The independent agency that manages Caracas Simon Bolivar Airport at Maiquetia, Venezuela, will proceed with its "Maiquetia 2000" expansion plan in spite of having lost millions of dollars when the airport closed in December because of catastrophic floods and mudslides in neighboring coastal areas, according to DAILY affiliate Aviation-Latin America&Caribbean. The project's first phase, calling for an expanded and modernized international passenger terminal, will get under way in February, only one month behind schedule.
Northwest wants DOT to take immediate action on its long-standing requests for exemptions to serve Lagos and Kano, Nigeria, under code share with KLM from Amsterdam. Northwest wants the right to code share separately with Alitalia. Northwest filed to serve Lagos with KLM on Aug. 5, 1993 -- just before the Aug. 13, 1993, U.S. embargo on service by U.S. carriers to Lagos due to airport security concerns. Northwest wants to place its code on KLM's Amsterdam-Nigeria nonstops -- six weekly to Lagos and two to Kano.
Continental hopes to regain its independence by revisiting the 1998 stock deal that led Northwest to gain voting control over the carrier. Continental approached Northwest within the last month to discuss the acquisition of 14% of the stock shares Northwest gained in the purchase, with hopes to "remove the cloud of uncertainties on both sides of the equation," Chief Executive Gordon Bethune said yesterday.
Brussels Airport passenger traffic rose 7.8% to 19,961,615 passengers in 1999, airport managing company Brussels International Airport Company (BIAC) said yesterday. The results were heavily influenced by the performance of Sabena, which carried 10.34 million passengers last year, up by 13.9%. Connecting passengers jumped 15%. "These figures confirm Brussels' function as a hub," BIAC said.
IATA will introduce a new ruling before the end of the first quarter, requiring all prospective new member airlines to pass a safety audit before they are admitted to the world body. The move is to enhance safety in the airline industry with the long-term aim to implement safety audits every five to six years for all members, an IATA official said.
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic December 12 Months 1999 (000) December December % 1999 1998 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 990,000 970,000 2.1 Available Seat Miles 1,488,000 1,419,000 4.9 Load Factor (%) 66.5 68.4
House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) could reconvene the stalled FAA reauthorization conference as soon as Jan. 27, the day President Clinton will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress. "It could happen as early" as then, a Transportation Committee source said. Shuster, as chairman of the House-Senate conference, could pick the date. Both the House and the Senate will return for the new session on Jan. 24, but there is nothing to compel their attendance until the State of the Union speech Jan. 27.
A former American Eagle pilot who claimed he was wrongfully terminated for refusing to operate a flight into icing conditions was awarded $10 million in damages last week by a jury in Dallas. American Eagle said it will appeal the decision and that Michael LaGrotte was dismissed based on three incidents in which he "threatened the safety of fellow crewmembers and the passengers on his flights by not following critical safety procedures." The carrier said the union representative who testified at the trial agreed "there was no merit to Mr.
Airlines Reporting Corporation reported total travel agent sales processed for 1999 were up 4% over 1998, reaching $76.6 billion. Domestic fares for the year rose 5% and international fares 2%. Sales processed for December gained 4% to $5.3 billion. December's domestic fares were up 3% to $3.3 billion, while international fares jumped 6% to $1.6 billion. Domestic commissions fell 29% to $150.2 million in December, while international commissions declined 8% to $200 million.
DOT granted Allegiant Air certificate authority for scheduled service. The charter carrier operated flights in the Fresno-Las Vegas-South Lake Tahoe-Burbank market until late 1999, when it dropped South Lake Tahoe and added Las Vegas and Long Beach. Allegiant operates three DC-9s. It plans to place a fourth DC-9 in service in February on Long Beach-Salt Lake. With the grant of this scheduled service certificate, Allegiant plans to convert these direct-sale charters to scheduled services. (Docket OST-99-6263)
Consorcio de Aviaxsa received a one-year DOT exemption for Monterrey, Mexico-Las Vegas service. The Mexican carrier plans twice-weekly roundtrips on the route (DAILY, Jan. 3). It applied separately for Monterrey-Los Angeles authority. Consorcio de Aviaxsa wants to operate a daily roundtrip, beginning March 15. (Dockets OST-99-6701, 00-6745)
Clarification: Continental insists that it, and not BWIA West Indies Airways, was the first operator of the Boeing 737-800 in Latin America and the Caribbean, having introduced the aircraft in September 1998. Boeing meant to say that BWIA is the first Latin American operator of the aircraft (DAILY, Jan. 13).
Jet fuel spot prices ended last week at $0.81 per gallon, up 5% from the beginning of the week and up 114% from a year ago, said Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. As of last week, crude oil traded at $26.84 a barrel.
Approved a Qantas Airways charter using a HeavyLift Volga-Dnepr An-124-100 for a one-way flight carrying 130,000 pounds of Boeing 747 spares and equipment on an Everett, Wash.-Anchorage-Bangkok routing Jan. 1-15...Approved a Curtis Air Services charter using a HeavyLift Volga-Dnepr An-124-100 for a one-way flight carrying 200,000 pounds of equipment, including a tractor, snow-blower and medical and relief supplies on a Houston-Skopje, Macedonia, routing Jan.
German charter carrier Air Berlin achieved 50% growth in passenger numbers in 1999. Air Berlin's roughly three million passengers flew from 14 German airports to holiday destinations in the Mediterranean. The airline also offers 100 weekly roundtrips to Mallorca. Air Berlin operates 11 Boeing 737-800s and four 737-400s, and has nine 737-800s on order.
U.S. Major Carriers Financial Results Third Quarter 1999 Third Quarter 1999 Operating Operating Revenues Expenses (000) (000) Alaska 478,433 402,592 America West 538,175 499,328 American 4,251,362 3,870,063 Continental 2,098,376 1,939,873
