AlliedSignal will purchase Grimes Aerospace, a leading supplier of aircraft lighting systems, from an affiliate of New York investment firm, Forstmann Little&Co. About 70% of Grimes's business is commercial and 30% military. Grimes's annual sales of $230 million are growing at a double- digit annual rate.
Nations Air Express advised DOT to dismiss an objection by charter operators European-American Travel (EURAM) and Student Travel Services (STS) to the department's approval of new service between Miami and Maracaibo, Venezuela. Nations Air plans daily scheduled combination flights on the route using a 142-seat 727-200, and is in final preparations for launch of what it said will be the only nonstop service between those points.
India's directorate-general for civil aviation has begun an inquiry into the errant landing this month of a Saudi Arabian Airlines 747, DGCA officials said this week. The aircraft, carrying 331 passengers and 17 crew members, on a flight from Riyadh with a stopover in Dharan, was slated to land at Chennai Meenampakkam Airport in Madras City but instead landed at the Indian air force's Tambaram base. Aviation industry experts said the occupants had "a miraculous escape" because the IAF base landing strip is too short for the widebody jet.
Vanguard Airlines will offer one-way fares of $69 to Orlando from Kansas City and $79 for passengers continuing to Tampa/St. Petersburg on its new daily afternoon flight. The fares are available through June 27 for travel between June 28 and Sept. 3. Kids fly free on the new flight during the introductory period.
TAM of Brazil said yesterday it plans to order five A330-200s and place options on five, all powered by Pratt&Whitney engines. It plans to operate the aircraft initially on routes to the U.S.
US Airways VP-Marketing Services Daniel Brock is leaving the company June 30 to avoid relocation from Winston/Salem, N.C., to Arlington, Va., where the airline plans to move its Dividend Miles and US Airways Clubs programs this year.
Swiss World Airlines is finalizing agreements with suppliers that will enable it to begin long-haul service from Geneva in four months. The airline will begin flying two 767-300s from Geneva to New York Kennedy, Miami and Chicago and is purchasing two new 767s from Boeing for delivery next year. SWA is 40% owned by the Swiss government, "a fact which gives us some capabilities other new airlines will not have," said Robert Eilers, the carrier's director of finance and business. Other owners include Swiss institutional investors and foreign companies.
Executive Jet placed a $400 million order for 50 Cessna Citation Excels for its NetJets fractional ownership program. The company said the deal is the "largest single order in unit size for business aircraft in aviation history," capping two years of Cessna purchases for NetJets - 50 Citation V Ultras, 20 Citation VIIs and 31 Citation Xs, six of them newly ordered. In May, Executive Jet said it will add 20 Hawker 800XPs as well.
Snecma of France, bolstered by strong engine and equipment sales in the commercial airline sector since Jean-Paul Bechat took over as chairman and chief executive officer, is being restructured and expects to turn a profit this year. Last June, when Bechat took over, the state-owned aerospace group was heavily in debt, feeling the full impact of French and international defense cutbacks, and in a running feud with General Electric of the U.S., its 50-50 partner in the highly successful CFM International joint venture.
When exurban Hong Kong Chek Lap Kok Airport takes over from downtown Kai Tak next April, Cathay Pacific will offer a commuting subsidy of up to HK$35 ($4.50) per day to every employee. Instead of forcing employees to apply for the subsidy, Cathay will automatically send the stipend to staff based on their addresses on file.
Continental Express said yesterday that it has exercised options for 25 more Embraer EMB-145 regional jets but opted for the longer-range version. The order brings the number of 50-seat jets on firm order to 50, valued at about $750 million. Continental has 150 options remaining. The long-range EMB-145, currently under development, will have more powerful Rolls-Royce Allison AE3007A1 engines. Maximum range will rise to 1,600 nautical miles from 1,330 for the existing aircraft.
ANZ Grindlays Investment Bank has firmed up plans to syndicate an asset-backed lease-purchase deal worth $63 million for Jet Airways, bank officials said Tuesday. The transaction is believed to be the first international aircraft financing deal for a privately owned Indian carrier. The carrier's assets include two Boeing 737-400 aircraft that were fully financed earlier by ANZ Grindlays through a lease-purchase arrangement.
Gulfstream-Executive Jet joint venture Gulfstream Shares will begin offering fractional ownership of G-IVSP aircraft and, later, G-Vs in the Middle East as the first step toward a global network exploiting the G-V's range, the parent companies said. Executive Jet Chairman Richard Santulli said the expansion is driven by customer demand, and the joint venture's next target will be the Far East. Middle East operations are to begin within six months at a location that has not yet been finalized.
Airlines don't always gouge the customer in markets they dominate. DOT fare data for the third quarter of 1996 show that United held 99% of the Reno-San Francisco market but the average fare was $59 one way; America West had 100% of Las Vegas-Santa Ana and charged $65, and Delta had 96% of Atlanta-Fort Myers and charged $91.
Boeing's 737-based business jet and Airbus Industrie's newly announced A319CJ will be a new arena for competition between the giants but will have no impact on established companies in the field, Gulfstream chief Ted Forstmann said at Le Bourget. "Boeing and Airbus will fight it out among themselves but not with us," he said. "Their airplanes serve a customer who is willing to give up some range and airfields for size.
Aerolineas Argentinas is launching service from Buenos Aires to Caracas, with a continuing leg to Bogota. The four-times weekly service will be flown with A310s in two-class configuration. The airline also is realigning its flights to and from Los Angeles to meet demand and improve connections with service in Peru and Argentina.
Grounded Millon Air is fighting continuing challenges to its recertification, assuring DOT that an account with a cargo forwarder will provide substantial business and refuting allegations from another company that Millon Air Cargo and Millon Air Inc. have operated as one company.
Hawaiian Airlines reported a 16.7% increase in May traffic to 372.7 million revenue passenger miles from 319.5 million last May. Capacity rose 9.4% to 467.2 million available seat miles from 426.9 million, boosting the load factor five percentage points to 79.8%. Hawaiian carried 439,834 passengers in May, a 4.3% increase. Cargo ton miles gained 15.5% to 5.5 million. For the first five months, RPMs were up 9.4% to 1.728 billion and ASMs 11.2% to 2.316 billion, pushing the load factor down 1.2 points to 74.6%.
United, Polar Air Cargo and Northwest should receive all the Russian overflight frequencies they are seeking now that Northwest has reduced its request from 14 flights a week to eight. Though Russia has been willing to permit the overflights for some time, they were not useful until FAA decided recently to lift a ban on overflying Afghanistan. A total of 28 weekly frequencies are available, more than the 23 now being sought by the three applicants - United, 14, Northwest, eight, and Polar, one.
Continental has launched a multi-million-dollar advertising campaign designed to make residents of New York aware of the benefits of Newark Airport. Continental said the ads will use a "graffiti-like" design against urban backdrops, such as construction sites, pavement and brick, and will be distributed via radio, newspaper and direct mail. The ads, created by N.W. Ayer&Partners, include copy such as, "If you fly Continental out of Newark raise your hand.
Pratt&Whitney Canada and Fiatavio signed an agreement under which the Italian company will participate in developing a new family of turbofan engines. The PW308 will be a growth derivative of the PW300 family and, with thrust in the 8,000-pound class, will power the next generation of larger, faster corporate aircraft. It was selected by Raytheon to power its Hawker Horizon.
Tour operator SunJet International Sales has hired Spirit Airlines to take over the flying of SunJet International Airlines' route network. Detroit-based Spirit will fly to St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando and Newark for Atlanta-based SunJet. "Passengers will not be affected by the cessation of operations of SunJet International Airlines," said Kent Elsbree, chief executive of World Technology Systems, which owns SunJet.
Air Canada has started the first nonstop transpacific service from Toronto, with service to Osaka. This summer, the carrier will offer three weekly flights on the route, complementing daily year-round Vancouver-Osaka service. Toronto-Osaka will operate until Oct. 25. Air Canada said it will use a "slightly higher gross weight version" of the A340 on the 5,800- nautical-mile route.
Lufthansa completed its first online ticket auction last week as 10,400 people logged on at its World Wide Web site to compete for 66 tickets. The auction was "very successful," said Lufthansa spokesman Jim Freeman. "We will definitely have more of them." The June 8-9 auction drew interest for both regional and long-haul trips. The biggest draw was Frankfurt-Singapore, two tickets for which were auctioned away for 1,600 Deutschmarks ($925), less than half the economy excursion fare, Freeman said. Two Frankfurt-Rome tickets went for DM180 ($104).
