Japan Airlines and Cathay Pacific will launch their code share at the start of the summer schedule March 28. The carriers announced their intentions to form a long-term alliance last October. The JAL/Cathay alliance will begin on the Osaka-Hong Kong route, expanding April 1 to Nagoya-Hong Kong. The latter route will replace JAL's daily 767 service. Both code-share routes will use Cathay Pacific aircraft, and JAL will have a daily allocation of 10 business-class and 100 economy seats on each route.
Malaysia Airlines Managing Director Wan Malek Wan Ibrahim has tendered his resignation and will be on leave until July 12. The DAILY learned that Malek handed his resignation to MAS Chairman Tajuddin Ramli last month. Sources close to Malek told The DAILY in Kuala Lumpur that he has been very unhappy as only three senior managers reported to him. "Malek felt like he was a puppet, did not have the authority to make decisions," one source said. Appointed in August 1994 by Tajudin, Malek has taken a back seat in the operations of the airline.
In Federal Register dated Feb. 8...Issued a final rule harmonizing standards for high-lift device controls with those adopted by the European Joint Aviation Authorities. -- In FR dated Feb. 9...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Boeing 747 aircraft requiring inspections of the outboard nacelle struts...Proposed an AD on Douglas MD-90 aircraft to require inspection of the elevator cable pulley.
General Aviation Manufacturers Association President Ed Bolen said the industry set a new record for billings in 1998 for the third year in a row, and for the fourth consecutive year, "shipments have increased dramatically." Billings were a record $5.9 billion, up from $4.7 billion the previous year, while shipments totaled 2,220, the first time since 1985 the industry has shipped more than 2,000 aircraft, Bolen said. The industry shipped 1,569 aircraft in 1997.
Tower Air said Friday the Department of Defense Commercial Airlift Review Board reinstated Tower to operate military charters immediately. Military charters represented about 13.6% of the company's operating revenues in 1998.
House aviation subcommittee ranking Democrat William Lipinski (Ill.) noted at a hearing last week that large airports would lose 50% of their Airport Improvement Program funding if they raised passenger facility charges from $3 to $5. He suggested to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey that in view of this penalty, it would be fairer if the PFC ceiling were increased to $6. Garvey discreetly replied that it's "a topic for discussion."
Continental said Friday it will increase capacity across the Atlantic and to the Middle East by launching new routes and increasing the size of aircraft serving certain current routes. Previously, the airline announced Newark-Brussels, Newark-Zurich and Newark-Tel Aviv daily nonstops, which begin in May, June and August, respectively.
America West notified employees Friday of possible layoffs and shutdowns of operations after the flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, rejected a National Mediation Board proffer of arbitration. The NMB under the Railway Labor Act must notify both sides when the 30-day cooling-off period will begin. The NMB is expected to continue intensified mediation during the cooling-off period, and when the 30 days are up, both sides will be free to engage in self-help.
The FAA reauthorization bill approved last Thursday by the Senate Commerce Committee (DAILY, Feb. 12) would mandate expansion at the four slot-controlled airports, broadening some of Chairman John McCain's (R-Ariz.) original proposals, in an attempt to enhance competition. Principal provisions would:
Aerospace Industries Association selected Dave Morris, senior marketing development manager-space programs at Honeywell Space and Aviation Control, chairman of AIA's Space Council.
Grupo TACA intends to expand its code share with American, but reports of American's potential investment in the Central American carrier group are false, TACA Chief Operating Officer Ben Baldanza told The DAILY. "There's nothing like that going on at all," he said. "People have totally misinterpreted this." Several American executives visited the company recently to discuss the code share. Contrary to published reports, TACA is not being sold, and Baldanza expects it to post an operating profit for 1998 of roughly US$590 million.
Air Wisconsin's traffic jumped 68.7% last month to 76.1 million revenue passenger miles in traffic on 46.8% more capacity to 125.5 million available seat miles, compared with January 1998. The load factor as a result jumped 7.9 percentage points to 60.6%. Passenger enplanements were up 63.9% to 257,288.
Charlotte, N.C.-based CCAIR, which flies as US Airways Express, posted a 44.2% gain in traffic in January to 13.2 million revenue passenger miles, compared with January 1998. Capacity rose 56.7% to 28.4 million available seat miles as the load factor dropped four percentage points to 46.5%. Enplanements rose 18.3% to 59,506.
House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) Passenger Bill of Rights legislation would require airlines to compensate passengers kept waiting on the runway for more than two hours prior to takeoff or after a landing. The payment would equal twice the value of the ticket and increase with the length of the wait. Introduced Wednesday (DAILY, Feb.
The European Commission called this week for governments of the European Union to develop their own Global Navigation Satellite System rather than relying on the U.S. Global Positioning System. The EC asked member states to back politically and financially a European-developed system, Galileo, that will "avoid the problems caused by our current dependence on U.S.
American yesterday filed a motion for contempt with the U.S. District Court for Northern Texas claiming the Allied Pilots Association (APA) failed to end its sickout, causing cancellation of more than 1,170 flights. Yesterday's cancellations brought the total of canceled flights since the job action started Saturday to more than 3,800. American said the message posted on the APA hotline and its web site does not comply with the judge's order because the order not only pertains to APA leadership but to pilots who took part in the sickout.
Pierre Jeanniot, director general of the International Air Transport Association, will speak Feb. 24 at an International Aviation Club luncheon at the Capital Hilton, Washington, D.C.
