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.
Southwest told DOT it cannot develop by Jan. 1, 1998, systems to report passenger origin-destination statistics in a standard format, as required by the Office of Airline Information (OAI) of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). On Oct.
Study by DAK Corporate Investors finds that aerospace industry consolidation is "moving downstream" from prime contractors to subcontractors, driven by the desire to "outsource responsibility to more efficient, lower-fixed-cost supply sources." DAK says independent defense and aerospace companies "will continue to be the targets of merchant bankers who see great opportunities in this market."
DOT issued an order tentatively finding Winair fit to provide interstate and foreign charter combination service. Organized last August in Utah, the company is wholly owned by Richard Winwood, whose business interests include helicopter system design and manufacture, Piper aircraft distribution and a Salt Lake City fixed-base operation. Winair plans to begin operations in December in mid-size domestic markets in the western U.S.
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic October, 10 Months 1997 (000) October October % 1997 1996 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 769,000 766,000 0.4 Available Seat Miles 1,253,000 1,196,000 4.8 Load Factor (%) 61.4 64.0 America West
A two-day U.S.-Japan formal bilateral session opened in San Francisco Friday as scheduled, but informed sources detected little movement before the talks and a lack of new solutions to the impasse that has developed. One idea was floated and apparently has sunk - permitting U.S.-Japan code- share partners to pool their slots and use them as they wish. The idea was one response to the intractable problem of Tokyo Narita slot availability, likely to remain fixed until a new runway is added early next decade.
Cathay Pacific Airways will unveil today rock-bottom global promotions to drum up interest in Hong Kong, a market that has suffered from traffic falloff since the handover to China July 1. In the U.S. version, Cathay is offering two roundtrips to Hong Kong from Los Angeles or New York, including hotel, for $999.
American is offering skiers low-cost "ski break" roundtrip fares to the slopes, starting at $198. Fares are for nonstop travel from certain cities between Jan. 4 and Feb. 26, require a seven-day advance purchase and are non-refundable. The minimum stay is two days and the maximum is three days. Typical fares include Dallas/Fort Worth-Vail/Eagle County, $198; DFW-Durango, $198, and Chicago-Jackson Hole, $238.
Introducing mobile satellite services in the 1559-1610 MHz radio frequency band, currently allocated to global navigation satellite systems, would "impact the safety, regularity and efficiency of civil aviation and jeopardize full utilization of investments in aeronautical satellite navigation," ICAO Council President Assad Kotaite told the World Radiocommunications Conference Wednesday.
TWA's October load factor, 67.3%, was its highest for the month in more than 20 years. Advance bookings for the fourth quarter are better than forecast.
Delta has asked DOT for authority to conduct foreign combination service from Atlanta to Lima, Peru, and beyond and to deny American's emergency- exemption request to increase frequencies beyond bilateral limits. Delta, saying Peru is "willing to make available to U.S. carriers at least 14 additional frequencies," wants DOT to consolidate its application with American's in the selection proceeding. The bilateral does not limit the number of U.S. carriers and U.S. city designations.
Eight nations whose airlines FAA forbids to fly to the U.S. have not experienced an accident in over 10 years, according to Morten Beyer&Agnew consultants. The remaining three have experienced one accident each. "In the same period, the U.S. has recorded 32 accidents, while stalwarts like Indonesia have 15, Colombia 9, Brazil 8 and Russia 29," MBA says. Eighty- eight other ICAO countries reported "zero accidents in 10 years."
FAA's reluctance to set an industry-wide policy on carry-on baggage reflects the absence of consensus on what to do, not the denial of a problem, FAA Acting Deputy Administrator Barry Valentine said at last week's Association of Flight Attendants conference in Washington. Despite a request by American that FAA set rules, the agency does not intend to make policy in the near future and will focus instead on educating the public about hazards (DAILY, Nov. 13, 14). FAA agreed that the problem is extensive and needs to be addressed, Valentine said.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association executive director Bruce Landesberg told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee Thursday in prepared remarks that though 68% of runway incursions involve general aviation aircraft, 75% of all departures by civil aircraft are made in GA planes, "so the proportion...is not out of the ordinary." He said most GA operations are conducted during daylight hours, in good weather, and he noted the small number of incursions that resulted in fatal accidents (DAILY, Nov. 14).
Frontier is offering National Educators Travel Association members "NETAmerica Pass," a $460 booklet of open tickets good for unrestricted travel on four flight segments anywhere in the carrier's route system.
Senate passed two bills Friday launched by and adopted in the House - H.R. 2476, extending aviation disaster family assistance requirements to foreign airlines operating to U.S. points, and H.R. 2626, the Pilot Records Improvement Act. Provisions of the latter include permitting scheduled carriers to hire and train pilots while pilot records are collected and reviewed. Pilots under review at smaller operations such as air taxi operators would be able to fly as well.
American Chairman Robert Crandall talked at length last week about his belief that the government wants to re-regulate aviation (DAILY, Nov. 14), but he was more succinct on other issues. Given a two-part question on whether business-class fares are too high and whether he'd heard complaints about them, Crandall answered: "Part A, no. Part B, yes."
Pan Am continued to lose money during the third quarter, posting a $21 million net loss on revenues of just $37.3 million. The airline took a $4.8 million charge related to the removal of most of its A300s after deciding to slash its widebody long-haul flying and stop serving New York- Los Angeles, virtually abandoning its startup strategy of being a long-haul A300 operator. Pan Am spent $53.9 million to generate its $37 million in revenues during the quarter. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, the carrier lost $52.7 million and took in $88.6 million in revenue.
Western Pacific Airlines lost $21 million in the third quarter, significantly worse than its $910,000 loss a year ago. The shortfall came as the airline terminated a merger agreement with Frontier and moved operations to the more expensive Denver International Airport from Colorado Springs. Revenue increased 46% to $66.3 million from $45.5 million, but expenses rose even faster, by 86% to $86.7 million from $46.5 million.
