American International Freight said it is negotiating with the Fort Wayne- Allen County Airport Authority for a 75-acre facility at Fort Wayne Airport to replace its current hub at Terre Haute. AIF has 350 employees at Terre Haute and sees 300-400 openings at Fort Wayne. The company said it hopes the airport authority will secure board approval for a $33.5 million bond issue to finance the facilities, reach final agreement this summer and start construction quickly. It wants to move the hub to Fort Wayne late in 1998.
Worldspan is offering Worldspan Trip Manager, an Internet-based booking product for corporate travel departments. Travel managers can access the computer reservations system's database directly on desktop or laptop computers and find air, car and hotel options. Worldspan claims Trip Manager reduces the time business travelers spend on the telephone and cuts processing time by two-thirds. The travel agent remains in the loop because reservations made on Trip Manager are routed automatically to the corporation's designated Worldspan travel agency for ticketing.
Answering an appeal from the National Air Transportation Association, on- demand charter companies have filed objections to DOT's advanced notice of proposed rule making on passenger manifest rules that would require commercial operators to collect information from passengers, including name, date of birth, telephone number and social security number, to be used to notify relatives in the event of an air disaster (DAILY, May 14). Many smaller carriers and the Regional Airline Association say the rule would impose a huge burden on their operations.
DOT granted Aeroflot authority to operate Ireland-U.S. charters, but from May 17 through June 17, not late September as requested. United opposed the application because the Russian Federation has not renewed United's Frankfurt-Moscow code share with Lufthansa. Aeroflot is conducting the charters for Irish tour operator Budget Travel, carrying Ireland- originating passengers to Miami from Shannon on Il-62s. The May-September plan totals 20 roundtrips.
FAA continued yesterday to assess new overflight fees on foreign aircraft, but the controversy continued to build. Numerous countries have stated their objections formally to the State Department or are about to do so, sources said. On Monday, U.K. embassy officials met with State to complain about the procedures FAA used in implementing the fees. Other European nations are considering their response and plan to meet with the State Department as well. A Japanese government official said there is a "very high" possibility that Japan will join them. Sen.
SAS will add late-night flights in both directions to its Copenhagen-Newark service, beginning May 30. The new flights will leave Newark at 11:50 p.m. and Copenhagen at 7:45 p.m., both five days per week.
Singapore regional carrier SilkAir ordered three A319s and five A320s from Airbus Industrie and took options for 10 A319s, A320s or A321s. The firm- order aircraft will be powered by International Aero Engines V2500 turbofans. Deliveries begin in September 1998.
Ratcheting up Senate scrutiny of the American-British Airways alliance, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) asked Attorney General Janet Reno to recommend that DOT hold a public hearing on the proposal. DOT has yet to decide on its procedures.
Two British Airways flights en route to Nigeria were forced to divert to Accra, Ghana, last weekend as a safety issue erupted into a government-to- government dispute. State-run Nigeria Airways initially was banned from operating to the U.K. after U.K. authorities said the carrier's safety record was unacceptable. Nigeria, evidently believing the U.K. action had a political undertone, prohibited U.K. airline operations to its territory. "We've been banned until further notice," BA spokesman John Lampl said yesterday.
American is offering AAdvantage members miles for leasing or buying an automobile from selected car dealers. Members also are promised a low, "no haggle" price on the vehicle. They earn one mile for each $4 of the purchase price. American is working with Member Services Inc., a marketing and promotion company that serves more than 1,600 franchised new car dealers.
An internal Air Transport Association report critical of DOT's and the State Department's role in aviation negotiations is "comparable to saying that Elvis is still dead," said Guy Clough, ATA senior VP for economic and external affairs. The report, written six months ago, was disclosed in The Journal of Commerce yesterday and faults State for rotating its negotiators through assignments too quickly to match the expertise of their foreign counterparts and says DOT tries to advance domestic political objectives through route awards. A U.S.
FAA started collecting new overflight fees as scheduled Monday. Late Friday, it denied requests by the Air Transport Association of Canada and the International Air Transport Association to delay implementation by 90 days. Asiana, LTU and other carriers have filed suit to stay the fees and numerous parties including the Canadian government have asked for further consultation (DAILY, May 16).
Crumbling airport infrastructure and air safety standards are the most urgent problems facing Africa, ICAO officials told delegates from 42 countries last week in Abuja, Nigeria. The council president, Assad Kotaite, said "critical deficiencies" in air navigation "seriously undermine the safety of flights across Africa's airspace." ICAO expects Africa traffic to expand 4% annually, and Kotaite said African governments must improve safety training programs for ground personnel and upgrade air navigation equipment.
American and Citibank plan to give away 10 million frequent flyer miles and a first-class trip to Europe in a six-month sweepstakes for Citibank AAdvantage cardholders. The contest, from July 1 through Dec. 31, will award miles to nearly 1,000 participants, offering monthly prizes and a grand prize at the end of the year of a trip for two to Europe and accommodations at Radisson Hotels Worldwide, a seven-day Avis car rental and $10,000 credited to the credit card. Each month, 150 winners will receive 10,000 miles.
DOT has issued a request for more information on the American-British Airways alliance, including details on a "commercial agreement between American and a foreign airline." DOT wants a copy of that agreement, "either in final or in draft form if not final." It asked for a detailed explanation of it, "including all documents analyzing the proposed commercial arrangement and the role that the foreign air carrier would play in the proposed AA/BA alliance in terms of corporate strategy, marketing, yield management, capacity management, and pricing." It also wants data on t
British Airways posted the best profit in its history yesterday - net earnings of #553 million (US$900 million), up 17% over 1995 - despite a 20% increase in jet fuel prices and a strong pound. BA posted pre-tax profits of #640 million ($1.04 billion), up 9.4% and also a record, and revenues rose 7.7% to #8.36 billion ($13.6 billion). Apart from the effects of jet fuel, unit costs declined 1.2%. BA earned the third-highest net of any airline last year, behind United's $1.03 billion and American's $1.02 billion.
The National Civil Aviation Review Commission will address FAA financial and budget issues May 28 in the first of at least two public hearings. The hearing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. at the Commerce Department auditorium, 14th St. and Constitution Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. Persons interested in presenting testimony should contact Margie Tower, NCARC, at 202-366- 6942, fax 202-493-2963.
American Trans Air's April traffic fell 8.7% to 743.1 million revenue passenger miles from 814.7 million in April 1996. Available seat miles dropped more - 12.2%, to 1.041 billion from 1.185 billion. The load factor rose 2.7 percentage points to 71.4%. Charter-service block hours jumped 21.4% while scheduled-service block hours fell 18.9%. For the first four months, RPMs fell 10.9% to 2.953 billion and ASMs were down 13.1% to 4.026 billion, and the load factor rose 1.7 points to 73.3%.
European governments must summon the political courage to support the creation of "real transnational companies," Richard Evans, chief executive of British Aerospace, said last week in Strasbourg at a meeting with European Parliament members who follow developments in the aerospace sector.
Southwest is offering reduced fares through June 10 for new New Orleans- Phoenix, Louisville-Phoenix, Kansas City-Los Angeles and Kansas City- Oakland nonstops, and in the Nashville-Columbus market, for travel June 11 through Oct. 24. The new flights create one-stop opportunities to Los Angeles from Chicago Midway, Louisville and New Orleans. Southwest is offering $99 fares to Phoenix from Louisville and New Orleans, and to Los Angeles, with a stop, from Chicago, Louisville and New Orleans.
U.S.-Saudi talks, planned for two days, ended after only one with some minor fine-tuning to the agreement. The U.S. did not persuade the Saudis to adopt third-country code sharing for combination service. The two sides renewed current annexes that expired in March for another year, and agreed on text governing intermodal transport of cargo by airlines.
Delta let options to acquire 10 McDonnell Douglas aircraft lapse during the first quarter, according to the airline's 10-Q filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.From Dec. 31 to March 31, Delta's options on MD- 90s dropped from 47 to 44, on MD-88s from 10 to four and on MD-11s from 17 to 16. The companies agreed recently to re-evaluate the remaining MD-90s Delta has on order.
Continental and the Independent Association of Continental Pilots have filed jointly for help from the National Mediation Board in contract talks that cover Continental and Continental Express pilots. Although a federal mediator's assistance is sought, Continental still says it believes a contract agreement is possible by the end of June.
Alaska Airlines has cut Memorial Day weekend fares to $49 each way to the Bay Area, Sacramento or Reno, $79 to Los Angeles, Burbank, Ontario, San Diego or Las Vegas, and $99 to Phoenix, Palm Springs or Orange County. Travel must begin between noon May 24 and midnight May 25, with a return on May 25, May 28 or May 29. The fares require a one-day advance purchase and are based on a roundtrip ticket.
Visiting French President Jacques Chirac and Chinese Premier Li Peng inaugurated Saturday the China Aviation Supplies Import&Export Corp.- Airbus Industrie training and support center near Capital Airport, Beijing. Developed through an initial investment of $50 million by Airbus, the center has an 8,200 square meter training facility incorporating video and computer-based instruction. It has an A320 simulator and plans to acquire an A340 simulator, both from Thomson Training and Simulation.
