The U.S.-U.K. talks got off to a rocky start yesterday with U.K. officials refusing to give a timeline for the conclusion of Phase 2 of the negotiations, industry officials said. Slated to meet until tomorrow, the two sides are expected to wrap up the Phase 1 agreement - the so-called mini-deal, which includes Chicago-London Heathrow service for United.
U.S. Major Carriers Productivity In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee Fourth Quarter 1994, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Airline (000) (000) America West 344,078 313,544 American 3,675,604 3,711,781 Continental 1,177,538 1,233,714
British Airways is offering special promotional fares from its 19 U.S. gateway cities to 58 destinations in Europe and the Middle East that include a free stopover in London. The fares, based on the lowest transatlantic peak season excursion price, will be sold through June 14 and are good for travel during the month with no advance purchase requirement. BA also will offer "stopover" fares for travel in July or August to most destinations at a slightly higher price.
Low-cost carrier ValuJet could soon see an increase in labor costs now that its flight attendants have voted to unionize. Of 230 eligible voters, 133 voted for representation by the Association of Flight Attendants, according to ballots counted yesterday by the National Mediation Board. The flight attendants say they are among the lowest paid in the industry and lack many benefits, such as paid vacations. The NMB also will count ballots June 20 from ValuJet's mechanics and related workers for representation by the Teamsters union.
UPS said yesterday it has named Edwin Reitman president of UPS-Europe, and it plans to spend more than $1 billion in the next five years to upgrade its operations there. The plan calls for $300 million for new ground vehicles, $300 million in buildings and facilities, $200 million in information technology and more than $300 million in aircraft support. Reitman also will be in charge of the Middle East and Africa from his London headquarters.
U.S. National Carriers Operating Revenues and Expenses The Year 1994 Operating Operating Revenues Expenses (000) (000) The Year 1994 Alaska $ 1,079,318 $ 1,017,200 Aloha 229,822 230,297 American Trans Air 581,177 572,326
The European Commission has asked international consulting firm Coopers&Lybrand to assess airport slot allocation policies in the European Union, according to a report in DAILY affiliate Aviation Europe. The company will review the degrees of implementation of EU slot allocation rules and their effectiveness in achieving the EU objective of increased competition. The consultant also will consider the need to modify or improve the basis on which slots are allocated. The study is expected to be completed in September.
The Unofficial Committee of TWA's 10% Senior Secured Notes confirmed it is urging holders of the notes to approve the airline's latest restructuring proposal and to accomplish the complicated restructuring transaction through a pre-packaged bankruptcy filing. The committee's position on the latest restructuring proposal was cited by TWA in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing in mid-May (DAILY, May 17).
Carnival Airlines has selected Greenwich Air Services to provide overhaul services for the General Electric CF6-50C2 engines that power its fleet of five Airbus A300s. "Although our contract is non-exclusive, we have already begun work on the first of their CF6-50C2s and should begin servicing a second engine shortly," said Gene Conese, Greenwich's president. He estimated annual revenues from servicing Carnival's engines will be about $3 million.
Talks with China last week "did not go well," DOT Acting Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Patrick Murphy told The DAILY.The Chinese "were not forthcoming or willing to address" U.S. rights to operate additional service to their country. The two sides made no plans for further talks.
Ecuadoran carrier SAETA is seeking authority to serve Panama City as an intermediate point on its service to the U.S. SAETA also wants to serve Miami and New York as co-terminal points on its existing U.S. service. The carrier currently operates service between Ecuador and Miami. (Docket 50374)
Delta is expected to announce, possibly today, that it is expanding its code-share arrangement with Aeromexico beyond U.S.-Mexico service to include a few points in Europe.
Skyjet is seeking renewal of its authority to perform charter service between Belgium and the U.S. Its operating plan includes a weekly DC-10 flight between Brussels and Orlando during the summer. (Docket 49540)
Iberia's April passenger traffic climbed nearly 18% from the same month a year ago to 1.997 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers boarded increased 12.5% to 1.24 million, and the Spanish carrier's cargo traffic increased 24% to 55.3 million freight tonne kilometers. Through the first four months, Iberia's traffic increased 6% to 7.21 billion RPKs, and passenger enplanements increased 4.3% to 4.35 million. Iberia's cargo traffic for the period rose 19.4% from a year ago to 209.4 million FTKs.
Airlines challenging the landing fees at Los Angeles Airport told DOT this week that carriers are entitled to a refund of at least 27 cents of the $1.56 landing fee, plus interest. In a brief to the DOT decisionmaker, the original complaining airlines and the Air Transport Association said that a refund of 27 cents of the fee is based on acceptance of DOT Administrative Law Judge John Mathias's ruling and that the figure would be higher if DOT ultimately agrees with airlines' exceptions to the recommended decision (DAILY, May 25).
Varig's passenger traffic rose 13.8% in April to 1.82 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers boarded was up 14.6% from April a year ago to 746,971. Cargo traffic jumped 37.9% to 120.2 million freight tonne kilometers. Through the first four months of 1995, Varig's passenger traffic rose 8.3% to 7.89 billion RPKs, and its passenger boardings increased 10.1% to 3.2 million. Cargo traffic rose 25% to 440.6 million FTKs.
Midway Airlines will begin offering nonstop flights between Bradley Airport in Connecticut and its Raleigh/Durham base June 15, operating three daily flights with Fokker 100 aircraft. On the same day, it will introduce first class on all flights. Midway, the only airline with restrooms exclusively for women, said it offers extra wide leather seats with generous legroom, and hot towels on every flight. Midway serves Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale from Raleigh/Durham.
Southwest Airlines has named Luke Gill VP-maintenance and engineering. He most recently held various maintenance positions at Northwest and worked in the past for Continental. Gill will oversee 1,000 employees working at maintenance facilities in Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, Oakland and Las Vegas. He replaces Jack Vidal, who retired earlier this year.
After a slight falloff in the number of foreign visitors to the U.S. predicted for 1995, travel to the U.S. is expected to grow 5% in the next four years, the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration said. International visitors generated nearly $77.6 billion in 1994, up 4.7% from 1993, according to Greg Farmer, Commerce Department under secretary of Travel and Tourism. About 45.5 million foreign travelers visited the country for one night or longer, 0.6% fewer than in 1993.
China Airlines and KLM have agreed to remove their countries' flags from aircraft they use on routes between Taiwan and The Netherlands, according to a report from Taipei. A CAL spokesman said the Taiwanese carrier agreed to a request by the Dutch government, while Dutch officials said that Beijing had insisted on the move if KLM wants to conduct flights to China. CAL plans to remove the Taiwanese flag and replace it with the national flower, the plum blossom, on aircraft operating on the Amsterdam market, beginning in October.
Aviation-Related Bills Introduced In Congress April 24-May 26 - S.721 - introduced April 24 by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) - to impose a moratorium on sanctions under the Clean Air Act with respect to marginal and moderate ozone non-attainment areas, and for other purposes. Referred to the Environment and Public Works Committee.
Translux International Airlines, operating as Cargo Lion, is seeking authority to operate non-scheduled and charter all-cargo services between Luxembourg and points in the U.S. (Dockets 50362&50361)
Delta is celebrating 50 years of service to Indianapolis and Detroit today. Chicago&Southern Air Lines, which merged with Delta in 1953, began service June 1, 1945, to the cities with 21-passenger DC-3s. Delta now offers four daily flights to its Atlanta and Cincinnati hubs from Indianapolis, five daily flights to Detroit from Atlanta, and four daily flights to Cincinnati. Separately, Delta will begin operating the MD-90 today in the Dallas/Fort Worth-Albuquerque market. Delta has 31 of the 150-seat aircraft on order from McDonnell Douglas.
United and Air Canada plan to enhance their nearly three-year-old marketing alliance on July 1 with the launch of code-sharing services that will give United access to four new Canadian cities and will open six more U.S. destinations to Air Canada. Initially, the two will jointly market 56 flights a day - 28 on United's network and 28 on Air Canada's.
