Alitalia plans to raise its capital by 2,750 billion lire (US$1.6 billion) in March and April 1998, the Italian airline company said last week in Rome. The recapitalization was authorized July 15, by the European Commission. So far, Italian state holding company Istituto di Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) has injected 2,000 billion lire into the airline. The injection will be formalized by the upcoming capital injection. The remaining 750 billion lire will be placed on the stock market. IRI said it will not subscribe to this part of the operation.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater will be the keynote speaker at the 1998 American Bar Association Air&Space Law Forum Update Conference Jan. 30, 1998, at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel in Washington. Other participants will discuss U.S.-Japan and U.S.-U.K. talks, startup carriers' quest for airport slots, predatory conduct and safety/security issues. For more information, call 312-988-5794.
Airlines can reduce or eliminate air travel barriers to disabled passengers by training their personnel to communicate better, improving airport accessibility and ensuring that people with disabilities have access to public address systems and flight information, the Canadian Transportation Agency said. Reporting on such barriers, CTA recommended a travel guide for disabled passengers and alternative information formats at airports, such as placing airline information monitors at eye level.
Leading Carriers at Top U.S. and European-Middle East Gateways Year Ending March 31, 1997 U.S. Gateways to Europe-Middle East Inbound Outbound Rank Market Passengers Passengers 1 New York Kennedy 5,573,623 5,436,769 Delta 686,339 677,566 2 Chicago O'Hare 1,717,853 1,671,063
Flight attendants at Continental, Continental Micronesia and Continental Express who call in sick four days before or after the Thanksgiving holiday have to produce a doctor's note. The flight attendants, represented by the Teamsters, are required by their contract to provide a doctor's certification of illness around all the major holidays. CORRECTION 12/3/97: Continental's flight attendants are represented by by the International Association of Machinists. The union was identified incorrectly in the above article.
BMW Rolls-Royce shipped the first BR715 engine for the MD-95 to the Douglas plant in Long Beach, Calif. The second engine is to be shipped to the facility before yearend. The aircraft is to make its first flight in the second quarter of 1998 with delivery to launch customer AirTran Airlines due in mid-1999. The BR715 also has been proposed for the Chinese AE31X and the Indonesian IPTN N2130 100-seat regional jets.
Northwest will expand Detroit-Beijing service next year to five flights per week from three. The fourth flight takes off Jan. 1 and the fifth April 5. The route has performed "exceptionally well" since it began May 1, said Chief Executive John Dasburg. "The flight saves passengers up to seven hours of travel time compared to flying our competitors via the West Coast to China." Northwest also will boost Shanghai service to two weekly flights, starting Jan. 1. It operates to Shanghai via Tokyo.
Top 20 Carriers Operating Nonstop Between the U.S. and Europe-Middle East Year Ending March 31, 1997 Total Total Rank Market Passengers Departures 1 American 3,493,894 23,665 2 British Airways 5,321,550 23,264 3 Delta 3,815,082 21,701 4 United 2,642,058 13,849
Citing high interest in the Michigan-Washington State Rose Bowl, DOT warned buyers of game packages to be sure tour operators selling them have tickets on hand or a written contract for them as required by department rules. DOT tightened controls after the 1994 Rose Bowl, when many University of Wisconsin fans found - in Pasadena - that their tour packages did not include tickets to the game. Others had to pay hundreds of dollars more to obtain them.
- In Federal Register dated Nov. 21...Issued an airworthiness directive on several Eurocopter series aircraft requiring inspection of the main rotor blade reinforcement strips...Proposed to extend the expiration date for special training for pilots of Robinson R-22 and R-44 helicopters. - In FR dated Nov. 24...Issued an AD on Jetstream 3101 and 3201 aircraft with kits JK 2496 and JM 7537 requiring magnetic latching relays on the ignition system...Issued an AD on ASTA N22 aircraft requiring inspection of the aft wing break connectors.
Delta and United, turned aside in attempts to code share to Russia with their European partners, told DOT it should defer the Aeroflot-Continental code-share application until the U.S. and Russia resolve bilateral issues. The applicants' expectation that these issues would be settled "has not been realized," United said. No progress was made during talks in Moscow Nov. 12-14 (DAILY, Nov. 17), and Russia has not allowed U.S.
Cathay Pacific Airways will start its second Hong Kong-Los Angeles flight March 31, using a 747-400 configured for 18 first-class, 56 business and 313 economy passengers. Cathay's current daily service operates at night. The new service will be a daytime flight, leaving Hong Kong at 3 p.m. and arriving in Los Angeles at 1:10 p.m. the same day. Cathay will operate three weekly flights until July, when frequency will rise to five. In September, the frequency will become daily.
U.S. and Romanian negotiators meet tomorrow and Wednesday in Bucharest to discuss open skies. Dates remain uncertain for bilateral talks with Italy, France and Russia, but negotiations with Japan still are scheduled Dec. 15- 17.
Orally approved a one-year exemption renewal for Nippon Cargo Airlines to operate foreign cargo service between points in Japan and co-terminal points Anchorage, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York...Approved a Vacationtravel International charter using a Lineas Aereas Allegro MD-83, 727 or DC-9 for three passenger roundtrips on a Dallas/Fort Worth-Mazatlan-Dallas/Fort Worth routing March 8-22, 1998...Approved an Express Service, Shipping&Brokerage Worldwide, charter using a Volga-Dnepr Airlines Il-76 for a one-way flight carrying 13,000 kilograms of
A U.S. District Court dismissed allegations by a group of employees from the defunct Pan American World Airways who tried to remove Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. as trustee of the company's underfunded pension plans. The court left open the question of timeliness of benefits notification PBGC gave former Pan Am employees. When Pan Am shut down in 1991, PBGC took responsibility for three pension plans that were underfunded by $1 billion. It pays $100 million annually to 14,000 retirees.
TWA is resuming service to Puerto Vallarta, increasing flights to Palm Springs, and offering sale fares to both points and Cancun for travel between Dec. 18 and Feb. 12. The carrier also will resume seasonal service to Steamboat Springs and Ixtapa/Zihuatenejo. Most enhancements take effect Dec. 28. TWA also is offering a frequent flyer bonus program for travel to Europe. Frequent flyers receive 40,000 bonus miles for premium-class roundtrips and 20,000 miles one-way through Feb. 28.
Turner Broadcasting System promoted Deborah Cooper, VP and general manager of CNN Airport Network, to senior VP of Turner Private Networks Inc. and Barbara Dean, Airport Network director-operations, to VP-network technology and operations for TPNI. Jack Womack, executive VP-CNN Headline News, will assume the additional responsibility of overseeing Airport Network editorial content.
FAA is wrongly using airworthiness directives to address pilot preparedness for icing conditions, according to the National Air Transportation Association. The agency has issued a series of airworthiness directives on operation of turboprop aircraft in icing conditions. NATA says ADs are meant to apply to the aircraft and its systems when an unsafe condition exists, and NATA says "we strongly oppose" use of ADs to "accomplish what is a pilot qualification issue."
Federal Express pilots are considering for ratification a letter of agreement that will give Railway Labor Act protection to 52 FedEx pilots stationed at Subic Bay in the Philippines. The agreement would allow FedEx to station the pilots administratively in Memphis, placing them on U.S. soil and thus under RLA protection. Ratification is expected Dec. 22.
Frontier Airlines filed a series of recommendations with DOT on controlling computer reservations system abuses, citing a history of "monopoly" control by United of the Denver market. Frontier compared United to telecommunications giant AT&T before an antitrust decision broke up the company and regulatory authorities forced it to permit competitors equal access to its network. "Just as AT&T was the largest telephone company in the world, United is the largest airline in the world," Frontier said.
