BAA Plc's airports in Britain handled 7.6 million passengers last month, 6.4% more than in November 1996. BAA said charter traffic for its seven airports - Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton - grew 10.1%, while North Atlantic services expanded 8.9%. Compared with November a year ago, European scheduled traffic rose 5.4% and other long-haul routes racked up growth of 5.6%. Cargo tonnage for the BAA airports increased more than 10% for the fourth month in a row.
British Aerospace Plc and Kazanah National Berhad of Malaysia have agreed to become partners in the aerospace industry. Under the agreement, Malaysia and British Aerospace will work together to develop Malaysia's capability to design and manufacture aerospace products. Malaysia hopes to gain access to aerospace technologies and develop the technical skills and intellectual property needed to compete for international aerospace work and future aircraft programs.
Antigua-based aircraft leasing company Caribjet has demanded $20 million in compensation from Air-India as arbitration proceedings between the two companies began this week in the London Court of International Justice, AI officials said yesterday. AI had wet-leased three aircraft - two L-1011s and an A310 - from Caribjet but had prematurely terminated its lease in September 1996 on the grounds that the aircraft were unsafe. Caribjet maintains the termination was politically motivated.
Alitalia yesterday selected KLM as its major European alliance partner, altering the strength and reach of several carriers in Europe, and possibly in the U.S. Top Italian government official Andrea Monorchio said, "Alitalia's partner will be KLM," as he left a board meeting of the Italian airline's parent, state holding company Istituto di Ricostruzione Industriale, last night in Rome. Alitalia chose KLM over Swissair and Air France in the contest for partners in southern Europe.
Locus Inc. announced the launch of a new version of its Loran receiver that will offer users a single, combined Global Positioning System/Loran unit that "promises redundant, yet completely independent, radionavigation capabilities." Locus President Linn Roth said the company decided to buck DOT policy on Loran and develop the receiver "because of the substantial new interest in Loran in the United States and a growing market for the technology internationally."
DOT allocated three U.S.-South Africa all-cargo frequencies to Polar Air Cargo and approved an initial two-year exemption for Polar to provide scheduled foreign cargo service between the U.S. and points in The Netherlands, Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa. The carrier said its 747 freighter service, which it plans to begin in April, will be "the only scheduled flights to the African continent by an American all-cargo carrier." DOT noted that service beyond Egypt is extrabilateral but consistent with the state of U.S.-Egypt aviation relations.
Arinc introduced its Fraud Prevention web site, which hosts reference information aimed at members of the air transport industry's fraud prevention community. The site is password-protected for subscriber-only access to fraud alerts, industry bulletins, directives, handbooks and message formats for services related to fraud prevention.
American Chairman Robert Crandall called on the U.S. government again yesterday to understand the airline business better and realize that it is highly competitive and needs no further regulation to force competition. In a speech before the Wings Club in New York, Crandall echoed a speech he gave last month in Washington (DAILY, Nov. 14), when he chided DOT for helping low-fare airlines at the expense of established carriers.
Finnair announced termination of its global agreement with Diners Club International last week, but in a sudden turnaround it announced renewal a day later. Termination reflected the airline's dissatisfaction with Diners Club commissions on so-called "lodged card" transactions - the accounts that companies maintain with travel agents. If the termination had not been reversed, travelers would not be able to use the Diners Club credit card to buy Finnair tickets at the airline's ticket offices or from travel agents.
Delta asked DOT to renew, for two years, the mail portion of its exemption to conduct scheduled foreign combination service between the U.S. and London. Delta held the authority under its code-share arrangement with Virgin Atlantic. The carriers ended passenger and general code sharing, but Delta is "in the process of establishing a limited code-share agreement" to continue offering scheduled "transportation of mail only on certain U.S.-London routes." (Docket OST-95-926)
Air France has named Gogo Worldwide Vacations the new tour operator for Air France Holidays, effective April 1. The company was chosen for its buying power within Europe, its international network and its range of products. Rail Europe, the current supplier, will handle bookings through March 31.
FAA said this week it has proposed fining Delta $100,000 for "operating an aircraft with an inoperative first class coat closet door." The closet houses emergency equipment, and because the door "could not be secured and was sealed shut," it "prevented access to the emergency equipment," FAA said. Delta flew the 757 with the inoperative door on 68 flights, FAA said.
US Airways is introducing its premium transatlantic Envoy Class service on flights between Philadelphia and Frankfurt, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Rome and between Pittsburgh and Frankfurt. The service offers sleeper-type reclining seats and extra legroom between rows, first-class dining with a choice of four entrees, optional express meal service, a snacking station, champagne and a variety of premium wines, and other amenities. Each seat is equipped with Airfone service and a fax/modem hookup.
United and Lufthansa will consolidate ticket offices in downtown San Francisco to United's 101 Howard Street location. Lufthansa, which has served SFO since 1960, already has joint ticket offices with United in Houston and Miami and plans to consolidate facilities in Atlanta.
China National Aviation Co. Ltd. will offer more than 375 million shares today in Hong Kong, in a test not only of how attractive Chinese aviation is to the West, but also of the future of Dragonair.CNAC owns 43.3% of Dragonair, and the stock offering could fund a consolidation of several Chinese carriers.
Singapore Airlines is offering the Singapore government's new immigration smart card free to its Priority Passenger Service Club members during a promotional period. The Checkpoint Access Card, launched last week, enables passengers to identify themselves through their thumbprint, speeding customs and immigration processing. The access card normally costs S$30 (US$18). About 350 SIA and SilkAir crewmembers were involved in the pilot test program.
BMW Rolls-Royce was granted design organization approval by the German Aviation Authority under JAR-21. The company said it is the first engine manufacturer in continental Europe to be approved under JAR-21.
European Commission, assessing its many options for approving an American- British Airways alliance, is considering limits on the way airlines pool frequent flyer miles in multiple countries, and on how many code- share listings an airline can have, sources said.
Vanguard Airlines, celebrating its new nonstop service from Pittsburgh to Chicago and New York City, will give away 1,000 roundtrip tickets to both cities today to the first 1,000 people - one free ticket per person - who bring a 24-can case of food to donate to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Air New Zealand is dropping the floor under low fares for flights between the U.S. and New Zealand and Australia. The airline is offering roundtrip "Early Bird" fares as low as $648 for travel Down Under from April 13 to June 30. Los Angeles-Auckland tickets bought by Jan. 9 will cost $648, with prices rising slightly for travel booked between Jan. 10 and Feb. 9.
Mexicana and United filed a joint application at DOT to expand their U.S.- Mexico code-share services. The blanket request effectively would link their respective domestic networks "to the extent...available under the U.S.-Mexico bilateral." Expedited approval is sought as the carriers propose to begin expanding code-share services Jan. 15. The application states that the carriers "understand that it may be necessary to defer certain city-pair authority pending resolution of designation issues between the U.S.
Air France Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta, in a meeting with company executives this week, outlined privatization plans aimed at cutting state ownership to a little over 50% from 95%. The state's share already is scheduled to drop to 86% in June as a consequence of an employee ownership scheme launched in 1994. Spinetta wants 20% of the capital to be in the hands of the company's employees. Half of that stake would be reserved for pilots, in exchange for a 15% wage cut. Talks with pilots unions are slated to start this week.
