Negotiators in Bucharest initialed a U.S.-Romania open-skies agreement that will be phased over four years; its terms are provisionally in effect until formal adoption. During the transition, limits include some restrictions on third-country code sharing for U.S. carriers - similar to the U.S.-Czech open-skies pact - and some limits on Romanian route rights.
Air France posted a 3.7% traffic gain in October to 6.125 revenue passenger kilometers, while capacity rose 3% to 7.963 billion available seat kilometers. The load factor increased 0.5 percentage points to 77.1%. Freight ton kilometers climbed 7% to 449 million.
Air France is beginning a broad campaign worldwide to project its French heritage, in a move diametrically opposed to the approach of rival British Airways, which has moved away from its U.K. roots. Air France has adopted a new brand and is rolling it out on a global scale, a move it never before attempted. "Before, the corporate posture has been to focus and nourish from a local perspective," Jim Lawrence, senior VP-marketing, The Americas, told The DAILY.
Air France's Concorde operation, using five active aircraft with the Paris- New York route at its core, receives more than 500 requests a year to operate charter flights. Even charging about $80,000 per block hour, the French flag carrier said it cannot fulfill all requests. "There's clearly too much interest in Concorde," said Frank Debouck, Paris-New York route manager.
Leaders of UPS's pilots union met Friday with newly appointed VP Robert Lekites to "bring [him] up to speed on the negotiations," said Independent Pilots Association President Bob Miller. He said Lekites did not negotiate on behalf of the company but had requested a union briefing "because he had not heard it before, and that is exactly what we did." Lekites is an operational manager and not involved in labor, and he does not negotiate contracts, Miller said.
Crossair ordered four RJ100s from AI(R), with two to be delivered in 1998 and two in 1999. The order brings Crossair's RJ fleet to 20. Sabena regional carrier DAT has 23 RJs, making the SAir Group the largest RJ operator.
United's November traffic rose 5.6% to 9.3 billion revenue passenger miles on capacity that gained 3.4% to 13.7 billion available seat miles, raising the load factor 1.4 percentage points to 67.8%. Domestic traffic grew 7.4% on 0.8% more capacity; Atlantic traffic increased 13.9% on 20.2% more capacity, but Pacific traffic fell 1.3% on 3.1% more ASMs. The Pacific load factor dropped 3 points to 67.9% and Atlantic loads declined 3.8 points to 68.5%. The carrier posted an all-time, single-day record Nov. 30 with 301,408 passengers.
European Union Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert fixed new rates for antitrust fines last week in Brussels. Current rules specify only that fines can run up to 10% of the worldwide revenues of companies found guilty of restricting competition and not willing to abide by the European Commission's orders. That ceiling was mentioned frequently when the EC was reviewing the Boeing/McDonnell Douglas merger.
The Association of Flight Attendants unit representing America West's approximately 2,200 cabin crew says it has an action plan in place in the event members fail to ratify a tentative contract agreement. AFA last week took the tentative contract on the road, where flight attendants voiced anger because, they said, it reduces holiday pay and vacation days, changes the way sick leave is accrued, and does not provide the kind of pay raise they had hoped for (DAILY, Dec. 3).
Principality of Monaco has become the 27th country to join Eurocontrol, the pan-European air safety and navigation group based in Brussels. Monaco, which first applied for membership in October 1996, already is a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the European Civil Aviation Conference.
America West flew 1.2 billion revenue passenger miles last month, a 0.5% traffic rise from November 1996. The carrier reported a 3.4% increase in capacity and a 1.7 percentage point drop in load factor, which was offset by a significant rise in the average fares, compared with November 1996. Year-to-date traffic rose 6.9% with a 9.8% increase in capacity, resulting in a 1.9 point drop in load factor. Nov 97 Nov 96 11 Mths 97 11 Mths 96 RPMs 1,231,171,000 1,224,822,000 14,905,777,000 13,938,089,000
AirTran Airlines Senior VP-Finance and Chief Financial Officer Stephen Nevin will leave the airline at yearend. Nevin, who has been with the company, formerly ValuJet, since 1994, is leaving because he does not want to move to AirTran's new Orlando headquarters, a company spokeswoman said. Nevin declined interviews on Friday, but the company said he will remain in Atlanta to pursue other career opportunities.
Spain is among the countries where the U.S. is seeing the chance for "substantial strides" toward open skies next year, Mark Gerchick, DOT deputy assistant secretary, said at last week's Airports Council International conference. Gerchick and others from the U.S. held informal talks with their counterparts last month in Spain.
Larry Risley, Mesa Air Group chief executive, said Friday he will retire April 30 or when his successor is named, whichever comes first. In his 17- year tenure at Mesa, Risley, 53, built the carrier from a single-engine aircraft operation to the largest independently owned regional carrier in the world, flying to 168 cities with a fleet of 187 turboprops and jet aircraft, Mesa said.
TWA said Friday it will conduct its own investigation of a pilot and a flight attendant charged by the FBI in connection with "unauthorized activities" involving evidence from TWA Flight 800. TWA said it suspended Capt. Robert Stacey and the flight attendant, Elizabeth Sanders, is on leave.
The DAILY Dec. 1 incorrectly reported a statement on fare trends by Standard&Poor's analyst Phil Baggaley. With demand more inelastic for business fares than for leisure fares, the gap between highest and lowest fare has widened, making some fares more attractive, Baggaley said.
The Dutch cabinet of national ministers has given its qualified support for further growth of air traffic at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In a joint letter last week to the lower house of parliament, the ministers for transport, economic affairs and the environment said Schiphol will continue to have priority over new locations as The Netherlands grapples with expanding demand in European aviation.
Boeing, in a campaign to win five 737-700 orders from El Al, has launched a special Internet site. El Al is asking the public in an advertising campaign to voice its preference between the 737 and the Airbus A320. The Internet site touts the aircraft builder's relationship with the Israeli carrier dating back 50 years. Boeing says it is getting about 3,000 hits a day.
