Britannia Airways GmbH authorized by Germany to start operations Nov. 1, applied at DOT for a foreign air carrier permit to conduct foreign charter combination service "without limitation" between a point or points in Germany and a point or points in the U.S. or in third countries. Britannia Ltd., which helped launch the startup, holds 43% of its stock, while 12% stakeholder Frosch Touristik, a German tour operator, is in line to be its primary customer initially. German merchant bank Merck Fink and Co. holds 45% of the shares.
Japanese startup Harlequin Air applied with DOT for a foreign air carrier permit and authority to fly charter combination service between points in Japan and the U.S. Harlequin's parent company is Japan Air System (JAS). The company was established last January but has yet to conduct any flight operations. It wants to start service by Feb. 20, by flying 14-23 roundtrip charters a year between Japan and Hawaii under U.S.-Japan charter frequency agreements.
Pan Am acquired two lawsuits in its merger with Carnival Air Lines and is facing large penalties after the repossession of four of its Airbus A300B4 twinjets. Pan Am is being sued under the Carnival name by San Francisco- based aircraft leasing firm Babcock&Brown for about $12 million for lease violations with three A300s, and by Pacific Harbor Capital of Portland, Ore., for an undisclosed sum involving one A300. The two leasing firms filed suit originally during the summer, after both had to return to court several times to repossess aircraft.
Continental asked DOT for an emergency exemption for two-year initial authority to conduct foreign combination service between Houston and Merida/Tampico/Veracruz, Mexico. The carrier wants to begin service April 5, operating three weekly Houston-Merida and four weekly Houston-Veracruz nonstop roundtrips using 737-300 aircraft and daily Houston-Tampico nonstop roundtrips using RJ145 aircraft. No U.S. carrier serves the three single- designation Mexican points from Houston.
London Luton Airport reached its highest passenger total ever in November, when it recorded 3.2 million for the previous year. The highest total previously came in 1973, when 3.15 million traveled in a 12-month period. The growth reinforces the airport's confident prediction that it will handle up to five million passengers annually in the next century, with the building of a new terminal, additional aircraft parking stands and parallel taxiway.
American, Continental and United joined Delta in applying for seven U.S.- Brazil combination frequencies that become available to U.S. carriers Oct. 1 under the U.S.-Brazil bilateral. American and Continental asked DOT to consolidate their applications with Delta's request to operate New York Kennedy-Sao Paulo/Rio de Janeiro service (DAILY, Nov. 26), and all four carriers asked the department to institute a comparative carrier selection proceeding.
Passenger kilometers rose by 7% in 1997 to their highest level ever, according to a preliminary report by the International Civil Aviation Organization. ICAO said international traffic was up by 8%. "Capacity increases for passenger services continued to be kept in check and hence the average passenger load factors rose for the fourth year in a row, to reach their highest annual levels, 69% in total, and 70% for international services," ICAO said. Freight tonne-kilometers grew by 11% both internationally and in total, it said.
FAA and the nation's airlines said yesterday they will meet Gore Commission recommendations to implement new passenger screening measures by yearend. Beginning Jan. 1, some bags and passengers will be matched for domestic as well as international flights, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said. The program will be based on both computer and manual passenger screening at first but will transition to fully computerized screening within a year or so.
Debonair Airways, the U.K.-based, pan-European low-fare carrier, achieved strong growth in 1997, carrying 600,000 passengers and increasing its fleet to seven British Aerospace 146 aircraft. Also during the year, the carrier received its own air operator's certificate. Previously, Debonair operated under the AOC of British World Airlines. In January 1998, the airline will officially inaugurate its own 24-hour operations center at London Luton Airport. Debonair started with 150 employees in 1996 and now has 300, with plans to take on more in 1998.
In addition to open-skies talks in Washington with Portugal Jan. 13-15 and Japan Jan. 20-21, the U.S. plans a one-day discussion of code-share issues with Mexico Jan. 23 in Mexico City.The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum meets in Singapore the week of Feb. 23 to discuss aviation liberalization in the Pacific Rim.
WestJet Express Airlines Inc. applied at DOT for a certificate to engage in interstate charter combination service. The California-based startup, not affiliated with WestJet Airlines of Calgary, plans to operate hushed DC-9- 21 and -30 aircraft, beginning service with a leased 89-passenger DC-9-21. The carrier is "actively seeking" two additional DC-9s, which it plans to phase in over a two-year period, and will add aircraft "as business conditions may justify." It expects to build up from 50 block hours per month to 200 in its first year of operation.
IATA has asked Argentinean President Carlos Saul Menem to reconsider aspects of his country's airport privatization plan. IATA said last week it generally supports privatization as a way of making airports and air traffic control facilities more efficient, accountable and customer- oriented, but "converting a public monopoly into a private one does not, of itself, guarantee those advantages. In the absence of effective oversight of charging and investment policies, privatization can make things worse for the consumer."
Fortune magazine has named Southwest the best company to work for in the U.S. Southwest Chief Executive Herb Kelleher called the announcement "a tribute to the 25,000-plus employees of Southwest, who have made our work environment one which is admired in corporate America." The carrier was named one of the top companies for job security, one of the 10 best for opportunities, and a place where fun is a way of life.
United's frequent flyer miles are good until the end of December next year, despite reports that United and American will wipe out billions of miles on Dec. 31. United spokesman Joe Hopkins said United in 1995 developed a banking system for frequent flyer miles that stipulated the miles had to be used in three years. Tom Parsons, editor of Best Fares Discount Travel Magazine, issued a warning that American and United "will wipe out billions of miles on Dec. 31, 1997, a move that could affect more than 60% of all frequent flyers."
Air France reported November traffic of 5.62 billion revenue passenger kilometers, up 12.2%. Available seat kilometers increased 5.3% to 7.65 billion, while passenger load factor rose 4.5 percentage points to 73.4%. Cargo grew 0.1% to 431 million freight ton kilometers.
UPS's pilots union is cautioning members to be alert for hazardous materials, especially in view of package volume during the holiday season. The warning follows the discovery last week by crewmembers of chemical oxygen generators loaded onto a UPS airplane by mistake. The generators were unloaded.
Russian airlines Vnukovo, Tiumenaviatrans and Murmansk are collaborating for the first time to acquire 50 regional aircraft.The choice has not been made, but two Russian candidates, the Il-114 and An-140, are thought to have the inside track.
The information technology arm of Brussels Airport's operator, Brussels Airport Terminal Company (BATC), scored its first major sale with a contract worth 100 million Belgian francs (US$2.8 million), signed last week, to deliver an integrated air traffic/airport management software system to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The system was developed by swITch, the independent software company created by BATC shortly after the opening two years ago of Brussels's international terminal, business center, shopping concourse and baggage-handling facilities.
The first contract for Skyway Airlines' 135 pilots will improve wages and scheduling substantially, a pilot union spokesman said yesterday. Skyway, a wholly owned subsidiary of Midwest Airlines, reached a tentative agreement with its Air Line Pilots Association unit Saturday following three days of intense talks and a 90-minute strike that delayed a few early-morning flights. The carrier and ALPA had been negotiating for more than 20 months.
The European Commission yesterday approved ownership of Dusseldorf Airport by the City of Dusseldorf and the joint venture of Hochtief and Aer Rianta International. Acting only 10 days after its deadline for comments (DAILY, Dec. 9), the commission found that the joint ownership and operation of Germany's third-largest airport - Europe's 14th-largest - will not create or strengthen a dominant position and thus does not violate anti-monopoly regulations.
Delta will provide maintenance and technical services for Airborne Express's 767-200 fleet under a 10-year contract it valued at more than $130 million. The work will be performed at Delta's Atlanta Technical Operations Center.
Trans States Airlines has a firm order for seven Embraer RJ145s and two groups of options for a total of 18 more, according to documents filed at DOT in connection with the regional's bid for more slot exemptions at Chicago O'Hare. Simmons/American Eagle confirmed for DOT it has firm orders for 42 145s, and it set out startup dates for its own intended O'Hare expansion.
Executive Jet ordered 24 Falcon 2000 business jets valued at $500 million from Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. for its NetJets fractional ownership program. The first of the 10-passenger aircraft will be delivered in the first quarter of 1999. In the last three years, Executive Jet has ordered 250 new aircraft valued at $3.5 billion. The company plans to expand its NetJets and NetJets Europe programs to the Middle East and Asia/Pacific markets. The Falcons will join a fleet of Citations, Hawkers, Gulfstreams and Boeing Business Jets.
Air New Zealand is altering several of its long-haul routes to improve service and add frequencies. The airline will add a sixth weekly flight from Auckland to London via Los Angeles and a sixth between Los Angeles and Sydney. The London service will be operated with same-aircraft 747-400 service, eliminating a change of planes in Los Angeles. ANZ will add a weekly flight in both directions between Los Angeles and Nadi, Fiji, and create one-stop service between Nadi and Frankfurt.
