TWA wants DOT to require alliance applicants Alitalia, KLM and Northwest to include in their information submissions an analysis of markets where Continental competes with Alitalia. DOT did not include such a requirement in its multi-point order requesting additional information from the three carriers (DAILY, May 25). The airlines are seeking an antitrust immunized alliance that would serve to make effective U.S.-Italy open skies (DAILY, May 13). DOT asked the carriers to analyze the competitive effects "in city-
EasyJet has established a base in Geneva and is opening new routes from there to Amsterdam, Barcelona and Nice. Seats are for sale now and flights will begin July 28. Nice service will operate twice a day and there will be daily flights to Amsterdam and Barcelona. Roundtrip airfare for all seats will be 79 Swiss francs ($52), including taxes, until Aug. 5.
FAA yesterday asked for comments on its proposals for minimum performance standards for two classes of Terrain Awareness and Warning Systems (TAWS). This is the second opportunity for review and comment before FAA publishes it as a final document. FAA received 300 suggested changes to its first proposal, issued Nov. 4.
Air travelers in Europe are suffering from "unacceptably high delays this year," said Pierre Jeanniot, director general of IATA. "The delay situation will only get worse during the summer unless some governments make the necessary urgent improvements in air traffic services they had agreed to in their capacity plans." Flight delays are "growing out of control," he said, increasing 253% in March and 175% in April from the same months last year. The Kosovo crisis is accounting for at least 30% of these figures due to airspace restrictions (DAILY, May 27).
All Nippon Airways yesterday posted a net loss of 6.5 billion yen ($54.1 million) for fiscal 1998-99, a loss that could have been worse in the face of Japan's recession. Revenue fell 1% to 903 billion yen ($7.52 million). "It has been a challenging year," said President Kichisaburo Nomura, noting that the airline is making "radical changes" to achieve profitability. Last year, international passenger totals rose 11% to 3.49 million, but international revenue fell 4% to 172.9 billion yen ($1.44 billion).
British Regional Airlines will boost its fleet with another five new Embraer 145 jets, with options on an additional five. The options, if taken, would bring its potential Embraer RJ fleet to 25, making the airline the largest single ERJ operator outside the U.S. The additional aircraft will be used to replace its existing turbo-prop fleet and will allow it to further develop U.K. and European routes. British Regional operates under the British Airways banner and is the largest BA franchisee, with 40 aircraft operating on 50 routes.
Virgin Atlantic has named a new firm, Plane Handling, to take over its ramp and baggage handling at London Heathrow in November. British Midland had handled Virgin's needs previously. Plane Handling, a 50/50 joint venture between Virgin and ground handling operator GHI, already works with Virgin Atlantic Cargo at Heathrow. The three-year contract with Virgin Atlantic is worth more than #12 million - about $US19.1 million - and follows the European Commission directive to permit open access for ground handling operators at airports.
House Transportation Committee yesterday made its expected funding reductions in AIR-21/HR 1000, the five-year FAA authorization that would take the aviation trust fund off budget. The bill faces opposition from appropriators and others who claim even the reworked version threatens funding for other programs. Separately, DOT Secretary Rodney Slater this week told House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) that Slater could not recommend President Clinton sign it if it retains off-
United's outgoing Chief Executive Gerald Greenwald, in one of his last speeches to an industry audience, yesterday credited the carrier's ESOP for the relative labor peace United has enjoyed compared with American and Northwest. "I think if there is one thing that United has shown over the past five years is that there is another way," Greenwald told the Aero Club of Washington. "It gave us a platform on which to rebuild a relationship...
The average delay of a scheduled U.K. flight was 13 minutes in 1998, the same as in 1997. Charter flights, however, faced increasing average delays - 33 minutes versus 30 in 1997. The statistics, published by the Civil Aviation Authority, cover five London Airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Luton and Stansted - as well as five regional airports - Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle. Among the top 75 destinations served there was a wide variation in punctuality during the last quarter of 1998.
National Airlines yesterday became the newest U.S. carrier, with service from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and Chicago Midway.The carrier offers hot meals served on china in both the main cabin and first class.
New Aircraft Orders And Options January 1999 Firm Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Aegean Aviation 2 AVRO RJ1002 2 AVRO RJ100 LF507-1F American Trans Air 1 757-200 0 RB211-535E4 BWIA International (IL) 6 737-800 0 CFM56-7B
Dragonair on Wednesday became the first carrier to land on Hong Kong airport's new north runway. Use of the second runway will be increased in stages as navigation aids are tested and adjusted.
The House Appropriations transportation subcommittee, bolstered by a $600 million higher budget allocation than its Senate counterpart, yesterday increased fiscal 2000 appropriation levels for FAA operations, facilities and equipment and the Airport Improvement Program. At the same time, the Senate Appropriations Committee restored part of the cuts made by its subcommittee as it sent the transportation funding bill to the Senate floor.
Aviation Management Systems led a group signing an agreement to buy Sabreliner's commercial aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul operations. They will be combined with AMS's existing business under a newly formed company also called Aviation Management Systems. The company will be owned by UBS Capital, the management of AMS and AeroEquity, a private investment firm. The transaction includes commercial airframe maintenance facilities at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and Phoenix Goodyear Airport.
SilkAir will start twice-weekly service between Singapore and Thiruvananthapuram, India, better known as Trivandrum. Service begins June 2 with new Airbus A320s. It is the Singapore Airlines subsidiary's first service to India.
Lucent Technologies signed a three-year, $21 million agreement with United to support the carrier's 17 U.S. reservations centers. Lucent will support 4,900 reservations employees and 686 voice mailboxes.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen said yesterday that while he is relieved Congress has "firmly rejected" the Clinton administration's request for user fees, he is "very disappointed" that the House Appropriation bill relies entirely on trust fund revenues to fund the FAA. Bolen said that "so much of what the FAA does is done directly for the public. This is true in the areas of safety and security and in military use of the system.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic November 1998 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 978 10.43 832 813,810 11.40 America West 1,392 (0.29) 917 1,276,615 5.85
Airlines with constraints on regional jet flying are losing out on competitive opportunities, according to a study by Washington-based GKMG Consulting Services. But the Air Line Pilots Association says the study is flawed, and decisions on RJ flying should be made on an individual airline and market basis. "Proposition RJ: An Alliance to Enhance Airline Competition," which focuses on 50-seat RJs, argues that easing pilot scope clause limitations will mean more mainline pilot jobs as RJs bring feeder traffic into hubs.
Cathay Pacific has raised its pay offer to pilots, in effect asking for smaller concessions from senior aircrew. Cathay is offering a longer period during which pilots can exercise stock options and a guaranteed pay raise for less senior crew. The offer came following nine weeks of negotiations with the Hong Kong Aircrew Officers Association. The airline was not able to reach an agreement on all issues, but the revised offer is being put forward, along with a revised June 11 deadline for reply. Roughly half of Cathay's pilots are being asked for concessions.
Raytheon was awarded a $180 million contract for the FAA Security Equipment Integration program. Under the five-year contract, Raytheon will provide services required to test, integrate and install government-furnished security equipment at 400 airports and facilities in the U.S.
Higher-than-expected aircraft leasing costs mean National Airlines will be able to support a fleet of six 757s in its first year of operations rather than the eight aircraft estimated earlier, DOT said in an order reissuing the carrier's certificate and confirming oral approval to sell tickets. National, which launches Las Vegas-based service today with flights to Los Angeles and Chicago Midway, found when it leased four 757s that the average monthly lease payment per aircraft would be about $20,000 higher than it had expected, according to DOT.
