Air Freight Association elected Doug Kuelpman, UPS Airlines, chairman of the board. Flight Safety Foundation named Edward Beauvais, Western Pacific Airlines, to the board of governors.
Boeing, saying that orders for the new series 737s are primarily for 1997 and beyond, is lowering its production rate for the current 737 series and the 757 for 1996. Despite the reduction, the company is anticipating an upturn in demand and has announced orders for the first half of 1995 for 147 aircraft, compared with 120 for all of last year. Ron Woodard, president of Boeing Commercial, said the production rate of the 737 will fall from seven a month to five, beginning next April, and the rate for 757s will go from four to three a month next June.
TWA returned to Chapter 11 protection from creditors Friday with the filing of a prepackaged plan of reorganization at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in St. Louis. In voting that ended early last week, the airline's creditors approved the company's second trip through bankruptcy as the most efficient way to consummate a complex debt-for-equity swap, around which the carrier's financial restructuring revolves (DAILY, June 29).
Granted orally an exemption to Primeras Lineas Uruguayas de Navegacion Aerea (PLUNA) to conduct scheduled combination service between Montevideo, Uruguay, and Miami, via Sao Paulo, Brazil, and non-scheduled all-cargo service between Montevideo and Miami, as well as charter service...Granted orally an exemption to Aerolineas Uruguayas renewing its authority to operate all-cargo service between Montevideo and Miami, and charter service...Granted orally an exemption to Aero Uruguay renewing its authority to operate non-scheduled, all-cargo service between Montevideo and Miami
Voters in the Canton of Zurich overwhelmingly approved plans to develop Zurich Airport further. In a recent referendum, 68% of the more than 330,000 voters who cast ballots supported the proposal, which Swissair said "will tailor facilities at Swissair's home-base airport to the needs of the next century." Planned improvements are intended to unclog bottlenecks that have developed during the last few years.
DOT Deputy General Counsel Rosalind Knapp became acting general counsel Friday as Stephen Kaplan officially stepped down from the position. Knapp will fill the job until a permanent successor is nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the Senate.
Varig has launched New York Kennedy-Rio de Janeiro nonstop service with four weekly flights. Paulo Leite, Varig's regional manager for the Eastern Area USA, said the Brazilian carrier is the only airline offering nonstop service in the market. "This is part of an overall strategy to put flights where the market demands it, while at the same time increasing the overall utilization of equipment," Leite said.
S.G. Warburg analyst Brian Harris has revised upward his 1995 earnings estimates and his 12-month stock price targets for four airline companies - USAir, AMR, UAL and Northwest - because of the "rapidly" improving industry revenue environment. Not included in the group are Continental and Delta, the two airlines Harris believes continue to represent the best current values in the industry.
Nashville Air has named David Banmiller president and chief executive. Founding President Charles Caudle will become chairman and chief executive. Banmiller has served with TWA, AirCal and American.
Alitalia plans to sell its 56.2% ownership of Aeroporti di Roma, the company that operates Rome Airport, for 800 billion lira, the airline confirmed Friday. Cofiri - like Alitalia, controlled by state-run holding company Iri - will acquire the stake. Struggling Alitalia also is looking to sell its headquarters building outside Rome and likely will move its headquarters to property it controls near the airport.
Qantas plans to add two Sydney-Jakarta flights to its current schedule and introduce three-times-weekly Perth-Jakarta service on Oct. 29, subject to government approval. The new service will enable Qantas to offer daily flights between Sydney and Jakarta, with connections linking Melbourne and Brisbane. It results from the recently approved joint services agreement between Qantas and British Airways, which will enable Qantas to redeploy assets from its Perth-Singapore service, the Australian airline said Friday.
U.K. and Chinese negotiators on the Joint Liaison Group's Airport Committee completed a financial support agreement (FSA) last week for the Provisional Airport Authority (PAA) and on air cargo franchises. With financing settled, PAA now expects to open the Chek Lap Kok Airport in April 1998 - it will "substantially complete" construction by mid-1997 but will need more time for commissioning and trial operations and the transfer of operations from Kai Tak. A rail link to Hong Kong is expected to open in June 1998.
Air France selected Wicat to upgrade the computer-based training system for its flight crew maintenance training center at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris.
United has applied for renewal of its authority to operate between Miami and Mexico City. United flies daily roundtrips on the route using 737-300 aircraft. (Docket 50420)
Air tour operators will fly no closer than 500 feet from either Ellis or Liberty Island to reduce the impact of noise on the national monuments under terms of an agreement between the federal government and New York air tour operators. FAA, the National Park Service and the tour operators have pledged to work together to remedy any future noise and safety problems.
Delta Connection carrier Comair Saturday was to begin jet service from Orlando to Cleveland, Miami and Tallahassee with one flight a day in each market. The carrier also added a third daily jet flight to New Orleans from Orlando. The airline uses 50-seat Canadair jets for the service. As of Saturday, Comair's total daily departures from Orlando increased to 99. By August, Comair will operate 88 aircraft to 82 cities in 28 states and three countries.
Horizon Air has begun new, nonstop jet service from Seattle-Tacoma to Calgary. Horizon said it is the first airline to offer the service since the open skies agreement with Canada was signed.
Credit-watcher Moody's Investor's Service assigned cautious but acceptable counterparty ratings to American, Delta and United yesterday, suggesting that while all three carriers are exposed to risk from dealing in derivatives, they also have adequate controls in place to police their use. American was rated Baa2 for how it handles its dealings in derivatives, while Delta garnered a Ba1 rating and United a Baa3.
Moody's Investors Service is reviewing the Aa3 long-term debt rating of certain guaranteed subsidiaries of Daimler-Benz AG for possible downgrade, and it assigned yesterday a counterparty rating of A3 to British Aerospace Public Ltd. Co. (PLC). The Daimler-Benz review will consider the German company's need to bolster the competitive position of its principal business unit and to reduce its exposure to high-cost German production through the transfer of production facilities and purchasing activity abroad.
Aviation groups are supporting a proposal backed by Rep. Tom DeLay (R- Texas) to reallocate $100 million in big-city transit operating assistance to the Airport Improvement Program, bringing the House AIP recommendation to $1.7 billion.DeLay is expected to offer the amendment today during Appropriations Committee consideration.
It is widely believed that the proposed rule change is based only on the political whims of DOT Secretary Federico Pea and that, as Raytheon Aircraft commented, "The only justification that can be ascertained from the NPRM and related meetings and publicity is...because of public perception and political reasons." In a letter this week to President Clinton, Metro Credit President Jim Walker said, "In the face of media frenzy, your administration has effectively offered up the 19-passenger commuter industry as the sacrificial lamb."
