Air France will increase A340 Paris-Bangkok-Hanoi service from two times weekly to three as of Dec. 15. The carrier also offers three weekly flights to Ho Chi Minh City.
IATA, as expected, is seeking judicial review of new, stricter noise departure limits imposed at Heathrow Airport by the U. K. ministry of aviation and shipping, effective Jan. 1 (DAILY, Nov. 6). Calling its action a "rare and reluctant step," IATA said it "sees no present alternative" to challenging the rules in the U.K. High Court. It said it has always sought "consultation, rather than confrontation, on all civil aviation matters," but continued efforts to reopen "meaningful dialogue with the U.K. Department of Transport" had failed.
Fokker's talks with Samsung of South Korea failed last week, and Dutch authorities will consider participating in the Airbus program in an attempt to maintain aircraft manufacturing activity in The Netherlands. Dutch Liberal Member of Parliament Jan Van Walsem said he will introduce proposals to manufacture Airbus components at the next meeting of the Parliament's economic affairs committee.
Royal Nepal Airlines will restart service to France with weekly Paris Orly- Kathmandu, Nepal, flights using 757s. Globe Air Cargo of Paris recently signed a cargo contract with the carrier.
Canadian Airlines has secured support for its restructuring plan from four of its unions and received additional backing from the national, British Columbian and Albertan governments in the last two weeks. But the remaining holdout, the Canadian Auto Workers union (CAW), is resolute in its resistance to wage concessions, buoyed by recent victories at Air Canada, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Canadian's talks with CAW are far less pressured, however, than those of competitor Air Canada, which reached agreement with CAW yesterday before a Dec. 5 strike deadline.
Federal Express, in a barter deal similar to one it announced earlier this year with United, said yesterday it will acquire 14 DC-10-10s from American in exchange for Stage 3 hushkits for 30 American 727s. FedEx in September traded 59 727 hushkits for 36 of United's DC-10-10s (DAILY, Sept. 17). It was no secret at the time that FedEx was talking about a similar deal with American. FedEx plans to convert many of the aircraft into an "MD-10" configuration with new components and digital cockpits for two-person crews.
Egyptair has taken delivery of the first of three A340s. The A340-200 is the first delivered in Egyptair's new colors. The new aircraft will be used on routes to Japan, Singapore and Australia, replacing a leased A340.
Taking issue with a DOT/FAA legal opinion, the City of Los Angeles asked FAA yesterday to rescind its request that $31.1 million be returned to the Department of Airports and asked that any further FAA review be limited to the correctness of the amount transferred. The City Council voted in closed session last week to escrow the funds, which were transferred to the city's account in September, while new audits are conducted for the city to determine whether the amount of the transfer is appropriate (DAILY, Nov. 27).
International Civil Aviation Organization Council President Assad Kotaite will be a conciliator to a Cuban application that its aircraft be allowed to overfly U.S. territory on flights to and from Canada. The ICAO Council has requested a preliminary report in March on the progress of the request.
As U.S. officials depart for bilateral talks in London tomorrow through Friday, Heathrow access continues to be a major negotiating point. Based on information they have seen to date, analysts at DOT believe U.S. airlines will need enough new slots there to open more than 30 new daily roundtrips, a senior DOT official said yesterday. These new services would be needed to compete with the proposed American Airlines-British Airways alliance, the official said, and the analysts assume that a full open-skies agreement with the U.K.
Nashville-based Corporate Express Airlines has become a participant in the Airlines Reporting Corp. Corporate Express is expected to begin scheduled service Dec. 16 from Nashville to Knoxville and Tri-Cities, Tenn.
Indonesia's Sempati Air, a soon-to-be-public regional run by President Suharto's son, received a dressing-down yesterday by Suharto's state ratings agency. The unusual public admonishment in such a reserved society is a signal to potential investors to "stay away for now," said one financial expert.
Alex. Brown&Sons initiated coverage of World Airways with a "buy" recommendation. Analyst Will Wrightson cited "evidence of an earnings turnaround" following the airline's most recent quarterly results.
SAS has chosen Honeywell's TCAS 2000 traffic alert and collision avoidance system for its fleet of new-generation 737s-600s. The order comprises 41 firm shipsets and 35 options. Deliveries will begin in 1998 as SAS begins to take delivery of the aircraft.
Iberia signed a franchise agreement with private regional airline Air Nostrum by which it and its regional subsidiary, Aviaco, will coordinate schedules with Air Nostrum and merge their marketing units. Stating that it and Aviaco are "supplementing their networks with Air Nostrum's regional services," Iberia emphasized that the deal is the first airline franchise agreement signed in Spain. "Without doubt there will be many more in the future," said Iberia Chairman Xavier de Irala.
Airport Group International, Glendale, Calif., was selected by the Bolivian government to operate three major airports - La Paz, Santa Cruz and Cochabamba - under a 25-year contract. AGI will be responsible for operation, maintenance and capital improvements of the facilities, which represent more than 80% of Bolivian air traffic, and has committed to spending $100 million in terminal expansion and modernization at the three airports. The Bolivian government will receive 20.8% of the profits from operation of the airports.
FAA does not have authority to restrict air tour flights in the Grand Canyon National Park, National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne said as the comment period on FAA's proposal closed. Coyne said the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act "eliminated government control and approval of routes." He described the proposed restrictions as "de facto economic regulation that the 1978 act forbids."
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses Second Quarter 1996 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American Trans Air 185,896,969 12.28 105,384,173 Carnival 63,834,156 12.94 52,537,264 Hawaiian 96,008,842 12.34 81,398,257
United and the Air Line Pilots Association reached a tentative agreement Wednesday on a mid-term wage adjustment, subject to ratification by the members. The pact would give pilots a 3% pay raise in 1997, 3% in 1998, 2% in 1999 and 2% in 2000. Pilots would be eligible for a profit-sharing payment to be paid in a lump sum of up to 2% in 1998 and 1999, based on the company's performance in 1997 and 1998. United continues to negotiate for mid-term wage adjustments with the Machinists union.
Air France braced for several union strikes during the weekend, cutting 40% of transatlantic service late last week. Unions, truckers and other groups have paralyzed transportation in France for the past two weeks, mirroring a two-week halt to the country's commerce last December. The popularity of French President Jacques Chirac also is at an all-time low.
Standard&Poor's last week raised the equipment trust certificate ratings of American Airlines and Delta to 'triple-B' from 'triple-B-minus" and of United's to 'triple-B-minus' from 'double-B-plus.' About $6 billion worth of securities were affected by the move. Under a new policy, the two-notch enhancement for equipment trust certificates of lower-rated airlines now applies to all non-investment-grade airlines.
A complacent air transport industry received a harsh wakeup call when an unauthorized person - an investigative reporter - was able to roam airport security areas and passenger jetliners at will, according to Ronald Johnson, executive VP and chief operating officer of Ogden Aviation Services. Ogden, which hired the NBC Dateline producer who, with a hidden camera showed how easy it is to circumvent FAA's airport security rules, bore the brunt of a television program that aired Tuesday night. But Johnson said the program pointed out an "industrywide" problem.
DOT confirmed its show-cause order awarding scheduled all-cargo service between the U.S. and Japan to Polar Air Cargo. The award also gives Polar authority to serve one point beyond Japan. DOT confirmed the decision despite objections filed by Evergreen and Gemini Air Cargo.
