Northwest asked DOT for an exemption from its current deadline, Nov. 30, for starting up the fifth of its five U.S.-Thailand all-cargo frequencies, saying it wants flexibility to delay until June 30, 1998. DOT previously extended dormancy provisions for the frequencies, and Northwest currently operates four of them. Air Micronesia asked this month for a similar startup extension due to economic conditions in Thailand. Northwest, similarly affected, asked DOT to grant its extension if it grants Air Micronesia's. (Dockets OST-97-2755, 2209, 2825, 96-1496)
With contract negotiations on hold, UPS's Independent Pilots Association is admonishing its members to operate safely throughout the holidays. "This is not the time to engage in acts of retaliation for unjust treatment," IPA President Bob Miller told pilots in a recorded message.
Horizon Air is reducing its lowest fares as much as 40% for travel through June 13. Tickets must be purchased by Dec. 5. The sale applies to travel from California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta. Alaska is offering reduced fares for travel Nov. 26 through Dec. 18 between Vancouver and 11 U.S. cities. Travel to Vancouver costs $69 each way from San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Sacramento or Reno and $83 each way from Los Angeles, San Diego, Palm Springs, Phoenix, Burbank or Ontario.
The former head of Skyway Airlines' maintenance facility was sentenced to 18 months in prison for falsifying maintenance records and devising a warranty fraud scheme, the Justice Department said yesterday. The activity took place at a time when Skyway contracted with Mesa Airlines, Farmington, N.M., under a code-sharing agreement. Skyway, based in Milwaukee, is a regional airline currently operating under different ownership and management than at the time the criminal activity occurred.
The American Society of Travel Agents, like several major computer reservations system vendors, plans to oppose America West's attempts to prod DOT in its examination of rules on abusive booking practices. ASTA and CRS vendors said they will respond to DOT's advance notice of proposed CRS rulemaking by the Dec. 9 deadline. Answers to comments are due Jan. 23. ASTA said it will oppose America West's petition to prohibit passive booking segments that do not generate revenue for airlines.
Air France is planning to invest 40 billion French francs (US$6.8 billion) over the next five years, essentially in aircraft purchases, new chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta said at a news conference in Paris. Spinetta, stressing that the French flag carrier will have to finance a large part of the investment itself, said "the challenge of investing FRF40 billion in five years will only be met if Air France is able to yield sufficient operational results." Like predecessor Christian Blanc, Spinetta believes Air France must cut its costs further.
America West told DOT the department should not consider United's unauthorized reply to America West's request for slot exemptions for Phoenix-Chicago O'Hare service. America West wants more O'Hare slots to increase its three daily flights and expand full-service low-fare operations from O'Hare via its Phoenix hub to 37 western beyond points, markets it says are underserved.
Delta, looking to expand its service to Brazil and increase its operations in Latin America, asked DOT for authority for daily nonstops from New York Kennedy to Sao Paulo with continuing service to Rio de Janeiro, beginning Oct. 1, 1998. The U.S. and Brazil reached an agreement this month that makes seven additional weekly frequencies - but no new designations - available to the U.S. Delta asked for the frequencies, citing its "long- standing request" for New York-Brazil service.
Northwest President and Chief Executive John Dasburg told The DAILY that he would find it "absolutely bizarre" if U.S. negotiators conferred incumbent status on All Nippon Airways without securing an open-skies agreement. U.S.-Japan talks are to resume Dec. 15 in Tokyo, and sources say negotiators are closing in on a pact outlining regulated expansion. Incumbency for ANA is a strong possibility, but "rather than doing that, the U.S. should take the position that ANA could have total access to the U.S. market" under open skies, he said. "The U.S.
Frontier Airlines, seeking a more prosperous solution to Denver's three-airline market, is proposing to acquire part of Western Pacific. Frontier will make the proposal to a bankruptcy court in Denver, which has jurisdiction over Westpac's future. "We could know as early as Friday about what will happen," said Frontier Chief Executive Sam Addoms. The Denver market turmoil is hurting both Frontier's and Westpac's future, as well as local confidence in air travel, he said.
Boeing has returned the 747 line to full production and is making progress on 737 production, but the company will not know until mid-1998 whether its current problems are solved, Boeing Commercial President Ron Woodard said yesterday. "We have to work on our productivity and get our costs down because this is a disruptive and inefficient way to build aircraft," Woodard said, referring to high overtime rates, parts shortages and out-of- sequence production the company has experienced in the past few months.
Travel agent sales processed for October were up 12% over October 1996, the Airlines Reporting Corp. announced. Domestic fares were up 8% and international fares 18%.
Leading Carriers At Top U.S. and Pacific Gateways Year Ending March 31, 1997 U.S. Gateways To Asia (Nonstop) Inbound Outbound Rank Market Passengers Passengers 1 Honolulu 2,475,240 2,652,834 Japan Airlines 998,867 1,073,213 2 Los Angeles 2,492,138 2,360,285 United 393,221 364,975
Aviation interests succeeded in retaining independent radio frequencies for navigation by satellites at the recent International Telecommunications Union World Aeronautical Radio Conference (WARC) in Geneva (DAILY, Nov. 11). Industry representatives, including IATA, urged the conference not to reallocate radio frequencies between 1559 MHz and 1610 MHz, now used exclusively for satellite radio navigation services, to permit use by fast-growing Mobile Satellite Services.
Virgin Atlantic has debuted Odyssey, an inflight entertainment system developed in conjunction with Matsushita Avionic Systems. With five new aircraft delivered this year, Virgin has installed a system that offers 20 video channels, including 12 movie channels and eight television channels, seven digital stereo audio channels, 10 Nintendo games and five classic computer games.
Northwest agreed to a code-share and marketing alliance with Norway's largest regional carrier, Braathens, which already has an alliance with Northwest partner KLM. The Northwest agreement will be similar to the deal Braathens signed with KLM in August, covering code sharing, airport customer service and frequent flyer cooperation. Northwest's frequent flyer link will begin Jan. 1, followed by code sharing "shortly thereafter," Northwest said.
Northwest will add daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and Las Vegas April 5, 1998, enabling it to offer one-stop routing from Las Vegas to Tokyo and Osaka. Using A320s on the route, Northwest will number the service Flight 1 from Las Vegas to Tokyo and Flight 2 from Tokyo to Las Vegas.
Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines (SIA) signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday in Singapore to form a strategic partnership that shifts the German carrier's - and possibly later the Star Alliance's - Asian hub to Singapore. The alliance, signed by Cheong Choong Kong, deputy chairman of SIA, and Lufthansa Chairman Jurgen Weber, follows Friday's announcement of the dissolution of the Global Excellence Alliance (DAILY, Nov. 24; also see following story) begun in 1989. Despite yesterday's move, Delta and Swissair each still own about 5% of SIA stock.
Commercial airlines and forwarders in the U.S. controlled 63% of U.S. cargo revenue and 52% of shipments before deregulation, but today their market share has shrunk to 18% of revenue and 3% of shipments, according to the Colography Group. The drop came despite revenue growth of 1,600% and shipment growth of 1,585% during the same period, the firm said. The balance is controlled by integrated carriers such as FedEx, Airborne Express, UPS and DHL.
Semi-private French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation has dismissed the idea of creating a single French military and civilian aerospace group by merging with with state-owned Aerospatiale, a project supported by the French government and the management of Aerospatiale. Serge Dassault said in a television interview, however, that it is "fiction to believe that one has to bring civilian and military activities together because the Americans have merged theirs," a reference to last summer's combination of Boeing Co. and McDonnell Douglas Corp.
US Airways Group has named Robert Johnson, chairman and chief executive of BET Holdings, to its board. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and holds a master's degree in international affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.
Crash of a Garuda DC-10 a year ago on takeoff from Japan's Fukuoka Airport was blamed on the crew by Japan's Aircraft Accident Investigation Committee (AAIC). The aircraft overran the runway, killing three passengers and causing numerous injuries. The AAIC concluded the accident was caused by the captain's late decision to reject the takeoff. Following its inquiry, the AAIC recommended that Japan's transport ministry require higher safety standards of foreign aircraft serving Japan.
The Justice Department refused to confirm - and United denied - reports that DOJ is investigating the carrier for possible antitrust violations in its dealings last year with Denver-based competitor Frontier Airlines. Justice Department spokeswoman Jennifer Rose said the department "is investigating predatory and exclusionary conduct at hub airports" but refused to confirm or deny published reports that United is a target of investigation.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses Second Quarter 1997 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American Trans Air 184,005,169 (1.37) 86,513,427 Carnival 61,311,258 (3.42) 48,152,885 Hawaiian 103,860,138 8.18 84,501,118
A provision in legislation covering appropriations for Commerce, Justice and State departments has extended the visa waiver pilot program without changes until April 30, 1998. The extension will give Congress time to resolve issues related to the extension and adding countries. A spokesman for Rep.
