United will add a second daily Washington-Paris service as part of a late- night bank of flights that expands service at the airport from 61 to 69 daily flights. The 9:30 p.m. bank will enable new domestic service to connect with transatlantic flights to Paris and Frankfurt. "This gives eastbound travelers the option of extending their business day and allows business people in Europe to work a full day, then leave Paris or Frankfurt at the more desired time of 5 or 6 p.m. and arrive in Washington between 7 p.m.
Ananth Kumar was sworn in as India's new civil aviation minister in New Delhi as part of the 22-member council of ministers under Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpaye. Aviation industry analysts said the choice of a hardcore veteran from the ruling Hindu fundamentalist Bharatiya Janata Party over a representative from one of BJP's allies in the coalition government for the ministerial post - which has been elevated to a senior position for the first time in nearly seven years - indicates the importance the new government attaches to civil aviation matters.
TWA yesterday unveiled Aviators, its new frequent flyer program, which will become effective May 1. Aviators will offer fare and mileage awards that reward members for the fare they pay as well as the miles and transatlantic segments they fly - one bonus Aviator mile for every U.S. dollar spent on full fares.
EVA Airways will launch direct 747-400 flights between Kaohsiung and Los Angeles on June 11, the first transpacific service from Kaohsiung by a Taiwan-based airline. EVA also will begin service between Taipei and Osaka on April 1. The daily service will increase the number of flights EVA operates between Taiwan and Japan to 34 per week. EVA will operate the new Taipei-Osaka service under a code share basis with All Nippon Airways.
Lufthansa CityLine has ordered three more 50-seat Canadair Regional Jet 100s. The conversion of options will bring its CRJ fleet to 34 aircraft. Deliveries are expected to be completed in the first quarter 1999.
China Airlines has agreed to increase the compensation it will pay to relatives of the 202 people who died in the Feb. 16 crash of an Airbus A300-600R at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek International Airport to NT$9.9 million (US$302,000) for each victim. CAL originally offered to pay NT$8.2 million per victim but offered the higher compensation after lengthy negotiations with family members of 23 victims, who demanded that the airline increase the amount classified as a special condolence payment.
Asiana of South Korea did not let economic turmoil in the region stop it from taking delivery of its first Airbus, an A321, configured for 12 business- and 183 coach-class seats. The carrier has ordered 12 A321s and six A330s.
House Appropriations Committee voted 33-26 along party lines yesterday to approve a package of budget offsets to a supplemental appropriations bill providing disaster assistance relief to Bosnia, resulting in a $275 million reduction in fiscal 1998 Airport Improvement Program obligations, cutting the total for the current fiscal year from $1.7 billion to $1.425 billion.
Boeing Commercial President Ron Woodard expressed concern about the MD-11 program yesterday, but Boeing officials rejected criticism that the company is pulling out of California having completed its merger with McDonnell Douglas. Woodard said Boeing is marketing the MD-11 "aggressively" and has sold some freighter versions, but "our concern is whether we will have the sustained orders to keep the program viable." Woodard said he does not believe the economic situation in Asia has had any impact on the MD-11 program.
Varig posted a 6.3% traffic increase in February, to 4.35 million revenue passenger kilometers. The load factor was 66.3% on international flights and 56.8% on domestic service. The airline carried 771,533 passengers, up 6.5%.
Grupo TACA will begin three daily nonstop flights April 20 to two U.S. points. The company will offer new service from San Salvador to New York Kennedy and Washington Dulles and from Guatemala City to New York, using Airbus A320s. TACA will add a Guatemala City-San Salvador extension in both directions. Later this year, it will launch business-class service, said Melvin Leiva, sales director. Noting the recent open-skies accords between the U.S. and Central American countries, TACA said it provides the only nonstop scheduled service to nine U.S. markets.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications, under increasing public attack because of the island's poor aviation safety record, is studying the feasibility of requiring Taiwan's nearly one dozen domestic airlines to merge into three or four larger companies. A ministry spokesman said a merger scheme would result in companies with greater financial stability and an increased capability to adhere to safety standards.
Armenian Airlines will lease, with an option to purchase, an A310 to be delivered this summer, Airbus said yesterday. The carrier plans to grow its fleet to 10 Airbus aircraft by 2005. The Yerevan-based carrier plans to operate the Pratt-powered aircraft in two classes seating 194 passengers.
Austrian Airlines, encouraged by the success of its two weekly direct flights to New Delhi introduced late last year, is firming up plans to add a third flight on the Vienna-Delhi-Vienna route in its winter schedule, airline officials said Friday. Talks with Indian authorities on the third frequency are under way, they added. "Bookings have far outstripped expectations, and we're gearing up to meet a projected passenger volume demand of nearly 26,000 in 1998," a senior official said. Austrian Airlines also has plans to start a fourth flight to Mumbai, he added.
U.S. Major Airlines Unit Revenues and Expenses Fourth Quarter 1997 Operating Operating Operating ASMs Revenue Per Expense Per Profit Per (000) ASM (Cents) ASM (Cents) ASM (Cents) Alaska 3,848,000 9.09 8.46 0.63 America West 5,949,516 7.95 7.26 0.69 American 38,239,131 11.06 10.12 0.93
RTCA Special Committee 186 and Eurocae Working Group 51 will hold a joint meeting April 1-2 on the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) program. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at RTCA, 1140 Connecticut Ave. N.W., Suite 1020, Washington, D.C.
Although both the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) have run into opposition from airlines in Europe and the U.S., the Association of European Airlines (AEA) appears to see promise in the Local Area Augmentation System (LAAS) favored by Air Transport Association (ATA) airlines in the U.S. In fact, Category 1 LAAS could be available by 2000 for revenue use at test airports in the U.S. and Europe, both organizations believe.
Austrian Airlines yesterday gained full control of Tyrolean Airways after purchasing a stake in the regional carrier from the Austrian share-holding company, Leipnik Lundenburger Invest Beteiligungs Aktiengesellschaft. Under the agreement, Austrian took Leipnik Lundenburger's 14.3% stake in Tyrolean, giving it 100% ownership. Austrian said the change in ownership structure "will in no way affect" Tyrolean's independence within the Austrian Airlines Group, and the smaller airline will continue to concentrate on domestic and regional air services.
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport will inaugurate its new Hall F on March 27, followed by its operational debut two days later. The new terminal, the airport's fifth, will handle principally Air France's intra-European traffic to Austria, Belgium, Spain, The Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Switzerland and several destinations in southern France.
Swissair will contract new Eastern Europe service to regional partner Crossair, beginning May 1. Swissair will serve 10 cities in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States through the agreement. New destinations include Baku, Azerbaijan; Yerevan, Armenia; Riga, Latvia; Samara, Russia, and Tbilisi, Georgia, which will receive two to four weekly flights using MD-83s operated by Crossair for Swissair. The 123-seat aircraft will have the unusual configuration of 68 business-class and 55 economy seats.
British Airways will invest more than $105 million over the next three years at 22 U.S. airports. Most of the funds will be spent at New York Kennedy, and $5 million will be spent this year at Miami, Boston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston and Baltimore.
