Small Chilean regional Avant Airlines is expected to get a boost if bus company Tur Bus follows through with plans to buy the airline. Tur Bus intends to double Avant's fleet from two to four aircraft.
Boeing is stepping up its approach to increase aircraft market segmentation, spotlighting eight new aircraft concepts at the Paris Air Show. The product development programs, derivatives that offer greater range, capacity or weight, are prospects to join seven that are in varying stages of development, including three versions of the 737, the larger 777- 300 and recently launched 767-400. "We're looking at the existing strengths of our product line, and building on that," said Boeing spokesman Jerry Johnson.
For the second time this year, unions at U.S. and foreign carriers engaged in an alliance have pledged to support each other through responses to labor cost cuts as well as data sharing. When United, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai International and Air Canada formed their Star Alliance in mid-May, 14 unions at those carriers formed a Star Solidarity Alliance under a partnership coordinated by London-based International Transport Workers Federation.
DOT has backed off Assistant Secretary Charles Hunnicutt's recent prediction that the U.S. and Korea would reach final agreement on open skies next month (DAILY, June 5). Deputy Assistant Secretary Patrick Murphy, standing in for Hunnicutt, who was ill, told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee last week that the Korea talks will take longer. A DOT official told The DAILY Hunnicutt's staff had been "overly optimistic," but DOT and State officials still think they will sign an agreement.
American and British Airways reached an agreement with Spain Friday to acquire 5% each of Iberia, and American will acquire 20% of Aerolineas Argentinas, according to unconfirmed published reports in Madrid and Buenos Aires. American declined comment on the reports.
Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled the confirmation hearing for FAA Administrator-designate Jane Garvey on June 24 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 235, Russell Building.
American Trans Air reported a 0.6% decrease in May traffic to 703.5 million revenue passenger miles from 707.6 million, while capacity dropped 10.8% to 1.009 billion available seat miles from 1.132 billion. The load factor increased 7.2 percentage points to 69.7%. The airline focused on charter flights as it continued to reduce its scheduled service during the month. Scheduled service RPMs were down 19% and ASMs 31.6%, resulting in a load factor improvement of 11.7 points, while charter service block hours rose 40.6%.
Air France pilots, striking recently on pay and other issues, object to a proposed starting salary of $38,300, one-third less than the current amount, roughly $57,000. Young U.S. pilots would welcome either rate - as some major airlines start them at $22,000 or less.
Approved a request for Lineas Aereas Allegro to wet-lease MD-83, 727 and DC-9 equipment to Air Jamaica for the operation of Air Jamaica's scheduled service between Baltimore and Montego Bay, Orlando and Montego Bay, Fort Lauderdale and Kingston, and Fort Lauderdale and Montego Bay, effective June 10-Aug. 9. DOT deferred action on Allegro's request to continue the wet-lease beyond Aug. 9...Approved a charter by Blyth&Co.
RTCA board elected James Pierce, ARINC chairman and chief executive, chairman; John Fearnsides, Mitre/CAASD senior VP and general manager, vice chairman, and James Hardy, director-air traffic control systems of Hughes
Interactive Flight Technologies, Phoenix, Ariz., elected President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Metzler to the board of directors. Board members Adam Aron, Brian Barents, Alexander Haig, Michail Itkis, Yuri Itkis, John Pritzker and James Zukin were re-elected. The company adopted a 1997 stock option plan providing for issuance of up to 1.5 million shares of Class A common stock, 8.3% of outstanding shares, upon exercise of options.
Federal Express Chairman Frederick Smith told the subcommittee he was "astounded" by Murphy's statement that Japan was meeting its obligations under a 1996 Memorandum of Understanding that has opened new routes for UPS and Polar Air Cargo. Although it was not part of the written agreement, Smith said FedEx was assured at the time that agreement to the MOU also meant 1952 rights would be respected, including FedEx's status as an incumbent carrier to launch new beyond service from Japan.
British Airways, unveiling 16 of its planned 50 painted tails last week, chose lesser-known artists to create its global image. They include a Dutch former graffiti artist, an abstract artist tribeswoman from the Kalahari desert and a Polish folk artist who cuts colored paper to create designs.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic November 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 72 28.24 1,089 78,172 Latin 72 28.24 1,089 78,172
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater's speech to the International Aviation Club tomorrow has been moved to an earlier time because of a scheduling conflict. Cocktails will begin at 11:30 a.m., as usual, Slater will speak at 12:15 p.m., and lunch will be served at 1 p.m. The event will be held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Independence Ballroom A, 1000 H Street N.W., Washington, D.C.
ValuJet is making several schedule changes July 10, including two new peak daily nonstops in each of two markets, Washington Dulles-Chicago Midway and Boston Logan-Philadelphia. The new service will have a big impact on fares in the latter market, which had the second largest increase in fares of any city-pair in the third quarter of 1996, rising to an average of $145 from $76 a year earlier, according to DOT data.
Environmental Protection Agency support for halon-based aircraft fire suppression systems is contingent on continued work toward non-halon systems for future aircraft, and an airline anathema - waterspray - stands out as a "very promising alternative," FAA said last week in its fire suppression rulemaking (DAILY, June 10&12). FAA, which has worked extensively but unsuccessfully to develop waterspray systems for passenger cabins, said applying the concept to cargo compartments as well might make it feasible.
U.S. and Malaysia initialed an open-skies agreement last week at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur, DOT said Friday. It is the standard open-skies pact with the addition of seventh freedom rights for cargo operators, a feature contained in some past agreements, including Singapore's, Brunei's and Germany's. It permits U.S. cargo carriers, for example, to operate a regional hub from the host country.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic November 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 822 0.90 805 661,746 America West 1,406 2.37 848 1,191,736
A key Justice Department official last week identified some of the major features DOJ looks for in predatory activity investigations, minimizing the importance of pricing alone but scrutinizing capacity increases and the launch of new routes by incumbents. Roger Fones, chief of the Transportation, Energy and Agricultural Section's antitrust division, spoke Thursday to the American Bar Association's Forum on Air and Space Law in Seattle.
