BAE Automated Systems Inc. has reached an agreement with United on completion of the automated baggage system at Denver Airport (DAILY, Nov. 2). BAE notified United early last week that it considered the system to be "substantially complete" under its contract with the airline. United disagreed. The agreement, reached Thursday, provides that substantial completion is to be achieved by Nov. 15, but it allows for a "cure period" of 45 days thereafter.
Dutch carrier Transavia Airlines placed a $288 million order for eight Boeing 737-800 aircraft and took options on an additional 12. The first of the twinjets is scheduled for delivery in 1998. The aircraft will be configured to carry 182 to 188 passengers, capacity between the 737-300s and the 757s Transavia already operates. The new airplanes will be used initially for nonstop charter service in Europe and around the Mediterranean coast. Total 737-600/700/800 announced orders stand at 214, and 737 orders have reached 3,238, Boeing said.
FAA will open on Monday an office intended to keep closer track of suspected unapproved aircraft parts, Peggy Gilligan, deputy associate administrator for regulation and certification, said yesterday. William Machado, manager of the aircraft evaluation group for the New England Region, will head the Suspected Unapproved Parts Program Office temporarily "to get us up and running as quickly as possible," Gilligan said.
Continental's October systemwide jet passenger traffic declined 10.5% from October a year ago on 14.9% less capacity, producing a load factor increase of 3.2 percentage points to 65.7%, the highest October load factor in company history. Reporting its October traffic, in which domestic revenue passenger miles dropped 13.2% and international RPMs fell 1.9%, management said the airline's operational performance continues to exceed internal forecasts. Oct 95 Oct 94 10 Mths 95 10 Mths 94
Delta has applied to provide scheduled service between Cincinnati and Montreal beginning in 1996 - the second year of the two-year phase-in of open skies service to the Canadian city. The carrier is proposing two daily roundtrips on the route with 727s but reserves the right to use other aircraft, if necessary. (Docket OST-95-796)
Even if the UAL board decides Monday to try to acquire USAir, a formal bid is unlikely until early 1996 or later.In a message to pilots this week, the airline's ALPA unit said discussions between United management and employees could take as long as 60 days before an offer could be made. An analyst who attended a presentation by United yesterday said the carrier is not actively looking at any other airlines.
DOT issued a consent order assessing a compromise civil penalty of $10,000 against BWIA International Airways for violating fare advertising regulations. The department said BWIA did not state the entire price for service in August advertisements in the New York Times and the Miami Herald promoting fall discount fares from New York and Miami, respectively, to points in the Caribbean. "In a small-print section separate from the listed price, the advertisement stated the 'Passenger facility charges and taxes are not included in the fares,'" noted DOT.
Hawaiian Airlines has signed a letter of intent with a private investor group for $20 million in new equity in exchange for 18.18 million shares of Hawaiian Class A common stock. The transaction will leave the group with a 60.9% stake in Hawaiian and six of the 11 seats on its board. Hawaiian Chairman Bruce Nobles declined yesterday to identify the group, saying only that it invests in a lot of businesses, including airlines occasionally.
British Airways was forced this week to cancel 36 flights from Terminal 1 at London Heathrow Airport because of an unofficial work stoppage by passenger check-in personnel protesting the airline's weekend use of language students to aid non-English-speaking passengers. The flights affected were to U.K. and European destinations.
Representatives from more than a dozen airlines are at Boeing in Seattle this week to start fleshing out ideas for the future of the 747-400, including larger versions of the airplane.
AlliedSignal said it plans to move its Prescott, Ariz., avionics operations to existing facilities in Olathe, Kan. About 200 employees will be affected and can apply for jobs in Olathe or at other company units.
DOT has tentatively allocated the 16 available all-cargo frequencies in the U.S.-Russia market to Polar Air Cargo, Evergreen and Federal Express. Granted eight frequencies, Polar will begin immediately operating scheduled New York-Moscow service, via Prestwick, Scotland, and Anchorage-Khabarovsk service, via Taipei, Hong Kong and Seoul, using Boeing 747F aircraft. FedEx was allotted four frequencies to provide New York-Memphis-Moscow service, via Paris and Frankfurt.
United, which inaugurated its E-Ticket system nationwide in September, will offer the ticketless service to international travelers soon, Chairman Gerald Greenwald told the American Society of Travel Agents World Travel Congress this week. The biggest issue facing the industry is change - cost cutting, outsourcing and service fees - and to be successful, the industry must tap into changing technology, he said.
American's systemwide passenger traffic rose 0.8% last month from October a year ago on 2.5% more capacity, resulting in a load factor drop of 1.1 percentage points to 66.1%. The number of passengers boarded declined 6.4%. Michael Gunn, senior VP-marketing, said the lower loads in October were "offset in part by higher yields, which have resulted from an improved pricing environment.
The government of Peru, in a diplomatic note, has petitioned the U.S. to dismiss a complaint by Fine Airlines seeking sanctions against Peru for barring the all-cargo carrier from operating within its borders.
Northwest flew 12% more systemwide revenue passenger miles last month than in October 1994 on 5.7% more capacity, raising its load factor 3.9 percentage points to 69.7%. The number of passengers boarded rose 8.8% Northwest's domestic traffic increased 6.6% on 3.2% more available seat miles, and its international traffic was up 20% on 9.7% more ASMs. Oct 95 Oct 94 10 Mths 95 10 Mths 94 RPMs 5,207,934,000 4,650,919,000 52,650,114,000 48,943,342,000
John Cahill, 65, TWA non-executive chairman and former chairman of British Aerospace, died Saturday in Providence, R.I., after a brief illness. Thomas Meagher will continue as acting non-executive chairman.
Delta will offer special Thanksgiving fares between its Cincinnati hub and 38 destinations in the Midwest and East for travel on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Nov. 23, 24 and 25. The fares begin at $158 roundtrip and provide savings up to 55% off 21-day advance purchase coach fares. Customers must buy tickets before Nov. 10.
Delta plans to establish a cargo organization Dec. 1 under which it will consolidate cargo marketing, sales and service, and adminstrative functions that are currently performed by different segments of the company. The creation of the cargo unit, which will be headed by Walter Doll, VP-cargo, is a result of the airline's Leadership 7.5 cost reduction program and was among the recommendations of the Leadership 7.5 cargo re- engineering team.
The Seattle Professional Engineer Employees Association (SPEEA), which opened contract negotiations with Boeing Oct. 23, said it picked up nearly 300 new members during October. Charles Bofferding, executive director, said the rate of signups is increasing. "People are figuring out that there are real issues and concerns, and that they cannot go it alone," Bofferding said.
The atmospheric release of nitrogen oxides last Friday at Boeing's Auburn, Wash., facility was caused by the incorrect selection of equipment, the company said yesterday (DAILY, Nov. 7). About 300 gallons of used nitric and hydrofluoric acid from a factory tank were drawn into a portable tanker for transport to an on-site waste treatment facility, Boeing said. "It appears that the acid was piped into a steel tanker that was not equipped with a protective liner. Until the tanker can be physically examined, this cannot be confirmed," Boeing said.
The U.S. and Japan have scheduled the second round of all-cargo talks Nov. 28-30 in Washington. The two sides will address capacity, designation and other related issues, such as intermodal and charter rights. The countries are working on a March deadline for a new agreement.
Air France flight attendants have scheduled a strike for Thursday, Friday and Saturday that, if honored by the majority of the airline's cabin crew, likely will bring retaliation from management. The flight attendants are planning the action to protest work rule and job description changes Air France Chairman Christian Blanc wants to implement because flight attendants have lagged behind other employee groups and have not met mandated productivity improvement and cost reduction goals.
