Beginning this month, the joint venture between UPS and Family Mart will expand service to customers in Taiwan to include express shipment of five- and 10-kilogram packages. UPS and Family Mart have been cooperating in the delivery of express letters since July last year. A spokesman for Family Mart said the service will cost about the same as that provided by the partnership of DHL and 7-Eleven.
Bankrupt cargo carrier Southern Air Transport and Southern Air Inc., the newly formed company that has acquired SAT's route authority and some of its assets, asked DOT to transfer SAT's certificates and exemptions to Southern so Southern can begin all-cargo service about Sept. 1. The Columbus, Ohio-based company, formed March 10, told DOT it plans long-term 747-200 wet-leases during its first year of operation, plus short-term charters if it has excess aircraft capacity. It does not expect the charters to be a "significant" part of its first-year business.
Great Lakes Aviation reported a 15.3% rise in traffic on 23.4% more capacity for April 1999, which pushed the load factor down 3.1 percentage points to 45.1%. Passenger boardings gained 30.3%. Year-to-date traffic jumped 31.5% and capacity 39.5%, lowering the load factor 2.6 points. Passenger boardings leapt 48.5%.
Midwest Expess reported gains of 22.7% in traffic and 20.5% in capacity for April, compared with the year-earlier period. The load factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 66.1% and passenger boardings grew 17.8%. Midwest Express Connection carrier Skyway Airlines posted a 12.6% increase in revenue passenger miles and 0.8% more available seat miles, pushing the load factor up 5.2 points. Passenger boardings jumped 12.3%.
Japanese transport officials this week unveiled three alternative approaches for Tokyo Narita's second runway, Tomomi Tsuchiya, transport counselor for the Japanese embassy in Washington, said yesterday. Japanese press reported that after failing for years to persuade local property owners to give up their land for the runway, the Ministry of Transport had abandoned that plan in favor of a shorter runway, and All Nippon Airways expressed disappointment over the move (DAILY, May 12).
Boeing 757 and 777Aircraft Operating Costs, Fourth Quarter 1998, Dollars Per Block Hour, B757-200, B777 Boeing 757 and 777 Aircraft Operating Costs Fourth Quarter 1998 Dollars Per Block Hour B757-200 America West American Continental Delta Crew Cost $371 $767 $674 $601
Turkish Airlines will begin the first-ever nonstop between Istanbul and Miami June 1. Miami is the third destination for the airline, after its daily service to New York and three weekly nonstops to Chicago. The airline will launch the Miami service with a $599 promotional roundtrip fare and offer double frequent flyer mileage during the summer.
CCAIR posted a 38.9% gain in traffic on 45.2% more capacity for April, lowering load factor 4.3 percentage points to 57.8%. The Charlotte, N.C.-based airline, which operates as US Airways Express, saw a 12.5% increase in passenger boardings. Year-to-date revenue passenger miles climbed 47.5% and available seat miles 53.3%, which pushed the load factor down 3.8 points. Passenger boardings rose 18.7%.
Qantas is warning that it may cut some domestic and international flights on Dec. 31 for safety reasons to avoid Year 2000 (Y2K) computer problems. In a report to the Australian Stock Exchange (ASE), Qantas said it only would fly if it was safe. But the carrier advised travelers to be prepared just in case it is forced to cut flights. As a company listed on the ASE, Qantas was asked for an update of its Y2K preparations.
Air Europe of Italy, currently authorized to operate charters to the U.S., wants to launch as many as seven scheduled roundtrips per week between New York Kennedy and Venice/Pisa, beginning no later than June 18.
BMW Rolls-Royce Chairman Klaus Nittinger said yesterday the venture is spending $5 million to expand its turbofan engine production facility at Dahlewitz, near Berlin. The project is being supported by a Brandenburg regional grant of 23% of the total investment. With entry of the Gulfstream V in April 1997 and shipments starting this year for Bombardier's Global Express and the Boeing 717, the company wants to allow for further growth.
UPS will provide new financial and management resources to its II Morrow subsidiary and change its name to UPS Aviation Technologies. Tom Weidemeyer, UPS Airlines president, told the Aircraft Electronics Association yesterday in Atlanta that UPS Aviation Technologies is "primed for rapid growth."
Brussels-based CityBird yesterday signed a five-year wet-lease agreement with Lignes Aeriennes Congolaises (LAC) of the Republic of Congo. CityBird will operate weekly passenger and cargo flights between Brussels and Kinshasa, using a Boeing 767-300ER and an Airbus A300-600 freighter. Flights begin May 17. CityBird, which also will act as LAC's general sales agent in Europe, recently began a wet-lease for Luxair between Luxembourg and Newark.
Approval of their "tripartite" application for antitrust immunity would "accelerate the momentum of the open-skies policy internationally," Alitalia, KLM and Northwest told DOT. The carriers applied jointly at DOT for approval and antitrust immunity, for a five-year term, for an alliance agreement between Alitalia and Northwest and a coordination agreement between the three carriers. The U.S.-Italy open-skies agreement, initialed Nov. 11, 1998 (DAILY, Nov. 13, 1998), was preconditioned by Italy on U.S. approval of antitrust immunity for Alitalia and its "chosen U.S.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater, concerned that impetus in Congress for a one-year FAA extension won't address critical issues, is appealing to congressional leaders to have the House and Senate consider full-scale, committee-approved, multi-year FAA authorizations, his spokesman said yesterday. In Slater's view, "a long-term extension is the least preferred option," the spokesman said.
Malaysia Airlines has asked the Ministry of Transport to decide whether the airline has to move its domestic operations back to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) or remain at the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SAASA). MAS said it needs time to plan the move if MoT approves Malaysia Airports Berhad's (MAB) proposal to close SAASA to commercial traffic Aug. 31. MAB claims SAASA is no longer commercially viable. "MoT should decide now and let the three airlines operating from SAASA know of their decision," said an MAS official.
In keeping with plans to become the first U.S. regional to operate an all-jet fleet in 2001, Comair will intensify its analysis of 30 to 40-seat jet aircraft by comparing the Fairchild Aerospace 328 and 428 jets with the Embraer ERJ-135. Fairchild visited Comair in Cincinnati last week with its 328 jet aircraft and on May 27 Embraer will bring its ERJ135 to Cincinnati. Comair will test the 428 in the near future. Comair is evaluating the aircraft on flight maintenance and ground handling standards and is conducting flight tests on each.
British Aerospace Asset Management (BAeAM), the jet and sales leasing arm of British Aerospace, seeks to secure more third-party BAe 146 aircraft brokerage business. The company's portfolio of BAe 146 and Avro RJs currently is secured on long-term leases, prompting the firm to look for additional revenue elsewhere. It is targeting third-party sales, especially aircraft coming to the end of their leases. BAeAM is confident that it can offer a service placing aircraft off-lease on good terms.
European Space Agency ministers meeting in Brussels yesterday agreed to proceed with a full definition program for the Galileo global navigation satellite system in cooperation with the European Union, a move that could mean competition for the U.S. Global Positioning System. The action to develop Galileo shows a continuing reluctance by European policy makers to depend on the military-operated U.S. GPS. While the two systems are designed to be complementary, Galileo will be oriented more toward civil users and will offer the latest advances in space technology.
Boeing 757 and 777 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day, Fourth Quarter 1998, B757-200, B777 Boeing 757-200 and 777 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1998 B757-200 America West American Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 13 95 32 97
AlliedSignal said yesterday it will produce a general aviation Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) that costs less than $10,000. The product will enable the company to cover all market segments, from smaller general aviation aircraft to large air transports. "The EGPWS has been proven to be an incredibly effective deterrent to controlled flight into terrain, which is still the No.
British Airways opened its new $408 million World Cargo Center at London Heathrow. The new center, which at 892,473 square feet can hold 6,000 double decker buses, represents the airline's biggest investment ever outside its fleet. The new center will double BA's existing cargo capacity at Heathrow to 800,000 tons per year.
Forty lawmakers asked President Clinton to halt an open-skies agreement with Italy until Alitalia resolves a labor dispute with its New York Kennedy-based employees, who have been locked out for more than five years. The request comes on the heels of Monday's announcement that Northwest, KLM and Alitalia plan to ask DOT for antitrust immunity to pursue a joint venture. The International Association of Machinists, which represents the JFK work force, said Alitalia should not be allowed greater access to U.S.
Rolls-Royce yesterday announced a joint venture with partners in Israel to build jet engine compressor blades. The new company, Techjet (Israel) Ltd., is 50% owned by Rolls, 30% by Blades Technology Ltd. holding 30% and 20% by Wertheimer Co. Ltd. When fully established early next year, the new company, based in Tefen in northern Israel, will forge and machine as many as 450,000 compressor blades a year. Rolls said this will give it a competitive edge in product costs and delivery performance.
Ducommun Inc. said its AHF-Ducommun subsidiary received a long-term contract valued at $7.5 million to build leading-edge wing skins for the A330/A340.
