Continental is offering winter fare bargains for travel in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Latin America. One-way sale fares include New York/Newark-Panama $199, Boston-Mexico City $153 and San Francisco-London $169. Roundtrip purchase is required. Tickets must be purchased before Jan. 22, within 72 hours of booking travel for Europe and 24 hours for other points. Fares to U.S., Canada or Latin America destinations apply to travel Jan. 20 through April 30, and to Europe from Jan. 9 through March 31. Travel must be completed by April 5. Some restrictions apply.
Alaska Airlines reported a 13.3% increase in December traffic on 14.1% more capacity, which led to a load factor decline of 0.5 percentage points to 68.4%. Annual traffic rose 5.6% on 3.6% more capacity, resulting in a load factor of 67.3%, up from 66% in 1996.
BOEING WILL LAUNCH the Skynet 4D military communications satellite for the U.K. Ministry of Defense Friday from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla. Liftoff is scheduled for 6:36 p.m. EST aboard a Boeing Delta II. Matra Marconi built the satellite, which is the first of three replacement spacecraft for the Skynet 4 communications system.
Frontier officials are scratching their heads over their reception in New York. The carrier started flying to the city from Denver last month thanks to LaGuardia slot exemptions granted by DOT to Frontier, AirTran Airways and ValuJet (now AirTran Airlines). By mid-month, the City of New York had filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District asking that the exemptions be revoked (DAILY, Jan. 5). But earlier in December, Mayor Rudolph Guiliani sent a letter to Frontier welcoming the carrier and the benefits it would bring to the city.
American has inaugurated three nonstop flights between the San Francisco Bay area and Boston and has added Colombian coffee to its fare. The San Francisco-Boston route, new for the airline, will be served with two daily roundtrips. American has added a late-night departure from San Jose to Boston, complementing its two daily roundtrips in the market. American will use 188-seat 757 aircraft for the new service. Flights will leave San Francisco at 7:30 a.m. for a 4:05 p.m. arrival in Boston and at 10 p.m. for a 6:37 a.m. next-day arrival.
TWA reported 6.9% lower traffic in December on 9.1% less capacity, pushing up the load factor 1.6 percentage points to 67.4%, its best December load factor since before 1978, when the U.S. airline industry was deregulated. The year-over-year traffic decline resulted from a January 1997 international service reduction. International traffic fell 24.8% in December on 25.9% less capacity, boosting the load factor 1.0 point to 66.3%. Domestic traffic was down 2.1% on 4.5% less capacity, resulting in a 67.7% load factor, up 1.7 points.
As predictable (and pleasant) as the seven-year locust, U.S. airports and airlines are girding for their quadrennial legislative battle. In 1990, they clashed over adoption of passenger facility charges and a national noise policy. In 1994, it was airport rates and charges. In 1998, the fight will be over PFCs again. Airports want Congress to lift the $3 cap on PFCs; airlines don't. Unlike 1990 and 1994, however, it's not clear that anything will come of this year's conflict.
Mexicana yesterday began its fourth daily nonstop flight from Mexico City to Chicago. The flight will connect with service to 25 destinations in Central and South America.
NASA's Lunar Prospector was on its way to the moon yesterday after a "spectacular" launch from Cape Canaveral Air Station, Fla., Tuesday night, its instruments safely deployed and turned on and preliminary results of its first trajectory correction maneuver "looking very good," NASA reported.
El Al and World Airways yesterday signed a wet-lease agreement for a single MD-11 for the June-October period. World will provide the aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance. The aircraft will be operated in passenger configuration from Israel to points in the U.S. Under the agreement, El Al can increase services beyond the planned routings. World, which visited El Al as part of a 50-carrier sales tour last year, said it hopes to establish a longer-term relationship with the Israeli flag carrier.
General Electric Aircraft Engines and CFM International said yesterday they had received engine orders valued at $700 million form International Lease Finance Corp. ILFC placed a $500 million order for CFM56 engines to power 10 A319/A320/A321 aircraft and 32 next-generation 737 aircraft. This brings its total CFM56-powered airplane order to nearly 360. ILFC also placed a $200 million order for 28 CF6-80C2 engines from GEAC to power two 747-400s, five 767-400ERs and three 767-300ERs. The GE engine has won 100% of the orders for the 767-400ER.
United will increase its service from Boston to the West Coast April 15 by adding daily nonstop A320 service to San Diego. Tickets went on sale Monday. United currently operates six nonstops from Boston to San Francisco and four to Los Angeles, and this week it will begin daily nonstop service to San Jose. United plans to build a 6,000-square-foot lounge, a state-of-the-art baggage system and upgraded gate facilities at Boston Logan Airport, enabling it to consolidate its operations at Terminal C.
SPECTRUM ASTRO INC. has become an industrial associate of the University of Arizona's Optical Sciences Center, focusing on space optical elements and systems in a partnership arrangement that will give the Gilbert, Ariz.- based company access to the center's facilities. Spectrum Astro will support the center's graduate and undergraduate programs under the arrangement.
Ansett International will suspend Sydney-Seoul-Brisbane-Sydney service as of Feb. 8 but will add new flights to the island of Bali. The Korea decision came after a sharp decline in passenger traffic in recent months. The airline began Seoul service in mid-1996. In addition to citing Korea's falling currency, Ansett said Korea's restrictions on the promotion of outbound tourism was a factor in its decision. In another move, Ansett will begin its first nonstop flights to Bali, with weekly service from Brisbane starting April 4.
America West is offering a spring fare sale starting at $34 to $119 one way based on roundtrip purchase. Fares are available through Jan. 22 for travel Jan. 28 through June 10. Blackout dates and restrictions apply, and a Saturday night stay is required. Sample one-way fares include Los Angeles-Phoenix, $34; Phoenix-Seattle, $89, and Boston-Phoenix, $119.
The European Commission will invite competitors to comment on Air France's alliance agreements with Continental and Delta, and it "may eventually send [the prospective partners] a statement of objections highlighting restrictions of competition," a commission spokesman said yesterday in Brussels. Confirming the launch of a "detailed" inquiry into the agreements (DAILY, Jan. 6), the commission said it will publish a summary of the accords in the European Union's official journal and receive comments from interested parties, including competitors.
The 10 largest U.S. carriers posted worse on-time arrival and mishandled baggage rates for November, compared with October, according to DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report. Complaints registered by consumers for all carriers decreased 18%, and complaints against the major carriers were down nearly 25%.
DOT is extending a deadline for its response to United's complaint against the Russian Federation. United said Russia has violated the current aviation agreement by forcing the carrier and Lufthansa to terminate their code-share operation via Frankfurt to Moscow. U.S. code requires DOT to deny, dismiss or arrange a hearing or other remedial action within 60 days of the formal complaint, but it may extend that deadline if it finds that intergovernmental negotiations have progressed enough to suggest a resolution is imminent.
Strategic Technology Systems Inc., Trenton, N.J., completed the purchase of all assets of the Government Technology Div. (GTD) of Base Ten Systems Inc., Strategic announced Tuesday. Strategic Technology Systems is a newly-formed corporation that will be operated and partially owned by the former Base Ten GTD management (DAILY, Oct. 28, 1997). Its specialties are weapons management, electronic warfare, airborne data acquisition, secure communications and space qualified systems for defense and commercial applications.
Buoyed by the successful launch of NASA's Lunar Prospector, Administrator Daniel S. Goldin said yesterday the agency is on track eventually to press beyond the solar system in its "Origins" search for extraterrestrial life.
Promavia S.A., a small Belgian aeronautics company located at Charleroi's Gosselies airport, was declared bankrupt after an 18-year failure to commercialize its prototype two-seat jet trainer aircraft, the Squalus. Charleroi's commercial court officially declared the company defunct on Jan. 5 after rejecting a year-long battle by Promavia to force Belgium's Regional Government of Wallonia to come up with 269 million Belgian francs in subsidies.
FIELDS AIRCRAFT SPARES INC., Simi Valley, Calif., signed a letter of intent to acquire Flightways Manufacturing Inc., Van Nuys, Calif. Flightways makes and repairs plastic replacement components for commercial aircraft seats and interiors.
Aeroflot is leasing two new 777-200IGW aircraft from International Lease Finance Corp. The aircraft, powered by GE90 engines, will be delivered next April and October on seven-year leases, according to ILFC. They will be used between Moscow-New York and Moscow-Tokyo.
