US Airways, which declined to say Tuesday whether it had arrangements with Airbus Industrie to receive more than 21 of the 400 narrowbody aircraft it ordered and optioned from the European manufacturer, has placed firm orders for engines to power 120 of them, CFM International said yesterday.
Air Espana, holding out service as Air Europa, asked DOT to register the name Air Europa Lineas Aereas, S.A., as its corporate name. The change, accomplished by amendment to the company's articles of incorporation on file in Spain, was made to "more closely align" the legal and commercial names; no change in ownership or control was involved. The carrier holds a foreign permit to engage in U.S.-Spain charter combination service and exemptions for scheduled combination service from Madrid to New York/Newark and Miami.
American has become a partner in a privately financed arena that will bear its name and house the Miami Heat basketball team. The American Airlines Arena will be located in Miami's downtown waterfront area, and the airline will pay $2.1 million per year for 20 years for naming rights. Symbols of the airline will be woven into the 680,000-square-foot building's architecture. Fabrics, millwork and details will feature the AA logo, and a display area on the concourse level will be dedicated to the history of aviation.
Delta said it has signed "definitive aircraft purchase agreements" to finalize the March deal that made Boeing its sole supplier over 20 years, placing 106 firm orders "subject to certain exemptions." The carrier said the sole-supplier clause is "not enforceable until the European Union permits Boeing to enforce the provision." In July, the European Commission required Boeing to free Delta, American and Continental from sole-supplier commitments as one condition of its approval of the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger, and EU Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert has
US Airways, acting on the strength of the "positive direction recently taken in U.S.-France aviation relations," has asked DOT for a two-year initial exemption to provide nonstop combination service from Pittsburgh to Paris, the first nonstops in the market. Pointing to strong community, state and congressional support, the carrier said its Pittsburgh-Paris route "should be the top U.S. government priority in further negotiations with France." It seeks approval on the basis of a "newly positive spirit of comity and reciprocity" in advance of a formal agreement.
House Transportation aviation subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.) is drafting a bill to improve service for smaller communities, with provisions similar to those in a bill being drafted by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R.-Ariz.) and in Sen. Bill Frist's (R- Tenn.) bill aiding regional jet acquisitions. An early version of Duncan's draft would limit the number of slot exemptions for underserved points to two per hour for all high-density airports and six per day for Washington National.
U.S.-Japan negotiators are considering a novel solution to the Narita slot problem, sources said - freeing capacity by moving all-freighter operations to Tokyo Haneda, now virtually a domestic-only airport. If the idea is adopted, however, Japan apparently would insist on labeling it an unwritten understanding - not a formal part of the agreement - in part to avoid antagonizing other parties lined up for slots.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic Aug-97 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) August August % Domestic 1997 1996 Change Freight 711,750 742,081 -4.1 Mail 187,106 147,881 26.5 Total 898,856 889,962 1 International
Sky King applied at DOT to conduct domestic and foreign charter combination service under a FAR Part 121 operating certificate. Currently operating under a Part 125 certificate, Sky King has provided Sacramento Kings basketball team charters for seven years using a leased BAC-111 and had lease contracts for entertainment tours, including the Beach Boys and Bon Jovi. The carrier wants to serve corporations, sports teams and other entertainment tours, using a leased or purchased 737-200 with custom interiors. (Docket OST-97-3017)
U.S. National Carriers Traffic September, 9 Months 1997 September September % 1997 1996 Change AirTran Airlines Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 99,973 n/a - Available Seat Miles (000) 263,797 n/a - Load Factor (%) 37.9 -
Europe will develop its own satellite navigation system if it cannot agree with the U.S. and other countries on an international system, European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock said this week in Berlin. "My preference would be a single global system....If we are not convinced that such a global system is a realistic possibility, Europe must press ahead with its own system," he said.
America West faces opposition from US Airways, United and TWA for its slot exemption requests, with the last carrier lodging similar objections against American Eagle/Simmons and American Trans Air. America West filed for exemptions for several Columbus-New York LaGuardia and Phoenix-Chicago O'Hare flights, American Trans Air for three to LaGuardia, and Simmons for 60 slots to serve various points from O'Hare.
U.S. and Japan appear virtually agreed on third-country code sharing and the number of additional frequencies in the new bilateral, informed sources said yesterday, but beyond rights, slot issues and the regime that will go into effect after the four-year interim agreement remain unresolved. The talks' ultimate outcome may be delayed with the absence of Charles Hunnicutt, assistant secretary and lead negotiator for DOT, who became ill - possibly from a mild heart attack, sources said - and had to withdraw from the talks.
Omni Air Express asked DOT to register Omni Air International Inc., as its new corporate name. The carrier will continue to do business under the name Omni Air Express. (Docket 0ST-97-2750)
Continental plans to lease 50 EMB-135 regional jets and has "locked in" rates for up to 150 more, for a total of 200. The Oct. 21 DAILY gave an incorrect total. Air Liberte affiliate Flandre Air is the launch customer for the EMB-135 (DAILY, Oct. 10), and Continental plans to launch it in the U.S.
Pan Am and Carnival, responding to charges filed with DOT by Richard Bartel, a Pan Am shareholder, asked the department to reject Bartel's opposition to the Pan Am-Carnival merger as it has rejected "the majority of Bartel's [previous] spurious allegations" concerning Pan Am. Bartel warned DOT that approval of exemptions and route transfers relating to the carriers' stockholder-approved merger could ease Carnival into bankruptcy and leave its creditors without access to assets (DAILY, Oct. 10).
DOT "intends to exercise its exemption authority to a limited degree to allow some additional competition at the high-density airports," Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Murphy told the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee yesterday. Murphy told subcommittee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) that DOT's just-started slots study will consider "several bills to redistribute slots" recently introduced in Congress. Murphy telegraphed - but did not promise - slot exemptions early this month (DAILY, Oct. 3).
TAG Group of Luxembourg, recently selected to develop Farnborough Airport as the U.K.'s first business aviation facility, sees the move as a key element in its strategy to build its business aviation interests into a global operation, including aircraft sales, charter, management and maintenance (DAILY, Oct. 21). TAG has been involved in general aviation for more than two decades, and its wholly owned subsidiary TAG Aeronautics Ltd.
BAA plc., which operates seven of Britain's largest airports, says it will discount tobacco and alcohol prices deeply at its retail shops in the second half of 1999 if duty-free sales for intra-European travel are abolished. BAA is counting on sales volume to compensate for an expected drop in profit margins after June 30, the European Commission's deadline for eliminating duty-free sales for air travel among the 15 European Union countries.
Air Canada will add 250 weekly flights to its winter schedule this year and double the number of European destinations. The new schedule begins Oct. 26 and increases capacity 10.7% over last year. The carrier will increase seats on its U.S. transborder service 25% and expand its new Executive Class to more routes. Canada-Europe routes are the most noticeable addition to Air Canada's schedule, due in part to expanded code sharing with Star Alliance partners Lufthansa and SAS.
Geneva-based, government-backed Swiss World Airlines will start transatlantic service in mid-December to Chicago, Miami and Newark. The carrier will operate four weekly flights to Newark, increasing to daily service in January. Chicago will receive three weekly flights and Miami two. The airline will add 400 jobs to the Geneva region, and annual passenger and cargo revenues are expected to reach between 27 million and 34 million Swiss francs. AMR Airlines Services and its partner T.G. Shown Associates will provide Swiss World with a U.S.
US Airways has added Canadian destinations to its electronic ticketing service, which has grown to the point that more than 20% of the carrier's passengers use it. Electronic ticketing also is available on US Airways Shuttle flights and to several Caribbean destinations. Travel agents can book US Airways electronic tickets on Apollo, Sabre, System One and Amadeus, and they will be available on Worldspan by the end of the year.
US Airways has told its pilots union that it has secured delivery positions for 21 Airbus Industrie aircraft through the fourth quarter of 1999. The Air Line Pilots Association unit said the company will take delivery of six A319s in the fourth quarter of 1998, four in the first quarter of 1999, three in the second quarter and three in the third. The company will receive three A319s and two A320s in the last quarter of 1999 and is seeking delivery positions for additional aircraft.
