The U.S. Navy is seeking interest among aircraft owners in selling it three converted transports to replace three of the Navy Reserve's 29 C-9 intra- theater airlifters, and it wants the winner of the competition to accept the aircraft it is replacing as trade-ins. Revenue in such deals usually goes straight to the U.S. Treasury, but in this case the Navy wants to use it to cut the cost of replacements, said Capt. Tom Yee, Naval Air Systems Command's program manager for special mission and support aircraft.
Consumer Federation of America issued a study warning that the American- British Airways alliance will result in higher fares unless it gives up 560-840 slots a week at London Heathrow. The number accepted by U.K. Trade Minister Ian Lang is 168. The Federation's study found that losing a competitor on a given route can raise fares 20-40%, and without corrective action "the British Airways-American alliance would have at least that much of an impact," Mark Cooper, federation research director, said.
American, Delta, Northwest and United are opposing an application by low- cost subsidiary Alitalia Team to conduct wet-lease operations for its flag- carrier parent (DAILY, Feb. 10). The U.S. airlines say the current U.S.- Italy bilateral is highly restrictive and their efforts to increase service or conduct any service at all have been blocked.
Major Gore Commission Recommendations The following are the principal recommendations of the White House Commission on Aviation Safety and Security, organized around broad topic areas of safety, air traffic control, security and disaster response. The commission's final report was submitted to President Clinton on Feb. 12 (DAILY, Feb. 13). Safety 1.1. Government and industry should establish a national goal to reduce the aviation fatal accident rate by a factor of five within ten years and conduct safety research to support that goal.
SAS posted a 1996 pre-tax profit of 1.815 billion Swedish kronor (US$248 million), down 31% from the previous year. Turnover increased 6.8% when adjusted for currency swings but fell, on paper, from SEK35.4 billion to SEK35.19 billion (US$4.82 billion) in 1996. SAS, which expects a traffic growth of 5% to 7% in 1997, emphasized that it is taking "a number of measures" to "avoid a weakening" of this year's results. Chief Executive Jan Stenberg said he is "not at all satisfied" with the carrier's performance in 1996.
Air One, a growing Italian jet carrier, has received government approval to absorb the scheduled airline operations of Noman, a small domestic carrier that recently suspended operations. In a unusual deal, Air One will not acquire Noman but has signed a three-year lease to run its scheduled airline operations. Air One will fly Noman's two DC-9-15s, repainted in Air One's livery, and manage Italian Technics, Noman's Rome-based engineering division. Air One also receives seven takeoff and landing slots at congested Milan Linate Airport.
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic January 1997 (000) January January % 1997 1996 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 722,000 633,000 14.1 Available Seat Miles 1,205,000 1,170,000 3.0 Load Factor (%) 59.9 54.1 America West Revenue Passenger Miles 1,241,698 1,041,130 19.3
Skeptics doubt the importance of Japanese statements suggesting flexibility on beyond rights from Tokyo, but one partisan, United, is not among them. "We believe what they say," said Cyril Murphy, United VP-international affairs. Transport Minister Makoto Koga said recently he does not think that "current beyond-rights issues should be left as they are (DAILY, Feb. 13)," and Murphy commented: "When a minister comes out and makes a statement like that, it means something."
A group of investors led by Andre Delaye, chairman of the Dutch venture capital company Begemann, is close to completing a rescue plan for Fokker, the bankrupt aircraft manufacturer. Delaye has been holding talks with Singaporean investors and Stork, the Dutch industrial group that purchased Fokker's profitable spares and maintenance activities last year. Fokker, which is currently finishing production of the last aircraft on its order book, collapsed in March 1996, when parent Daimler-Benz Aerospace refused to bail it out.
National Transportation Safety Board's investigation of recent midair actions is drawing a distinction between the Nations Air incident and three other, less serious situations involving civilian and military aircraft (DAILY, Feb. 13). The latter concerned loss of separation standards, "the type of occurrences that the air traffic control system monitors and manages on a fairly routine basis," NTSB Chairman Jim Hall said yesterday.
State-owned Italian carrier Alitalia expects to report a higher-than- expected deficit of 1,300 billion lire (US$800 million) for 1996, said Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, Italy's treasury minister. Earlier forecasts indicated a loss of LIT1,200 billion, including LIT800 billion in restructuring charges. The airline, 86.4% owned by state holding company Istituto di Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI), is awaiting the European Commission's opinion about a restructuring plan comprising a LIT3,000 billion recapitalization, of which LIT1,500 billion would be provided by IRI.
Presidential intervention into American's pilot dispute, which stopped a strike Saturday before a single flight was disrupted, is likely to raise more far-reaching labor issues with other unions. At American, the Allied Pilots Association (APA) may face further dissension in its ranks as a result of rejecting a last-minute proposal presented by federal mediators last Friday night.
Southwest will inaugurate flights to Jackson, Miss., in August from four airports - Baltimore/Washington, Chicago Midway, Houston Hobby and Orlando. None of the airports currently has nonstop service to Jackson, the carrier said. Southwest notes that a General Accounting Office report produced last April showed that fares in Jackson increased more than 20% between 1979 and 1994, while they declined by more than 20% at most airports served by Southwest.
U.S. and U.K. aviation negotiators reprised ground-handling and computer reservations system issues yesterday as they began a three-day round of talks in Washington, according to sources. The meeting was cordial but broke little new ground, and this round may not warrant meetings on the third day. British authorities have little room to maneuver on ground- handling and CRS systems under European Union rules (DAILY, Feb. 18). The two issues may be shifted to working groups today as negotiators try to focus on other items.
American and China Eastern signed a memorandum of understanding for code sharing, linking American's system to China Eastern's gateways in Beijing and Shanghai. American would use its code on China Eastern nonstops from those points to Los Angeles and on planned flights to San Francisco. China Eastern's code would go on American flights between Los Angeles and New York, Chicago, Washington Dulles and Dallas/Fort Worth.
Air Canada launched an Internet program allowing online customers to find last-minute travel bargains. Those interested can register for the "Go AC Websaver" program on Air Canada's Web site (www.aircanada.ca) and receive an e-mail every Wednesday for travel the following Saturday, returning Monday or Tuesday.
Preaching the virtue of simplicity, Continental told DOT it should remove Delta from the Brazil combination service proceeding now that Varig is ending its code-share agreement with Delta (DAILY, Feb. 10). Delta's "significant, changed circumstance" invalidates its original proposal, Continental said, and "irrevocably taints the proceedings." The only alternative to throwing out Delta is to end the proceeding and start a new one, but this would violate DOT's goal of awarding routes and ensuring use as soon as possible.
The merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas "will pose problems for the European civil aviation industry" and some sectors of military aviation, particularly helicopters, according to Airbus Industrie Managing Director Jean Pierson. Last December, claiming the operation would not alter competition, Airbus was indifferent about the European Commission's plan to launch an inquiry into the merger. Pierson now says Airbus will cooperate fully with investigations by the EC and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. European industry sources fear that the merged U.S.
A DOT administrative law judge this week concluded that more than $390.5 million of costs related to the planned expansion of the A/D concourse at Miami Airport should not be included in the rate base for airline rates and charges. The so-called "Super A" terminal would be used by hub carrier American. DOT is considering rates and charges at Miami at the request of the Dade County Aviation Department. Six airlines - Air Canada, Delta, Lufthansa, TWA, USAir and United - are opposing efforts to pay for the Super A terminal through rates and charges.
Southwest President Herb Kelleher has been named recipient of the Society of Senior Aerospace Executives' Golden Eagle Award. SSAE President Arthur Lewis said Kelleher's "achievement in founding Southwest in 1967 and leading it to its present position in the industry places him in the pantheon of airline industry pioneers." Kelleher will receive the award at a luncheon ceremony March 5 at the Army&Navy Club in Washington. For more information, call 202-289-0500.
Alliance Airlines and Airmax Airlines said yesterday they will merge under the Alliance name on March 1. Both cargo service companies operate leading roadfeeder service networks to carry international air cargo to and from gateway airports throughout the U.S. Alliance also operates airline cargo- handling facilities in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Miami and Houston. The partners expect combined revenues to reach $40 million this year.
United intends to add four weekly flights to Tokyo from New York Kennedy for a total of 11 departures a week, beginning April 8, if it receives government approval. Beginning April 3, it will operate all flights on the route with 301-seat 747-400s instead of a mix of aircraft.
Air France, which lost $1.5 billion in 1993 before beginning a recovery program, expects to narrow its loss to $40 million when it reports results in March, Jean-Claude Baumgarten, chief executive-industrial affairs, said yesterday at the International Aviation Club in Washington. The carrier, which began its reform after the company was essentially "dead," has seen productivity increase 27% in the last three years and, following the full merger with Air Inter this April, expects productivity to go up 15% over the next three years, he said.
Responding quickly during the weekend to its averted pilots strike, American launched a major fare sale, discounted cargo carriage and greatly expanded its weekly Net SAAver e-mail fare discounts. Most major carriers matched the reduced fares in various markets, with America West offering even more extensive sales. American said it and American Eagle were slashing prices by up to 50% off the 21-day advance purchase price and dropping all advance-purchase requirements. It also doubled frequent flyer miles.
FAA Acting Administrator Barry Valentine named Anne Harlan director of the Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. Harlan was special assistant the regional New England regional administrator.
