Japan Airlines, reacting to the pending creation of the first new airlines in Japan in 40 years, will start a new subsidiary airline to operate short- haul flights beginning in 1998, the airline confirmed yesterday. The new carrier will start up with two or three 150-seat 737s and be based at Itami Airport in Osaka, which was converted to a domestic airport after Osaka Kansai Airport opened. JAL has yet to name the carrier but said it will operate short-haul routes that currently have lower-than-average load factors.
FAA has issued two emergency airworthiness directives concerning the engine pylons on Boeing 747 aircraft and a third emergency AD concerning possible electrical arcing of fuel tank wiring. An AD issued yesterday concerns 747s powered by Rolls-Royce engines. The AD requires an inspection for cracks and corrosion at all four engine pylons which "could result in failure of the pylon and consequent separation of the engine from the wing." A Jan. 3 AD concerns the "migration" of fuse pins on engine pylons of 747 aircraft.
One of the happy (for the most part) developments of the winter is the success of Michael Crichton's latest novel, Airframe, which rose quickly to the top of the best-seller lists and looks like it will stay there for awhile. There are all sorts of good things about this book. It is about an inflight accident in which the protagonists are serious, competent investigators who are determined to find out what happened and why.
Air Force awarded Boeing a $10 million contract to re-engine 10 KC-135 (707) aircraft for foreign military sales. Boeing Defense&Space Group's Product Support Division, Wichita, will replace the current J57 engines with CFM56 engines. Boeing said this will bring total KC-135 tankers to be re-engined to 424 since it began the program in 1982. Boeing has delivered 411 of the aircraft over the last 15 years.
American's pilots yesterday voted down a contract agreement that the airline said in November it needed to move forward with an aircraft order that would make it an exclusive Boeing customer for the next 20 years. American placed an order in November for 103 aircraft, including purchase rights for another 527, in a deal that was contingent on an agreement from the pilots (DAILY, Nov. 22).
Reversing a trend of several years, U.S. airlines in 1996 ordered nearly twice as many aircraft from Boeing as foreign carriers, the manufacturer said. The company has used the higher orders from foreign airlines in defending its practice of contracting out production to foreign companies. But in reporting orders and deliveries for 1996 this week, Boeing Commercial President Ron Woodard reported that of the 717 aircraft ordered, 479 came from U.S. carriers and 238 from non-U.S. carriers. In 1995, U.S. carriers placed orders for 76 aircraft, while non-U.S.
TWA, as of yesterday, is e-mailing fare specials to about 80,000 subscribers each Wednesday. Unlike the handful of other airlines sending deeply discounted fares via e-mail, TWA's Trans World Specials do not require use the following Saturday. This week, the fares offered are all from St. Louis, including $59 roundtrips to Dayton and $159 tariffs to Sacramento, San Jose and Ontario for travel starting Jan. 11 and returning by Jan. 14.
British Airways said yesterday it will restart service to the Croatian capital of Zagreb Jan. 20 after a 15-year absence as one of six new routes it will launch from London Gatwick Airport early this year. Flights to Barcelona, Lisbon and Glasgow begin March 30, followed by new twice-weekly service to Krakow, Poland, beginning March 31. BA also has applied for service to Riga, Latvia. Starting this summer, BA and its partner airlines will serve more cities from Gatwick than BA will from Heathrow.
U.S. Major Carriers Operating Revenues and Expenses Third Quarter 1996 Operating Operating Revenues Expenses (000) (000) Third Quarter 1996 Alaska $ 384,898 $ 331,797 America West 425,636 478,779 American 3,900,147 3,456,406 Continental 1,429,194 1,404,318
United and Aeromexico filed for code-share/blocked-space authority on the Miami-Mexico City route. Aeromexico would carry United's code on one daily roundtrip between the two points, and United would terminate its current daily nonstop roundtrip service under its own colors. United said the code also may be carried into other U.S.-Mexico markets in the future, pending government approval. United asked for a waiver of the 45-day notice requirement, so it can starting selling seats on Jan. 25 for service beginning Feb. 11.
America West posted record December traffic of 1.4 billion revenue passenger miles, up 27.8%, on 21.7% greater capacity. The load factor rose 3.4 percentage points to 69.5%. For 1996, traffic grew 15% and capacity 11.3%, boosting the load factor 2.3 points to 70.8%. Dec 96 Dec 95 12 Mths 96 12 Mths 95 RPMs 1,376,808,000 1,077,371,000 15,314,897,000 13,312,742,000 ASMs 1,982,124,000 1,629,273,000 21,624,600,000 19,421,451,000
Airbus Industrie said it will introduce new flight management systems for its product line that will readily meet Future Air Navigation System requirements. Customers will be able to equip their fleet with an FMS from Sextant Avionique, in association with Smiths Industries, or from Honeywell. The units will be common to the entire Airbus line and will get priority installation on A320s and A330/A340s. The new equipment will be available in mid-1998, offering full FANS A capability with additional functions the following year.
American has started its first A300-600 revenue passenger service across the Atlantic with a flight from New York Kennedy to London Heathrow. The new service required more than a year of planning, and FAA gave its approval following two successful demonstration flights last month. The A300s have been reconfigured for three-class service, replacing a 767.
Federal Express and United have withdrawn their request that DOT place limits on an Aerolineas Argentinas exemption, now that cargo ground- handling price increases at Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport apparently have been rescinded (DAILY, Dec. 20). The hikes, as much as 480% and described as exorbitant by FedEx and United, were planned by the Argentina Air Force, which has authority over ground-handling at Buenos Aires. A recent filing by Aerolineas included documentation showing the increases have been suspended, however.
InVision Technologies' board declared a two-for-one stock split in the form of a stock dividend to be issued Jan. 17, doubling shares outstanding to 10 million.
Carnival Air Lines applied for an exemption to operate scheduled service between Fort Lauderdale and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Carnival plans to fly the route daily using a 737-400, starting May 29. According to the filing, the service will offer the only nonstops between the Dominican Republic and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood Airport, which Carnival is trying to promote as an alternative to the Miami gateway. The Santo Domingo service will be coordinated with other Carnival flights out of Fort Lauderdale. (Docket OST-97-2042)
TWA posted a 11.4% rise in December revenue passenger miles on 5.2% more capacity, increasing the load factor 3.7 percentage points to 65.8%. Both domestic and international traffic rose more than 11%. For the year, traffic climbed 8.9% on 7.1% greater capacity, lifting the load factor 1.1 points to 66.8%. Dec 96 Dec 95 12 Mths 96 12 Mths 95 RPMs 2,152,300,000 1,932,100,000 27,111,200,000 24,901,800,000 ASMs 3,268,700,000 3,107,300,000 40,594,100,000 37,904,800,000
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee organized itself for the 105th Congress yesterday, and Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) said the House leadership may enlarge the committee beyond its current 66 members to accommodate "unhappy campers" who wanted to join but had to be left out. The committee leadership also introduced H.R. 4, the Truth In Budgeting Act, a bill passed last year by the House that would remove the aviation, highways, harbor maintenance and inland waterways trust funds from the general fund.
Delta yesterday continued to bolster its transatlantic service by starting two code-share routes with Swissair, Austrian and Sabena and realigning service from Paris Orly to Charles de Gaulle Airport for a better fit with new partner Air France (DAILY, Jan. 8). The move to de Gaulle will occur April 7, opening Delta's transatlantic service to 24 million international passengers a year, more than twice Orly's market. Delta and Air France are "reviewing closer scheduling possibilities and code sharing" on direct U.S.-France flights, Delta said.
William Albee has been named to the newly created position at FAA of aircraft noise ombudsman, as required by its reauthorization act signed by President Clinton last October. Acting Administrator Linda Daschle said Albee will serve as public liaison on aircraft noise issues and advise the administrator when proposed route changes may increase noise over populated areas.
Fares offered over the Internet that are cheaper than those available by calling an airline are illegal, and DOT should force airlines to disclose the cheapest fares available to everyone, according to a DOT petition by Donald Pevsner, a Florida attorney who has filed several consumer-oriented DOT petitions over the past few years.
British Airways has launched a one-year drive in the U.K. to recruit 1,000 customer service employees for operations at London Heathrow and Gatwick airports. All recruits will be expected to speak at least a second language to a conversational level.
Northwest and United took differing tacks regarding a Japan Airlines application to switch route designations so it can increase its frequencies on the Tokyo-Kona route from three a week to seven. In a filing this week, United said it is willing to see DOT approval of the request "as long as the department concludes that the government of Japan is prepared to grant comparable approval to changes in U.S.
Continental Airlines reported a record single-year load factor of 68.1% in 1996, 2.5 percentage points higher than in 1995. December's load factor, 67.6%, was 4 points higher than the year-earlier period. Traffic for the month increased 15.9% on 8.9% greater capacity. International traffic jumped 18.9% on 13.7% higher capacity, which pushed the international load factor up 3 points to 67.7%. For 1996, Continental experienced a 4.7% traffic gain on 0.9% greater capacity. Domestic capacity dropped 1.3% last year while international capacity rose 6.8%.
Formal U.S.-U.K. bilateral talks will resume Feb. 4 in Washington in an effort to "see what further progress we can make in defining issues and finding solutions," John Byerly, State Department special negotiator for transportation affairs, said yesterday. The talks will last about three days.
