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.
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.
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.
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.
Patricia Snyder has joined Washington law firm Dyer Ellis Joseph&Mills. She worked for the Civil Aeronautics Board for five years and was an attorney in DOT's Office of Assistant General Counsel for International Law, where she participated in international aviation negotiations. She chairs the Federal Bar Association's International Transportation Committee.
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.
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.
The board of SkyWest Inc., the holding company of Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines, has declared a special dividend of 17 cents per common share for shareholders of record as of June 16. The dividend is payable July 3. This is the seventh consecutive special dividend declared and paid in addition to 13 consecutive annual dividends.
Air France, which is undergoing a restructuring program, said yesterday after a board meeting that it has reached agreement with Boeing on a major adjustment of its aircraft orders, including dropping a 747-400 freighter it was scheduled to receive in 1993 (DAILY, Jan. 26&May 18). In addition, it said Boeing will handle the resale of a 767-300 delivered in 1994 but not placed in service.
Rolls-Royce said a Boeing 777 powered by its Trent 800 engine made its first flight May 26. The aircraft flew more than five hours, reaching an altitude to 33,000 feet and cruising at 420 miles per hour or Mach 0.6. Initial tests included slam engine acceleration and deceleration and engine relights. The first Trent-powered 777 will go to launch customer Thai Airways International in January. Rolls said the Trent 800 is the first engine to be cleared for flight at 90,000 pounds thrust. It was certificated last January, three months ahead of schedule, Rolls said.
DOT Deputy Inspector General Mario Lauro is scheduling briefings from various New York modal administrations, including FAA officials, regarding recent and past power outages that have caused aircraft delays and diversions.Lauro will use the results of the briefings to decide whether to conduct an audit.
The City of Chicago has filed at DOT in support of Western Pacific's request that the department reconsider its decision to deny the airline an exemption from the slot rules to provide service between Colorado Springs and Chicago O'Hare (DAILY, April 25). The city argued that DOT's decision is inconsistent with the language and intent of the 1994 legislation that set up criteria for exemptions from the slot rules.
Clarification: Swissair has appointed a new general manager-marketing for North America, not a new general manager for North America as stated in a headline May 26 in The DAILY.
SkyWest Inc., the holding company for Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines, reported yesterday that its operating and net profits for the year ended March 31 both declined from the previous fiscal year. The company's operating profit fell 17.6% to $20.3 million and its net earnings 4.8% to $13.7 million, or $1.23 million. "The decline in net income during fiscal 1995 reflects slower traffic growth resulting from negative publicity regarding regional airlines, as well as the continuing discount fare environment," said Bradford Rich, executive VP-finance.
U.S. Major Carriers Operating Revenue and Expenses The Year 1994 Operating Operating Revenues Expenses (000) (000) The Year 1994 America West $ 1,414,317 $ 1,267,940 American 14,951,125 14,039,542 Continental 4,798,183 4,884,445
The U.S. concluded separate talks with South Africa and China last week without reaching new agreements with either. Progress was reported after three days of talks with South Africa, according to a DOT spokesman, who added the parties planned to talk again but set no dates for negotiations. The two countries are operating without a bilateral. In the talks with China, however, the two sides made no plans to meet again. The U.S. wants China to recognize U.S. rights to operate additional combination and cargo frequencies to that country.
A new partnership of six technical, financial and asset management firms has acquired most of Delta's inventory of spare parts, accessories, avionics and engine components, estimated to be worth more than $400 million. Avatar Alliance, based in Stratford, Conn., said the spares from Delta will form the base for the new partnership, and include 59,000 line items totaling 17 million individual parts for 12 aircraft models - Airbus A300 and A310; Boeing 737-200 and -300, and 747, 757 and 767; Lockheed L- 1011, and McDonnell Douglas DC-9, DC-10, MD-82/88 and MD-11.
The European Union is preparing to send letters to six member countries that have initialed open skies pacts with the U.S. asking them not to sign the agreements. The letters are the first phase of a formal procedure that may lead to an EU Court of Justice action against the six - Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg and Austria. The countries will have one month to reply. The letters follow an earlier series of threats of legal action by EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock if the six proceeded with the open skies talks.
Virgin Atlantic Airways is offering travel agents a 15% commission rate on all published economy fares from Newark, Boston and Milwaukee to London, and on published through fares to Athens from those gateways. The Milwaukee service is operated in conjunction with Midwest Express. Virgin said it will give the 5% bonus commission at the time of ticketing, and all outbound travel must begin by Sept. 30.
Aeromexpress is seeking renewal of its authority to operate all-cargo service between points in Mexico and the U.S. The carrier is seeking renewal for two years of service between a number of markets, including Mexico City-Chicago/Houston/Laredo/New York/San Francisco/Seattle; Guadalajara-Laredo/Miami/New York/San Francisco; Monterrey-Miami/New York, and Tijuana-Miami/New York/Seattle. The carrier also wants continued authority for service between Mexico City and three U.S. co-terminal points - Detroit, Los Angles and Miami - and between Merida and Miami.
Duff&Phelps Credit Rating Co. yesterday raised its rating on McDonnell Douglas's senior debt to BBB+ because of the continuation of the company's strong operating performance and cash flow, and the expectation that these trends are sustainable. At the same time, Duff&Phelps raised McDonnell Douglas Finance Corp.'s senior debt rating to BBB+ and subordinated debt to BBB.
Members of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) recently toured Vietnam as part of the first official educational tour by U.S. travel agents, one of the "biggest breaking destinations," the travel group said. The tour, coordinated by ASTA and Northwest WorldVacations, came at the request of the Vietnamese government. ASTA President Jeanne Epping said, "Since the travel industry is one of the driving engines of the global economy, this one cutting-edge visit by travel agents can ultimately have a major ripple effect on Vietnam's future economic growth.
Aeromexico has applied for renewal its authority to operate scheduled combination services between Puerto Vallarta and Ontario, Calif. The carrier is not currently serving the market. (Docket 50371)
