Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise (SALE) posted a $21.8 million net profit for the year ended March 31, more than double the $9.2 million it earned the previous year. Revenue jumped to $66.5 million from $29.3 million, boosted by higher rental income from aircraft leases. SALE, which is 35.5% owned by Singapore Airlines, placed an order last week for 23 Airbus A320 family aircraft, bringing its total commitments to 39 (DAILY, June 16).
BFGoodrich Aerospace was selected by Airbus Industrie to supply a heated composite structural floor panel for new A340-500/600 long-range aircraft. The heated composite floor panel provides cost and weight savings by integrating the heat unit and structural composite floor panel and eliminating the need for a bolt-on heating system. The heating unit will improve passenger comfort on long flights by providing evenly distributed heat.
Air France and Delta sealed their long-awaited alliance yesterday, only to be upstaged by American, which unveiled a code-share agreement with Swissair and Sabena. While the linkages will give each carrier access to new markets, they will add a new layer of complexity to a market increasingly scrutinized by governments on both sides of the Atlantic. Air France and Delta expect their partnership to reduce costs by 300 million French francs (US$48 million) each year and generate profits of 700 million francs from additional revenue within two to three years.
Lucas Aerospace has purchased French flight systems supplier SAMM, a subsidiary of the PSA Peugeot Citroen group, "escalating the company into the number one market position in the supply of flight control actuation." Lucas said the acquisition is part of its strategy to "double its turnover and improve its global ranking from a top five player to top three player in a consolidating market." Lucas said the international market for flight control actuation is "highly fragmented, with more than 10 companies competing for approximately $750 million [in orders] annually."
DOT granted TWA and Kuwait Airways authority to engage in reciprocal code-share services between the U.S. and points in Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. TWA's two-year exemption enables it to provide scheduled combination service between Chicago and Kuwait City and Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat, and to integrate the authority with its certificate for service on operations between New York and St. Louis and Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. TWA holds authority to serve the Middle Eastern points from New York and St. Louis.
A NASA team led by Rockwell Collins is developing a synthetic vision information system to give civil flightcrews clear views in bad weather and darkness. The system will offer enhanced situational awareness, real-time guidance and predictive alerting before terrain awareness warnings become necessary.
Midway Airlines will begin jet service between Memphis and its hub at Raleigh/Durham on Aug. 6, offering three daily nonstops each way with new Canadair Regional Jets. Its CRJ fleet will grow to 13 with the addition. The service is another example of Midway's capitalization on CRJ acquisitions, noted President and Chief Executive Robert Ferguson.
American is shutting its aircraft doors five minutes ahead of time and closing the ramp and cargo operations two minutes early on some flights to better its on-time performance during the summer. Chief Executive Donald Carty said the airline's dependability has been "less than extraordinary" lately, and the company is taking measures to improve.
Sabre will provide Air Canada with assessment services for a possible long-term technology outsourcing relationship. The assessment will cover critical applications and systems, including all computer systems in all branches and systems governing the operational requirements for running the airline. "We are interested in what Sabre can offer Air Canada in line with our profitability and cost reduction initiatives in the information technology area," said Lise Fournel, the airline's senior VP-commercial.
AeroMexico will add capacity between Los Angeles and Mexico City effective July 9. The carrier's additional daily flight raises the number of daily nonstops to three.
Air France will announce today that it has chosen Delta as its exclusive transatlantic alliance partner, a move experts believe will give the French carrier a tremendous boost in its efforts to capture a larger share of business traffic over the Atlantic. In addition, Delta could gain a strategic advantage in Europe, where it has a smaller share of the market than its competitors. "It's a major coup for Delta," said Salomon Smith Barney analyst Brian Harris. "It also brings Air France into the alliance game."
In 2018, six of the top 10 major airports using large transport aircraft will be in the Asia/Pacific region, according to Airbus.More than half the world's 1,208 large aircraft will use the 10, with Tokyo Narita, London Heathrow and Los Angeles at the top of the list. Other Asian airports will be Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Osaka and Taipei, Airbus said.
Business Express flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, agreed to their last contract with the Dover, N.H.-based airline, which is merging with American Eagle. The tentative contract offer paves the way for transition negotiations with American Eagle, said Business Express AFA Negotiation Committee Chairwoman Pat Davis. It provides a $1.30 per hour per diem, improved vacation pay and guaranteed pay for overtime.
American and its Allied Pilots Association will resume talks about the Reno Air acquisition on June 28 and 29. The two sides have not met to discuss Reno since April, when a Texas court fined APA $45 million for its role in January's pilot sickout.
The thousands of air traffic controllers hired in 1981-1992, the recovery period from the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) strike of 1981, will retire during just as short a period, according to the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA). President Ronald Reagan in 1981 fired 11,350 controllers. High rates of retirement will begin in 2003, according to a comprehensive survey of its members, NATCA said.
LanChile, one of a few airlines still offering a smoking section on flights to the U.S., no longer will permit smoking on international flights as of Aug. 1. The carrier said the policy "reinforces LanChile's concern for the environment and its passengers' well-being." As of April 1, 97% of all flights from the U.S. are smoke-free, according to DOT.
Ratification of Northwest's offer to flight attemdants is not a certainty despite the enthusiastic reception from Teamsters leadership. Some rank-and-file do not believe the contract goes far enough in retirement, pay and other benefits. A movement is growing among the membership to vote the deal down, according to union sources, who say the measure would fail if a vote were taken today. Northwest spokesman Jon Austin declined comment.
Delta and Air Jamaica received DOT authority to expand their reciprocal U.S.-Caribbean code-share service. DOT granted Delta a two-year exemption to provide scheduled combination service between Atlanta, New York, and Miami and Grenada, and between Los Angeles and Antigua and St. Lucia. Air Jamaica received a two-year exemption to conduct scheduled combination service between Montego Bay/Kingston, Jamaica, and Phoenix/Salt Lake City.
Sabena and its Swiss parent company SAirGroup have had "contacts with several other United States airlines," as they expect partner Delta to enter a major partnership with Air France, Sabena Chairman Paul Reutlinger told The DAILY yesterday in Brussels. But first Sabena has "to know the content of their cooperation. Will it be very close?" pondered Reutlinger. A spokeswoman for Swissair said Air France's decision is "not a surprise" and the carrier will wait to hear the details of the partnership.
The Senate will not take up the Commerce Committee-approved FAA reauthorization until after the Fourth of July congressional recess, which ends July 12, Senate sources said yesterday. The change raises the possibility that Senate and House authorizers, with two vastly different bills, may not be able to reach timely agreement and may have to seek another short-term Airport Improvement Program authorization. AIP in fiscal 1999, the current budget year which ends Sept. 30, is authorized through Aug. 6, the last working day before Congress begins a month-long recess.
Far Eastern Air Transport Corp., Taiwan's largest domestic airline, is studying the feasibility of raising capital by issuing securities on international markets. Sources in Taipei say the company is drawing up a plan to issue up to US$150 million in American depository receipts (ADRs) or global depository receipts (GDRs) in the second half of 2000. Funds derived from the placement would be used to help pay for a planned fleet expansion that includes the purchase of three Boeing 757s, expected to be delivered in the next 18 months.
A labor dispute between American and its employees in Fort-de-France and Pointe-a-Pitre in the Caribbean has forced regional affiliate American Eagle to suspend service to the two cities indefinitely. The dispute involves about 19 employees at each location over a severance plan currently under negotiation, according to American Eagle spokeswoman Elizabeth Ninomiya. "They have refused to handle our flights and refused to dispatch them," she said. American Eagle has contacted Air France, Air Guadeloupe, Air Martinique and Liat to reaccommodate passengers.
TWA asked DOT for exemptions of at least two years, so it can operate scheduled combination service from the mainland U.S. via Puerto Rico at its "San Juan hub" to points in the Dominican Republic and Netherlands Antilles, and between San Juan and Caracas, Venezuela. The carrier announced plans to "substantially increase its San Juan operations," effective Nov. 1 (DAILY, June 18), adding nonstops to San Juan from Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Boston, St. Louis and Los Angeles.
