that eliminate reservations on unticketed seats and no-shows, clearing its inventory for customers waiting to buy.
Midway Airlines is going ahead with a rights offering for shares of common stock worth up to $44.8 million in connection with a loan from two shareholders who own about 47% of the company's outstanding shares.
Plagued by doubled fuel costs and an unfavorable exchange rate, Virgin Express Holdings posted a 1999 pre-tax loss of 5.5 million euros (US$5.2 million), compared with a 2.8 million euro loss in 1998. Even though revenues increased 12% for the year to 290.5 million euros, total operating expenses ballooned 32% to 79.5 million euros in the quarter and 15% to 297.8 million euros for the full-year 1999.
KLM believes that "virtual and real mergers are the only way forward for the airline industry," said Rob Abrahamsen, chief financial officer. KLM and Alitalia, one of the most ambitious near-mergers, now have "a single, unified management structure" in place just five months after starting. In addition, KLM's new subsidiary, Buzz, is expected to be profitable by the end of year two.
DOT assessed $50,000 in compromise penalties against Continental for several complaints brought against the carrier by disabled passengers, including three formal complaints filed by the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association. In its order, DOT noted that the Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings "continues to believe that, on several occasions, Continental's past compliance" with DOT rules prohibiting discriminatory treatment of disabled passengers "was not adequate and warrants enforcement action." (Dockets OST-99-6111, 98-3287, 98-3623, 98-4504)
Airbus Industrie and US Airways have hit upon a unique solution to accommodating disabled passengers in aircraft lavatories. The carrier's new A330 features two side-by-side lavatories in coach, one with the traditional half doors and one with a full-size, wheel-chair accessible door. The wall joining the two lavs is collapsible. According to US Airways, a wheelchair-bound passenger would hail a flight attendant, who would then use a special key to collapse the center lav wall, allowing the passenger the space of both lavs to maneuver a wheelchair.
KLM and Pratt&Whitney will open a maintenance joint venture in Amsterdam, investing $100 million in the project. The new company plans to offer maintenance services for engines but eventually also for the whole aircraft. It could be a $1 billion business in five to six years, P&W estimates. KLM already has an engine overhaul shop in Amsterdam that will become part of the new company.
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Regionals February 1999 to January 2000 Total Total Cost Cents Per Gallons (Dollars) Gallon 1999 February Domestic 1,053,034,434 462,158,051 43.888 International 376,526,512 183,521,446 48.741
Nav Canada said members of the Air Traffic Specialist Association of Canada ratified a tentative contract that was signed by the bargaining teams on Feb. 25. ATSAC represents more than 800 Nav Canada flight service specialists. Separately, Standard&Poor's raised Nav Canada's issuer credit and local currency senior secured debt ratings to double-'A'-plus from double-'A'. It said the upgrade reflects the company's successful introduction of internationally competitive user charges.
Tiger Management, which has owned as much as 24% of US Airways' stock, confirmed yesterday it will shut down all six of its hedge funds after its value fell sharply over the past two years. While Tiger already liquidated a majority of the funds' portfolios, it plans to retain its shares of the funds' larger holdings, including US Airways, and sell them off at a slower pace. The airline's shares closed down 7/8 yesterday at 24 9/16.
Lufthansa has opened the extension to Concourse A at its Frankfurt hub, making 13 additional gate positions available. The concourse will be used exclusively by Lufthansa and Star Alliance members. Lufthansa invested 90 million deutschmarks (US$45 million) in the building, and Frankfurt Airport covered the remaining DM413 million ($206 million). Early next month, Lufthansa and Munich Airport will start construction on Terminal 2, which they will finance jointly. The terminal also will be used exclusively by Star Alliance carriers.
