United, Delta, American, Continental and America West raised their leisure fares 3% and business fares 1% Thursday night. The airlines tried to raise fares last weekend but rolled them back when Northwest failed to follow. Northwest said it is studying the situation.
DOT Assistant Secretary Charles Hunnicutt hinted Friday that the current U.S.-European Union dispute over hushkit-equipped aircraft could lead to U.S. retaliation affecting traffic rights. "We have made efforts in the field of air transport," Hunnicutt said in Brussels. "We would hate to see that put in jeopardy," he said. There is "a possibility" of the hushkit dispute "leading to sanctions under the air traffic agreements" signed by the U.S. and most EU nations, he said.
The House supplemental appropriations bill probably will not include a two-month extension of the FAA/AIP authorization, set to expire March 31.The Senate supplemental bill has the extension, but the House counterpart did not survive Appropriations Committee maneuvering.Sources say one possibility is that the Senate could modify H.R.99, already passed by the House, by changing that bill's six-month extension to two and hoping the House agrees.
America West is facing a second class-action lawsuit regarding misrepresentation of competitive advantages and insider trading. The second suit was filed last week at the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona by Barrack, Rodos&Bacine of Philadelphia. A spokeswoman for the firm said both cases are similar. The first case was filed in the same Arizona court (DAILY, March 5).
Canadian Airlines has been talking with Transport Canada about relaxing foreign ownership limits to enable the financially troubled carrier to seek investments from U.S. business, a move that worries American's Allied Pilots Association (APA). Canadian Airlines spokesman Jeff Angel said the company has "not specifically asked the government of Canada to lift the 25% ownership restriction." But in "general discussions" with Transport Canada, the carrier said the restriction is making it difficult to obtain U.S.
Associated Global Systems named Ben Basden district manager, Jim Sparks international operations and Larry Huffman sales manager at its new Salt Lake City station.
FAA officials, anticipating a National Transportation Safety Board meeting March 23 and 24 on the probable cause of the crash of a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh, said last week that the agency's actions since the Sept. 8, 1994, accident "fixed all possible scenarios." Believing the board will recommend a sweeping overhaul of the rudder control system on all 737s, FAA officials said rudder controls on next-generation 737s meet current, not original, certification standards.
Air Canada posted a 0.3% rise in systemwide traffic and 2.3% less capacity for February 1999 compared with the same 1998 month, causing the load factor to gain 1.8 percentage points to 66.7%. Air Canada flew 1.6 billion revenue passenger miles and 2.3 billion available seat miles. Domestic RPMs declined 0.2% to 558 million and ASMs dropped 1.7% to 821 million, increasing the load factor 1.1 points to 68%. International RPMs rose 0.6% to 996 million on 2.6% fewer ASMs, 1.5 billion, boosting the load factor 2.1 points to 66%.
Land and hold short operations (LAHSO), which were to take effect Friday at some airports, were delayed until April 15 at a meeting last week in Washington between FAA, Air Transport Association and the Air Line Pilots Association. Jeff Griffith, FAA program director for air traffic operations, said meeting participants found some issues that "were not closed out yet," and the delay was not due to new concerns raised by pilots.
DHL Airways and the Postal Service announced forming a "strategic alliance" that will provide additional international air express options for U.S.-based shippers. The initial stage of the alliance will extend the Postal Service's international delivery capabilities to provide a two-day, guaranteed trackable express document from 11 U.S. cities to Western Europe. The Priority Mail Global Guaranteed product will be available in mid-April, with DHL providing transportation and delivery.
British Airways is close to signing a franchise deal in Rome with a new carrier operating BAe 146 regional jets, sources tell The DAILY. BA signed its 10th franchise agreement last week, with Dutch Jetstream 31 operator BASE Regional Airlines.
Current 100-seat projects by Airbus and Boeing will be eclipsed in fuel efficiency and operating economics when the Bombardier BRJ-X and the Fairchild Dornier 928 arrive, according to Morten Beyer&Agnew. "Heavy, heavy discounting" by Airbus and Boeing "could be the tool required to gain market penetration prior to the arrival of the lightweight, super-efficient 100-seaters," MBA says.
Passenger-rights bills are being eyed as vehicles for legislation that didn't make it last session. At last week's House aviation subcommittee hearing, Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.) raised the possibility that a passenger bill of rights could be "improved" by his carry-on bag-legislation, taken to hearing but not passed in the 105th Congress. Lipinski's office said he plans to reintroduce the measure this session.
Northwest asked DOT to renew for at least two years its exemption to provide nonstop scheduled combination service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Acapulco, which it wants to serve during the winter season. The carrier said its request is consistent with the 1999 U.S.-Mexico agreement, under which the U.S. may designate two carriers to serve any U.S.-Mexico city-pair.
Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association board elected Michelle Woodley, VP-distribution marketing of Swissotel, to a second term as president. Caryl Helsel was elected VP, Audrey Mattly treasurer and Ann Warnecke secretary.
H.R. 1052 - introduced March 10 by Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) - a bill to amend Title 49, U.S. Code, relating to civil penalties for unruly passengers of air carriers. Transportation and Infastrcture.
