KLM and Alitalia signed a "master cooperation agreement" Friday that binds the two airlines more than their initial pact, unveiled in December 1997. The carriers will call their European covenant The KLM-Alitalia Alliance: One Ticket To The World. The contract joins two of Europe's oldest and most established carriers and gives KLM what it had been seeking for years - a hub in southern Europe that enables it to market Amsterdam, Rome and Milan Malpensa more effectively against competing hubs in Munich, Paris or Zurich.
Continental yesterday began Boeing 777 service to Tokyo Narita with a daily nonstop flight from Newark. The carrier said it is "the only airline to provide daily nonstop service to Japan from a hub in the Northeast." The statement discounts daily service by Northwest from Detroit, All Nippon/United code-share flights from Washington Dulles and Japan Airlines, United, ANA and Northwest service from New York Kennedy.
A group led by Aeroports de Paris completed Manila Airport's Terminal 2 project last week and will hand the facility over to local authorities this week, but the finished building has no stores or internal structure despite a planned Feb. 1 opening. The V-shaped terminal, originally a domestic passenger facility and later changed to both domestic and international, will be ready for use "within two to three months," according to ADP Project Manager Dominique Chavanne. "There is a wish by [Philippine] President Estrada to open the terminal by Feb.
Travelocity, which is expecting a record number of online shoppers this holiday season, has launched National Online Shopping Week. The names of travelers who purchase airline tickets at the newly designed www.travelocity.com. through tomorrow are entered automatically to win a $5,000 online shopping spree. Terry Jones, spokesman for The Sabre Group, said nearly 40% of all computer users expect to do some holiday shopping online. On Dec. 11, one Travelocity customer will be selected as the winner of the shopping spree, which is co-sponsored by Citibank.
Lufthansa Cargo reported a profit of $77.2 million for the first nine months "despite the difficulties on the world markets." Capacity increased 3.8% to 7.3 million tonne-kilometers and the load factor fell to 66.2%, primarily because of a 5.6% rise in belly capacities on passenger aircraft. Revenues were down 1.2% to $1.64 billion, and traffic earnings per tonne-
Mesa Air Group has settled claims worth about $15 million with aircraft and equipment lessors of its WestAir subsidiary, the company said last week. Except for $150,000 paid in October, the entire amount was paid in September. WestAir contributed approximately $11.2 million toward the settlement and Mesa approximately $3.8 million. Mesa anticipates recovering $2 million from WestAir. WestAir Holding, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, had operated as a United Express carrier on the West Coast, but the partnership with United was terminated in May.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses Second Quarter 1998 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Freight Revenues Change Revenues Revenues Alaska 26,446,000 18.36 25,110,000 400,000 Latin 26,446,000 18.36 25,110,000 400,000
The summer of 1998, thought to have rivaled 1988 for delays in European airspace, actually surpassed it and turned out to be the worst ever, the Association of European Airlines (AEA) said.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries August 1998 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Aeroflot RIA 1 737-400 CFM56-3C1 5 Air New Zealand 1 737-300 CFM56-3C1 2 All Nippon 1 777-300 PW4090 2
Flight Services Group is offering online corporate aviation operating budget estimates based on prospective buyers' needs and plans. The Aircraft Acquisition and Budget Center at the service company's web site - www.FSG-Inc.com - prompts customers to enter the number of people who normally travel, their destinations and an approximate number of trips per year. Based on FSG's experience and the operating specifications of 46 aircraft types in its database, the web site recommends an aircraft suitable for the customer's intended use.
Continental's lawsuit against Delta to remove plexiglass carry-on bag sizers at security checkpoints in San Diego is a marketing ploy aimed at making Continental look like the good guy in the ongoing war over carry-ons, Delta said. Delta spokesman Todd Clay said the company is "quite miffed" by the unexpected lawsuit and Continental's public statements about baggage sizers at San Diego.
American Eagle will launch jet service Jan. 6 between Peoria, Ill., and Chicago O'Hare Airport, replacing a turboprop with a new 50-seat ERJ-145 on one of its six daily flights in the market. The jet service will leave Peoria early in the morning and return late in the evening to accommodate business travelers and increase connection opportunities at O'Hare. American Eagle also will double service between Bakersfield and Los Angeles, beginning Dec. 15. It will operate eight roundtrips using 34-seat Saab 340Bs.
Fedex Pilots Association (FPA) leadership has been trying to assuage initial anger among rank and file over its decision to hold off on a possible strike until after the holidays. In a recorded message to members, FPA said none of its leaders "made a conscious effort to betray the trust or subvert the efforts of this membership." It said the backdown was a strategic "quid pro quo" with the company. FPA lead negotiator George Sees has stepped aside in an effort to restart the talks. His replacement is Bryan Davies.
Industry and FAA appear to be diverging on what approach to take to develop new fire-resistant insulation materials and eliminate inflight ignition sources. Industry wants research and development now under way to come up with one approach to cover both scenarios, but a top FAA official says the agency's priority is to develop within six months a new protocol for testing the fire resistance of aircraft insulation.
New Aircraft Orders And Options August 1998 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Dates # Type # Type Alitalia* 1 767-300ER - CF6-80C2 Apr99 4 A320-200 - American 15 777-200IGW - Trent 800 00-01 25 737-800 -
Cathay Pacific named John-Michael Barros, Gavin Cribbs and Carol Hom sales executives; named Ben Ni and Julie Lei customer service supervisors and appointed Yiu Ming Lai cargo service manager-San Francisco.
America West and its flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), will resume contract talks tomorrow, the National Mediation Board (NMB) said last week, indicating that NMB will not release flight attendants from mediation in time for a holiday job action. AFA had requested the release so it could enter a 30-day cooling-off period preparatory to launching a CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) campaign. The union asked NMB last Monday to release it from mediation when the company turned down its offer to submit to arbitration.
US Airways and American urged DOT Wednesday to establish an expedited carrier selection proceeding to allocate the seven U.S.-Italy frequencies available April 1. US Airways said none of the four applicants for the frequencies - itself, American, Delta or Tower - has provided traffic data and other information DOT usually requires for an award. American said its Chicago-Rome proposal would replace Alitalia's nonstops in the market, lost when Alitalia moved most of its international service to Milan.
