US Airways' MetroJet will discontinue several Washington Dulles routes to boost capacity to Florida. The low-fare division also plans to launch service between Boston Logan and Chicago Midway beginning March 5. At the same time, one additional MetroJet flight each will be added between Boston and Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Tampa airports. While MetroJet will expand capacity to Florida, it also plans to cut service from Washington Dulles to St. Louis, Milwaukee and Columbus, Ohio.
Austrian Airlines will launch two transatlantic routes March 26 with service from its Vienna hub to Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles. The airlines will fly the routes with Airbus A330 equipment in a two-class configuration. The Chicago service will operate daily and the Washington service five days a week. Austrian served Washington Dulles previously under a code share with Swissair and Delta until it stopped the flight last year.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic November 1999 Revenue Ton Miles (000) November November % 1999 1998 Change Domestic Freight 877,473 800,865 9.6 Mail 177,851 163,739 8.6 Total 1,055,324 964,604 9.4 International
Boeing said yesterday its board has approved an incentive plan that will provide annual cash rewards to non-union employees upon the company's achieving annual financial performance objectives. Under the plan, most non-union employees will be able to earn bonuses of up to two weeks' pay for contributing to the company's performance. Economic profit, calculated by subtracting a capital charge from net operating profit, is the metric Boeing will use to measure performance, said Phil Condit, chairman.
Travelbyus.com completed its previously announced acquisition of Cheap Seats Inc., a Los Angeles based net air fare consolidator. The purchase price was $5 million in cash and 5 million common shares. The company said this contract is an important part of its plans to be "the first, fully integrated Internet travel company." Travelbyus.com's plans include making Cheap Seats' inventory available to its 1,000-travel-agency distribution system through its International Tours' agencies, which collectively grossed more than $3 billion in 1998.
Delta will begin code-share service on AeroMexico's Saturday-Sunday, MD-87 service between Atlanta and Cozumel, Mexico. "Latin America is at the top of Delta's international strategic priorities," said Steve Bradley, director of Americas alliances. Delta will now offer 11 daily flights from Atlanta to six Mexican destinations, including Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey, Cancun, Leon and, now, Cozumel with its own aircraft and through code-share service with AeroMexico. Delta also will begin daily nonstop flights between Atlanta and Cancun on January 31.
Atlas Air has signed its first mainland China lease contract with China Southern Airlines. The ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) agreement calls for the full use of an Atlas 747 freighter, beginning in the first quarter. Atlas said the pact is the "first-ever such contract to be entered into by any airline in mainland China and represents substantial growth potential for Atlas Air in this fast-growing market."
Raytheon said yesterday it will sell its flight simulation and associated training business to L-2 communications for $160 million cash. The business has more than 2,600 employees at facilities in Arlington, Texas, Binghamton, N.Y., Broken Arrow, Okla., and Orlando and at customer sites around he world. Raytheon said the sale is consistent with its objectives to focus on its core businesses.
Northwest promoted Michael Becker to VP of its international division. Becker will be responsible for all financial and administrative functions for the Pacific and Atlantic divisions.
DOT on Friday modified its request for additional information to be filed by American and British Airways in their request for reciprocal code-share rights. The carriers objected to the scope of the staff request, saying other code-share filings - or even their immunity application - did not result in DOT requiring such extensive, detailed information (DAILY, Jan. 4).
Pilots at Air Transat in Montreal, represented by the Allied Pilots Association, will begin conciliation tomorrow to resolve remaining issues with management in contract negotiations. Union leadership has mailed rank-and file strike authorization ballots which will be counted on Jan. 31. Pilots requested help from a mediator on Dec. 29, after eight months of unsuccessful contract negotiations, ALPA International said.
Startup JetBlue will announce New York-Tampa today as one of its new routes. The airline, which has taken delivery of two Airbus A320s, also begins selling tickets to Fort Lauderdale and Buffalo today and will unveil its advertising campaign. JetBlue will launch Feb. 11 and its livery will feature three tailfin designs - including one with polka dots.
In a bid to curb air rage, Singapore Airlines will introduce stern measures within the next three months. Passengers who misbehave on board flights or pose a threat to the safety of other passengers, flight attendants and aircraft will be issued a warning letter by the airline through the first officer. The pre-prepared letter, to be signed by the commander of the aircraft, states that if the aircraft has to divert from its course due to the passenger's unruly conduct, SIA will take legal action against him to recover costs incurred with the diversion.
Britain's Civil Aviation Authority has approved a visual guidance system (VGS) kit developed by BAE Systems for installation in next-generation Boeing 737-600/700/800 series transports. BAE Systems launched a certification program for Category III operation of its VGS in these aircraft early in 1998, in connection with the award of contracts for as many as 500 of these systems to equip new-build Boeing 737-800s of American, due to enter service last year.
Midwest Express and its Air Line Pilots Association unit have jointly asked the National Mediation Board to release them from mediated talks. Midwest Express spokeswoman Lisa Bailey said the two sides made "significant progress" over the course of mediated talks, but some outstanding issues, including compensation, remain unresolved. "We both felt we weren't making progress on those outstanding issues but we both remain very committed to coming to an agreement," Bailey said, adding that the two sides hope to continue negotiations during the 30-day cooling-off period.
Crossair Flight LX498, a Saab 340B, crashed shortly after takeoff just north of Zurich at around 6 p.m. yesterday local time, killing all 10 on board. The aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Zurich to Dresden. According to eyewitness reports, the aircraft exploded in mid-air, crashing near the city of Schaffhausen, Switzerland. There were three crew and seven passengers on board. The crash was Crossair's first hull loss and fatal accident and only the second hull loss of a Saab 340 turboprop, according to AvData Inc.
AirTran Airways sold 14 aircraft in December to AeroTurbine of Miami and Jetlease of Houston as part of its fleet disposition strategy. Robert Fornaro, president, said the carrier will continue to operate seven Stage 3 DC-9-30s that it sold to Jetlease through a lease financing arrangement. "The completion of these transactions significantly enhances our liquidity, reduces the age of our fleet and further demonstrates to the financial community our ability to execute strategically important transactions," he said.
DOT Inspector General's Office yesterday posted on its web site - www.oig.dot.gov - fill-in-the-blank forms to gather consumer response on overbooking and access to lowest fares, under a request by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.). The data are being collected "for informational purposes only" and will not be used "for investigative or enforcement purposes." The IG is scheduled to report results July 15, with five to seven staffers assigned to the review, an IG spokesman said.
Lockheed Martin Air Traffic Management was awarded a contract from the U.K.'s National Air Traffic Services to provide a radar data processing and display system for the Scottish area control center in Prestwick. The contract was valued at $7 million and calls for the company to provide new radar displays for Prestwick controllers as part of an ongoing improvement program. The new equipment is to be operational by the first quarter of 2001.
Four candidates are under consideration for the career position of deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs vacated by Patrick Murphy in September, Slater noted. He made a recommendation for the top DOT aviation post -- assistant secretary -- vacant since Charles Hunnicutt left in March 1999. Brad Mims, who holds the political appointee deputy post, has been acting assistant secretary since Hunnicutt left, during which time "we haven't missed a beat," Slater said.
Jet fuel spot prices ended last week at $0.77 per gallon, up 0.6% from the beginning of the week and up 130% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown. As of last Thursday, crude oil was trading at $24.84 per barrel.
