Flight attendants at Air Canada were expected to strike late last night as contract talks between the carrier and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Airline Division were making little progress. Although an 11th-hour settlement was possible, CUPE spokeswoman Catherine Louli said yesterday not enough progress had been made to expect a resolution and avert a strike by the deadline of midnight last night.
US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association unit is considering whether to enter discussions with management to lift restrictions on regional jet flying. RJ growth under the pilot contract scope clause is currently capped at 9% of the mainline fleet and is tied directly to growth at mainline operations. US Airways wants to fly 200-400 RJs, according to the union. "The company is starting to tell us that it's [the RJ cap] putting them at a competitive disadvantage, and they want to talk about it," said US Airways ALPA spokesman Roy Freundlich.
American, with the worst on-time record among majors for May, 65.2%, also ranked worst in consumer complaints, 3.70 per 100,000 enplanements. In April, Northwest, with the best on-time record, 80.6%, posted the highest rate of complaints, 2.71.
Malaysia Airlines has asked the government to raise fares by 30%on certain domestic routes, citing losses of US$300,000 daily on its domestic services. MAS Executive Chairman Tajudin Ramli said some domestic routes needed a 122% load factor to make the operations viable or break even. He declined to identify the routes that contribute most to the daily losses or the routes that warrant the fare hike. MAS has raised its domestic fares five times since 1974.
Colombia's Avianca is the leader and coordinator of Latin American contingency plans in IATA's Technical Regional Committee on the Year 2000, including airports, air traffic, radio aids, and technical and operational infrastructure. In a massive technological effort over the past four years, Avianca and its subsidiary, SAM, have invested millions of dollars on its Y2K program. It includes custom-designed computerized systems like SAP for logistics, finance and marketing, Consist HR for personnel handling and Condor II for reservations.
A new aircraft maintenance center in Bahrain has completed the first phase of construction. The Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Company (GAMCO) of Bahrain will provide services for all types of aircraft repair, overhaul and maintenance. The company is 51% owned by GAMCO and 49% by Bahrain Airport Services. Under the second phase of construction, a state-of-the-art, four-bay hangar, including a VIP terminal, will be built later this year. Construction will start in September and is expected to be completed by October 2000.
EasyJet will operate daily flights from London Gatwick to Geneva in the coming winter season. The aim is to target the large ski market based in the area to the south of London, with flights operating at the end of each day. EasyJet recently applied for slots at London Heathrow, which it failed to get, but was awarded slots at Gatwick as talks continue concerning more slots. The situation at Stansted still is being discussed.
United has taken the first step toward cutting commissions for international and U.S. domestic travel purchased in all Asia/Pacific countries except Japan. Agents ticketing United in the region will now earn only 7% instead of 9%. The Hong Kong government has yet to give United approval to implement the cut. United's move has led Singapore Airlines to notify travel agents that it, too, will switch from a 9% commission to a productivity incentive scheme later this year.
Philippines transport ministry plans to set up an independent accident investigation board similar to the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. The new board would investigate impartially all aviation-related accidents. The ministry said the board would not be a law-enforcement or regulatory body because its function would not be to establish legal fault or liability.
Boston-based charter startup New Horizons Airways appointed Ronald Ross president and board member. He previously was president of Sarasota Air in Florida and chief pilot, operations manager and pilot for Pro Jet Services. Once it receives FAA approval to start operations, New Horizons will start an Internet reservations system, Ross said.
The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has introduced a regulation proscribing future hires of foreign pilots flying for the country's domestic carriers. Foreign aircraft maintenance engineers also are barred. Worst hit is Jet Airways, which has a senior Malaysia Airlines pilot at the helm of its flight operations division and a Malaysian engineer who set up its engineering department. Both men, together with six other foreign pilots, had their contracts terminated prematurely.
Air Canada and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Airline Division continued mediated contract negotiations yesterday as the airline prepared for a possible strike by its 5,100 CUPE-represented flight attendants. CUPE members rejected the company's latest offer over the weekend. The airline lost about C$250 million (US$170 million) last year, when it weathered a 13-day pilot strike, and could face similar losses if the flight attendants strike, said Claude Proulx, analyst with Nesbitt, Burns in Montreal.
Continental's abrupt decision not to purchase a stake in AeroPeru (DAILY, June 21) could not have come at a worse possible time. It upset the Peruvian government's plans to increase foreign tourism from the present 850,000 to one million annual visitors by the year 2000, and it aggravated the traveling public at the start of the vacation season with airline capacity substantially restricted on domestic and international flights. According to DAILY sources in Lima, new players and higher stakes are now involved.
The Thai government has refused to renew the operating certificate of domestic carrier Orient Thai Airlines. Instead, Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications Choksamm Leelawong advised the airline to apply for a fresh license if it wants to continue operating domestic flights. Choksamm said he was unable to approve the renewal because OTA's request is not in line with certificate terms, but he declined to elaborate.
In June British Airways managed to slow its capacity growth sharply in June, rising only 0.6% with a 0.5% increase in traffic. The overall load factor remained unchanged at last year's June level of 75.3%. Premium traffic declined by 3.2%, while non-premium leisure traffic rose 1.1% for the period. BA's intercontinental traffic gained 0.4% and capacity fell 0.1% causing a 0.4-percentage-point boost in load factor. U.K./Europe traffic grew 0.9% on 3.6% more capacity, lowering the load factor 1.8 percentage points to 70.8%.
US Airways' June traffic rose 1.8%, while capacity jumped 6.4%. The load factor declined 3.4 percentage points to 74.5%. International traffic was up by 14.3% on a 13.1% capacity increase. For the first six months, traffic was up 0.6% and capacity 3.9%, driving down the load factor 2.4 points to 70.7%. US Airways Express traffic jumped 10.2% in June and capacity rose 11.2%, dropping the load factor 0.5 percentage points to 62.1%.
U.S. Markets With Domestic Regional Jet Service, As of August 1999 Served From Origin Origin Airport Size* Hubs Spokes Hubs Atlanta Large 3 28 Boston Large 2 1 Charlotte Large 4 3 Chicago, O'Hare Large 5 23 Cincinnati Large 14 58
Alitalia flight attendants canceled a strike Monday, but a rash of other transport strikes looms this week, including a four-hour walkout by air traffic controllers. The carriers' pilots planned a walkout this week but canceled it after a deal was reached on raises linked to productivity (DAILY, July 1). Meridiana canceled eight flights to Sicily and Sardinia Monday after pilots staged a sickout for the second day in a row. On Sunday, the Italian regional carrier was forced to cancel 30 flights when 20 pilots called in sick.
Sabena is offering special promotional fares from 13 U.K. points to 20 European destinations. Travel can be taken until Aug. 31 outbound and must return no later than Sept. 30. The maximum permitted stay is one month, and a minimum Saturday night stay is required.
Cambodian government has ordered a suspension of international flights between Siem Reap in Cambodia and Bangkok, effective immediately. No reasons were given. Bangkok Airways and Royal Air Cambodge, the two carriers operating the route, were duly notified.
Frontier Airlines celebrated its fifth year of service over the weekend. Since its inception in 1994, the airline has flown nearly 5.8 million passengers. President Sam Addoms said Frontier would continue to operate "with the same enthusiasm and tenacity that brought us to this point" and continue to grow at a moderate pace. Frontier, which started with service to four markets with two aircraft, posted operating revenues of $24.6 million and profits of $8 million by the end of its first fiscal year. It carried 398,767 passengers in 1994.
Aviation Sales Co. said yesterday it has executed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of Kitty Hawk's airframe and Pratt&Whitney JT8D engine maintenance operations in Oscoda, Mich., for $21.5 million cash and other considerations. Aviation Sales Co. for three years will provide heavy airframe and engine maintenance services to Kitty Hawk on 34 Boeing 727s and 112 JT8D engines.
House Republican Conference Chairman J.C. Watts (Okla.) has resigned his membership on the House Transportation Committee and its aviation subcommittee. Although Watts submitted a letter of resignation, a spokesman for Watts said his departure is a leave of absence and Watts can return to the committee and retain his seniority. The spokesman said Watts surrendered the Transportation Committee assignments because of his increasing duties as conference chairman, the fourth ranking position in the House Republican leadership.
Mexicana today will announce its entry into the Star Alliance, sources told The DAILY, a move that could bring a substantial revenue boost for Mexico's second-largest airline and strengthen Star's position in Latin America. Mexicana, part of the country's largest airline group controlled by holding company CINTRA SA, will receive formal membership status in July 2000. Mexicana, which has code-share agreements with United, Air Canada and Lufthansa, will formally announce its entry into alliance at a news conference this evening in Mexico City.
Sempati Air was officially declared bankrupt yesterday by the Jakarta Commercial Court. The carrier had been Indonesia's third-largest airline before it ceased operations in June 1998, the victim of Asia's financial meltdown and huge debts. Judge Victor Hutabarat said one of the reasons supporting the airline's bankruptcy application is that Sempati has no cash flow to operate or repay debt.
