U.S. officials will turn from last week's talks with the U.K. to negotiations with the Czech Republic today and Russia Wednesday. The U.S. will seek third-country code sharing from the Czechs, who want more frequencies to the U.S. With the Russians, the U.S. will look for increased overflight rights, more destinations in the Russian Far East and opportunities for non-designated carriers to engage in sales activities in Russia. U.S. officials are not sure what the Russians want.
Delta and Varig are seeking renewal of their authority to operate code- share and blocked-space service between the U.S. and Brazil. Under current exemptions, Delta is permitted to operate scheduled combination service between one or more points in the U.S. and nine Brazilian cities - Manaus, Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Recife, Porto Alegre, Belem, Belo Horizonte and Salvador. Varig can operate service between Atlanta and points in Brazil.
During a recent question period in the Canadian House of Commons, opposition leader Lucien Bouchard took Transport Minister Doug Young to task for Young's decision not to allow Air Canada to begin serving Hong Kong until December. Bouchard asked whether the decision was imposed by Prime Minister Jean Chretien, and Young said it was not. Young noted that Air Canada Chairman Hollis Harris said publicly that he appreciated the work done by the government on Hong Kong.
KLM has added two 747-200F freighters leased from Atlas Air to its intercontinental route network from Amsterdam recently to keep pace with growing demand. One of the aircraft is serving Nairobi, Johannesburg, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, and the other is flying to Chicago, Dubai (in joint service with Emirates), Bombay, Singapore and Delhi. KLM also operates 747 Combis between Amsterdam and Chicago, Atlanta and New York. Separately, KLM Cargo has signed a cooperative agreement with Malaysia Airline and is talking with Garuda Indonesia about a similar deal.
Air Transport Association (ATA) President Carol Hallett says an industry analyst's view that airlines could pass the $500 million cost from the looming 4.3-cents-per-gallon fuel tax on to the consumer is "ludicrous." The analyst who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the tax will raise operating costs per carrier by about 1%, which could be made up in other ways, such as price increases (DAILY, April 14).
Associated Air Freight appointed Jeff Hartshorne regional sales manager-Southwest. Aviation Insurance Services of Utah named Rodney Ritter VP. Citicorp Global Aviation Aircraft Management Business appointed Mark Fabian VP-technical operations. Grimes Aerospace added Dana Skaddan as senior VP-marketing and strategic business development. Phaneuf Associates named Lisa DeFrancesco VP-regulations. Textron Financial's Aerospace Finance Division named Doug Peck regional sales manager-central U.S.
America West has reached a tentative five-year agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents its 1,027 pilots, on their first contract with the carrier. They have been negotiating the contract for one year, and will not release details until the pact is ratified by a majority of the pilots and approved by the America West board of directors. The pilots' negotiating chairman, Jim McCartney, said, "This agreement is very good for pilots and the company.
Flight attendants at American Eagle carrier Simmons Airlines ratified Friday a new contract Friday that was tentatively agreed to March 10, following two years of negotiations. The Association of Flight Attendants said the new contract includes pay increases of up to 50%, improved vacation, per diem, duty time and rest requirements and other changes.
DOT is instituting a Miami-Lima Service Proceeding to select one primary and one backup carrier to provide new scheduled combination service between the two cities. The department will consolidate existing applications from United and Carnival into the proceeding. In the meantime, it is extending United's temporary authority to operate 4.5 available frequencies between the U.S. and Peru for up to a year, or for 90 days after a final decision in the proceeding (DAILY, March 8). The proceeding grows out of an agreement earlier this year between Peru and the U.S.
The Orient Airlines Association (OAA) has become an active member of the Geneva-based Air Transport Action Group. "Asia/Pacific is the area which has the highest rate of traffic growth in the world," said OAA Director General Richard Stirland. "It is also an area which contains some of the most intractable aviation infrastructure problems.
- H.R.1101 - introduced March 1 by Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) - a bill to abolish the Board of Review of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and for other purposes. Referred to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
South Africa Airways has applied for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Johannesburg, South Africa, and New York, via Ilha do Sal, Cape Verde; Johannesburg and Miami via Cape Town, South Africa; and Johannesburg and Los Angeles. SAA performs services to the U.S. on Boeing 747s. Under its exemptions, it is permitted to commingle traffic on Johannesburg-Los Angeles and Johannesburg-Rio de Janeiro service and engage in charter service between points in the U.S. and South Africa. (Dockets 47731&48466)
House Transportation aviation subcommittee plans a hearing May 11 on the new Denver airport, focusing on "what went wrong" with the planning and development of the $4.2 billion facility. DOT Secretary Federico Pena has been invited to testify, and other witnesses may include representatives of the General Accounting Office and the airport.
Ukrainian carrier Khors Air is seeking authority to operate charter all- cargo service between Ukraine and the U.S., and fifth-freedom charter cargo service beyond the U.S. Khors plans to operate up to three Il-76s to the U.S. A privately owned and operated company founded in 1990 and based at Borispol Airport in Kiev, Khors operates three An-12 aircraft, 10 Il-76s, one An-24, one An-26 and one An-32.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley Friday announced plans to create a regional airport authority to oversee the four airports in Chicago and Gary, Ind. The Chicago city council was expected to vote Saturday on the six-year compact, which was approved Thursday by Gary's Common Council. Under Daley's plan, which was developed in cooperation with Indiana Gov. Evan Bayh and Gary Mayor Thomas Barnes, the Chicago/Gary Regional Airport Authority will oversee O'Hare, Midway, Meigs Field and Gary Regional Airport.
The Japan Airlines Group, which already operates Nikko Hotels International, is developing a new chain, Hotel JAL City, targeted at business travelers. Two sites are under construction. JAL is launching the new chain in Japan but is considering taking it overseas, while the Nikko chain is scheduled to open its first hotel in Tokyo next year.
Kiwi International Air Lines generated more revenue in March than in any other month in its brief history, with scheduled passenger traffic up 59% over March 1994, and 35% over February. The carrier says it turned a profit for the month despite significant writeoffs.
USAir's board of directors has planned to meet tomorrow but will not vote on the concession package it reached with its pilots until it strikes similar deals with the Association of Flight Attendants, Transport Workers Union and Machinists union, USAir's Air Line Pilots Association unit said.The AFA says its negotiations are like the Energizer bunny - they just keep going, and going, and going.
Alaska Air Group Friday reported first quarter net and operating losses that were significantly larger than a year ago, but management was upbeat about the potential for the next two quarters. The company, which is the parent of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, suffered a net loss of $16.3 million, or $1.22 per share, in the first quarter, compared with a net loss of $6.3 million, or 47 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Its first quarter operating loss ballooned to $18.3 million from $2.9 million a year ago.
Cincinnati- and Orlando-based Comair's seat mile costs will drop to 12 or 13 cents if the carrier acquires all Regional Jets it has on order or option, the regional's chief operating officer told a financial conference this week. Unit costs for the most recent reported quarter were 14.1 cents per available seat mile (DAILY, Jan. 27).
Alaska Subsidized Essential Air Service As Of March 1, 1995 Other Points State/ Subsidized Service Served Under Aircraft Communities Carrier to (Hubs) One Rate Type 12 Kodiak Bush MarkAir Kodiak (See Column 1) Cessna 185 Points* Express (3 Seats) Cape Yakataga Gulf Air Yakutat Icy Bay Cessna 185 &
FAA on May 18 will hold its first public meetings on a proposal to bring many Part 135 operators under Part 121 operational standards. The sessions, to be formally announced in the April 14 edition of the Federal Register, will include both an open forum with the administrator and deputy administrator and a public meeting on the commuter Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. They will be held at the Loussac Library in Anchorage, Alaska (DAILY, March 27 and March 31).
Pratt&Whitney Canada apparently has won the engine competition for the 70-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-400 high-speed turboprop. Allison Engine Co. was long considered the leading contender with its AE 2100 turboprop, but sources told The DAILY that marrying two Canadian products likely would make both manufacturers eligible for Canadian government funding. There also is the Quebec-separatist issue: an award to Allison would suggest that English Canada was turning its back on French Canada by giving the contract to a U.S. company.
Simmons Airlines, operating as American Eagle, is seeking authority to operate combination service between New York Kennedy Airport and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The carrier proposes starting two daily nonstop roundtrips beginning June 15, using 64-seat Super ATR aircraft. (Docket 50278)
U.K. negotiators went home Wednesday after failing to hammer out with their U.S. counterparts either a "maxi or mini deal." After raising the possibility of breaking the long-standing stalemate between the two countries, the two rounds of talks ended by producing more commotion than results. While the two sides left open the possibility of another round, many industry officials are pessimistic it will happen any time soon. In practical terms, the U.S. has a very crowded schedule of talks through the beginning of June.
