USAir will beef up service to Washington Dulles over the next few months with additional frequencies to Boston and Orlando and new service to Tampa, Columbus, Ohio, and West Palm Beach, increasing daily Dulles departures by about 33%. The new service to Columbus begins Nov. 16. In January, USAir will add service to Tampa and increase flights to Boston, and in February, it will add flights to West Palm Beach and increase service to Orlando. The carrier said that on Jan.
Airbus Industrie officials expect board approval before yearend to launch a stretched version of the A340 airliner and a shorter version of the A330. Airbus officials decided recently to seek approval for a 350-seat A340-400 and to shrink the A330 to 250 seats. While the range of the A340 would remain about the same at 7,000 nautical miles, the range of the A330 would increase from 4,850 to 6,000 nm. Airbus still is studying the 8,000-nm A340-8000.
Midwest Express Airlines' October traffic increased 13.8% despite a 1.6% decline in capacity, causing the load factor to jump 8.6 percentage points to 63.8%. The number of passengers boarded rose 13.8%. Through the first 10 months of this year, Midwest Express' traffic increased 20.8% on 16.1% more capacity, resulting in a load factor increase of 2.5 percentage points to 64.7%. The number of passengers boarded rose 22.9%. Oct 95 Oct 94 10 Mths 95 10 Mths 94
The Machinists Union filed four unfair labor practice charges Friday against Boeing Co., charging it with "unlawfully threatening and coercing workers engaged in a legal strike and...unfair bargaining over health insurance benefits." Boeing accused the union of trying to drive a wedge between the company and its employees. The union filed the charges two days after meeting with the company - for the first time in more than a month - on health and subcontracting issues. The workers went out on strike at Boeing on Oct. 6.
Baltia Air Lines says it is talking with United about the purchase of 747- 100Bs, signaling a change in its original plan to purchase new 767s for service to St. Petersburg, Russia. The carrier intends to begin flights from New York in the spring. Baltia said its flights will be the first nonstop direct palletized/containerized cargo service in the market, which is growing at an annual rate of 200%.
Chase Manhattan Bank has received a mandate from Air India to advise the airline in the Export-Import Bank approval process and arrange the subsequent long-term financing in connection with the purchase of two Boeing 747-400s. As part of the financing, Chase will provide Air India with a $113.8 million progress payment facility that will be used to fund the airline's payments to Boeing in advance of the July and August 1996 deliveries of the aircraft. Chase will provide Air India with a total of $355.26 million in long-term financing for the purchase.
USAir's request to operate Boeing 767-200 service between Philadelphia and Rome with continuing service to Los Angeles has received the support of Italian-American organizations representing 1.4 million people in the Philadelphia tri-state region. It also has picked up the backing of the Los Angeles city council and Southern California congressmen, the governors of Pennsylvania and North Carolina, as well as the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and North Carolina congressional delegations.
Virgin Atlantic Airways plans to begin daily service to Washington Dulles from London Heathrow in the late spring. Virgin will operate Airbus A340s to Washington, its eighth U.S. gateway. "We are delighted that after many years of applying, we have finally obtained takeoff and landing slots at Heathrow to operate services to Washington," said Richard Branson, chairman. Final schedules, fares and the service launch date are expected to be confirmed shortly. Virgin plans to operate Washington departures in the early evening and Heathrow departures mid-morning.
American Airlines Cargo Division will begin publishing early in December a new set of performance measurements of its operations in London and eventually over the remainder of its international and U.S. network.
Air Canada will introduce twice-weekly flights between Western Canada and Zurich next summer through a code-sharing agreement with Swissair. The service will be operated on a Vancouver-Calgary-Zurich routing with 203- seat Air Canada 767-300s. The airline will offer the service June 15-Oct. 26, continuing its expansion of routes throughout Western Canada and from Western Canada to points in the U.S., Europe and Asia.
Worldwide international scheduled passenger traffic rose 9% in September on 7% more capacity and the average load factor increased to 73%, according to International Air Transport Association data. Freight traffic grew 9% in September. Through the first nine months of this year, passenger traffic gained 8% on 6% more capacity, and the average passenger load factor was 79%. Freight traffic rose 11% during the period.
FAA said yesterday it has "reassessed" the capability of Israel and Netherlands Antilles to oversee their airlines that operate to the U.S., and it finds that both nations comply with ICAO safety standards. If FAA finds that a nation's civil aviation authority cannot provide adequate oversight, it can limit or bar operation of that nation's carriers to the U.S. This month, FAA found that Israel did not comply fully with ICAO standards (DAILY, Nov. 3).
Air Canada has reduced fares by at least 45% on routes between Canada and the U.S. to thank Americans for supporting its new open skies routes. The new fares, called "Thanks," are available on all Air Canada flights from the U.S., and selected Air Canada Connector flights. They are valid for travel between Nov. 23, Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., and Saturday, Nov. 25. Since the open skies agreement was signed in February, Air Canada has started more than 30 routes linking U.S. and Canadian cities with nonstop jet service.
Japan Airlines has introduced an information system for callers to its Mileage Bank Americas frequent flyer program. The "New Customer Information System" combines the functions of JMBA and JAL's Axess reservations system in one terminal. JAL telephone reservations agents now will be able to handle basic JAL information and reservations calls, and JMBA frequent flyer inquiries.
Southwest Airlines now offers ground-to-air calling in all of its aircraft as a result of a deal with the Aviation Communications Division of AT&T Wireless Services. When registering for onboard calls, the passenger enters a 10-digit telephone number, such as a home or office number, followed by a four-digit password. When a call arrives at the onboard phone, the air customer's 10-digit phone number will appear on the handset's display screen, followed by the ground caller's number. This feature allows the air customer to decide which calls to accept.
Gulf Air has ordered six A330s, becoming the first Middle East customer for the aircraft and Airbus Industrie's largest customer in the region. The carrier also operates A320s and A340s. Deliveries of the A330s will begin in 1998, and Gulf Air has selected Rolls-Royce Trent engines to power them. Rolls said Gulf Air is the eighth customer to choose the Trent for the A330, giving the manufacturer 40% of the A330 engine market.
UAL's board decided yesterday to call off exploratory discussions with USAir about acquiring that carrier because UAL does not believe a transaction that meets its requirements is achievable. "While our study confirmed a transaction would have significant revenue benefits from increased customer choice, we were disappointed we were unable to satisfy all of the criteria we set for a potential transaction," said UAL Chairman Gerald Greenwald, who many believe was in favor of a United/USAir merger.
Reno Air's October load factor increased nine percentage points, to 62%, as its revenue passenger miles rose 41% to 171.4 million and its capacity grew 20.4% to 276.4 million available seat miles. The airline boarded 317,726 passengers in October, compared with 254,456 in October a year ago. Reno registered the gains despite "the normal seasonal decline of travelers in the fall and the intensity of competition in the West," President Robert Reding said.
U.S. airlines are slashing winter air fares by up to 50% in the U.S. and from the U.S. to Europe. Northwest announced it is melting winter tariffs by as much as 50% to most destinations in the U.S. and Canada, by up to 40% to Mexico and 30% to Europe from selected cities. Examples of European fares are $440 roundtrip between Atlanta and Amsterdam, $460 for Boston- Rome and $434 between Minneapolis and London. Trips must be taken between Nov. 19 and Jan. 12. The fares require a seven-day advance purchase and must be bought by midnight tomorrow.
The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) is considering a request by the Independent Association of Continental Pilots (IACP) to affiliate with ALPA in a move intended to provide Continental's pilots with better resources and an easier transition if Continental merges with another airline. ALPA President Randy Babbitt met late yesterday with IACP President Bob Wilson to discuss the proposal, which is subject to approval by ALPA's leadership and ratification by Continental's pilots.
BWIA Vacations is offering special introductory packages to Tobago and St. Lucia to mark BWIA International Airways' new flights from New York and Miami. The reduced prices, valid until Dec. 15, include airfare, transfers, hotel accommodations, hotel taxes, maid gratuities and U.S. departure tax.
Emirates has launched service from Dubai to Ho Chi Minh City and Nairobi. Both services are being operated twice weekly with Airbus A310-300s configured for three classes of service. The new destinations expand Emirates' network to 38 points.
British Airways Chairman Colin Marshall and John Egan, his counterpart at BAA plc, the U.K.-based airport management company, are increasing the pressure for construction of Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport. Issuing BAA's financial results yesterday, Egan said there is no alternative to a fifth terminal at Heathrow, one of seven BAA-managed airports. "We cannot afford to throw away runway capacity at our major international airport, which is capable of coping with 30 million additional passengers, by not building the terminal capacity to match it," he said.
