United will equip aircraft this fall to transmit information on cabin maintenance and cleanup needs to destination airports during flights. Beginning in October with 767-300s, flight attendants will operate laptop computer-like workstations to let ground personnel know what is needed before the aircraft arrives.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, operating as United Express, will begin nonstop service on New York Kennedy-Baltimore and New York Kennedy-Pittsburgh routings Oct. 1, with four nonstop roundtrips between each city-pair every business day and fewer on weekends. ACA will operate the service with a 29-passenger Jetstream 41.
To AIA Millon Air asked DOT to reconsider its decision to rescind Millon's two scheduled U.S.-Ecuador all-cargo frequencies, dismiss Millon's request for renewal of a third frequency, and tentatively allocate the three frequencies to American International Airways (AIA), which has not served this market. Millon termed the withdrawal of frequencies a "draconian sanction." Millon is preparing for an FAA fitness review following an October 1996 crash in Ecuador.
British Midland asked DOT for authority to use United's code for code- sharing service beginning Sept. 9 linking London Heathrow to Copenhagen, Oslo and Gothenburg, Sweden. Passengers carried between Scandinavia and London will originate or terminate in the U.S.
Air New Zealand joins hands with Lufthansa in a cooperation agreement starting Sept. 1. The carriers will offer access to each other's frequent flyer programs, with special incentives for ANZ travelers between Sept. 15 and Aug. 30, 1998. Separately, the German government is expected to announce this week its choice of a bank consortium to oversee the sale of its 36% stake in Lufthansa. The stake is valued at approximately 5 billion Deutschmarks (US$2.7 billion), and its sale will complete the privatization of Lufthansa.
The European Union's competition authority, DG-4, approved yesterday a merger of the air traffic management divisions of Thomson CSF and Siemens AG. The partners' new joint venture, Airsys ATM SAS, also will take over Siemens' airport turnkey activities. While the new entity will have a leading position in Europe's ATM sector, DG-4 said it will not dominate the industry because of the presence of major competitors, such as Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, and subsystem suppliers, such as Alenia, Alcatel, Hughes, Northrop Grumman and Daimler-Benz Aerospace.
Major Chinese airports are succumbing to the Asian airport syndrome - having fewer and fewer available slots - according to Dragonair Chief Executive Stanley Hui, whose carrier operates from congested Kai Tak in Hong Kong. "Like several Chinese airports, Shanghai and Beijing are getting full, and some of the slots are not available," he said. "It's becoming an issue. It never was an issue before."
The names of parties commenting on evidence requests for American/BA/Iberia were transposed in a DAILY report July 28. Referring to a filing by Continental, TWA recommended that American, BA and the TACA partners submit more information and submit to an evidentiary hearing on the competitive implications of new Iberia/Aerolineas deals. TWA sees a need for cross-examination of executives because the companies now know documents may be examined by regulators and third parties. (Dockets OST- 97-2058, 1700)
The European Commission is prepared to confirm its consent to the Boeing- McDonnell Douglas merger tomorrow in Brussels, as scheduled, following approval last Friday from antitrust experts representing European Union member nations. The consultative committee has an advisory role, and the commission reported reservations from one of its members. EU sources said they came from the French representative.
Mexicana Airlines, rumored as a potential Star Alliance member, became United's newest code-share partner yesterday, implementing an intention announced by the carriers eight months ago. "The initial phase of this agreement will enhance our reach in Mexico," United's General Manager- Mexico Josue Meza said in an internal communique.
U.S. and Portuguese officials will meet in Washington tomorrow for an informal discussion of aviation issues. DOT and State Department representatives will discuss a number of topics, including open skies.
DOT has asked for additional information from startup Arriva Air, which DOT said appears to need more funding because its launch date slipped. The department also inquired about foreign business activity tied to Arriva, a U.S. company that has had to answer questions concerning ownership and control (DAILY, June 10). Arriva was issued a show cause order in March tentatively finding it fit, but new issues have spurred the inquiries.
Continental matched and raised a filing by TWA recommending American-BA and American-TACA partners submit more information in light of new proposals linking American, BA, Iberia and Aerolineas Argentinas. In addition to more data, TWA wants DOT to conduct an evidentiary hearing to examine the competitive implications of the Iberia and Aerolineas deals. But "documents cannot fully disclose the strategic intentions of each company," Continental said, because the applicants now know they will be seen by regulators and thus may not accurately reflect internal discussions.
Shareholders of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas approved the $15 billion merger of the two companies Friday in separate meetings in Seattle and St. Louis. Boeing said more than 99% of voters approved the merger and McDonnell Douglas reported 75.8% approval. A two-thirds margin was required. The merger is scheduled to close Aug. 1, the day after McDonnell Douglas Chairman John McDonnell retires. McDonnell told shareholders the merger "represents the best, even the ideal, solution for our customers, teammates and shareholders.
Air Action Group appointed Lyndon Reeve group sales manager-U.K.; Monique Ormond group sales consultant in Bristol; Bill Bloodworth group sales consultant specializing in international mail products, and Mark Winter operations manager of the International Mail Direct division. Bell Helicopter Textron appointed Leo Mackay VP-business development and strategic planning.
Amtran Inc., parent of American Trans Air, completed $150 million in credit transactions, including the company's first major unsecured debt offering. Amtran sold $100 million worth of senior unsecured notes in a transaction underwritten by Morgan Stanley Dean Witter and Salomon Brothers. The 10.5% seven-year notes, rated B2 by Moody's and B by Standard&Poor's, will be used for general corporate purposes and to repay indebtedness. Amtran also negotiated a four-year $50 million revolving line of credit with five banks.
American parent AMR Corp., which will buy into Aerolineas Argentinas through major shareholder Interinvest, may have clinched the deal with its willingness to help restructure the Argentine company and get new shareholders. AMR will lead an effort to find investors to buy Interinvest shares owned by Andes Holdings.
New niche carrier Pro Air aims to dominate the market in the upper Midwest by offering low-fare service to cities within a 300- to 400-mile range of its base in Detroit. Chairman and Chief Executive Kevin Stamper, in an interview with The DAILY, said there are pockets in the U.S. where yields are high, demand is untapped and a startup carrier can win support. While Pro Air will offer low fares, it will provide some meal service and will not go as far as ValuJet's or Southwest's informal look for its onboard crew.
TWA, having decided last week to lay off 1,000 workers, is exploring further cost cutting to improve profitability. The airline wants to reduce its average number of employees per aircraft to 118 by yearend from the current 130. TWA wants to be more in line with industry standard, 110-120.
Gulfstream Aerospace reported second quarter revenues of $523 million and net income of $39.5 million. The performance more than doubled revenues of $244 million in the same quarter last year, and net income was up more than four-fold over the year-earlier $9.3 million. Firm backlog was 98 aircraft valued at $3.1 billion, up from 73 aircraft. Six-month revenues nearly doubled, reaching $899 million, while net income increased five-fold to $79.5 million.
International air cargo shipments spent 91% of the time on the ground 10 years ago, and a recent Unisys study finds the process takes "the same period of time...despite improvements in aircraft, airports, facilities and communication technology," says Walter Johnson, past president of the International Air Cargo Association. He blamed "difficulties of process, not of equipment, not of policy and, to a large degree, not of personnel."
Legislation approved last week by the Senate Appropriations Committee would forgive about $30 million that FAA and DOT's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) say was diverted illegally from the state's airport system. The settlement, included in the fiscal 1998 DOT appropriations bill (S.1048), would prohibit future transfers from airports to the state's Office of Hawaiian Affairs, however.
Dragonair Chief Executive Stanley Hui, a veteran of Hong Kong aviation, expects little alteration in how airlines interact with Chinese officials in Hong Kong and predicts Dragonair will expand rapidly into China. Aviation governance issues "will not change at all" under the new regime, Hui told The DAILY in an interview.
