Hawaiian Airlines is launching year-round nonstop service from Maui to Seattle, beginning Sept. 8. The carrier will offer four roundtrips per week. Hawaiian previously offered the service seasonally during winter months. The new flight will operate on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Embraer Chief Executive Mauricio Botelho says India is not in joint- venture talks with the Brazilian manufacturer concerning production of small aircraft in that country. The DAILY quoted civil aviation ministry officials this week as saying that India had entered into preliminary negotiations with Embraer to set up a joint venture with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. to produce 19-, 30- and 50-seat aircraft (DAILY, May 26). It is true, however, that Indian President K.R.
The Boyd Group of Evergreen, Colo., is hawking a Small Airports' Bill of Rights, in which it charges some surrogates of major carriers with operating dirty airplanes, failure to meet schedules, poor on-time performance, inferior service, unprofessional employees, inconvenient hubsite facilities and lack of concern. "Some smaller airports would be better without some of the 'service' inflicted upon them by a few select uncaring and sloppily operated regional airlines," some of which "are literally driving off consumers with bad service," the group said.
Mesaba Holdings posted a net profit of $19.8 million for the year ending March 31, up 65.2% from the year earlier level of $12 million. Earnings per share swelled 53.2% to 95 cents, while the net margin rose to 7.1% from 6.5%. Revenue jumped 49.3% to $277.2 million. Mesaba, which added 31 Saab 340s and 10 Avro RJ85s during the year, flew 3.32 million passengers, a 69.2% jump from the 1.96 million passengers carried in fiscal 1997. Operating income last year rose 55.1% to $30.4 million.
The French government has asked Aerospatiale Chairman Yves Michot to draw up a plan for the "opening" of the capital of the state-owned aerospace manufacturer to private investors. Flotation of Aerospatiale shares on the stock market also is under consideration. Until now, the left-wing government, led by Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, had argued that the privatization of Aerospatiale could not be a prerequisite for the corporatization of European consortium Airbus Industrie.
Dragonair has taken delivery of its third A320 this year, which will replace a lower-powered version of an A320 in the fleet. The renewal program, through International Lease Finance Corp., is Dragonair's largest investment to date.
Sabena, celebrating its 75th anniversary this week, projects passenger growth of 23% this year. The Belgian airline carried 6.8 million passengers last year and forecasts 8.4 million for 1998. It began service recently to Newark, Montreal and Sao Paulo and added capacity to Atlanta, Chicago and Cincinnati.
Commuter crash in Mongolia - Wire services reported this week that a Chinese-built, 19-seat Yun-12 twin turboprop operated by Mongolian Airlines crashed into a snow-covered mountain near Erdenet, killing all 28 aboard. It was the second Yun-12 crash in a year. The dead included 12 children, seven of whom ranged from age one to five. A government spokeswoman said it was a "normal load." Jane's All The World's Aircraft says the plane is configured to carry 17 passengers at a 31-inch pitch.
Delta is very concerned about the European Commission review of international alliances, Senior VP Scott Yohe said yesterday, and has asked U.S. officials to "sit down and work out high-level coordination" with their European counterparts on the rules that should apply to them. He said services created by the Delta-Swissair-Sabena-Austrian Atlantic Excellence group - already judged to be in the public interest via a U.S. grant of antitrust immunity - are threatened by the "ex post facto" EC review.
The judge in the TPI International Airways contract appeals case before the Armed Services Board of Contract appeals (ASBCA) has re-opened the case after two years based on new evidence. The small Brunswick, Ga., cargo carrier lost its Air Force contract at Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., and was shut down by FAA on Aug. 30, 1990, in what it claims was collusion between the two governmental units.
Southwest will increase its daily schedule by 36 flights - 18 departures on July 6 and 18 more on Aug. 5, the result of new 737-700 aircraft deliveries. The new service will be focused on Nashville, Baltimore/Washington, Kansas City and Houston Hobby.
AB Airlines has ordered six Boeing 737-700s. The carrier, which serves Berlin, Lisbon and Shannon from London Gatwick, is looking at several new routes. The 737 product line has surpassed 4,000 orders, which Boeing pointed out is more aircraft in total than Airbus has produced since it began.
SunJet is starting nonstop service from New York Kennedy to Fort Lauderdale with a $59 one-way fare, a $20 discount. Discounted seats are available on a limited basis for travel June 20-26. Flights leave JFK and Fort Lauderdale every day except Tuesday. On June 26, SunJet also will offer service from Islip, N.Y., to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale.
Midwest Express subsidiary Skyway Airlines posted nearly a one- percentage-point increase in its passenger load factor to 44.6% last month, as revenue passenger miles climbed 3.3% to 6.2 million while capacity was edging up 1.1% to 13.8 million available seat miles. The number of enplanements increased 5.2% to 28,173. April 1998 April 1997 Rev. Passenger Miles 6,164,538 5,965,627 Available Seat Miles 13,815,243 13,662,204
Lower fuel costs and increased cost cutting helped offset the effects of a flight attendant strike, enabling British Airways to post better-than- expected 1997 profits of #580 million (US$967 million). The results were down 9.4%, however. Net profit for the year ended March 31 fell 16.8% to #460 million ($771 million) but remained at a level that kept BA neck-and- neck with Lufthansa as the most financially fit carrier in Europe.
Boeing said it hopes to remain a player in Indonesia's commercial aerospace market, but one analyst said it must hedge its bets. A Boeing statement said the company's relationship with Indonesia's new president, B.J. Habibie, longtime minister of research and technology and former head of state-owned airplane maker IPTN, "is based on a commitment to adding value to both parties." It also said, "Dr.
Scott Yohe, senior VP at Delta, discusses the recently announced Delta- United alliance and other airline competition issues on Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
All Nippon Airways reported a net loss of 2.6 billion yen (US$19 million) for fiscal 1997-98 and is not optimistic that its core market within Japan will recover any time soon. ANA said Japanese economic conditions remain "sluggish," yields are down and consumer spending has been further depressed by a consumption tax that took effect in April. For the first time in 30 years, the company will not pay a dividend to shareholders.
Myrtle Beach Jet Express is offering passengers two special packages when traveling to Myrtle Beach - a "Buy 1 Get 1 Free" on airfare and a two- night, air-hotel-golf package, each for $199. Both offers are valid for travel through June 29. Passengers interested in the airfare only can purchase two tickets for the price of one until June 9. The $199 vacation special is valid for Monday departures from New York and includes roundtrip air fare from Newark, two nights' hotel at the Sands Resort, and two rounds of golf.
Sales at Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG increased 18% during the first four months of 1998 to 4.6 billion Deutschmarks ($2.6 billion), primarily due to positive developments in the European and North American markets, the company reported. Orders soared 191% to DM10.3 billion ($5.8 billion), spurred by increased demand in the civil sector, where orders grew fivefold to DM3.9 billion ($2.2 billion).
Amadeus and New Media Solutions have agreed to provide Internet access and electronic mail service to Amadeus's travel agency customers using the MAXSys Agent Productivity Software (APS) platform. Marketing Director David Cerino said most central reservations systems currently offer e-mail services and Internet availability. "We wanted to advance the marketplace's current product offering and give our customers a quick and easy turnkey solution," he said. Customers can select Internet access, e- mail services or both instantly.
Northwest's Air Line Pilots Association unit has voted by a 99% margin in favor of a strike should contract negotiations with management fail. Nearly all Northwest ALPA members - 98.7% - returned a strike ballot, according to Northwest ALPA spokesman Paul Omodt. The union also sent out survey cards to non-members and probationary pilots and 99% voted in favor of a strike, he said.
FAA has launched a voluntary inspection of wiring on virtually all commercial jet transports not covered in previous inspections of Boeing aircraft, part of a continuing effort to ensure chafed wiring does not lead to fuel-tank explosions of the type that some fear might have downed TWA Flight 800, a Boeing 747. FAA wrote to Lockheed, Boeing's Douglas Products Div. and the Air Transport Association to enlist their aid to conduct surveys of the L-1011 and DC-8, DC-9, MD-80, MD-90, DC-10, KC-10 and MD-11.
New Aircraft Orders and Options February 1998 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Dates # Type # Type America West# 3 A320-200 - V2527-A5 Feb-Apr98 20 A319 - America West - - - - 24 A320 - America
