World Airways has hired William Lange as executive VP-operations. He most recently was the principal of Aero Initiatives, a consulting firm, and before that worked as executive VP and chief operating officer of Jetstream Aircraft. He also worked for Pan Am, Pan Am Express and American.
Russian government is seeking private investors for 34 of 63 state-run airports, including two in the Moscow region, according to Yuri Baranov, head of the Department of Investment Policy at the Russian Federal Aviation Service (FAS). The two Moscow airports are Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo. The privatization plan was conceived as a way to finance the more than $5 billion needed to upgrade the facilities to international standards, Baranov told a recent FAS-sponsored airports conference in Moscow.
UPS's Teamsters union unit is holding rallies to seek better wages and benefits while supporting the pilots union's efforts to secure a pay increase. The union is rallying in Phoenix today to ask for more full-time jobs, and plans other demonstrations. It said "83% of the jobs created at UPS since 1993 have been part-time positions. Wages for part-time workers have been frozen at $8 [an hour] since 1982." The mechanics contract becomes amendable July 31.
Continental, yielding temporarily to the political muscle of New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, has suspended its New York advertising campaign (DAILY, June 25) "pending a meeting between the airline and the Mayor's office to discuss the Mayor's objections to the airline's ad campaign promoting service for Newark International Airport."
Robert Kneisley of Galland, Kharasch&Garfinkle estimated a court decision on FAA overflight fees would come late this year or by spring 1998. An incorrect time frame was reported June 25 in The DAILY.
B/E Aerospace said it was selected by Asiana Airlines to supply its MDDS (multimedia digital distribution system) individual passenger entertainment systems, as well as business- and tourist-class seats for Boeing 777 aircraft. The contract is valued at $61 million.
Boeing has signed a seven-year lease for 211,139 square feet of space on 12 floors in Kilroy Realty Corp.'s commercial office complex at the Seattle- Tacoma Airport. Boeing will begin to move in next September and take full occupancy by January, Kilroy said.
Finnair Group posted a pre-tax profit of 429 million Finnish markka (US$83 million) for the fiscal year ending March 31, down 20% from FIM533 million ($103 million) in the previous year. Net profit was FIM323 million ($62 million). Revenue increased 3% to FIM7.4 billion ($1.4 billion). Operating expenses rose 8.4%, mostly due to higher fuel costs, and operating profit dropped by 48% to FIM326 million ($63 million). The results were affected by the bankruptcy of two foreign airlines that had purchased maintenance services from Finnair.
Continental said yesterday it has acquired six 737-300s and four MD- 82s it previously leased. Debt financing came from a private placement of $155 million of pass-through certificates, the carrier said. Continental said the transaction is expected to lower aircraft ownership expenses by $3 million a year over the next three years, compared with leasing costs.
European Union Court of Justice has rejected a 1994 French appeal opposing the liberalization of domestic routes from Paris Orly to Marseilles and Toulouse. In April 1994, the European Commission ruled that France could not prevent TAT, a competitor of Air Inter - now Air France Europe - from operating the routes. Air Inter took the case to the EU Court of Justice, but domestic traffic was liberalized anyway a few months later, in January 1995.
Kiwi International Air Lines is giving away cruises to Grand Bahama Island under a promotion with Hemisphere Tour&Travel. Passengers who fly four one-way trips or two roundtrips by Sept. 30 between any cities in Kiwi's network will receive a three-day, two-night cruise for two. The cruises leave from Fort Lauderdale on the Sea Escape cruise ship.
Continental has purchased an outstanding 9% share in its Pacific subsidiary, Air Micronesia Inc., from United Micronesia Development Association Inc. (UMDA), the carrier said this week. Continental paid $73 million for the stake and UMDA's rights to receive future payments under a services agreement with Continental Micronesia. The deal also ends Continental's obligations to UMDA stemming from a settlement reached in 1987.
Amertranz Worldwide Holding Corp. said it closed down on June 23 the operations of Amertranz Worldwide, a freight forwarder with offices in 15 domestic locations. Its Target Air Freight, Caribbean Air Services and Consolidated Air Services subsidiaries will continue to operate, however. Stuart Hettleman, president, said the move "will allow us to achieve our stated goal of becoming profitable and position the company for future growth."
The cost of traveling rose 3.1% in May from May 1996, according to the Travel Price Index produced by the Travel Industry Association, mainly because of a 6.5% increase in air fares. For the first five months, the TPI was up 4.4%, and airline fares were up 7%. Transportation overall was up 5% and lodging 5.6%.
SAS and South African Airways will begin code-shared flights between Copenhagen and Johannesburg/Cape Town July 2, breaking a 12-year hiatus in air transport contacts between their respective regions. SAA will operate two weekly roundtrips on a 747 from the Danish capital to South Africa on Thursdays and Mondays, and in the opposite direction on Wednesdays and Sundays.
DAC International, a subsidiary of Banner Aerospace, and Universal Avionics Systems, have contracted to retrofit HeavyLift Cargo Airlines freighter aircraft with UNS-1 GPS-based navigation management systems, replacing OMEGA/VLF navigation systems.
Continental and Microsoft have redesigned and expanded the airline's World Wide Web site to include reservations and ticketing capabilities. The ticketing function, called CO.O.L. Travel Assistant, includes booking for hotels and rental cars. The Web address is http://www.flycontinental.com.
The National Civil Aviation Review Commission said yesterday that the House and Senate aviation tax proposals "will make it extremely difficult to make the necessary changes in the aviation financing system." The House and Senate this week are considering separate versions of budget reconciliation bills that would increase taxes on the industry and traveling public by about $5 billion. A conference to resolve differences is planned after Congress returns from next week's Independence Day recess.
KLM said yesterday it will stop carrying radioactive material on passenger flights "until further notice." The ban follows release of radioactivity from medical equipment on a May 2 flight from Amsterdam to London and a subsequent disagreement with Dutch civil aviation authorities on the regulations governing radioactive materials. "We find it important to repeat that, in any case, for passengers on this flight (and) the staff involved, there has been, at most, a negligible health risk.
United has filed a suit in Los Angeles against code-sharing partners Mesa and WestAir to seek a court ruling on its marketing agreement with the Mesa Air Group carriers. United spokesman Richard Martin said, "United believes the contract allows us to increase, decrease or adjust in any way flight frequencies, markets or both." Mesa contends United wants to transfer markets operated by Mesa and WestAir to SkyWest Airlines, which serves Los Angeles and Salt Lake City as a Delta Connection. Martin said United had no comment on that.
Regional jet deployment will lead to a certain amount of "hub raiding," as carriers with RJs attempt to grab shares of connecting traffic, said George Hamlin of Global Aviation Associates. "Not everyone has RJs, and those with them will go after those hubs without them," he said.
Greek flag carrier Olympic Airways started a five-times-weekly Boeing 737-200 service to Budapest this week, following the recent launch of routes to Bucharest, Belgrade and Moscow. The airline said it is continuing to expand its network beyond the current 40 international and 38 domestic routes. In April 1996, the European Commission blocked the payment of a second tranche of state aid of 23 billion drachmas (US$85 million) to Olympic, out of a total of 54 billion drachmas ($200 million) to be handed out in three installments.
Dallas-based EXCEL Communications has appointed Legend Airlines Chief Executive T. Allan McArtor to its board of directors. McArtor served as FAA administrator from 1987 to 1989. EXCEL is a long-distance telephone company.
