SilkAir, the regional arm of Singapore Airlines, ordered three Airbus A319s and five A320s and took options for 10 aircraft from the A320 family on Friday. The twinjets will replace the airline's six 737-300s, all of which are less than 10 years old. The Airbus aircraft will be powered by International Aero Engines' V2500 powerplants and will be delivered starting in September 1998. SilkAir will look at the A321 when it considers the options, Airbus said.
Continental filed against American in American's accusation that Delta violated Rule 39 confidentiality procedures in the American/Iberia code- share proposal, and it asked for more extensive review of information on other American proposals. American said Delta abused the confidentiality process by using protected material from the American/British Airways proceeding in its American/Iberia comments (DAILY, Oct. 23).
Niche carrier Kiwi International's complaint about gate practices at Atlanta and Newark airports has broadened the scope of recent disputes over barriers to competition, which has focused on slot controls, predatory behavior and the perimeter rule. Airport officials expressed surprise at Kiwi's action, however, and Delta and Continental dismiss the charges. Writing Oct.
Access to slot-controlled airports will not be enough to ensure survival of new entrants, which are losing over $300 million a year, according to Morten Beyer and Agnew. The consulting firm advocates such measures as preventing major carriers from entering a market with direct service within three years of a new entrant's entry; requiring airports to set aside gates for common use and permitting new entrants immediate appeal from "increasingly vigilant" FAA actions.
American said it was in error announcing that it will begin daily service between New York and Cuzco, Peru, via Lima on Jan. 6. The airline hopes to start the service once government approval is received. It also erred in saying it operates New York-Lima nonstop. It only serves Lima from Dallas and Miami nonstop.
Atlas Air reported net earnings for the September quarter of $6.2 million, a decline from $8.2 million in the same quarter last year. Revenues increased 31% to $104.2 million and operating income 8% to $21.7 million. For the nine months, net income declined to $14.3 million from $24.4 million, revenues rose to $280.1 million from $210.9 million and operating income slipped to $55.3 million from $58.1 million.
DOT approved a two-year renewal and expansion of Delta-Finnair code-share arrangements. Finnair may continue displaying Delta's code on New York Kennedy-Helsinki flights, and the carriers will operate blocked-space/code- share service in new city-pairs - on Delta flights between New York and Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Miami, and Finnair service between Helsinki and Zurich and Frankfurt. Reflecting open skies, Finnair received an exemption for service from points behind Finland, via Finland and intermediate points, to points in the U.S. and beyond.
AirTran Airlines, formerly ValuJet, is offering 50% off walkup fares in all its markets for travel between Nov. 2 and Feb. 10. There are no roundtrip purchase or Saturday-night stay requirements. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays are blacked out. Tickets are limited and non-refundable and must be purchased by Nov. 10. Sample one-way fares: $99 Boston-Dallas and $89 Chicago-Orlando.
China's sustained traffic growth will peak in 2000, when the country expects 14 billion ton kilometers and 100 million passengers annually, according to Chen Guangyi, minister, General Administration of Civil Aviation. China has risen from 35th worldwide in airline sales in 1980 to 10th last year.
Vanguard Airlines is saluting football fans and the winners of tonight's game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the hometown Kansas City Chiefs. The carrier will triple the number of points scored by the winning team and give away that many free tickets for travel in January and February to fans of the team. Winners will be chosen Nov. 7 in a drawing. Vanguard is extending its fall fare sale through Nov. 7 with savings on selected flights, including its newest route, Pittsburgh-Washington Dulles.
AAR Allen Aircraft, promising "first-call satisfaction," has introduced toll-free domestic and dedicated international phone lines to connect a customer immediately with an aircraft parts professional "who takes responsibility for the transaction from start to finish."
Rep. John Duncan's (R-Tenn.) proposed Airline Service Improvement Act would tap into funds generated by new overflight fees to boost service for smaller communities. DOT would have $10 million a year to help carriers buy aircraft and slots, and to offset early financial losses. Carriers given a federal loan guarantee to buy regional jets would have to serve a market for at least two years.
Airbus amd Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Second Quarter 1997 Dollars Per Block Hours A320-100/200 America West Northwest United Average Crew Cost $319 $609 $671 $551 Fuel&Oil 493 496 505 498 Rentals 731 394 531 527
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) joined the U.S.-Japan letter- writing brigade last month, urging President Clinton to keep in mind "two critical elements" - immediate exercise of U.S. rights and provisions granting non-incumbents growth opportunities after the end of the four-year agreement, a reference to "safety net" issues. Gingrich's home state harbors Atlanta-based Delta, and he cited the carrier's goal of serving the southeastern U.S. with Atlanta-Tokyo nonstops. But he also highlighted areas of common concern.
US Airways' pilots ratified their contract by an 84.2% margin Friday, setting the stage for the airline's other unions to complete their negotiations with the company. The ratification also enables the airline to go ahead with its $14 billion, 400-aircraft order with Airbus Industrie and transform US Airways into the global competitor Chief Executive Stephen Wolf envisions (DAILY, Sept. 18). The contract goes into effect Jan. 1.
Dutch and French-speaking green groups in Belgium have joined to push for sweeping and strict environmental standards at European and national levels. Controlling noise levels at Europe's airports, particularly Brussels Airport International, is a primary target of their campaign.
Boeing and IBM will develop and produce a mobile wireless asynchronous transfer mode system that will carry information uninterrupted between mobile platforms. The system will permit a continuous connection on an aircraft or other mobile platform by coordinating network links between transmitters.
Southwest has hired Thomas Chapman as Washington-based legislative counsel, a new position, effective early next year. He is currently senior VP- government and technical affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, where he has worked for 17 years. He will be joined in Washington by Todd Rogers, manager of government affairs, who currently holds that position in Dallas.
The National Air Traffic Controllers Association Friday won the right to represent FAA engineers. Of the 1,150 FAA engineers eligible to vote, 639 sent in ballots, and 498 voted in favor of NATCA.
