Emirates has launched weekly 747 freighter service between Dubai and Singapore using an aircraft leased from U.S.-based Atlas Air. The new service is in response to growing demand for cargo space in the market and is being operated in addition to the airline's six weekly passenger flights to Singapore.
Carnival Air Lines is asking DOT to allot it three new U.S.-Peru frequencies and reject United's request for 2.5 additional frequencies between Miami and Lima (DAILY, May 10). Noting that the new U.S.-Peru agreement provides for 3.5 additional Miami/Fort Lauderdale-Lima frequencies, Carnival maintains that they would be used "most efficiently and advantageously to enable a third U.S. competitor - Carnival - to enter the South Florida-Peru market." Currently, American and United operate the only scheduled U.S. passenger service between the U.S. and Peru.
Speedwing, a division of British Airways, has signed an agreement to participate in SITA's Sahara hotel booking system. The five-year agreement, which begins June 1, will enable Speedwing's hosted reservations customers to purchase directly through Speedwing access to Sahara. SITA Sahara provides airline subscribers with real-time access to more than 13,000 hotel properties in more than 1,750 cities worldwide, allowing direct bookings and real-time confirmations.
CFM International said yesterday its CFM56-7, which will power the Boeing 737-600/700/800 series aircraft, has met "all pre-test predictions" in the seven hours it has accumulated since testing began April 28. The engine has achieved its rated thrust and completed power calibration and preliminary performance runs, CFMI said. It is scheduled for first flights on a modified Boeing 747 next January and on the 737-700 in early 1997 before entering service with Southwest that fall.
U.S. and Polish negotiators made some progress in the three days of talks in Warsaw last week, a DOT spokesman said, but there was no new agreement (DAILY, May 15). In the negotiations, which ended Friday, the U.S. proposed open skies to Poland, although there was "no conclusion" on the issue, the spokesman said. The Polish officials did agree to allow the third-country, code-share service in a year, said industry officials, if the U.S. approved immediately the American-LOT code-share agreement.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Interest Expenses Fourth Quarter 1994 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 16,278,550 5.19 American 146,009,000 3.93 Continental 43,412,000 3.52
Precision Standard's Pemco World Air Services subsidiary in Copenhagen has contracted with Air Espana of Palma de Mallorca for line maintenance of 737 and 757 aircraft operating out of Gardermoen Airport in Oslo.
EVA Airways and Emirates recently upgraded their participation levels in the Japan-based Infini computer reservations system. EVA selected the Direct Sell connectivity level, making possible instantaneous communications between travel agents and the EVA host system each time a flight segment is booked. Emirates upgraded to Direct Access, enabling Infini subscribers to enjoy real-time information retrieval directly from the airline's system, including last-seat availability and schedule display. Emirates becomes the 40th airline to upgrade to Direct Access.
Sabena's first quarter passenger traffic jumped 22.4% from the same period last year to 1.76 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers carried rose 1.54% to more than one million, and the Belgian airline's cargo traffic was up 7.5% to 107 million freight ton kilometers. In March, Sabena's passenger traffic rose 22.8% to 660.9 million RPKs, and the number of passengers enplaned increased 15.8% to 386,172. Cargo traffic rose 3.5% to 38.9 million FTKs.
TWA yesterday posted slightly smaller first quarter net and operating losses, and announced that it is starting solicitation of noteholder, shareholder and lessor approvals for its delayed $500 million debt-for- equity financial restructuring plan. The solicitation is expected to be completed by June 27. The latest incarnation of the restructuring plan includes substantially revised proposals to the holders of its 10% and 8% notes.
A decision not to build Terminal 5 at London Heathrow Airport could cost Britain more than #2 billion per year in increased air fares and lost tourism business, T5 proponent and British Airways Chairman Colin Marshall said recently. A public inquiry on the proposal is scheduled to begin today. According to a study commissioned by BA and conducted by Coopers&Lybrand in anticipation of the inquiry, British tourism could lose up to #1.2 billion a year and the cost of air travel for British businesses could increase by #1 billion a year.
FAA is preparing to impose the same reporting requirements on Stage 2 aircraft operating in Hawaii as are in effect in the contiguous U.S. The agency also will impose reporting requirements for aircraft operating between Hawaii and points outside the contiguous U.S. FAA's objective is the same nonaddition rule that applies to Stage 2 aircraft eligible to operate on the mainland.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications is reported to be ready to relax restrictions on foreign ownership in air cargo companies. Under new regulations proposed by the ministry's Civil Aeronautics Administration, the limit on foreign ownership in air cargo companies will be increased from the present one-third to one-half. Among foreign air cargo operators believed to be interested in increasing their presence in Taiwan are Federal Express, DHL, UPS and TNT.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association wants Signature Flight Support, one of the largest fixed-based operators in the U.S., to "modify or scrap" its new handling fees for general aviation aircraft transiting its facilities at 43 airports. AOPA President Phil Boyer said Signature has a service monopoly at 19 airports, imposes "some of the highest fuel prices in the nation" and "assesses a handling charge against pilots who do not purchase fuel."
U.S. Major and National Carriers Commission Expenses Fourth Quarter 1994 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues America West $ 26,667,278 8.41 American 306,066,000 9.69 Continental 79,907,000 7.68 Delta 297,557,000 11.07
Taiwan and Costa Rica have agreed to establish direct air links. The agreement, signed in Taipei by Taiwan's minister of transportation and communications, Liu Chao-shiuan, and Costa Rican Transportation Minister Arce Gutierrez, permits each side to name a single carrier to conduct flights between Taipei and San Jose. The selected carriers will receive fifth-freedom rights and the authority to conduct a maximum of seven weekly flights on the new route.
Hawaiian Airlines reported a net loss of $8.3 million and an operating loss of $7.4 million for the first quarter of 1995. Both deficits are deeper than in the first quarter last year, when the net loss was $7.4 million and the operating loss $6.5 million. Hawaiian said its 1995 results included a one-time, non-cash charge of $2 million for the projected effects of an early retirement program. The airline's operating revenues was up 6.4%. Passenger traffic rose 4.9% in the quarter, but passenger yield slipped 4%.
Kiwi International Airlines, trying to put recent management problems behind it, yesterday took the unusual action of releasing financial results for March and April. The airline said it turned a $640,000 net profit in March on revenues of $15 million, and a $964,000 profit last month on revenues of $15.4 million. Kiwi said the profits were evidence of a turnaround started by a new management team in February.
SAS has been named a finalist for the Computerworld Smithsonian Award in the transportation category for its origin-and-destination yield management system, acquired by Unisys in 1994 and named True Origin&Destination. True O&D is the airline industry's first operational solution that goes beyond the limitations of today's revenue enhancement systems to determine actual airline profitability, according to Unisys.
LOT Polish Airlines took delivery of a new 767-300 from Boeing, its fourth, and said the aircraft "will enable us to realize our ambitious plans to fly 20 flights a week between the U.S. and Poland." The flights will be between Warsaw and New York, Newark and Chicago. LOT also uses a leased DC-10 on transatlantic routes, and it has 10 737s for intra-European service and seven ATRs for domestic travel.
Payments made by the German government to help Lufthansa meet pension obligations to employees, agreed to last year as part of the flag carrier's privatization, did not break rules on state subsidy, the European Commission's competition authorities decided. Germany granted 1.55 billion Deutschmarks to the airline to maintain pension payments, which previously were managed by a state-owned holding company, Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Lander.
A private consortium will finance construction of a new 8 billion Deutschmark Berlin-Brandenburg Airport while the state puts up DM1.9 billion for airport infrastructure, Michael Pieper, undersecretary of the ministry for economic affairs of the state of Brandenburg, said yesterday in Washington, D.C. Pieper said discussions on financing are under way. The airport is to be built on the former Sperenberg Air Base, which Pieper said is the largest former Soviet facility outside the old USSR.
U.S.-U.K. talks in London were cut short abruptly last week by political forces in Congress opposed to an interim agreement, industry officials said yesterday. The talks were expected to continue through Saturday but ended Friday, a day after DOT Secretary Federico Pena met with Sen.
DOT has shortened the answer period for United's request for additional Miami-Lima frequencies, requiring answers to the application tomorrow rather than by May 23. The carrier asked the department to increase its Miami-Lima allocation from 4.5 to seven frequencies per week, to enable it to begin daily Boeing 757 service on June 5. The new U.S.-U.K. bilateral agreement increases Miami-Lima frequencies from 21 to 24.5. (Docket 49910) (See related story on Page 260 of the hard copy of this issue.)
Cooper Industries promoted Bradley McWilliams to senior VP-finance and chief financial officer. Gulfstream appointed James Healey regional VP-Europe, based in Monaco. Herman Roof Henry&Gordon named Roland Moore of counsel. Lucas Aerospace appointed Thomas Schlessinger VP-operations of Lucas Aerospace Cargo Systems. McDonnell Douglas promoted Thomas Gunn to senior VP-business development and named Frederick Hill senior VP-communications and community relations.
