The Netherlands' civil aviation authority has instructed authorities at Maastricht-Aachen Airport at Beek, in the country's southern region, to take more effective measures against noise violations. Holland's National Aerospace Laboratory estimates that noise levels in the airport's vicinity threaten to exceed legal limits. The airport's recent anti-noise measures, such as preferential runway use, a ban on training flights with large aircraft and differentiated landing fees, are not enough to contain the problem, the CAA said.
US Airways asked DOT for two-year initial exemption authority to provide combination service between Philadelphia and Amsterdam, a market Northwest and KLM have asked to serve (see story below). Saying it "will be one of only a few carriers to make use of the open-skies opportunities [with The Netherlands] and provide new competition with the KLM/Northwest alliance," the carrier said it plans to start daily nonstop flights for the summer 1998 traffic season using 767-200ER aircraft configured for 203 seats.
British Airways and Virgin Atlantic this week presented arguments to the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority on which carrier should be awarded new route rights to the U.S. BA wants to serve the London-Denver market with daily nonstop service, while Virgin has proposed twice weekly service from London to Las Vegas. BA is portraying Denver as a business and leisure destination, saying Las Vegas is not as deserving of service, since its market overlaps with nonstops to nearby Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Diego.
Aviation Industry Stock Performance November 1997 Closed Closed Symbol 11/27/93 10/30/93 Majors Alaska Air Group ALK 37.375 33.375 America West (Class B) AWA 15.938 14.813 AMR AMR 121.188 116.438 Continental (Class B) CAI.B 45.563 43.250
TWA improved its cash situation yesterday by completing a private placement of 1.725 million shares of 9.25% convertible preferred stock. The $86.3 million transaction will net the airline $83.2 million after placement fees. The proceeds from the offering will be used for general corporate purposes and other projects, including the airline's ongoing fleet renewal program. TWA has indicated that it intends to conduct several financial initiatives before the end of the year to improve liquidity.
Dimensions International and Metron Inc., of Alexandria, Va., said they have developed combined software that will reduce airline delays, congestion and cancellations.
Brussels South Charleroi Airport expects a fourfold increase in passenger traffic and 30% rise in revenues by the end of this year, compared with 1996. Charleroi predicts that more than 200,000 passengers will have passed through its gates by Dec. 31, up sharply from 86,000 in 1996 and 41,000 in 1995. More than three-quarters of this year's passenger traffic came from scheduled operations, mainly those of Air Algerie, Ryanair, Air Tanganyika and Scibe Airways, which serves Kinshasa and Lubumbashi, Zaire.
The Airports Council International-North America and the American Association of Airport Executives have filed a joint petition at DOT for a rulemaking to change various aspects of the department's airport rates and charges policy that were invalidated or questioned in recent court cases. This summer, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered DOT to reconsider certain aspects of its rates and charges policy, especially the department's decision to distinguish between airfield and non-airfield aeronautical assets (DAILY, Aug. 4).
Alitalia wants the European Commission to modify its decision on a 2,750 billion lire (US$1.6 billion) capital increase, the Italian flag carrier said last week in Rome. The EC authorized the cash injection July 15 but labeled it state aid and imposed a string of conditions on the airline. Alitalia has asked the Court of Justice of the European Union to qualify the capital injection as a "market intervention" rather than state aid.
Northwest has named author and historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, Harvard professor Dennis Hightower and KLM President and Chief Executive Leon Van Wijk to its board. Goodwin is the Pulitzer prize-winning author of four books on history and politics, and Hightower is professor of management at Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. Wijk has headed KLM since August.
Preparations for testing the computer-human interface (CHI) between the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) and air traffic controllers get under way this week at the FAA Technical Center. The actual CHI testing will involve Boston airspace scenarios. Michael Hoeffler, manager-Raytheon Transportation Systems, told The DAILY he does not expect test results to delay the program significantly.
UPS' Independent Pilots Association will meet with management and an arbitrator Dec. 19 to discuss back pay for 400 pilots who filed grievances because of rescheduling following the Teamsters strike in August. IPA President Bob Miller said the pilots have filed grievances with the company for changes in flight and operating schedules that left them without pay. "Many pilots as late as October were having pay taken away." Back pay amounts to "tens of thousands of dollars," Miller said.
Finnair's pre-tax profits for the April-September period improved strongly, compared with the same months in 1996. The carrier predicts weaker results for the subsequent six months, however. Finnair said solid demand growth in all sectors and only a modest rise in operating costs produced a pre-tax profit of 575.2 million Finnish markka (US$109 million), up from FIM 233.5 million ($44.1 million) in 1996. The higher results include a FIM 141 million ($26.6 million) gain from the sale of flight equipment.
The Association of Flight Attendants said yesterday a recent FAA draft advisory circular (AC) on carry-on baggage does not address safety concerns but leaves carry-on limits as a competitive issue. AFA at its conference last month and American in a letter to FAA Administrator Jane Garvey called on the agency to develop an across-the-board rule that will take the carry- on debate out of the competitive forum.
The Sabre Group has signed a seven-year agreement with London Underground (LU) to upgrade and maintain its train and crew scheduling services. LU Business Manager Ron French said his company currently has some computer assistance for its timetables, but it needs updating, and there is no computerized duty or crew scheduling. He said Sabre won the contract because it offered the best price. Sabre will computerize LU's crew and train timetable for its 480 trains, 267 stations and 1,250 daily train staff. The system is expected to be in place by mid-1999.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic September 1997 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) September September % 1997 1996 Change Domestic Freight 760,841 705,185 7.9 Mail 147,005 138,856 5.9 Total 907,846 844,041 7.6 International
Parties filing on behalf of four midwestern cities asked DOT to reconsider its order denying AirTran's bid for slot exemptions to fly from those points to New York LaGuardia. The filing was submitted on behalf of the "people and businesses" of Bloomington-Normal, Ill.; Toledo, Ohio; Moline, Ill., and Akron-Canton, Ohio, and was written by Air Carrier Association of America Executive Director Edward Faberman.
SAS purchased 29% of Norwegian regional carrier Wideroe and took an option on a further 34.2% of the capital, under a 325 million Norwegian crown (US$46 million) agreement, SAS announced last week in Copenhagen. The option is expected to be confirmed by Dec. 28, 1998. The accord will give SAS control of about 48% of the Norwegian domestic market. The rest is in the hands of Norwegian carrier Braathens SAFE, an ally of KLM and Northwest.
Emirates Airlines has developed an eco-tourism resort on a 3,000-acre site outside Dubai. The Al Maha Resort, to open in late 1998, is the first of its kind in the United Arab Emirates and includes samples of the country's ecology, flora and fauna.
United called on FAA to approve its petition to have 16 slots returned to it at Chicago O'Hare, now that it appears American is the only party to oppose the filing. The slots in question are withheld annually from domestic operations and turned over to the international pool for allocation to foreign carriers. American said United in effect was seeking slot exemptions, and said United met none of DOT's new guidelines for receiving such slots.
American's November traffic rose 3.4% on a 1.6% capacity increase, which raised the load factor 1.2 percentage points to 67%. The airline reduced capacity in the Atlantic division by 7.7%, putting the aircraft to use in Latin America, where capacity increased 10.2% year-over-year. On a percentage basis, Latin American traffic grew the most at 8.3%, followed by the Pacific division's 6.5%. On a pure seat-mile basis, domestic traffic rose the most, up 211 million seat miles or 3.8%.
A bankruptcy court gave Mahalo Air the chance to survive as a passenger carrier yesterday when it vacated its order to send the beleaguered carrier into Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation. The court set a Jan. 26 date for an in-court auction, confirmation of sale, or proposed reorganization plan. Three bidders have come forward - air cargo company English Worldwide Aviation, which has offered $150,000, Vista International, Inc., and Roberts Hawaii, owned by Mahalo's principal investor Robert Iwamoto.
New Richmond, Va.-based charter carrier SkyTrek is looking to expand what already is a profitable niche business six months after startup. The 727 carrier has received a steady diet of contracts from casino operators in Nevada and the Bahamas and expects imminent growth in that part of its business. The carrier is led by Bob Iverson, who helped start Newark-based Kiwi International Air Lines in 1992. Iverson is doing for SkyTrek what he was unable to do at Kiwi.
