Boeing officials said yesterday they are considering starting a new- generation 737 production line in Long Beach, Calif. Initially, the plan is to focus primarily on final assembly of aircraft with significantly different configurations than next-generation 737s ordered by most airline customers. For example, Boeing Business Jets and 737-700Cs might be assembled on a Long Beach line. Boeing said this would provide additional flexibility to accommodate future changes in production rates and model mix.
Cathay Pacific Airways' first new service from the soon-to-open Chek Lap Kok airport will be nonstop service to Istanbul. The twice-weekly service will begin Aug. 8. Cathay will use Airbus A340-300s configured for three classes of service, with 12 seats in first, 40 in business and 197 in economy class. Istanbul becomes Cathay's 48th destination. The airline expects Turkey's largest city to appeal to both leisure and business travelers.
President Clinton announced his intention to nominate Norman Mineta as a member of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors. Mineta, senior VP and managing director of Lockheed Martin IMS's Transportation Systems and Services division, served in Congress for 21 years and chaired both the House Public Works Committee and its aviation subcommittee during his tenure. More recently, Mineta chaired the National Civil Aviation Review Commission.
French Public Works and Transport Minister Jean-Claude Gayssot yesterday urged U.S. companies to take advantage of the new U.S.-France bilateral, said Air France was showing a "new mindset" since its signing and rejected a suggestion that France would be at a disadvantage to other countries such as Germany by not having signed an open-skies pact.
Members of the Northwests Machinists Union unit met Tuesday to plan activities of the union's strike committee. The union and management are resuming talks with a federal mediator this week in Washington.
United told DOT that the department's tentative award of an exemption for Simmons Airlines d/b/a American Eagle for 16 Chicago O'Hare slots to operate Essential Air Service to Bloomington and Champaign, Ill., and La Crosse, Wis., is "contrary to the terms of the statute under which the exemption is purportedly granted, to the department's own interpretation of that statute and to the department's recent policy." Simmons serves the three points from O'Hare, at a higher level than established minimum EAS levels, United said.
The 10 U.S. major airlines in October will go under a new, data-driven inspection regime designed to determine the root causes of safety problems and eliminate them before they lead to incidents or accidents, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said yesterday.
Canada is reviewing Air Canada's request to from fly Vancouver-New Zealand, a government spokesman said yesterday. Air Canada is constrained by government regulations that prohibit more than one carrier from flying to a foreign destination unless the point generates more than 300,000 passengers per year. As a result, it wet-leases a Boeing 767 to Air New Zealand (ANZ) to fly from Vancouver to Honolulu, where passengers transfer to an ANZ airplane, said spokesman John Reber.
Air China, the largest airline in China, yesterday agreed to code share with Northwest, the oldest U.S. transpacific operator, along with Continental, America West and Alaska Airlines (DAILY, May 12). Together, the group will form a comprehensive transpacific route system unmatched by any single carrier or alliance. Air China Group Chairman Yin Wenlong said his carrier will focus on U.S. West Coast gateways, while Northwest and the others will develop the eastern U.S.
Airline stocks have risen 325% since October 1994 but are due for a "pause," said Gruntal airline analyst Steve Lewins. Although many airline fundamentals remain positive, stock volatility and other factors led Lewins to lower ratings on five major U.S. carriers.
DOT made final its tentative award of U.S.-Japan rights, awarding in addition to that a limited number of frequencies to American, Continental Micronesia and Delta, and postponed final determination on Hawaiian Airlines' bid to become the fifth designated flag carrier to Japan pending review of environmental issues. TWA becomes the fourth flag carrier, with seven St. Louis-Tokyo frequencies.
Aer Lingus has taken delivery of an A321 powered by CFM56 engines. The carrier plans to operate a total of six of the aircraft, including three to be leased from International Lease Finance Corp. Aer Lingus also has ordered six A320s and a sixth A330 powered by CF6 engines.
TWA, climbing out of years of financial difficulties and the aftermath of the Flight 800 crash, has bagged the top rating for long-haul service in the J.D. Power/Frequent Flyer Magazine annual airline quality survey. Customers taking trips of 500 miles or longer will find the best service on TWA, the survey said. America West took top honors for best service on short flights of fewer than 500 miles.
World Airways, feeling the effects of an operation too focused on the Asia/Pacific market, posted a $2.99 million net loss in the first quarter, compared with a profit of $5 million in the year-earlier period. Revenue declined 12% to $69.2 million, reflecting one less MD-11 in the fleet. As the carrier moved further away from its Asian wet-lease niche, it signed a wet-lease with British charter carrier Monarch Airlines. The contract, which begins May 21 and ends Nov.
Virgin Express posted a pre-tax loss of 251 million Belgian francs (US$6.7 million) in the first three months of 1998, versus a loss of BEF110 million ($2.9 million) a year earlier. The net loss was BEF151 million ($4.0 million). Revenue from scheduled service rose 64% to BEF1.29 billion ($35.3 million), while total revenue increased 23% to BEF1.77 billion ($48.5 million). The rise in scheduled revenue was driven by a 53% jump in capacity. The load factor rose nearly 10 percentage points to 67.8% from 57.9%.
Reno Air reported an 8.5% rise in traffic and an 8.4% increase in traffic for April 1998 over April last year, lifting the load factor 0.1 percentage points. Reno reported 273.4 million revenue passenger miles and 408.2 million available seat miles, creating a 67% load factor. Passenger enplanements rose 1.5% to 448,697. Year-to-date RPMs went up 7.1% and ASMs 7.2% from the same period last year, leveling the load factor to last year's 65.3%. Passenger enplanements went up 4.2%.
A key House committee proposes changes to aviation funding that would revive an old idea - charging airlines annual fees for slots - and eliminate the cap on passenger facility charges in exchange for lower Airport Improvement Program funding. The ideas are critiqued in a letter from House Transportation aviation subcommittee member Vernon Ehlers (R- Mich.), who questions the assumptions that are part of House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich's (R-Ohio) proposed budget.
Midwest Express Holdings reported a 19.4% rise in traffic and a 16.9% increase in capacity for April 1998 compared with the same month last year, which forced the load factor up 1.4 percentage points. Midwest posted 133.4 million revenue passenger miles and 205.5 million available seat miles, which created a 64.9% load factor. Passenger enplanements rose 16.4% to 154,850.
A St. Louis circuit court has ruled that investor Carl Icahn did not violate a pact with TWA when he sold its tickets to the general public through his company, Global Discount Travel Services. Global Discount obtained the right to buy the tickets at a discount in 1995 as part of TWA's deal to repay Icahn's $200 million loan.
KLM traffic in April rose 5% on 9% more capacity, which pushed passenger load factor down to 75.6% from 78.6%. The airline said the disparity was due to summer schedule additions before the strong summer traffic began. Asia traffic rose 2% on 8% more capacity, and cargo traffic fell 3% on 6% more capacity.
American Trans Air reported a 16.8% jump in April traffic and a 14.7% rise in capacity, compared with the same month last year. Systemwide, the carrier flew 868 million revenue passenger miles and offered 1.194 million available seat miles. Passengers carried increased 19.1% to 561.674 and block hours flown rose 19.2% to 13,669. Charter traffic declined 7.9% and capacity 6%. Passenger boardings were down 15.3% and block hours 9.6%. Scheduled service saw a 39.1% rise in RPMs and a 35.9% jump in ASMs, boosting the load factor 1.9 percentage points to 79.1%.
Coventry Industries Corp., a Boca Raton, Fla.-based holding company with subsidiaries in manufacturing and industrial products, has signed a letter of intent to acquire Kiwi International Holdings, parent of Kiwi International Air Lines. The bid would be a stock transaction of unrevealed value. Coventry said a definitive agreement is expected by June 15.
