Along with stricter rules for regional carriers and aircraft manufacturers, DOT said Friday it is drafting legislation that could impose new rules on the nation's small airports.
British Airways is adding nearly 6% more capacity to its route network this summer than it offered last year in what the airline is calling its "busiest" summer ever. The increase will come through a combination of new routes, the use of larger aircraft and boosted frequencies in existing markets.
Network integrator ITS, which is part of the SITA Group, has signed an international business partner agreement with IBM. ITS will undertake a range of activities on behalf of its clients worldwide, including global, regional and local project management, local area network and wide area network integration, local installation and individually tailored customer support services.
The joint All Nippon Airways/Austrian Airlines flight between Vienna and Tokyo is now being operated on a nonstop basis with Austrian's new A340-200 aircraft. The switch to a nonstop flight was made Sunday. The service, which is operated three times a week, had been flying over Moscow since its inauguration in July 1989. The A340 replaces an Austrian A310-300. The new aircraft is configured to accommodate 36 passengers in business and 227 in economy class.
DOT has approved Phoenix Leasing Corporation's request to operate some of its operations under the trade name "Baja Express." Phoenix also uses the name Mid Pacific Air for some of its services.
Austrian Airlines, Swissair and Delta have inaugurated code-sharing service from Washington Dulles to Geneva and Vienna, operating five flights a week with an Austrian A310-300 configured to accommodate 196 passengers in two classes of service. Under terms of the pact, Delta will sell seats for Washington-Geneva and Washington-Vienna; Austrian for Washington-Vienna and Geneva-Vienna, and Swissair for Washington-Geneva and Geneva-Vienna.
The government of Belgium has bought back the Sabena shares it sold Air France several years ago, according to Swissair Executive VP Paul Reutlinger. At a news briefing yesterday in Washington, Reutlinger said Swissair, which is negotiating to acquire up to 49% of state-controlled Sabena, has been informed that Belgium has bought back the shares controlled by Air France.
USAir took a giant step on Saturday toward reducing costs and returning to profitability by reaching a tentative agreement for concessions with the negotiating committee of its pilots union. The pact faces a number of challenges, however, before becoming final. One hurdle will come today when USAir's Air Line Pilots Association Master Executive Council votes on the agreement.
Air New Zealand has joined Canadian Airlines International's Canadian Plus frequent flyer program, increasing to more than 600 the number of award destinations available to program members. Effective June 1, Canadian Plus members will be able to earn and redeem award travel with Air New Zealand between Canada, New Zealand, Fiji, the Cook Islands, Western Samoa, Tonga and Australia. Service between Los Angeles and New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti and the Cook Islands also will be available for free travel awards.
Northwest and KLM are offering introductory fares as low as $698 roundtrip on their new code-sharing service between Memphis and Amsterdam. The fares must be purchased by April 7 for travel departing between June 27 and Aug. 31 and completed by Sept. 30. The carriers will offer four weekly flights beginning June 27 with KLM's MD-11s. The carriers also are lowering fares from many southern and midwestern cities that depart from another U.S.
Diners Club International has joined the LatinPass frequent flyer program. When Club Rewards members charge on their Diners Club card, points accrued can be redeemed for air miles that may then be transferred to the LatinPass program. LatinPass comprises 14 Latin American carriers and USAir.
"Mrs. Doubtfire" led the list of the top airline inflight movies in 1994, according to the World Airline Entertainment Association. The movie was rated No. 1 based on the total number of inflight movie showings on 100 airlines worldwide. "Speed" ranked second, followed by "Maverick." WAEA will preview the latest in airline inflight entertainment, passenger communications and gadgetry at its 16th annual conference Sept. 12-15 in Amsterdam.
Virgin Atlantic Airways and Malaysia Airlines have postponed the scheduled April 1 launch of their planned twice-daily joint service between London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur. The two airlines delayed the launch because the Australian government has not yet approved the Virgin/Malaysia plan to operate onward code-sharing service from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney and Melbourne on a daily basis. "We are hopeful that final approval by the Australian government will be forthcoming in the new few weeks," Virgin said.
Westinghouse Electronic Systems has won a contract to supply the Chinese Civil Aviation Authority with a turnkey air traffic control radar system for the Long Dong Bao Airport. The system will delivered before the end of the year and will include an ASR-9 airport surveillance radar and a monopulse secondary surveillance radar.
Pepperoni for performance? Continental Express carriers achieved a 100% completion factor one day last week, with no cancellations due to maintenance. To reward their efforts, Continental bought Express employees pizza.
Boeing Friday issued 60-day notices of possible layoffs to 5,000 employees, but at the same rolled out a one-time, special retirement-incentive program. Last month, Boeing issued 927 60-day layoff notices and announced production cuts and as many as 7,000 layoffs for the year (DAILY, Feb. 6). Early retirement will be offered primarily to workers at least 55 years old who have worked at Boeing for a minimum of 10 years.
Rep. Jim Lightfoot (R-Iowa) reintroduced legislation last week to require the use of child safety restraint systems on commercial aircraft. Lightfoot's bill, which he has proposed in several Congresses, would require DOT to issue regulations within 90 days requiring such systems. "I am pleased to note the National Transportation Safety Board, the Association of Flight Attendants, the Air Transport Association and the Air Line Pilots Association all support the required use of child safety restraint systems on commercial aircraft," he said.
An investment group headed by the China Development Corp. (CDC) has emerged as the winner in an intensive bidding war for control of Taiwan domestic carrier Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT). CDC, which is owned by Taiwan's ruling Nationalist Party, announced that it has purchased 56% of the outstanding shares of FAT at a price of NT$7.8 billion (US$300 million), or NT$225 (US$8.65) per share. Other bidders for stock included the Far Eastern Textile Group, Pacific Electric Wire & Cable Corp., the Tuntex Group and Taiwan Aerospace Corp.
McDonnell Douglas President Harry Stonecipher has challenged Douglas Aircraft to regain its status as the No. 2 producer of jet transports, according to Walter Orlowski, VP and general manager of marketing and business development for the Long Beach, Calif., company. Stoncipher "is bound and determined to drive us" to be No. 2, he said. Douglas has fallen behind Boeing and Airbus Industrie in sales partly because "we are unwilling to cancel orders or to sell below cost," Orlowski said. Douglas is "real close to being the most efficient producer," he said.
SAS ground staff at Copenhagen, the airline's primary hub, may strike on April 1 unless their union and the carrier can work out a new collective bargaining agreement. The latest round of talks broke down Thursday. The threatened strike has been postponed twice by a state arbitrator as allowed by Danish labor law. SAS said Friday it is too early to tell what impact a strike might have, but the carrier operates both intra-Europe and intercontinental flights from Copenhagen.
British Airways has launched what it terms a "major initiative" to fight crime within and around the airline. BA, which recently appointed a 30- year police veteran to the post of senior manager investigations, believes the initiative will cut down on losses and minimize risks.
Some NASA safety panel members question why the agency intends to use Russia's Tu-144 supersonic transport for high-speed aircraft research instead of the Anglo-French Concorde or the Air Force SR-71, with safer records. NASA got a good deal on the Tu-144, and one member speculates that foreign relations, not engineering, drove the decision.
Air South Chairman Clif Haley expects to receive $4 million in early April to keep the new carrier afloat. The Columbia-based carrier also is setting goals to reduce costs to less than seven cents per available seat mile, increase yield to 17 cents per revenue passenger mile, and improve on-time performance. Air South has secured a $1 million revolving line of credit and 60% of its employees have subscribed to an internal stock offering, which has raised more than $175,000.
