Korean Air has launched cargo service to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, as of Jan. 10. It has been using belly space of aircraft but experienced increasing demand. It is flying a dedicated weekly A300 freighter.
Northwest and KLM have agreed that Northwest can accelerate the repurchase of KLM's remaining 18.2 million shares of the Minneapolis-based carrier. Northwest will pay out $775 million with a combination of senior unsecured notes and cash no later than May 1. KLM said it will receive $435 million in cash. KLM's stake in Northwest was supposed to fall from 16.8% to zero by late 2000.
Aircraft Parts International said it is moving to a bigger facility in Memphis to support continued growth and expansion of its aircraft parts distribution and logistics management services business.
United is seeking geographic exclusivity in its United Express code-share agreements for the West Coast, an Air Line Pilots Association spokesman at WestAir says. United, which declined to verify the claim, is looking at expanding its West Coast code share with SkyWest, which also flies out of Los Angeles as Delta Connection. A SkyWest spokesman said the carrier dramatically scaled back its Delta service out of L.A. when it signed with United in 1996, but it has no plans to drop Delta completely.
Prudential Securities says it is "increasingly cautious" about the prospects for Boeing share performance. Although Asian orders may represent only about 15% of the company's backlog, a "disproportionate share" of potential deferrals are 747s, "by far Boeing's most profitable aircraft." Prudential also notes that "pricing today...is believed to be the worst it has been in terms of discounts from list price."
U.S. airlines, which begin reporting fourth quarter and yearend financial results today, expect to show benefits from cost reductions and revenue gains. On the cost side, airline analysts expect carriers to receive a substantial boost from last fall's travel agent commission structure revisions and lower distribution costs in general, as well as gains from cheaper jet fuel prices. On the revenue side, high demand coupled with a strong pricing environment should lift revenue per available seat mile across the board.
An extensive study of inflight medical events conducted by the Air Transport Association (ATA) found that one in every 5.8 million passengers experiences a medical problem. The study, conducted by ATA's Medical Committee, used 1996 data from nine airlines that carry more than 90% of all traffic in the U.S. The most common medical problem was dizziness or fainting, which accounted for 2,136 events. There were 433 incidents involving chest pain, the second most common problem, and 438 respiratory problems.
Pilots at WestAir, a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group, are frustrated by Mesa's alleged refusal to let them buy a stake in the carrier and enter an independent code-share agreement with United, WestAir's Air Line Pilots Association unit said last week. WestAir Master Executive Council Vice Chairman Martin Springfield said the union has been working on the matter since last November because they feared the United-Mesa code share was in jeopardy despite the company's reassurance that it was not.
IBM says it is "imperative" that FAA replace each of the old IBM 3083 computers at the 20 Air Route Traffic Control Centers before 2000. The company told system contractor Lockheed Martin the appropriate skills to assess the 1970s-vintage equipment for operation in 2000 "do not exist." FAA says it is "confident" the Host computer will be year-2000 compliant by the end of this year, leaving "the entire year of 1999 for testing." Ray Long, who heads the FAA effort, will get on an aircraft shortly before midnight Dec.
Air Canada Chief Executive Lamar Durrett credits the airline's employees with much of its turnaround. Productivity is up 53% during the past five years, and Durrett noted that "you won't find the recipe for Air Canada's turnaround in any management textbook."
The International Association of Machinists has launched a campaign to represent United Airlines' 16,000 passenger service and reservations agents. The campaign has been "fruitful" so far, according to an IAM spokesman.
Delta withdrew its application at DOT for renewal of the mail-only portion of its U.S.-London code-share exemption. Delta operated combination service under its now-terminated code share with Virgin Atlantic and had hoped to continue mail-only service (DAILY, Dec. 18, 1997). (Docket OST- 95-926)
Mesa Air Group, which posted a net loss of $48.6 million during fiscal 1997, ended Sept. 30, last year invested heavily in the business jet operation of one of its board members. One of Mesa's wholly owned subsidiaries, FCA, agreed to become an aircraft distributor for Sino Swearingen Aircraft Company (SSAC), in the process committing to spend $28 million to buy eight jets. Jack Braly, chief executive of SSAC, is a member of Mesa's board.
International Council of Air Shows awarded the 1997 Sword of Excellence for distinguished service to Karen Geldner, president of Shannon&Luchs Insurance Agency.
-- In Federal Register dated Jan. 9...Superseded an airworthiness directive on Precision Airmotive carburetors concerning inspections of those with a two-piece venturi...Superseded an AD on Embraer EMB-110 aircraft concerning replacing part of the main landing gear.
Although talks between Northwest and its machinists union have been peaceful, the union on Friday requested intervention by the National Mediation Board. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) District 143 requested mediation because the parties are broaching economic issues, said IAM spokesman Rick Palmer. "We're negotiating five contracts and there are some scope items" on the table, he said.
Avatar Alliance said it purchased a large inventory of rotable and consumable airframe and avionics spares for Fokker F100 aircraft, broadening its inventory to 14 aircraft types from five manufacturers. The company said its inventory is 100% documented.
