Virgin Atlantic Airways has opened a new "Clubhouse" lounge, its first in the U.S., for its Upper Class passengers at New York Kennedy in Terminal 1A. "We had always planned to open a lounge for our Upper Class passengers at JFK, but up until now we were not able to find a facility that would showcase our creative and unique style," said Virgin Chairman Richard Branson. "Our new partnership with Delta has given us the opportunity to set up our lounges at our various U.S. gateways," he said.
Air France's systemwide passenger traffic fell 2.4% last month from May 1994 on 2.6% more capacity, producing a load factor decline of 3.5 percentage points to 68%. Its May cargo traffic was down 3.1% on a capacity increase of 2%. Air France's freight load factor dropped 3.4 points to 64%.
Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA) has added "Association Member" to its membership categories, offering access to its work/study programs and training conferences.
Waglisla Air has applied for authority to operate scheduled cargo service between Canada and the U.S., with plans for initial service between Vancouver and Seattle using Fairchild F27 aircraft. The British Columbia- based carrier has entered into a one-year contract with United Parcel Service to carry its cargo on the route. (Docket 50386)
The two-day meeting of transportation ministers from the 18 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries began yesterday in Washington as DOT Secretary Federico Pena emphasized the Clinton administration's commitment to "free and open trade and investment throughout the Pacific Rim." Pena identified three key areas for discussion: development of an integrated transportation infrastructure; facilitation, deregulation, liberalization and cooperation in the transportation sector, and safety and security.
Alaska Airlines began serving its fourth Russian Far East destination, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski, during the weekend. It is operating one weekly scheduled passenger flight with 140-seat MD-80 aircraft from Seattle with a stop in Anchorage. Seven-day advance purchase roundtrip fares are $1,192 from Seattle and $1,148 from Anchorage. Alaska already serves Magadan, Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.
CCAIR's May passenger traffic decreased 12.8% from a year ago despite a 5.2% increase in capacity, causing the USAir Express carrier's load factor to fall 9.3 percentage points to 45%. The number of passengers enplaned dropped 13.4% from May a year ago. CCAIR said its May 1994 traffic was inflated by discounted fares offered throughout the system to compete with Continental Lite services in Greensboro and Greenville/Spartanburg.
The regional airliner joint venture of France's Aerospatiale, Italy's Alenia and British Aerospace will launch operations officially Jan. 1 as Aero International Regional, or AIR, but each company will keep making its own core products initially. Two representatives from each company will sit on the joint venture's board of directors, Aerospatiale Director General Louis Gallois said Saturday, and some functions will be merged immediately.
Delta has signed an agreement with the Hellenic Olympic Committee and the Hellenic Olympic Team to be the official airline for both Greek organizations at the 1996 Olympic Games. Delta is the official airline for the Olympics, to be held in Atlanta, and is the official carrier for the British and Irish Olympic teams.
Peruvian flag carrier Compania de Aviacion Faucett, S.A., has applied for renewal of its authority to operate service between Peru and the U.S. It has also requested permission to continue to conduct wet-lease operations on behalf of APA International Airlines, on APA's U.S.-Dominican Republic scheduled combination routes between the coterminal points Santo Domingo and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and the terminal points Miami/San Juan, Puerto Rico/New York. In April, Faucett applied for authority to operate the wet lease service for one year (DAILY, April 11).
U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Share of Service Fourth Quarter 1994 Total Revenue Departures America West 46,343 American 189,262 Continental 132,810 Delta 230,435 Northwest 132,156 Southwest 165,735 TWA 66,321 United 174,910
Avions de Transport Regional (ATR) brought to Le Bourget for the first time the new "hot-and-high" ATR 42-500. New Pratt&Whitney PW127E turboprops give the aircraft enough performance to operate from Denver, Bogota or Mexico City - all on the order of 5,000 feet above sea level - at temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit with no payload Pena lty. The -500 has a takeoff balanced field length of 3,710 feet under sea-level ISA conditions, or 4,396 feet at an elevation of 3,000 feet under ISA plus 10 degrees Celsius.
Mesa Air Group's stock is undervalued and management should take action to enhance shareholders' value, company chairman Larry Risley said in agreeing with a June 7 Securities and Exchange Commission filing by FMR Corp., which has taken a 6.23% stake in the airline company (DAILY, June 9). But Risley also said, "We disagree that at this time one of those options should be the sale of the company.
U.S. Major Carriers Share of Atlantic Service Fourth Quarter 1994 Total Revenue Departures American 5,578 Continental 1,229 Delta 8,764 Northwest 1,420 TWA 2,614 United 4,185 USAir 552 Total 24,342 Average Number of
Bombardier would like to be involved in a new 100-passenger airliner project but has no desire to lead it, according to Bob Brown, president of the Canadian manufacturer's Aerospace Group-North America, which comprises Canadair, de Havilland, Learjet and the aerospace activities of the Shorts Group. "We've always competed in a niche where we can be a leader," he said. "All our products except the Global Express long-range high-speed business jet are derivatives.
China Airlines and its wholly owned subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines, signed an agreement with four international banks for an $85 million syndicated loan for the purchase of a Boeing 747-400 to be used by Mandarin, Taipei's Economic Daily News reported. ABN-AMRO Bank of Holland and Societe Generale of France each will provide $30 million and Banque Paribas and Banque Nationale de Paris will provide $25 million, according to the report.
Air Transport Association board has agreed to support language adopted last week in the Senate anti-terrorism bill requiring foreign carriers to provide the identical level of security as U.S. carriers.Sources said FAA officials have mischaracterized U.S. airlines as being in disagreement on the issue.
Boeing, Airbus, Saab and Embraer unveiled firm orders, a confirmation and a memorandum of understanding from nine airlines for a total of 96 new aircraft during the first hours of the Paris Air Show, and more announcements are likely over the next several days. The first rush of orders, which included some conversions of previously announced options into firm orders, did not involve any McDonnell Douglas aircraft or widebodies from Boeing or Airbus Industrie.
Majors continued hiring the most pilots in May, as five of them took on a total of 263. United hired 141, FedEx 48, UPS 28, Northwest 26 and Southwest 20. Pilots on furlough increased during the month to 2,543. American, Delta, USAir and America West account for 64% of all furloughed pilots, according to AIR, Inc.
State of the industry: A press conference at the Paris Air Show by Boeing Commercial President Ron Woodard and Boeing Defense President Jerry King prompted numerous questions for Woodard, none for King.
ValuJet plans to formally recognize the flight and cabin crew on Flight 597, a DC-9 that caught fire last Thursday during taxi for takeoff at Atlanta Hartsfield with 55 passengers aboard. The fire started in an engine and spread to the forward roof of the cabin, injuring four passengers and three flight attendants. All were released after hospital treatment except one of the flight attendants, who still was hospitalized yesterday with second- and third-degree burns on her arms and legs.
Moody's Investors Service has assigned a Ba3 rating to Alaska Air Group's proposed $100 million convertible senior debentures due in 2005. Moody's said it also assigned prospective ratings to the airline company's $200 million shelf registration of (P)Ba3 senior unsecured and (P)Ba3 subordinated debt, and to Alaska Airlines of (P)Baa2 equipment trust certificates and (P)Ba1 senior unsecured debt.
American and TWA praised the House majority and minority leaders for their criticism of the recently concluded U.S.-U.K. aviation mini-deal. Majority Leader Richard Armey (R-Texas) and Minority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) called on DOT Secretary Federico Pena to press the U.K. for comprehensive liberalization in upcoming talks (DAILY, June 9). In a letter to Pea, the legislators termed the current bilateral "a monument to British protectionism."
Atlantic Southeast Airlines' May passenger traffic declined 1.8% from the same month a year ago on 2.4% more capacity, causing the Delta Connection carrier's load factor to slip two percentage points to 46.9%. The number of passengers boarded was off 0.9%. "We were pleased with our May traffic in light of the significant impact the adverse weather conditions had on our operations during the month, particularly at our Dallas hub," said ASA President John Beiser.
Jaynne Allison, American's VP-corporate real estate, has been named VP- human resources. She succeeds Mary Jordan, who was named president of American Eagle carrier Wings West last week.
