International Aviation Composites has purchased two acres in the Alliance development for a new corporate headquarters and a facility offering maintenance and repair services on composite components and aircraft and helicopter rotor blades. Construction is to begin this month and completion is scheduled in February. The company supplies leading-edge abrasion strip replacement, composite and metal skin repairs, doubler repairs, full chord skin repairs, non-destructive testing, replacement of damaged parts, refinishing and static balancing.
Continental and Taiwan's EVA Airways yesterday turned their small collaborative cargo agreement into a full-blown international passenger code share. The deal is Continental's first foray into an Asia/Pacific alliance and EVA's first passenger link with a North American carrier. In addition, American will sign a code-share deal with Taipei-based China Airlines within two weeks, a source told The DAILY.
Varig's traffic for July increased 5.3% to 2.4 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The load factor was 66.7% on domestic and 74% on international flights. Freight gained 6.8% in July but rose only 1.5% so far this year. Varig carried 5.64 million passengers so far in 1997, up 3.3%.
Civilian women accounted for 9% of the 1,281 AIR Inc. member pilots interviewed by U.S. airlines during the past 12 months, but only 2% of military pilots interviewed were women. The average civilian interviewed by a major airline had 5,839 hours of experience and the average military applicant had 3,921.
Delta Express has begun a September fare sale to and from Florida with discounts on its lowest fares and a reduction in the advance-purchase requirement to seven days. Sample one-way fares include Nashville-Tampa for $69, Washington Dulles-Fort Lauderdale for $84 and Providence-Orlando for $79.
Three companies announced an alliance they said will offer "one of the most extensive air charter networks in the industry," providing executive aircraft charters throughout North America and Asia, including China. The companies are Hop-A-Jet of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Global Aviation of Singapore and Air Castle of Los Angeles. The group will have a fleet of 17 Learjets and Challengers.
Partisans aiming for a Japan aviation treaty mandating regulated expansion face a new counterweight - Senate observers - at this week's formal negotiations, scheduled today through Friday in Washington. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) invoked a section of the Federal Aviation Act permitting observers from each house of Congress. It is unusual but not unprecedented for congressional observers to attend talks, as happened in open skies negotiations with Germany and earlier U.S.-U.K. talks.
United's petition to halt the transfer of its slots at Chicago O'Hare says a continuation of the practice is an unconstitutional taking of property because DOT has indicated new slots can be created at the high-density airport (DAILY, Aug. 26). A DOT spokesman acknowledged statements made earlier this year by Assistant Secretary Charles Hunnicutt about new- entrant competitive issues, including the possibility that criteria might be expanded for granting exceptional-circumstances exemptions at slot- controlled airports.
Dragonair is relaunching a successful summer tour package from Hong Kong to several points in China. Special weekend packages to Beijing and Hangzhou are available through Nov. 30, as well as a new package to Qingdao. Four- day, three-night packages to Beijing cost HK$4,960 (US$636) including airfare, while three-day, two-night packages to Hangzhou, one of China's six ancient capitals, cost HK$3,290 ($422). The airline, via its web site (http:\\www.dragonair.com), offers package and tour information for many sites in China.
Aircraft Braking Systems Corp. said it was selected by British Midland to provide main wheels and carbon brakes for the carrier's 12 A320s and eight A321s. With the latest order, the company said it is the supplier of wheels and brakes for more than 70% of A320 and A321 orders.
German regional airline Eurowings Luftverkehr will start ATR-42 code- sharing services between Hamburg and London Stansted with Britain's Gill Airways Sept. 8. Gill Airways, which operates a Eurowings service between Newcastle and Dusseldorf, will serve the new route twice daily on weekdays. Eurowings and its partner are jumping into the service vacuum left when Air UK deserted the route. Air UK is now a 100% owned KLM subsidiary and operates feeder services into Amsterdam Schiphol Airport.
General Electric GE90 engine, which powers 20 Boeing 777s, has logged more than 100,000 flight hours with no inflight shutdowns, the engine maker announced. The aircraft is rated for extended-range, twin-engine operations. China Southern made history last month with the first nonstop, twin-engine transpacific flight between the China mainland and the U.S.
Charles Kaman, chairman and chief executive of Kaman Corp., will be the 1997 recipient of the National Aeronautic Association's Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy. NAA, which will present the trophy Dec. 12 at a black-tie dinner hosted by the Aero Club of Washington, cited Kaman's "more than 50 years of contributions to the development of rotary-wing aviation."
DOT is asking American and the TACA Group for information about the impact of relationships between American, British Airways, Iberia, Austral and Aerolineas Argentinas on the American-TACA code share. Though the department said it would rule separately on a Continental motion to require such information, the materials it wants are similar to what Continental said it should acquire. DOT stopped short of another Continental suggestion - starting an oral evidentiary hearing on the matter.
Airport Systems International's sales for its first quarter 1998 fiscal year increased to $5.8 million from $5.2 million in the year-earlier quarter. Net income rose to $160,000 from $135,000.
United applied at DOT for renewal of its seven weekly U.S.-Poland frequencies through Nov. 1, 1998, when the U.S.-Poland bilateral allows third-country code-share operations without limitations, or a "later date as the department finds appropriate." United now uses these frequencies to provide daily U.S.-Warsaw service via Frankfurt and Munich with Lufthansa. When the frequencies were allocated to United, the carrier received seven additional U.S.-Poland, third-country, code-share frequencies, effective Nov. 1, through Oct. 31, 1998.
Kiwi International Air Lines received approval from Niagara County, N.Y., for a $550,000 loan that will enable it to become the first scheduled carrier into Niagara Falls. Kiwi intends to start service in October from Newark and possibly Chicago Midway to Niagara Falls Airport. The former military airport, half an hour by auto from Buffalo and one hour from Toronto, currently is used by charter operators, a Kiwi spokesman said.
Association of European Airlines Traffic June 1997 Passenger Data % % Pts RPKs Chg ASKs Chg Load Chg Region (Mil) 97/96 (Mil) 97/96 Ftr 97/96 EUROPE 10,071.3 9.4 14,813.2 4.4 68.0 3.1 NORTH AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST 1,529.3 7.3 2,321.8 3.2 65.9 2.5
United petitioned FAA yesterday to restore lost slots at Chicago O'Hare to U.S. carriers, a reaction to reports that DOT plans to create new slots at the constrained airport. Traditionally, the department has withdrawn slots from carriers, including United, for transfer to foreign carriers, essential air service providers and new entrants. (See related story that follows.) United said it is urging DOT to stop the "confiscation" of slots for the benefit of foreign airlines.
Air Pacific has applied at DOT jointly with Canadian Airlines to operate code-share/blocked-space service and display each other's codes on Air Pacific flights between Nadi, Fiji, and Honolulu and on Canadian's flights linking Honolulu with Vancouver and Toronto. Air Pacific plans to operate one weekly Fiji-Honolulu flight, beginning Oct. 26.
United told DOT it should regard petitioners for extraordinary- circumstances slot exemptions at Chicago O'Hare as "special pleaders" seeking an unwarranted escape from market mechanisms. Western Pacific wants to move its Colorado Springs-Chicago Midway service to O'Hare, and Reno Air wants to expand Reno-O'Hare service from three a day to four.
United has authorized the repurchase of up to $250 million worth of the company's common stock. Some of the funds will come from the recent sale of Apollo Travel Services to Galileo International. United intends to repurchase 3.2 million of the 59.7 million shares outstanding as of July 31.
