DOT granted Northwest a two-year initial exemption for U.S.-Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, service. The carrier plans to serve the Ethiopian capital via points in Italy under code share with Alitalia, on a year-round basis. Northwest noted in its application that it may wish to serve Ethiopia via other routings. (Docket OST-99-6536)
Aviation Group sold its Tri-Star Airline Services subsidiary to Servisair USA, a unit of Servisair of England. Tri-Star is engaged in ground-handling activities for airlines and freight companies, primarily at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Servisair operates ground-handling services worldwide. Aviation Group said it received $1.5 million for Tri-Star net of bank debt, or about 3.5 times book value.
FAA said yesterday that Winifred Woodard has been named acting associate administrator for airports and Louise Maillett has returned to her previous position as deputy assistant administrator for policy, planning and international aviation.
TAP Air Portugal's November traffic was up 8.1% from the same month last year but was flat for the first 11 months. Freight volume dropped 11.6% in November to 19 million ton kilometers. The airline transported 329,774 passengers, up 9.8%.
Alaska Airlines placed in operation a $15 million 737NG flight simulator at its Seattle base. The simulator, built by Thomson Training&Simulation, has the highest Level D FAA certification and is the first of its kind, the carrier said.
U.S. Carriers Food Expense Third Quarter 1999 Major Carriers Cost Food Per Passenger Alaska 13,066,000 3.43 America West 7,119,241 1.45 American 179,580,000 8.31 Continental 58,633,000 5.09 Delta 117,083,000 4.31
The troubled Wide Area Augmentation System failed in key tests at the FAA Technical Center, raising the likelihood of adding more delay and costs to the program, informed sources told The DAILY. WAAS, which FAA says is a key element of modernizing the air traffic control system, experienced problems with its vertical alarm software, sources said.
Delta, in addition to announcing a $500 million stock buyback yesterday, unveiled plans to accelerate the retirement of 16 remaining MD-90s and eight MD-11s over the next seven to nine years to simplify its fleet. The early retirement -- neither aircraft type is in production anymore -- will result in a $320 million one-time charge in its December quarter financial results to be released next Tuesday. The carrier said yesterday it will repurchase up to $500 million of its common stock through June 30.
The Fair Inc. of Tokyo has ordered two Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet aircraft for its regional airline operations scheduled to begin in mid-2000. The Fair Inc., established recently, will add two more CRJs in 2002. The first two 50-seat jets, based in Sendai, will serve business routes such as Hiroshima-Haneda. The Fair Inc. and All Nippon Airways have reached a cooperative agreement to begin a CRJ operations under which ANA will provide assistance with flight operations, crew provision, maintenance and engineering services and other areas.
Honeywell has acquired Quantum Laser, a repair facility specializing in the laser cladding of turbine blades. Quantum will become part of Honeywell's aerospace business and will work closely with its Greer, S.C., repair and overhaul facility.
FlightSafety Boeing Training International plans to place six new next-generation 737 full-flight simulators into training centers around the world. It aims to have nine of the simulators operating by the end of 2001 in North America, Europe and Asia.
Air Express International has acquired the Transworld group of companies, a leader in the specialized field of project forwarding. Transworld, Houston, will operate as a separate division and will be called AEI Project Services.
Delta plans code share on four new Air France flights from the U.S. to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. Service to Paris will begin March 26 from Atlanta and Philadelphia; April 24 from Boston, and May 15 from Cincinnati. Delta and Air France both operate daily service from Atlanta to Paris; Delta has daily service from Cincinnati to Paris, and Air France offers daily service from Boston to Paris.
The FAA has approached DOT about a fiscal 2000 supplemental request that could add about $100 million to the agency's operations budget, FAA spokesman Eliot Brenner confirmed yesterday. FAA, Brenner said, is in "a bit of a tight spot," sharply curtailing travel and not backfilling safety-related vacancies to save funds in the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1. The Clinton administration's FY 2000 budget requested $6.039 billion for FAA operations.
Fortis Aviation, acting for TWA, sold two Lockheed L-1011s to BPI Aerospace of Miami which will dismantle them for spare parts. Fortis said the sale was another step in disposal of TWA's remaining fleet of owned Boeing 747s, L-1011s and 727s. So far, more than 20 aircraft of all three types have been sold. Fortis still has for sale two 747-100s, several L-1011s and two 727-200As.
American's top executives are meeting this week in Madrid to solidify the acquisition of Interinvest's stake in Aerolineas Argentinas from Spanish state holding firm SEPI.But sources confirm that Continental has re-emerged as a possible investor if American's negotiations fall through. Continental lost out last year to American for the Aerolineas partnership, but sources say Continental is staying close to the troubled talks.
Development of the 728JET family would have had to be stopped had parent company Fairchild Aerospace not found an investor, Dornier Luftfahrt Managing Director Thomas Brandt told The DAILY in an interview. The program faced an imminent delay in July 1999, when an $80 million loan by a consortium of four banks saved it. The $400 million investment by Clayton Dubilier&Rice and Allianz Capital Partners will be handed on by Fairchild Aerospace to its German subsidiary, which is developing the regional jets.
Northwest and its flight attendants may be heading back to the bargaining table, either because of a court order or at the behest of the National Mediation Board, according to sources. Judge Donovan Frank, the same judge who last week ordered flight attendants to end their alleged sickout, on Tuesday ordered the company and the Teamsters Local 2000 union back into contract negotiations. The judge gave the two sides until tomorrow to choose a private mediator or give him a list of acceptable mediators.
Airlines are paying more attention to passengers, but are the fixes being put in place going to keep customers who are increasingly aware and able to search out alternatives? Trips taken will increase to 1 billion in the U.S. in 2003 and there are growing numbers of savvy travelers who will want more than 12-point customer service plans. Major U.S. carriers managed to avoid threatened legislation with their voluntary commitment to customer service.
Los Angeles World Airports said yesterday it is "disappointed" that the U.S. Supreme Court sided with airlines over the use of airport revenues but that the $100 million to be refunded to carriers has been sequestered in an "impound trust account" and will have no impact on its operating budget. A spokeswoman said, "We intend to meet with the airlines to determine how to distribute these funds." The Air Transport Association said airlines "very shortly should be talking to the airport. We should have something wrapped up within 30 days."
Great Lakes Aviation has inked a $20 million revolving credit facility with Coast Business Credit, a division of Southern Pacific Bank of Los Angeles. Great Lakes President and Chief Executive Doug Voss said the credit will let the company restructure and settle some short-term indebtedness and increase its working capital. "With this credit facility in place, management can now focus on our continuing efforts to improve operating performance and profitability," he said.
Japan's Ministry of Transport last week issued airworthiness directives on Airbus A300 and A300-600 aircraft. The first AD requires checking the fuselage frame of the A300 for cracks around the L-2 door, and the second requires checking the A300-600 for possible wire breaking in the flight augmentation system. Japan Air System, the sole A-300/300-600 operator in Japan, is expected to finish the checks of all A300/-300-600s before Jan. 21. The ADs follow similar directives issued by the French government earlier.
New York-based startup JetBlue Airways yesterday launched its new website at www.jetblue.com and the start of its "Unbelievable" theme advertising campaign. JetBlue said tickets are now on sale for its inaugural service to Buffalo and Fort Lauderdale from New York Kennedy. Fort Lauderdale begins on Feb. 11 and Buffalo Feb. 17. JetBlue yesterday announced Tampa as its third destination. It also will serve Rochester and Syracuse by mid-2001 and Burlington, Vt. by yearend 2002.
