American will move its Paris operations to Charles de Gaulle Airport on Oct. 1 after investing more than $6 million in facilities there. The move was prompted by French government action to consolidate long-haul service at CDG and use Paris Orly for short-haul flights. But American was satisfied to stay at Orly, where it operated since 1985 and has had a code share with Air Liberte since last year. American, which operates five daily Orly flights, will begin Orly-Los Angeles on June 1.
Canadian Airlines yesterday closed the sale of two DC-10-30 aircraft to Pegasus Aviation, San Francisco, under its strategy to renew the widebody fleet with younger, more efficient aircraft. It will replace the DC-10-30s with two leased 767-300ERs that entered the fleet earlier this year. In conjunction with the close of this transaction, Canadian prepaid about C$19 million of non-interest-bearing convertible notes, issued as part of its 1994 financial restructuring.
Major airlines are lobbying the House Transportation Committee and the Senate Commerce Committee trying to kill passenger rights legislation or at least delete or weaken provisions they find objectionable, congressional sources said yesterday. Measures airlines dislike most are those spelling out the right for back-to-back ticketing or the right to buy two roundtrip tickets and use only parts of each, which can be cheaper than a roundtrip without a Saturday night stay, and the economic penalty provision.
Airbus Industrie announced the official launch of A318 production yesterday on the strength of 109 orders and commitments from Air France, Egyptair, ILFC and TWA. Air France became a launch customer with a purchase agreement for 15 firm orders and 10 options, with deliveries beginning in early 2003. Egyptair committed to three A318s with deliveries beginning in late 2002. The A318, with a list price of $35.8 million to $38.5 million, will enter service in late 2002.
The U.K. government believes further study of scheduling, funding sources, user benefits and other issues is needed before Europe can commit itself to the proposed Galileo satellite-based navigation system. In a consultation paper for industry and users of navigation systems, the U.K. Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR) asked for comments by May 7 on:
FAA yesterday ordered inspection for possible fatigue cracks in aft pressure bulkheads of 737-200/500 aircraft. The schedule for inspections depends on how many cycles an aircraft has accumulated. Operators must repeat the inspections every 1,200 cycles. The order applies to 500 U.S.-registered aircraft in the worldwide fleet of 1,020 aircraft.
United was forced to cancel 243 flights and divert nine more last Thursday because of thunderstorms in the Chicago area. Delays reached seven hours. The airline also canceled 199 flights from Denver.
U.S. Carriers Food Expense Fourth Quarter 1998 Major Carriers Cost Food Per Passenger Alaska 12,525,000 3.90 America West 6,191,551 1.43 American 138,386,000 6.98 Continental 46,538,000 4.53 Delta 110,808,000 4.33
Vanguard Airlines eked out a first quarter net profit of $100,000 and yesterday showed its fourth straight quarter of operating profits. Last year, the four-year-old carrier lost $4.6 million during the first three months. The breakeven load factor improved to 68.5% in the first quarter from 80.4%, but the current level remains above major airline levels, such as Alaska's 59.9% and Delta's 62.1%. Yield increased 16% to 13.5 cents, and cost per available seat mile rose to 9.82 cents from 9.72.
US Airways is offering discount fares to and from Florida and San Juan through its web site at www.usairways.com. Customers must travel to or from Florida or San Juan May 6-June 24. Tickets must be purchased on line through either US Airways' site or the MetroJet site at www.flymetrojet.com. Reservations must be made no later than April 23. Travel must include a Saturday night stay and be roundtrip. Sample one-way fares include $59 Baltimore Washington-Tampa and $69 Washington Dulles-Fort Lauderdale.
American reports continued growth in online bookings and forecasts gross sales of $500 million this year. American redesigned its web site last summer. The company said record booking days exceed $1.7 million.
Northwest is offering free companion certificates to customers who take advantage of its ConnectFirst offer by June 30. Passengers who enroll, purchase and travel on a qualifying ConnectFirst fare can earn a maximum of two companion certificates for travel on a purchased ticket this fall. WorldPerks members who are U.S. or Canadian residents must enroll in the promotion four days before travel. Free companion travel can be redeemed Sept. 8-Dec. 15.
General aviation aircraft billings in the first quarter increased by 49.2% over the same period last year to a record $1.7 billion, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported. Total shipments were up 5% to 479 units as jet aircraft deliveries grew 59.7% to 107 units. GAMA President Ed Bolen said that a "ramp-up in deliveries of new models, strong industry backlogs and the continuing strength of the economy all contributed to record shipments of jets in the first quarter." Export billings rose by 39% to $594 million, Bolen said.
The Star Alliance is creating an electronic ticketing system (EITX) that will serve the entire network. The system, to be completed by December and commissioned before Jan. 1, 2000, "will see all the partner carriers interline compliant with one another," said Dietmar Kramer, Lufthansa general manager for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. Kramer, a recent appointee, said electronic ticketing is gaining popularity among passengers. "The goal is to have entirely ticketless travel in the entire Star Alliance network," he said.
Atlas Air expects no negative financial impact from the recent decision by its approximately 590 pilots to vote for Air Line Pilots Association representation. Atlas Chairman, Chief Executive and President Michael Chowdry said, "We respect the decision that our crew members have made....At the same time, we are committed to maintaining our efficient and competitive cost structure." Chowdry said the company expects costs to decline initially because pilots are no longer eligible to participate in Atlas Air's profit-sharing program.
Worldspan Commercial World Net is offering an easy-to-use Internet-based travel planning and booking solution custom-made for travel agencies' small corporate clients. Commercial World Net gives business travelers online access to arrange their own travel, while relying on travel agencies for travel management expertise, ticketing and quality assurance. It also offers corporate travelers real-time Internet booking capabilities for airline, car and hotel reservations. A basic Internet connection links users to the Worldspan global database.
European Union transport ministers, meeting informally during the weekend at Dortmund, "maintained the idea that the hushkit ban will be adopted on 29 April," a spokesman for the EU Council of Ministers said yesterday in Brussels. A German government spokesman confirmed yesterday in Luxembourg that "there will be a ban. We will stick to the EU's decisions on noise standards." The EU's foreign ministers, meeting yesterday in Luxembourg, were briefed by the European Commission on the state of three current EU-U.S. trade issues - hushkits, bananas and beef.
Sundstrand reported yesterday that first quarter sales increased $19 million or 4% to $504 million and net earnings rose 16% to $56 million from $51 million. Sales for the aerospace group increased 10%, or $28 million, to $317 million. Operating profit increased 16% to $71 million, and the operating profit margin increased to 22.4% from 21.1%. The company said commercial original equipment and aftermarket sales are expected to continue growing and military sales are expected to remain relatively unchanged from 1998 levels.
GRC International and Eclypse International said yesterday they are developing jointly an electrical system test program that could help provide advance notice of aircraft wiring degradation. The test program, Automated System Quality Assurance (ASQA), will provide wiring configuration management, electrical test planning, electrical testing and data capture, and post-test analysis to help identify potential wiring problems. ASQA is intended to span the life of an aircraft, from initial design to final retirement.
DOT's tentative grant of antitrust immunity for the American-LanChile alliance will be effective on implementation of the U.S.-Chile open-skies agreement, initialed 18 months ago (DAILY, Oct. 30, 1997). The show cause order excludes operations on the Miami-Santiago route, and DOT said it will review this limitation within 18 months. DOT said it would eliminate from the carriers' agreement any exclusivity clause that would restrict LanChile from interline or market arrangements with U.S.
IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot warned Europe last week against going it alone and reversing decades of liberalization into a market-driven aviation system. Jeanniot cautioned the Airports Council International "Greenport" conference in Amsterdam against "any futile attempt at restricting the availability of aviation products to consumers by counter-productive energy-related taxation."
United and the International Association of Machinists (IAM) reached a tentative agreement Friday in a contract affecting 20,000 customer service, reservations, freight and city ticket office workers. The deal calls for a 5.5% across-the-board pay increase, effective April 13, elimination of C-scale wages, a $750 signing bonus and new job security and layoff protection.
