Iberia and British Airways' German subsidiary, Deutsche BA, will code share between Madrid and Munich, beginning June 17. Iberia, which entered into an alliance with BA and American recently, currently operates two daily services between Madrid and Munich. Deutsche BA will launch a third frequency.
Grupo Taca signed a five-year agreement to use Airline Automation Inc.'s Predator automated flight firming application. Predator assigns ticketing time limits to travel agency passenger name records and monitors compliance with the airline's ticketing time limit rules. PNRs not ticketed within the time limit are canceled by Predator, returning the seat to availability inventory.
Association of Canadian Travel Agents voted to support the Genesis computer reservations system and the Canadian Standard Travel Agent Registry, the Genesis proponent in Canada.
Worldspan's Worldspan Go! Internet-based technology platform, providing links to travel supplier databases worldwide, is available in Canada, the computer reservations system company said yesterday. With dedicated Internet access, Worldspan Go! offers worldwide electronic mail and fax communications through a single integrated system. It also provides enhanced connectivity to more Canadian tour operators, enabling agents to link quickly to the operator's own Internet-based system to check real-time pricing and availability or to book products.
United, seeking to avoid fines similar to those levied recently against Delta and Northwest, is reinforcing the rules of how and when to disclose code-share information to passengers. "In light of the recent fines handed out to Delta and Northwest, we distributed another reminder to employees who make reservations," Teri Hartwig of United's Reservations Planning, said in an internal communique. The carrier code shares on 13,000 daily flights and has not been fined in 10 years. The DOT policy took effect in 1987.
America West asked DOT for authority to code share with Air China on flights between Air China's two U.S. gateways and 12 U.S. points served by America West. America West wants to display Air China's code on flights between Los Angeles and San Francisco and Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington. Air China has underlying authority to serve the markets, America West told DOT.
American Trans Air posted a 15.9% rise in systemwide traffic on 15.7% more capacity for February, compared with the same month last year - 844.4 million revenue passenger miles and 1.2 billion available seat miles. Passenger boardings climbed 17.4% to 588,566 and block hours grew 12.3% to 13,853. Scheduled service RPMs jumped 18.6% to 481.9 million on 19.4% more ASMs, 633.9 million, depressing the load factor 0.5 points to 72.9%. The carrier boarded 358,928 passeners, up 21.7%, and flew 8,973 block hours, up 17.7%.
DOT granted TWA a waiver of the dormancy condition on its seven U.S.-Japan frequencies (DAILY, Feb. 18) through June 1, 2000. The carrier requested the waiver because the slots it needs at Tokyo Narita Airport are not available, and "economic conditions in Asia make it necessary to begin its service during the next peak season." DOT granted similar waivers to American, Continental Micronesia and Delta (DAILY, Feb. 3). (Docket OST-98-3419)
United will observe the Washington, D.C., Cherry Blossom Festival by cutting fares this spring for Washington Dulles travel on tickets purchased at its web site at UAL.com using the E-Fare Specials tab. Tariffs are good for travel April 4-May 17 and must be purchased no later than Friday. A Saturday night stay is required for domestic travel. Sample roundtrip fares for international destinations originating at Dulles include $328 to Amsterdam, $288 to Frankfurt or Munich and $278 to London.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic Third Quarter 1998 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 3,506 5.69 863 3,025,732 8.06
Northwest traffic fell 3% in February after dropping 6.8% in January. Capacity declined 2.2% last month, and the load factor was 69.4%, down 0.6 percentage points. Domestic traffic fell 2.2% on 0.6% less capacity, which lowered the load factor 1.1 points to 66.3%. International traffic declined 4.1%% on 4.9% less capacity, lifting the load factor 0.6 points to 74.7%. Cargo traffic grew 2.6% to 156 million ton miles. Northwest boarded 7.6 million passengers in the first two months, down from 7.9 million in the year-ago period.
KLM Engineering&Maintenance and Canadian Marconi Co. completed flight tests they said will result in a supplementary type certificate for a "comprehensive 747 cockpit upgrade" that will extend the life of the carrier's 13 747-200/300 fleet "well beyond the year 2010." Canadian Marconi was systems integrator, working with KLM, Smiths Industries and Hollingsead International. The cockpit avionics upgrade is built around installing triple Canadian Marconi CMA-900 Flight Management Systems, which have 12-channel Global Positioning System sensors.
Signature Flight Support parent BBA Group plc completed its $170 million acquisition of AMR Combs last week after reaching agreement with the Justice Department on at least two divestitures, possibly three, intended to avoid reduced competition. The certain divestitures will be at Bradley Airport near Hartford, Conn., and Palm Springs (Calif.) Regional Airport, where Signature and AMR Combs compete with each other and are the only fixed-base operators.
Rolls-Royce's AE 3007A1 engine, a growth version of the AE 3007 that powers the Embraer RJ-145LR long-range derivative regional jet, has been certified by the Joint Aviation Authorities of Europe, Rolls said yesterday. FAA certified the engine in December, and it is in service at American Eagle and Continental Express. Luxair and European Regions Airlines will be the first European users of the engine.
Merrill Lynch yesterday adjusted first quarter earnings forecasts of the preponderance of U.S. major airlines after February traffic results came in. Excluding American, Merrill Lynch expects first quarter domestic traffic to rise 8%-9%, more than expected. With the effect of American's traffic declines, industry capacity is expected to rise 3%-4%. The firm lowered earnings estimates for US Airways, American and Northwest but raised them for Southwest, Alaska and Continental.
The second Japan Airlines 747-300 has arrived at Boeing Wichita to undergo modification from domestic to international passenger configuration. Changes include new lavatories and galleys, rearranged seats and passenger-service units and installation of a video entertainment system. JAL plans to modify four of the aircraft, which it says will give it flexibility to configure passenger seating in four different arrangement to match the routes flown. The first airplane arrived in Wichita last November and was redelivered last month.
FAA's 24th annual Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference, March 24-25, will have the theme "The Demand for Commercial Aviation Services in the 21st Century." The agency is switching from its traditional location of a hotel ballroom to the Washington Convention Center for the first day of the conference. The second day, which includes breakout sessions that will address demand and supply issues from the perspective of large air carriers, regionals and airports, will be held at the Washington Marriott at Metro Center.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic September 1998 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change AirTran Airlines 409 378.17 542 221,852 201.00
China Airlines' board of directors has approved a plan for the merger of CAL subsidiaries Formosa Airlines and Mandarin Airlines into one company that would retain the Mandarin Airlines name. A board spokesman said the merger will enable CAL and Mandarin to realize full efficiencies from the integration of routes and resources. The merger will be implemented formally following an agreement on stock swaps between Formosa and Mandarin and upon gaining the approval of the board of the ADI Group, another major shareholder in Formosa Airlines.
Eagle Canyon Airlines yesterday completed its purchase of Las Vegas-based Scenic Airlines, and the merged company has been renamed Eagle Scenic Aviation Group. All of the National Park flights will be flown under the Scenic Airlines banner. Scenic, the largest sightseeing airline in the world, operates 23 aircraft, including the park-friendly 19-seat de Havilland Twin Otter and five 44-seat Fokker 27s. The Twin Otter is the only aircraft permitted to fly over specially designated sections of the Grand Canyon after 2004.
Alaska Airlines says it is ready to provide a detailed rebuttal of a news report published last Friday by The Seattle Post-Intelligencer that claims the airline has avoided major FAA fines by bending and breaking the rules. The article states FAA treats the carrier with kid gloves and has transferred to other jobs inspectors who are too critical of the airline. Alaska Chairman and Chief Executive John Kelly and President Bill Ayer issued a joint statement to employees Friday saying "Safety first.
Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have signed an open-skies agreement, the first among Asian countries. The agreement covers the northern states of West Malaysia - Perak, Penang and Kedah and Southern Thailand and Western Indonesia. The move, initiated by Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamed, paves the way for airlines of the three countries to mount services within their respective boundaries with no restriction on capacity or frequency. The pact, which takes effect immediately, aims to promote tourism and trade.
Martin Shugrue, 58, former Pan Am, Eastern and Continental executive, died Sunday in his sleep at his home in Houston. Industry officials say he died of a brain hemorrhage. The funeral will be held Thursday in Providence, R.I., where Shugrue was born.
After a load factor drop in January, TWA's February load factor inched up 0.6 percentage points to 66.2%, its best February load factor since 1978. Traffic fell 0.2% on 1.1% less capacity. Domestic traffic rose 2.2% on 2.5% more capacity, lowering the load factor 0.2 points to 66.2%. International traffic dropped 13.3% on 19.7% less capacity, resulting in a load factor of 66.2%, up 4.9 points. TWA boarded 1.76 million passengers last month, up 1.6%. The international division carried 55,485 passengers, or 3.1% of the total.
Vivid Technologies said New Athens Airport and Birmingham Airport in the U.K. selected its explosives detection systems for screening luggage. The new Athens airport is installing the equipment as part of its initial construction.
