Sabre Travel Information Network and the Civil Aviation Administration of China have implemented "seamless connectivity" between Sabre and CAAC's airline reservations system in China. Sabre is using the CAAC link to expand in the region and "improve the Sabre channel as a valuable option for our supplier and agency customers," said Jeff Katz, president. The link, announced last November, gives Sabre subscribers access to 24 Chinese carriers.
Continental will launch daily Las Vegas-Cincinnati service in July with code-sharing partner America West. Continental will operate the flight, which will carry the America West code. Fares start at $119 one way.
Aviall has completed sale of its Miami-based accessory services business to Curtiss-Wright Flight Systems, a subsidiary of Curtiss-Wright Corp. of New Jersey. The sale was "an important step in the strategic move to exit our airline engine and component repair operations and accessories repair business," said Robert Lambert, chairman, president and chief executive of Aviall.
The Platinum Card by American Express is offering complimentary companion tickets on 11 airlines with the purchase of a full fare in first class or business class. The program is good on travel to six continents, with new destinations in Asia, Africa and the Near East, and Asiana, China Air and Continental are the newest members. The companion tickets will be available until April 30, 1997, from Platinum Card Travel Service.
Aviation experts believe a strong British Airways link with American could give the U.S. and the U.K. the impetus they need to reach an open skies aviation agreement as well as a formidable partnership across the Atlantic. "Nothing will be done without a new bilateral agreement," said Raymond Neidl, an airline analyst with Furman Selz. "This could be a win-win for everyone. It doesn't have to be a loser for anyone," he added.
Air Transport Association is sparing little expense to prepare comments on proposed FAA rules that would limit pilots' flight and duty time.Preparing to submit comments on the proposal in June, the association has gotten outside assistance from a scientist, a public relations firm, an attorney and others to assess cost/benefit analyses. ATA members believe the science of pilot fatigue is weak, and its comments are likely to contain an abundance of scientific data.
DOT finalized yesterday its order granting antitrust immunity to Lufthansa and United and tentatively awarded similar status to the Delta-Swissair- Sabena-Austrian alliance. The actions left only American and Canadian Airlines International awaiting a determination on an antitrust application, and that decision is expected shortly. Final action on Lufthansa-United clears the way for the German government to sign the U.S.- Germany open skies aviation agreement.
Northwest and Hawaiian have signed a marketing agreement that includes code sharing among the Hawaiian islands, coordinated airport customer service and free travel plan cooperation. Northwest will code share on Hawaiian's flights between Honolulu and Lihue, Kahului, Molokai, Lanai, Kona and Hilo, connecting with those flights at Honolulu with its flights from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle. In addition, Northwest will coordinate its flight schedules to Honolulu from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.
America West has unveiled a 757 painted in the colors of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team, displaying the team's logo and a baseball on the tail. Forty Arizona residents were flown to Denver from Phoenix to watch a baseball game. The aircraft is America West's sixth theme plane.
Balkan Bulgarian Airlines has asked DOT to amend its exemption authority by adding rights to operate scheduled combination service between Sofia, Bulgaria, and New York, via Bucharest, Romania, with local traffic rights between Bucharest and New York. The carrier proposes 1.5 weekly roundtrip flights between New York and Bucharest, beginning June 15, while continuing to operate its twice-weekly Sofia-New York nonstop service. It also asked for permission to continue operating Sofia-New York/Detroit service via Malta, with fifth-freedom rights between Malta and the U.S.
Pratt&Whitney won its first customer for the newly created engine fleet management program, as Airbus Industrie's Asset Management Div. selected P&W to support Pratt-powered A300s and A310s owned or leased by Airbus units. Under the pact, announced yesterday, P&W will offer Airbus subsidiaries and lessees a complete engine maintenance package, including overhaul maintenance management, access to spare engines and engine performance monitoring. P&W will assign a full-time manager to the covered Airbus fleet, with overall responsibility for the program.
After issuing a final order approving antitrust immunity for United- Lufthansa last night, DOT is expected to issue show cause orders today on immunity applications from Delta and its partners Swissair, Sabena and Austrian, and from American and Canadian Airlines International.
Despite reaffirmation by ValuJet that it had no reason to believe the aircraft that crashed May 11 in the Florida Everglades was carrying hazardous cargo, crash investigators continued yesterday to probe the possibility that oxygen canisters on the airplane contributed to the disaster. On Sunday, the National Transportation Safety Board found that two metal end caps from oxygen generators aboard the airplane were embedded in a spare tire in the cargo compartment, and that there could have been as many as 119 of the canisters aboard.
Air-India and Gulf Air have stopped offering first-class service on flights between the Gulf states and New Delhi and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) under an agreement between the governments of India and United Arab Emirates, AI officials said. The large Indian expatriate population in the region has made the sector as a whole "extremely profitable" for India's national carrier, but AI officials pointed out there was little demand for first- class seats on these routes.
UPS, acting on the recommendations of its asset utilization group, will modify five 727-100 freighters for passenger charter service (DAILY, May 10). Currently developing the FAA-required procedures and training for passenger service, the cargo carrier believes it can be ready to fly charters as early as Dec. 26. The aircraft, which can seat 113, can be reconfigured for passenger service in four hours with a quick change kit, the company said. UPS will offer the aircraft to cruise lines and large tour operators for use on weekends.
The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-1 yesterday to delete from Mayor Richard Riordan's proposed budget a $30 million transfer from Los Angeles Airport to the city treasury. The vote followed strong opposition, locally and in Congress, from the Air Transport Association, which said yesterday it "strongly commends" the city council for the vote and looks forward to building a more constructive relationship with the city. Airlines generated opposition among local businesses and key federal legislators. Last week, Rep.
The Sabre Group has appointed Terrell Jones chief information officer responsible for key future development and technology planning efforts. He will continue as president of Sabre Interactive, the unit responsible for consumer-direct electronic distribution. Jones will be replaced as president of Sabre Computer Services by Bradford Boston, senior VP- information processing for American Express Travel Related Services. Boston held technology positions, as well as the post of VP-systems development, at United/Covia Partnership several years ago.
As part of ongoing efforts to determine whether there is a basis for resuming stalled bilateral negotiations, DOT Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Charles Hunnicutt met yesterday in Washington with his U.K. counterpart, Tony Goldman. They discussed the possibility of future talks, setting no dates, and were "pleased to exchange rumors" about a potential deal between British Airways and American, a senior U.S. government official said.
Taiwan's China Airlines will take a minority position in a ground services company to be formed at Hong Kong's new international airport. CAL will invest NT$860 million (US$31.5 million) for a 15% stake in CLK Airport Ground Handling Ltd. Majority partners China Aviation and Jardine Fleming will control 80% of the shares, while an unnamed European partner will take the remaining 5%. The venture is the first between aviation companies in Taiwan and mainland China.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has applied at Japan's Ministry of Transport for authority to serve Delhi via Bangkok from Tokyo, and Mumbai (formerly Bombay) nonstop from Osaka, the carrier said. Both routes would be operated twice a week using 767-300s in a two-class configuration. Osaka- Mumbai service is slated to begin Sept. 5, and Tokyo-Bangkok-Delhi flights start Oct. 4. ANA has local traffic rights between Bangkok and Delhi, the carrier said.
British Airways yesterday announced record net earnings of 473 million ($724 million), reaffirmed its ties to USAir, and disappointed some observers by avoiding the subject of a possible affiliation with American. The release of the earnings news came as U.S. and U.K. aviation negotiators held a day of informal talks in Washington (see following story). BA's after-tax profit shot up 89.2%, but the good news was dampened by the threat of a strike by BA's pilots.
Continental will inaugurate twice-daily service between Newark and Toronto July 1, using Boeing 737 aircraft, having gained authority last week from DOT to serve the Canadian city (DAILY, May 20). The carrier plans to offer one-way fares as low as $115 and launch one-stop service in the fall from Raleigh-Durham to Toronto through Newark. Continental also operates four roundtrips per day between Newark and Montreal.
In another effort to attract more business travelers, Canadian Airlines International will equip its entire fleet with inflight telephone service from AT&T Wireless Services. Canadian said it expects the service, which will enable passengers to make and receive calls, e-mail and fax messages, to generate more than $1.5 million per year. The phones will be available at each seat of the carrier's business class and in each cluster of three seats in economy class. Installation on narrowbody aircraft will begin in October.
Leaders of American's Allied Pilots Association and Northwest's Air Line Pilots Association unit met last week to exchange ideas on negotiating strategies and reaffirm their positions against giving concessions at a time when their employers are experiencing record profits. The APA, in midst of Section 6 contract negotiations, and Northwest's ALPA, on the verge of talks, say they agree it is time that their contracts reflect the successes of their companies.
