Business Travel Coalition President Kevin Mitchell pushed for increased freedom of market entry and level-playing-field assurances for new entrants last week in a speech to the Parliamentary Group of the Swiss Aeronautical Economy in Bern.
British Airways has opened its Concorde Room at New York Kennedy for Concorde travelers. The room is outfitted with furniture and art designed by top 20th century designers. Concorde fares are $5,456 and $9,165 roundtrip, plus tax.
China Airlines said it will accept delivery of its eighth 737-800 aircraft this month. The delivery will enable CAL to complete the replacement of 737-400 aircraft with the -800 series on all flights between Kaohsiung and Southeast Asia, Taipei and Okinawa, and international airports at Taoyuan and Kaohsiung. CAL recently announced that it will carry out a simplification plan designed to reduce the number of aircraft types in its fleet from seven to four by 2003.
United and Delta told DOT that capping travel agent commissions on international tickets booked in the U.S. was a response to competition and an effort to control distribution costs in an uncertain economy, and United States Travel Agent Registry's (USTAR's) complaint against them should be dismissed. American also filed its response to USTAR (DAILY, Dec. 18). In their filings, Delta and United echoed American's claim that USTAR is not in competition with the airlines and therefore cannot claim that the airlines' commission caps represent unfair competition.
American told DOT yesterday it "objects to any reliance" in the Love Field service interpretation proceeding on the July 1992 analysis of the impact of changes to the Wright Amendment, calling the 1992 Love Field study "seriously flawed." DOT continues to reference the study, American noted, while the department "has given notice in this proceeding that it intends to consider only questions of law." Further, American has been unable to review DOT's records on the study.
Toronto City Council last week voted to block a motion to extend the ban on jet-aircraft operations at Toronto City Centre Airport, formerly Toronto Island Airport (DAILY, Dec. 18), but that vote did not affect the existing three-party agreement between the city, the Toronto Harbor Commission and the federal government banning jet operations at City Centre through 2033. The council also voted in favor of building a C$16 million bridge to the airport, replacing a ferry.
Five oneworld alliance members are giving employees a joint travel program that allows for better price discounts and four tickets for parents or other companions next year. The employee plan begins Jan. 11 for travel starting Jan. 14 and includes what member American terms "better than ID90 rates" offered to most employees when traveling on other carriers. The oneworld employee travel program is based on nonstop flight distance. Current members are American, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Canadian Airlines and Qantas.
Sabre will raise its basic booking and full-availability fees in specific billing regions as of Feb. 1. Sabre Travel Information Network VP-Airline Sales and Marketing Scott Alvis told carriers last week in a letter the higher fees are intended to meet increased expenses and "general inflationary pressures," including salaries to recruit and retain staff. Basic booking fees in North America will rise from $1.77 to $1.82. Full-availability fees will climb from $2.83 to $2.92.
America West and EVA Airways yesterday signed a code-share agreement covering passengers from Taipei through Los Angeles and San Francisco to America West's hubs in Las Vegas and Phoenix. EVA operates 14 weekly Los Angeles-Taipei flights, three from LAX to Kaohsiung and 10 from San Francisco to Taipei.
Hokkaido International Airlines or Air Do, the second low-fare startup carrier in Japan, inaugurated three daily Tokyo-Sapporo, Hokaido Island, flights Sunday with a single 767-300ER. The average passenger load factor on the six flights on the first day of service was 65%. The first carrier, Skymark Airlines, started service in October, also with a 767-300, recording an average 83.5% load factor for October and November.
Virgin Express (Ireland) has opened its new headquarters in Shannon, where it expects to employ 100. Since Virgin Express opened the Shannon-London route two months ago, it became the most successful route launch since the airline began with more than 9,000 seats sold before the first flight.
Textron said Lawrence Fish, chairman and chief executive of Citizens Financial Group, and Joe Ford, chairman and chief executive of Alltel Corp., were elected to its board of directors.
MetroJet will launch Washington Dulles-Columbus and Dulles-St. Louis service April 7 with three daily roundtrips. MetroJet also will add three daily roundtrips between Dulles and Miami. Parent US Airways will increase to hourly its service between Dulles and New York LaGuardia on March 3. The mainline carrier will operate seven jet flights daily and US Airways Express will double the frequency of 37-seat Dash 8 turboprop flights from four to eight per day.
The Philippines Ministry of Finance has drawn up a rehabilitation plan for Philippine Airlines that calls for an infusion of at least US$150 million. Finance Secretary Eduardo Espiritu said a committee he heads is evaluating an aid plan in which the funds would come from an interest-free loan offered by a Japanese consortium. Espiritu declined to identify the consortium or give details of the plan, however. "We are looking at all possible offers to avert another shutdown of PAL," Espiritu told The DAILY in Manila.
FAA Small Airplane Directorate has issued the first U.S. type certificate for a Russian design, clearing it for import. The type certificate was issued at the Ilyushin plant for the Il-103, an all-metal, two-seat aircraft powered by a 210 HP Teledyne Continental Motors IO-360ES engine with a Hartzell propeller.
DOT issued an order ending, as of Dec. 1, the collection of data on domestic air service for its study of service to small and rural communities. It relieved airlines and computer reservations systems from data submission requirements associated with the study. Data collection became fully operational late in 1997 with the intention of obtaining data for one year. (Docket OST-97-2767)
Texas District Court Judge Bob McCoy entered a final judgment in City of Fort Worth v. City of Dallas last week, confirming his earlier summary judgment in the Dallas Love Field restrictions case (DAILY, Oct. 19).
FDX Global Logistics named Debra Gray VP and chief financial officer; Ami Kelley VP and general counsel and Charles Malone VP-sales, marketing and communications.
Pilots have found 13,353 jobs so far this year, a record number that surpasses the full-year 1997 total of 11,936, according to AIR, Inc. Majors hired 3,411 pilots, nationals 4,495, jet operators 2,418 and non-jet operators 2,096. In November, 1,098 pilots found jobs. A total of 690 pilots remain on furlough, none from the major carriers.
City of Chicago, backing United for more nonstop Italy service, pointed out to DOT that its large Roman Catholic population "is immediately relevant to [the planned Vatican 2000] Jubilee traffic." City of Philadelphia noted on behalf of US Airways that nearly 46% of Italian-Americans live in Pennsylvania and contiguous states.
Continental asked DOT for an indefinite-duration exemption to provide scheduled combination service between points in the U.S. and Budapest, and to designate it for U.S.-Hungary service. The carrier needs the exemption and designation under terms of the U.S.-Hungary aviation agreement in order to sell interline services - which themselves do not require DOT approval - in Hungary and to convert and remit revenues collected in Hungary.
United's replacement of Hong Kong-Singapore with Hong Kong-Bangkok last week resulted in the displacement of 18 employees in Singapore. All were given the chance to enroll in job-placement programs, but United said the plan had limited success because of the soft economy.
American disputed Air France's assertion that the French flag carrier is not involved in slot allocation at Paris airports. "The slot allocation process in France is in fact controlled by Air France, which is wholly owned by the Government of France," American charged. The slot coordinator at Orly, where American seeks slots for 1999 summer-season Los Angeles-Paris service (DAILY, Dec. 14), is a former Air France employee who "is expected to return to Air France when he completes his assignment as coordinator," American said.
