Amadeus's 1999 net income shot up 111.8% to 168.2 million euros, the European Global Distribution System said yesterday in Madrid. The European GDS, which was listed in October, said profits received a boost from the sale of Equant holdings and tax credits. Without these items, net income grew 58.4% to 116.4 million euros. The company's total revenue for 1999 grew 14.5% to 1,356.1 million euros. Airline booking revenue was up 12.1%, while non-airline booking revenue rose 9.2%.
Victor Manuel Madrid, Varig's general manager for Venezuela, announced in Caracas that his carrier will increase flights between Brazil and Venezuela by 30%. The move is a result of plans by the Venezuela government to actively promote more trade and travel between the two countries, with an emphasis on daily air service. Madrid also said Varig is not reducing its 10% commission to travel agents in Venezuela.
Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said that if Senate Commerce Chairman John McCain wins "a couple more" Republican presidential primaries, he will have to make a choice soon about surrendering the chairmanship of the Commerce Committee, one of the busiest in Congress, or of stepping aside while he pursues his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Asked at a recent news conference about the views of several Commerce Democrats that McCain may not be able to handle both roles Daschle said, "I think it depends on whether Sen.
Austrian Airlines will increase its frequencies on the Vienna-Delhi route from three to five per week until the end of the year. The airline is switching from Airbus A310 to its new A330-200 for the flights and can offer 69 more seats per flight. Traffic increased 64% in the first three quarters of 1999.
United will introduce the Boeing 777 on its scheduled route between San Francisco and Maui today, becoming the first airline to operate this aircraft between the mainland U.S. and the Hawaiian Islands. The 777 on the route is configured for two classes with 36 seats in first and 312 in economy class.
Star Alliance partners yesterday began moving their operations to the same terminal at Rio de Janeiro Airport to increase efficiency and reduce transfer times. Both Varig and United moved from separate facilities in Terminal 1 into joint facilities in Terminal 2, with partner Lufthansa to follow in the near future. "We're extremely proud of our new facilities in Rio," said Carlos Muzzio, Varig's director-North America.
Aero Lloyd will introduce Rome/Italy as a new destination for the summer schedule and will operate flights from Dusseldorf, Munich, Berlin, Hannover and Munich. The airline will double capacity to Israel and passengers will be able to connect to Eilat with Israel's Arkia Airlines.
Last year was the worst ever for European airlines in terms of their punctuality. One-third -- 30.3% -- of all flights at European airports were delayed more than 15 minutes. Airport and ATC delays accounted for more than half of the primary delays, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) claims. From March to July, the delay rate was never less than 30%, with June at the top (37.5%). The airport with the worst delays continued to be Milan Malpensa with 54% of all flights leaving or arriving late.
Air-India is adopting measures to substantially boost its cargo capacity on international routes, according to Deputy Commercial Director Y. D. Mathur. The steps include leasing two Boeing 747 freighters and linking up with a foreign carrier that can provide capacity on its aircraft. Another plan involves reconfiguring six of its Boeing 747-200/300s, which would add capacity of nine tons in each aircraft, and converting two such aircraft into freighters.
Northwest and Gulfstream International finalized a code-share agreement to boost Northwest's service to and from Florida and the Bahamas beginning April 2. Flying Beech 1900C turboprops, the Fort Lauderdale regional also operates on a code-share basis for Continental, United and TWA and plans to work with Copa of Panama.
House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) yesterday urged the Clinton administration to launch a series of get-tough measures against the U.K. for its failure to reach a new bilateral agreement with the U.S., and told DOT Secretary Rodney Slater that, if necessary, Congress would take action. Slater, however, did not appear willing to take the tough action Shuster wanted, action that could inflame already open wounds between the two countries. Shuster and ranking Committee Democrat Rep.
SAS last month posted its business- and economy-class fares from Singapore to Scandinavia and Europe on three global distribution systems -- Amadeus, Abacus and Galileo. The move is a step in the direction of publishing the fares on the Internet, said Christine Low, passenger sales manager in Singapore.
Seoul's Inchon International Airport, which will open early next year with the aim of becoming a major hub of Northeast Asia, has signed a marketing contract with a consortium including the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller and GKMG Consulting Services. The two-year pact covers marketing directly to airlines and potential investors in the new airport. Inchon International Airport Corp. has opened international bidding for airport concessions.
In its latest restructuring to put its financial house in order, VASP has suspended flights from Brazil to New York and Toronto and returned all leased MD-11s, moves that supposedly will save the carrier $6 million per month. Flights to Buenos Aires, Zurich, Frankfurt, Brussels, Barcelona, Madrid and Miami will be maintained.
FAA said yesterday that it had required Delta to verify horizontal stabilizer inspections of its 136 MD-80 and MD-90 aircraft. FAA said that following its review of "how the inspections were conducted, there was some question about the method Delta used to inspect the upper stop for the jackscrew." Specifically, "it has been questioned whether Delta inspectors were able to confirm that the upper stop, which limits the downward travel of the stabilizer, was properly adjusted." FAA said it later received verification from Delta concerning the inspections.
Lockheed Martin received an $80 million contract to develop an air traffic control system from the U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services. The New Scottish Center (NSC) will provide a modern infrastructure to help meet the demand for increased airspace capacity, the company said. When completed, the NSC will provide advanced en route ATC services for the Scottish Flight Information Region, which covers Scotland and Northern Ireland and interfaces with oceanic ATC.
China Airlines President Sandy Liu, working aggressively to boost the airline's safety and maintenance program, sees several signs that the worst effects of the region's economic crisis have "dissipated." Speaking to the International Aviation Club of Washington yesterday, Liu said the economic growth rate of East Asia decreased sharply in 1998 but started to show "bright signs" at the beginning of 1999. "In general, East Asian economies are moving toward a recovery," he said.
The Belgian government confirmed that it would not ban night flights at Brussels National Airport. Last month, Transport Minister and Green Party member Isabelle Durant unveiled plans to outlaw night traffic, starting in summer 2003. Her decision was overruled by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, who said his administration would come up with a wide-ranging plan. The Belgian government announced last week that it was aiming at a 30% reduction in noise problems around Brussels airport by 2010.
Deutsche BA has named Peter Kranich chief operating officer, filling a post that had been vacant since former COO Adrian Hunt was promoted to chief executive. Kranich, formerly the technical director at Deutsche BA, previously worked for German Cargo and Lufthansa CityLine as head of maintenance.
Japan Airlines and subsidiary Japan TransOcean Air (JTA) launched a trial program yesterday using streaming video technology for online advertising and promotional videos on their respective web sites. SeeItFirst.com signed a agreement last year with the JAL Group's information unit, JAL Information Technology Co. Under the deal, JIT recommended SeeItFirst.com's patented technology to JAL and JTA for a trial program to enhance the web sites.
Air France will spend "more than one billion francs" (US$150 million) over the next five years to improve its service, benefiting some 10 million passengers, the French airline said yesterday in Paris. All long-haul aircraft will be "progressively" equipped with personal videos in all classes, for an estimated FRF480 million ($73 million). All long-haul services to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle will have screens displaying connecting flights, an investment of FRF10.3 million.
Air China wants authority to display Northwest's designator code on flights between Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Northwest holds authority to serve the points. DOT approval would enable Air China to permit Northwest to "sell through transportation" between points in the U.S. and the three China points by "code sharing on flights operated by Air China between these three Chinese gateways." (Docket OST-00-6909)
Canadian and Air Canada applied at DOT for reciprocal code sharing on flights between the U.S. and Canada. The request, necessitated by the acquisition of Canadian by Air Canada, includes the carriers' commuter affiliates -- Air Canada's Air Nova, AB Limited and Air Ontario and Canadian's Canadian Regional Airlines. Some of the flights also would be under code share with American. The Air Canada-Canadian code-share arrangement "plays an integral role in the acquisition of Canadian approved by...
Malaysia Airlines and Garuda have signed a code-share agreement for 58 flights a week between Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan and Denpasar and between Penang and Medan. The agreement takes effect today. Garuda will resume its Kuala Lumpur-Medan service on April 1 after suspending it for 28 months.
AirTran should show earnings growth of 19% in 2001, predicted SunTrust Equitable Securities analyst Jim Parker. He also said that AirTran will restructure its $230 million debt, due in April 2001, this year, creating a $7.2 million annual increase in interest expense that will be somewhat offset by cost savings from its Boeing 717 aircraft. Parker said AirTran, "like the phoenix...has risen from the ashes" to become a "substantially profitable and growing airline" with estimated $31 million earnings in 1999.
