Cathay Pacific Airways and SITA have signed an agreement by which SITA will manage communications for the airline in more than 80 countries for at least five years. The deal includes the airline's headquarters facilities at Hong Kong's new Chek Lap Kok Airport, due to open next April, and its data processing center in Sydney. Cathay has begun upgrading or purchasing some 4,000 computers, and SITA will develop a secure, global intranet for them. The two companies have worked together for more than 35 years.
Egyptair has become a launch customer for the A340-600, ordering two and taking options on two more. Deliveries begin in 2003. Airbus, which began marketing the long-haul 380-seat A340-600 and the 313-seat A340-500 in June, reported "strong demand" from airlines.
As FAA asked airlines to do a better job of enforcing its carry-on baggage policies, Northwest extended its one-plus carry-on policy to all flights, not just flights with a booked load factor greater than 70% or ones for which gate and cabin personnel decide to enforce it. In addition to one carry-on, Northwest passengers may bring a briefcase, laptop computer, purse, coat, umbrella, cane, collapsible manual wheelchair, stroller, infant seat, diaper bags and crutches, braces or prostheses.
Most Air Transport Association members want FAA to create and enforce an across-the-industry rule on carry-on baggage, an industry source said. American proposed regulation last week, and ATA has launched a task force to study the issue. (See story to follow.)
Hughes Training and Lufthansa Technical Training agreed to pursue jointly technical and customer service training with airlines, maintenance organizations, original equipment manufacturers and other aviation suppliers. The alliance will be able to support most Airbus, Boeing, Canadair and Douglas aircraft. Instruction will be at customer sites or at Lufthansa centers in Hamburg and Frankfurt.
International Civil Aviation Organization named Tatyana Grigorievna Anodina recipient the Edward Warner Award for contribution as scientist and researcher to the development of national, regional and global air navigation aids for international civil aviation.
Third quarter pre-tax profits for Ryanair, the low-cost regional carrier based in Dublin, jumped more than 70%, compared with same period in 1996. The no-frills airline said half-year pre-tax profit ending Sept. 30 increased nearly 60% from a year ago. Ryanair's third-quarter, pre-tax profit rose 70.7% to 18.1 million Irish pounds (US$27.2 million) from IP10.6 million ($15.9 million) in 1996. Pre-tax profit for the six-month period expanded 59% to IP23.8 million ($35.7 million).
Western Pacific extended through Nov. 19 the deadline for buying its "Can Do Spirit" fares. Tickets must be purchased at least 14 days before departure and travel must be completed by March 11. Fares start at $49 one way and include $129 from Portland to Washington Dulles, $129 from Phoenix to Atlanta and $49 from Denver to Dallas/Fort Worth. Fares are good for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and daily to or from Denver. Some blackout dates and restrictions apply.
Continental Friday confirmed it lost signals to Global Position System receivers while flying over France, but it denied that a backup VOR was not available (DAILY, Nov. 14). "The backup VOR was available and working," a spokeswoman said. The carrier said it learned that the French military was conducting GPS jamming exercises, confirming what a source said earlier. The jamming exercise was being conducted "without our knowledge," the spokeswoman said.
Air South Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation will include both public and private asset sales during the next few weeks. The South Carolina Jobs- Economic Development Authority, owed $13.9 million, reached a settlement recently to receive half of the $110,000 in the airline's operating account.
The merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas apparently did not kill the market for the MD-80 series of aircraft. Far Eastern Air Transport said Friday it plans to buy two Boeing MD-83s and 10 757-200s to "cope with our route-expansion plans to Southeast Asia and direct air links with mainland China." The MD-83s and five of the 757s are firm orders, and the other five 757s are options. Deliveries are set for 1998 through 2000.
Canadian Transport Agency will issue a report Thursday containing 25 recommendations on how carriers and airport operators can improve air travel for passengers with "sensory or cognitive disabilities." Issues include travel information in braille, clearer public announcements in terminals and talking monitors for visually disabled travelers.
Star Alliance pilots intend to organize for continuing communications on labor, operational and other issues. Leaders representing more than 20,000 pilots from the six alliance carriers met last week in Miami and agreed to get together semiannually.
Expectations that Russia's hard line was merely an opening position proved wrong. Sources said Russian negotiators wanted to reduce current U.S. rights and expand options for Russian airlines. The key topic in Friday's session, the last this round, was overflight rights. Russian negotiators are interpreting the technical agreement covering overflights to mean the U.S. can fly only two of the routes; U.S. negotiators say the pact does not impose a limit on the amount to be used. Russia refuses to allow the U.S.
All Nippon Airways has accelerated connections from the U.S. East Coast to Singapore. The airline's service from New York Kennedy and Washington Dulles connects in Tokyo with only about an hour's transit before a nonstop flight to Singapore. The new timing enables a traveler to leave New York and arrive in Singapore the evening of the same day.
Vivid Technologies's $1.7 million explosives detection systems order for New York Kennedy Airport's Terminal One was placed by Terminal One Group Association, not United (DAILY, Nov. 6). TOGA member airlines are Air France, Japan Airlines, Korean Air and Lufthansa.
DOT tentatively selected Continental over Delta and United to provide seven new weekly flights between the U.S. and Chile. Announcing the decision Friday, DOT noted that Continental's proposal for Newark-Santiago offers nonstop service rather than its competitors' one-stops, and that Miami, United's gateway in the competition, already provides substantial service to Chile, including two daily flights by United. American currently operates 21 weekly flights and United seven in the U.S.-Chile market.
Japan Airlines has signed an agreement to provide operational, technical and airport handling support for Hokkaido International Airlines, a new Japanese carrier. The startup, which will operate under the name "Air Do," will begin operations in April. The first service will be on the Tokyo- Sapporo route, the busiest in the world with 7,630,000 passengers in 1996. Air Do, which will use 767-300s, is run by Akira Nakamura, a former JAL marketing manager and most recently VP-Japan for Virgin Atlantic.
