Last week's massive air traffic control failure in the Kansas City center sets the stage for an NBC TV movie, "Blackout Effect," depicting a midair disaster caused by an ATC glitch, which airs Jan 4. An aviation consulting firm, Boyd Group/ASRC, observes that ATC failures are "not fictional events." In the movie, FAA management is accused of covering up the cause.
Alitalia severed ties with partner Malev Hungarian as it hooked up with KLM last week (DAILY, Dec. 18), selling its 35% Malev stake to a group of Hungarian entities for $65 million. The move was recommended by several European groups as a way the Italian carrier could better focus on its finances.
NJS Acquisitions is completing the purchase of Newark-based Kiwi International Air Lines in a reverse merger. NJS will assume Kiwi's name and stock symbol on completion of the transaction, expected by the end of the month. The move is similar to Frost Hanna's reverse merger with Pan Am to get the airline off the ground last year, after which Frost Hanna took on Pan Am's corporate identity. NJS invested $16.5 million in Kiwi, $3.5 million of it from rescue artist Charles Edwards, to bring it out of bankruptcy.
Eastwind Airlines has leased a third 737-200 from CIS Corp. for delivery in February. The carrier will use it to add service from Greensboro, N.C. It plans to take delivery of two 737-700s from Boeing in April and June.
- In Federal Register dated Dec. 12...Superseded an airworthiness directive on certain Boeing 747 aircraft concerning inspection for damage of the sleeving and wire bundles of the boost pumps in fuel tanks...Issued an AD on Boeing 727 aircraft requiring inspection for cracking of the rear spar web.
Aviall elected Bruce Whitman, executive VP of FlightSafety International, to the board. DFS Group Limited appointed Fred Chiu president-Hong Kong region and Phaik Hwa Saw president-Singapore region. Eagle USA Airfreight promoted Ron Talley to chief operating officer. Gateway Freight Services named Ernie Donner president. InVision Technologies appointed Horst Bruening VP-engineering.
Air France reported a 1.76 billion franc (US$296 million) net profit for the first six months of its fiscal year, nearly triple the year-ago figure. Revenue rose 8.3% to FF31 billion (US$5.34 billion), and the company posted a net margin of 5.7%. The results were the first since the consolidation of Air France with Air France Europe, formerly Air Inter. Passenger revenues were up 9% and freight sales 13.4%. Passenger traffic grew 1.6% as capacity fell 0.6%, boosting the load factor to 76.1% from 74.5%. Air France paid 12.7% more for fuel, since the U.S.
Although several aviation groups gave lukewarm support to the National Civil Aviation Review Commission recommendations (DAILY, Dec. 12), the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association said the measures might "trigger a substantial tax increase on the flying public." AOPA also said "dire predictions of air travel grinding to a halt" due to congestion "conveniently ignore existing, inexpensive solutions FAA is already pursuing."
Civil Aviation Computer Information Center of China signed a $16.8 million contract with Unisys to upgrade its passenger services capabilities and accommodate a forecast doubling of growth to 100 million passengers per year.
C&T Charters Inc., licensed by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control to arrange charter flights to Cuba, plans to operate such flights in conjunction with the visit to Cuba by Pope John Paul II in January. Travel to Cuba is being licensed by U.S. and Cuban authorities. Lloyd Aereo Boliviano asked DOT for authority to conduct nine roundtrip passenger charter flights for C&T on a Miami-Nassau-Miami routing. Direct U.S.-Cuba transportation in prohibited, so onward transportation will be arranged with a charter operator in the Bahamas.
Lateco, the French fuselage component manufacturer re-signed a "general strategic cooperation agreement" with the Taiwanese government, a company spokesman said last week in Paris. Lateco and the Aero Industry Development Center (AIDC) of Taiwan, which is controlled by the ministry of the economy, reportedly intend to bid to develop elements of Airbus Industrie's A340 derivatives, the A340-500 and A340-600.
U.S. embassy officials in Lisbon and representatives of the Portuguese civil aviation authority have agreed on formal aviation negotiations in Washington Jan. 13-14. They exchanged views on open skies, and a U.S. official said Portugal showed "great vision and leadership." The U.S. is looking to expand its open-skies lineup in Europe to countries in the South, the official said.
The alliance between KLM and Alitalia will become effective in November next year, when the new Milan Malpensa Airport is expected to be fully operational, Leo Van Wijk, KLM chairman, and Domenico Cempella, Alitalia managing director, said Friday in Rome. The carriers intend to operate a multi-hub system linking Malpensa, Amsterdam Schiphol and Rome Fiumicino airports, the executives said.
Swissair will order six additional Airbus A330-200s in the last quarter of 1999 and nine A340-600s in 2002, SAirGroup, the Swiss airline's parent company, said Friday in Zurich. The group also took 23 options on aircraft from the A330/340 family. Swissair is investing 2.1 billion Swiss francs (US$1.5 billion) in a fleet renewal program starting in the fall of 1998. Beginning next September , the Swiss airline will replace eight A310s with nine A330-200s. It also will purchase four McDonnell Douglas MD-11s from German airline LTU in November next year.
Sabena has selected SITA's community intranet for secure and fast access to Boeing's online aircraft maintenance database. SITA's AeroNet will replace Sabena paper, microfilm and CD-ROM systems destroyed in a fire Oct. 2.
Comair is marketing deals on holiday travel through its web site at www.fly-comair.com from Dec. 25 through Jan. 3. Fares range from $39 to $59 one way on several routes, including Cincinnati-Toronto, Boston-Toronto and Boston-Montreal.
American completed Friday its deal to acquire an 8.5% stake in Argentinean carriers Aerolineas Argentinas and regional airline Austral Lineas Aereas. The purchase involved agreements with SEPI, the Spanish state holding firm, and Andes Holdings. The move is American's first investment in a foreign carrier since it bought a stake in Canadian Airlines in 1994. The transaction is subject to government approval.
Although welcoming progress in U.S.-Japan talks, the Japanese Ministry of Transport (MOT) has not let down its guard against open skies. Norifumi Ide, director for the MOT's International Air Transport Division, told The DAILY last week in Tokyo that some countries publicly welcoming open-skies agreements with the U.S. have complained privately of having little choice but to sign them. Ide declined comment on specifics of the talks with the U.S., which concluded last Thursday.
Western Pacific is offering sale fares for travel on Christmas Day or New Year's Day, starting at $39 one way. No roundtrip or advance purchase is required, but tickets are non-refundable. Sample one-way fares include $39 between Denver and Dallas/Fort Worth, $99 between Denver and Orlando and $89 between Denver and Washington Dulles.
Turkish government officials announced plans to buy 49 737s from Boeing, confirming statements earlier this year. Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce audience in Washington his nation is upset that its membership in the European Union was rejected. He said the U.S. will be a beneficiary.
Intensive exchanges will continue during the next few weeks as the U.S. and Japan keep working to negotiate a revised bilateral, the State Department said Friday. State said "approaches are converging" in spite of remaining differences. It offered little comment on the specifics of the talks and nothing on efforts to divert unused Federal Express slots at Narita Airport temporarily to other U.S. carriers, but it said "private-sector representatives of both sides are playing a crucial role." A State Department source said the U.S.
British Airways received U.K. Civil Aviation Authority approval to operate daily nonstop service between London Gatwick and Denver. The carrier intends to start flights in early June but still needs final approval from DOT. The U.K. CAA decision drew an immediate protest from Virgin Atlantic, which may appeal the ruling. Under the restrictive U.S.-U.K. bilateral, only one additional U.S. city may be added to the agreement, and Virgin had applied to serve Las Vegas.
Some of TWA's pilots were angry and concerned about the walkout two weeks ago by Machinists union members, but the carrier's Air Line Pilots Association unit cautioned members that the machinists must have had compelling reasons for their actions. "We could be in the same situation soon," admonished ALPA Master Executive Council Chairman Joe Chronic. ALPA and TWA, in contract negotiations, met twice last week and have scheduled six meetings in January. ALPA negotiators say the talks are going well.
