Finnair yesterday became the second European carrier in the oneworld alliance and the first addition since the alliance was started in September. With 58 aircraft, Finnair serves 21 cities in Finland and 39 elsewhere in Europe.
Airborne Freight Corp. said it has entered agreements to acquire 11 additional used 767-200s. The delivery schedule calls for two in 2000, four in 2001, three in 2002 and two in 2003.
Air cargo trade groups and the Los Angeles World Airports said the Los Angeles Air Cargo Expo will be held April 20 next year at Los Angeles Airport. Government agencies, vendors and others will take part in the expo, which will feature panel discussions. Sponsors include the Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association, Los Angeles Cargo Service Managers and Los Angeles World Airports. For more information, call 818-951-2841 or visit www.laxpo.com.
United will begin installing beds in first class and in-seat video in the economy sections of its Boeing 747-400s in September 1999. Prior to 747 installation, the airline will test the beds on some 777s. United cited increased competition in the Pacific as the reason for the inflight enhancements, noting that most competing carriers in the Pacific have in-seat video in economy.
TWA wants DOT to review U.S.-India code-share service operated by Air-India and United in light of the "obstinate position" taken by India, which refuses to allow TWA to operate code-share service with Royal Jordanian Airlines. "The excuse of the government of India for denying TWA's request for code-share authority has been that code shares are not specifically provided for in the bilateral agreement between India and Jordan." Jordan will accept Indian code sharing.
Kitty Hawk said it has taken redelivery of a 747-200 freighter from the Boeing-Wichita modification center. The aircraft has entered service on a two-year contract with North Atlantic Airways, flying between Europe and South Africa.
Northwest traffic for November fell 3.4% on 1.2% less capacity, depressing the load factor 1.6 percentage points to 69.7%. International traffic was down 7.3% on 5.8% less capacity, resulting in a 75.2% load factor, down 1.1 points. Domestic traffic dropped 0.5% on 2% more capacity, reducing the load factor 1.7 points to 66.2%. Northwest carried 4.19 million passengers last month, 50,000 fewer than a year ago.
FAA yesterday ordered airlines to inspect and possibly replace electrical wiring above the forward passenger doors on MD-11s. Inspections must be done within 10 days and the results given to FAA in 10 more days. FAA said it learned from the investigation into the Swissair MD-11 crash off Nova Scotia in September that damaged electrical wires were found near the doors during scheduled heavy maintenance. FAA said there is no evidence that damaged door wires are related to the crash. The order affects 65 U.S.-registered aircraft of 174 in worldwide service.
Net fare partnerships like the one between Pro Air and General Motors and Chrysler represent the future of corporate air purchasing, predicted Business Travel Coalition President Kevin Mitchell. "Corporations should use their purchasing power to influence the industry-wide direction of these programs," but they should conduct a thorough analysis of the partnership before signing on.
General Electric said Continental placed an order for CF6-80C2 engines to power 10 Boeing 767-200ERs in an engine deal valued at $160 million. Aircraft delivery will begin in 2000.
Southwest yesterday announced long-anticipated plans to inaugurate daily service at McArthur Airport, Islip, New York, March 14. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Herb Kelleher said the airline will offer 12 daily departures to four cities - Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Nashville and Tampa. Initial service will include eight nonstops to BWI, two to Chicago, one to Nashville and one to Tampa.
The House Transportation aviation subcommittee is considering two different routes for the FAA authorization next year - one bill or two - subcommittee sources said yesterday. Under the one-bill approach, the six-month authorization needed for the balance of fiscal 1999 would be included in a package with a multi-year authorization. Thus the duration of the bill would be 30 months, 42 months or whatever number of years was agreed on, plus six months.
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has told Vice President Al Gore that the union opposes DOT's proposed airline competition guidelines and that there are "a great many Democrats in Congress who agree with our position and do not support [DOT] Secretary [Rodney] Slater's proposals." AFA President Patricia Friend sent a letter to Gore Nov. 20 after Gore said he was "disappointed" with Republican House leadership for backing the Air Transport Association's attempts to sideline the competition policy (DAILY, Nov. 3).
United's most recent graduating class of pursers increases the number of flight attendants in this role to 1,000. Pursers, replacing the chief purser/first flight attendant title, require special training in leadership, teamwork and onboard service initiatives. Flight attendants are chosen for the program based on their work record at United, which plans to train 3,000 pursers by mid-1999.
Rolls-Royce said yesterday it is entering joint ventures in engine leasing with GATX Capital and in aircraft leasing with Pembroke Capital. Rolls is giving GATX Capital a 50% stake in Rolls' Rolls-Royce and Partners Finance (RRPF) unit, one of the largest engine leasing companies, with a portfolio of 90 engines. Rolls-Royce will merge its Aircraft Finance and Trading with Pembroke.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic October 1998 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) October October % 1998 1997 Change Domestic Freight 858,519 852,916 0.7 Mail 148,783 169,724 (12.3) Total 1,007,302 1,022,640 (1.5) International
The House Transportation Committee will take the high-risk approach of pushing for airport and airways trust fund spending at the level of last year's user fees in the bill providing for a six-month authorization for FAA, which has to be enacted by March 31, a committee aide said yesterday. Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) succeeded this year with the same approach in cracking the Highway Trust Fund and the end result was a 43% one-year increase in state highway funding in the six-year, $217 billion Transportation Equity Act.
Sen. John Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.), a leading advocate of federal legislation to improve air services in underserved markets, has been named ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee in the 106th Congress, Senate sources said yesterday. He succeeds Wendell Ford (D-Ky.), who did not run for re-election last month. Rockefeller was fifth in seniority among subcommittee Democrats in the 105th Congress, behind Ernest Hollings (S.C.), Daniel Inouye (Hawaii) and Richard Bryan (Nev.) as well as Ford.
Northrop Grumman will eliminate 1,100 more jobs next year "as a direct result" of Boeing's announcement last week that it will cut commercial aircraft production, a Northrop Grumman spokeswoman said yesterday. At the same time, Cordant Technologies, Salt Lake City; Howmet International, Greenwich, Conn., and Coltec Industries, Charlotte, N.C., joined the ranks of companies saying the Boeing cutbacks (DAILY, Dec. 2) would not affect 1999 sales.
Malaysia Airlines said it will put no caps on international travel agent commissions. The carrier will offer 8% commissions on normal published fares, 25% on published fares with no upgrades and 15% on promotional excursion fares.
Emirates is adding a fourth weekly flight from Dubai to Malta, beginning Jan. 2. The airline will operate the service with A310-300 configured for 173 passengers in a three-class layout. The carrier also has received permission to add two flights to London Heathrow from Dubai. The two one-time Heathrow flights will use 777s equipped with 49 business and 304 economy seats. The first will be flown Dec. 19 and the second Jan. 9. Emirates serves Heathrow twice daily from Dubai.
Tower Air reported a 6.2% decline in traffic on 5.2% less capacity for November 1998, compared with the same month last year, which pushed the load factor down 0.8 percentage points to 70.4%. Tower flew 257 million revenue passenger miles and 365 million available seat miles. Passengers flown fell 1.8% to 107,000, while total block hours grew 5.1% to 3,224. Year-to-date RPMs were up 14.5% on 16.8% more ASMs from the first 11 months last year, depressing the load factor 1.5 points. Passenger boardings increased 22.3% and block hours 5%.
Washington State Employment Security Commissioner Carver Gayton said yesterday the agency has been meeting with Boeing, union leaders and other work force organizations for several months to prepare for tens of thousands of layoffs. Boeing said last week job reductions could be as high as 48,000 over two years, although some are expected to occur through attrition (DAILY, Dec. 2). Gayton said helping these workers get unemployment insurance benefits "is the first step, but job placement and training will also be needed.
