United and Air Canada will expand their code share in January by adding flights to Mexico City and Auckland. Air Canada's code will be placed on United's flights between Los Angeles and Auckland and between Chicago and Mexico City. United said it is a "significant step" for the alliance, since the partnership initially was designed to capture additional traffic between the U.S. and Canada. Code sharing on Los Angeles-Auckland will start Jan. 17 and Chicago-Mexico City Jan. 25.
Air France denied American's claim that it controls Paris airport slot allocations "any more than American controls, or is involved in, the reciprocal FAA slot allocation process." Slot allocation procedures in France are consistent with European Commission regulations, Air France told DOT. American, unsuccessful in seeking slots at Paris Orly Airport for Los Angeles service, charged that Air France has strong links to the slot allocation authority - it is headed by a former employee who is expected to return to the carrier (DAILY, Dec. 21).
Total world airline traffic as well as international scheduled traffic increased just 1% in 1998, according to preliminary figures from the International Civil Aviation Organization issued yesterday. The 1% rise compares with an average annual increase of 7% during the last five years and 8% in 1997. ICAO attributed the drop mainly to the Asia/Pacific slowdown.
LanChile will launch four weekly flights Dec. 27 from Miami to the Chilean port city of Iquique, known for its beaches and salt-water fishing. The airline offers connections from Iquique to the northern Chilean cities of Arica, Calama and Antofagasta.
Pegasus Aviation said it will acquire six aircraft from International Air Lease - two MD-83s on lease to Allegro and AeroMexico,, two hush-kitted 727-200 freighters on lease to Aeropostale, one 727-200 freighter on lease to Custom Air Transport and one 727-200 passenger aircraft for which a lease is being negotiated. Pegasus said the six aircraft will generate $27 million in lease contract revenue.
DOT, moving forward with its assessment of the impact of airport practices on airline competition under Docket OST-98-4025, selected 13 airports for case studies to "delve into individual airport's decision-making process," according to Jim New, DOT director of planning and special projects, who is coordinating the studies. The airports chosen for review - Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington International, Charlotte, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver International, Detroit Metro, Houston International, Minneapolis/St.
In a further consolidation of Taiwan-based airlines, Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) will purchase a 9.83% holding in TransAsia Airways in a deal worth more than US$43.4 million. The transaction, scheduled to be completed before yearend, surprised many in Taiwan's aviation industry as the reported purchase price of NT$29.49 (US$0.91) per share is far above the recent trading range of NT$9-$10 per share.
Howard Attarian, a Detroit-based 757 pilot for Northwest, was appointed executive administrator of Air Line Pilots Association, International. He is currently serving his second term as Northwest ALPA Master Executive Council secretary/treasurer.
American objects to a Northwest-Continental code share to Mexico, but United wants to delay a decision, hoping U.S.-Mexico talks due to begin soon can produce progress on code sharing for all airlines involved. American noted that there is no provision in the U.S.-Mexico bilateral for code share by U.S. carriers. "As the department is aware, the United States has been seeking the negotiation of such a provision for several years, but the government of Mexico has refused," American said.
American has agreed to be the launch customer for The Sabre Group's new Marketing Messages program, part of its Sales Manager suite of products. Bruce Chemel, president of American AAdvantage Marketing Programs, said being the first customer for the product makes sense because "we're always testing the waters. The AAdvantage Program is very innovative and they [Sabre] had a good business plan. We have a lot of partners we'd like to bring extra value to."
United Shuttle said yesterday it will reconfigure overhead bins in its 737 aircraft to accommodate more carry-on bags in an effort to improve the boarding process and on-time performance. The new stowage space will accommodate four instead of two bags that meet United's 45-linear-inch guidelines. The bins were tested at Los Angeles in October, and the retrofit is scheduled to be completed by May.
American Eagle will launch nonstop regional jet service between Jackson, Miss., and Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on Feb. 19. The carrier will replace turboprops with new 50-seat ERJ-145s on three of the six roundtrip flights.
DOT extended the comment period on its proposed airport rates and charges policy yesterday from Dec. 30 to Jan. 31.The department acknowledged that industry groups, already attempting to reply to its proposed airport competitive practices by Dec. 31, need more time.
The European Commission approved a grant of 2.6 million European currency units (US$3.1 million) for the reconstruction of Sarajevo Airport. The funds will be used for the rehabilitation of the interior of the airport terminal, which was severely damaged during the war in Bosnia Herzegovina. Repairs are scheduled to be completed by April 1999. In total, the European Union will grant approximately ECU6.9 million ($8.1 million) for the rehabilitation of the facility.
TWA has named John Stelzer to the newly created position of senior VP-planning, subject to election by the TWA board of directors at its next meeting. Stelzer previously was VP-airline planning. He will report to Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald Gitner and will oversee revenue management and pricing, schedule development and implementation, and airline planning and forecasting. Stelzer was instrumental in setting up negotiations with Boeing and Airbus, a spokesman said.
FAA, which achieved its landmark contract agreement with its air traffic controllers this year, still considers labor relations one of its top priorities, according to Administrator Jane Garvey. "We still have a lot to do in this area," she said.
Dutch courier TNT has assumed total control of French courier Jet Services for an undisclosed amount. "We were at risk of becoming a dwarf in the European battlefield" for courier express services, said Roger Caille, Jet Services' founder. The takeover, announced last week, is another step in the gathering consolidation of the Europe's express mail market. The European sector was worth about 850 billion Belgian francs last year (US$510 million), of which the French market equaled BF180 billion ($108 million).
Continental was named one of the 100 best companies to work for in the U.S. by Fortune 500 magazine in a study conducted with the Great Place to Work Institute in San Francisco. The airline pointed to several activities that have improved worklife at the company since 1994, among them: - It has distributed more than a quarter billion dollars in profit-sharing and on-time bonus payments. - Absenteeism fell 31%. - Employee turnover dropped 52%. - On-the-job injuries were down 48%.
Continued reductions in mail carried by scheduled airlines produced a 1.2% drop in total cargo traffic of Air Transport Association members in October, ATA said. Freight and express traffic was up 0.1% from October 1997, to 1,728,226 revenue ton miles, but mail was off 12.2% to 193,888 RTMs. Domestic cargo fell 1.5% and international cargo 1%. Although the U.S. Postal Service is expanding ground transport and relying more on dedicated aircraft, freight and express traffic are growing steadily, ATA President Carol Hallett said.
A joint survey of members by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) on Year 2000 computer problems shows that "our segment of the industry has got their hands around this issue," Christopher Tebo, director of regulatory affairs for AAAE, told The DAILY yesterday.
DOT granted American a waiver, through March 29, 1999, of the 90-day dormancy provisions on its New York-Cuzco, Peru, frequencies. The carrier, which holds seven U.S.-Peru weekly combination frequencies, suspended service in the market Sept. 30. It told DOT it plans to resume service when economic conditions improve.
Boullioun Aviation Services said its purchase by Deutsche Bank from Sumitomo Trust&Banking of Tokyo was finalized yesterday after gaining regulatory approval. The $120 million purchase marks Deutsche Bank's entry into the commercial aircraft leasing business.
