Northwest will begin flying nonstops to Toronto from Minneapolis Feb. 24. It will operate two daily flights in the market with 727s and 757s. Northwest also operates five daily nonstops to Toronto from Detroit. The Minneapolis-Toronto route award is part of the phased open skies agreement between the U.S. and Canada, which comes into full effect in 1998 (DAILY, Nov. 18).
Sabena will operate five-times-weekly direct service between Brussels and Cincinnati - under its code-sharing agreement with Delta - beginning in May, the Belgian flag carrier said yesterday. The service, to be flown with Sabena's Airbus A340 aircraft, is expected to feed U.S. passengers to Sabena's European and African networks. Sabena also said its transatlantic flights will be non-smoking starting March 30.
The Grand Canyon Air Tour Coalition has filed suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against FAA and acting Administrator Linda Daschle for restricting air tour flights over the Grand Canyon. FAA has restricted the airspace allowed for overflights in an effort to reduce noise in the park. The new rules go into effect May 1. All the members of the coalition also are members of the United States Air Tour Association.
New Nashville regional Corporate Express, which operates with a fleet of six 19-passenger Super Jetstream 32s, is exploring options to acquire more of those aircraft for operations in the East. The carrier flies from Nashville to Knoxville and Tri-Cities, Tenn., and plans to expand to Atlanta Jan. 19, Memphis Feb. 9 and Little Rock Feb. 23 (DAILY, Jan. 6).
Correction: TWA's on-time performance averaged 50% on about half the days of the recent holiday period. The DAILY Jan. 6 incorrectly stated the 50% referred to load factor.
DOT has given short-term approval to a Japan Airlines bid for new Sendai- Honolulu service, as U.S. negotiators prepare to fly to Japan this week for informal bilateral talks (DAILY, Jan. 6). Through March 14, co-extensive with underlying authority, JAL will be able to fly up to seven weekly roundtrip combination flights on the route. (Docket OST-95-662)
Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines says it will not meet analysts' fourth quarter earnings expectations because of "higher than anticipated fuel and maintenance-related expenses with a lower than forecast revenue base." The carrier was plagued by high cancellations due to poor weather during the quarter.
Boeing yesterday received board of directors approval to offer a new, larger 767 derivative for sale to airlines and leasing companies. The 767- 400ERX would have 10%-15% more seats than the 767-300 and the 6,500- nautical-mile range of the 767-300ER, accommodating 245 passengers in three service classes, compared with 218 in the -300. The derivative would incorporate a fuselage stretch, aerodynamic improvements, a wider wing with winglets, increased takeoff weight capability and a new main landing gear.
Four issues - financing, management, modernization, and aviation safety and security - will be the most important items on FAA's agenda for 1997, according to acting Administrator Linda Daschle, and financing is at the top of the list. Daschle, who leaves the agency Jan. 31, told The DAILY she has "no idea" when the trust fund taxes, which expired Dec. 31, will be extended by Congress.
Santa Barbara Airlines, a new South American regional, signed an agreement with Aero International (Regional) for the lease of two ATR 42-320 aircraft and a technical support package. The airline priced the deal at $22 million. The lease includes elements "very favorable to our cash flow," said airline General Manager Frans Kramer. Santa Barbara will be the first operator in Venezuela to use the hot-and-high variant of the 48-seat ATR 42. The two-year-old aircraft will be delivered in February and April.
U.S. National Carriers Operating and Net Profit Third Quarter 1996 Operating Net Profit/Loss Profit/Los (000) (000) Third Quarter 1996 American Trans Air $ (18,432) $ (11,718) Carnival (6,882) (7,447) Hawaiian 4,573 1,369 Midwest Express 11,822 7,306
ValuJet is offering free companion tickets on systemwide flights until Feb. 13. Anyone purchasing a regular fare before Jan. 31 can take along a friend at no extra cost. Not included are flights to and from New Orleans Jan. 24-27 and Feb. 6-13.
The Rolls-Royce/Snecma Olympus 593 engines powering the Concorde have reached a significant service milestone - 500,000 hours of passenger- carrying operations at greater than the speed of sound. British Airways and Air France, which operate 12 of the supersonic aircraft, expect to fly them well into the next century. The aircraft made its first flight in 1976 and has accumulated almost 800,000 hours since then.
Eurocontrol has gone live on the World Wide Web, with an initial 200 pages of information previously published on paper. It plans to include more information in the future. The home page address is: http://www. eurocontrol.be. Eurocontrol has 24 member states. Croatia is expected to become the next state to join.
Dassault Aviation has received approval from the Taiwan government to invest NT$100 million (US$3.63 million) in Taichung-based Chenfeng Machinery Enterprise, further expanding the French company's involvement in Taiwan's aviation industry. Dassault plans to acquire 5.3 million Chenfeng shares, 10% of the outstanding stock of the manufacturer of equipment for the production of footwear, which expanded to aircraft parts and components seven years ago.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar announced yesterday a compromise that calls for the city to reopen Meigs Field for five years before converting it into a park. The deal follows Edgar's proposal last month to keep the airport open for seven years.
Amerijet, in a letter to DOT Director-International Aviation Paul Gretch, is opposing efforts by Fine Airlines and DHL Aero Expreso to conduct wet- lease operations for Air Jamaica. Amerijet is filing the objection because of difficulty the carrier has had setting up scheduled all-cargo operations in Jamaica. It has not been permitted to handle its own ground operations in Jamaica, despite language in the bilateral agreement that permits carriers from both countries to self-handle.
Dragonair selected Auxiliary Power International Corp.'s APS 3200 to equip two new and five optional A320-200s. The carrier also will upgrade seven existing aircraft by replacing the original auxiliary power units. Dragonair has launched a World Wide Web site at http://www.dragonair.com.
Raytheon Co., fresh from renegotiating its air traffic control modernization contract with India, now plans to complete systems site acceptance tests (SSAT) for the new systems in New Delhi and Mumbai on time, based on terms of the modified contract. Responding to questions based on Indian press reports that the government planned to seek damages against the company, Pete Dunham, Raytheon's manager of international ATC systems, said "there has been no official notice of that." He added that the company does not expect such action.
American will cease flying the New York Kennedy-Zurich route as of Feb. 1 but will maintain service to Switzerland with its Chicago-Zurich operations. The move means that Swissair will be the sole operator of scheduled service from the New York area to Zurich, which it operates with code-share partner Delta. Swissair serves Zurich from Kennedy and Newark.
More bad news for TWA, which has cut back on winter flying and still is searching for Jeffrey Erickson's successor: The interim management team reports TWA "did not run a very good airline" over the holidays. From Dec. 20 through Dec. 30, cancellation rates were high and load factors during half that period were under 50%. Managers told employees they must return to basics and refocus on providing reliable service and recapturing the high-yield business traveler. It is a "people" issue, they said - but not one of not enough people.
Continental plans to make the largest profit-sharing payout in its history Feb. 14 and is wrapping up what Chairman and Chief Executive Gordon Bethune says is probably "our most successful year." It expects to be the on-time leader in November and December.
