ValuJet has sold its 15 surplus DC-9 and MD-80 aircraft at or above book value, plus five spare engines, and will use the proceeds to retire $46.6 million in aircraft bank debt. Seven of the aircraft were owned by ValuJet, and eight had not yet been delivered. The carrier has one remaining MD-83, which it hopes to sell by the end of this month to standardize its fleet. ValuJet took delivery of two DC-9-32 aircraft in September, and with the sale of the 15, its fleet now comprises 45 DC-9-30s and one MD-83.
Emirates will increase service Oct. 27 from Dubai to Nairobi and Jakarta, adding a third weekly flight to Nairobi and a fourth to Jakarta. The governments of Kenya and Indonesia have approved the service.
SabreTech promoted Fernando Pereya to general manager and expanded the responsibilities of Manny Castanedo, director of technical services, to include operations management, with the additional title of director- maintenance.
Northrop Grumman Senior Director-F-15 Programs Michael Lennon received the Association of Old Crows Executive Management Award, and Senior Technical Analyst Gordon Ericksen received the Intelligence Award.
Boeing is speeding up 737 production rate increases, aiming to reach 17 per month by the third quarter of next year, six months sooner than planned earlier, from today's rate of 8.5 aircraft. The 737 rate change is the fourth in nine months. Initial hikes came from unexpectedly strong launch demand for the next-generation 737-600, -700 and -800, but a company spokeswoman told The DAILY that the latest acceleration represents demand for "a mix of old- and new-generation" aircraft.
Virgin Atlantic is not running out of inventive amenities for business- and first-class passengers. After providing limousine service and inflight massages, Virgin now is offering drive-through check-in at Heathrow Airport for its Upper Class passengers. Travelers need not leave the limousine as it glides through a covered check-in counter and a porter takes the baggage. Boarding passes are pre-issued electronically by the limousine driver.
Alaska Airlines broke ground last week on an $8 million air cargo facility at Anchorage Airport that will have automated bar coding and container handling. Alaska carried 93.2 million pounds of freight at Anchorage last year and expects to handle 120 million pounds a year by 2002.
September traffic for Alaska Airlines jumped 16.1% on 7.3% greater capacity, pushing the load factor up 5 percentage points to 65.8%. For the first nine months of 1996, Alaska's revenue passenger mile count rose 16.4%. Regional sister carrier Horizon Air saw traffic climb 2.2% to 72 million revenue passenger miles. Horizon's load factor dropped to 57.5% from 60.1%. Figures below are for Alaska Airlines. Sept 96 Sept 95 9 Mths 96 9 Mths 95
Westin Hotels&Resorts and Japan Airlines have developed a travel partnership that gives JAL's frequent flyer members miles for stays at Westin properties worldwide. Westin hotels award 500 Mileage Bank miles to JAL's frequent flyer members, and members of Westin's frequent guest program earn 1,000 award points per night.
Board of trustees of more than 40 air tour operators last week voted unanimously for the ouster of DOT Secretary Federico Pena. The U.S. Air Tour Association (USATA) is unhappy with Pena because he has been "grossly and consistently negligent in his representation of the air tour industry." Chairman Jim Petty, president of Air Vegas Airlines, which provides tours of the Grand Canyon, said an "entire industry may vanish" if Pena remains DOT secretary.
Boeing said it delivered 54 jet transports in the third quarter - 15 737s, five 747s, 15 757s, 10 767s and nine 777s. For the first nine months, deliveries totaled 156 - 53 737s, 16 747s, 34 757s, 29 767s and 24 777s. Boeing projects total deliveries for 1996 of 215 aircraft.
LorAir requested an additional 90 days to launch the charter combination service for which it received authority last year. Under that approval, LorAir must begin operations by Nov. 17 or lose its certificate to dormancy. Seeking more time, the company cited a change in ownership that sparked "a rewrite of LorAir's manuals and procedures, which will insure a safer and more efficient operation." FAA has approved the carrier's rewritten manuals and procedures, but proving fights have been delayed by difficulty getting the two aircraft the carrier plans to operate.
The Air Line Pilots Association and management at Skyway Airlines have requested mediation by the National Mediation Board after nine months of trying to secure a first contract covering the pilots. ALPA was elected to represent Skyway's 120 pilots in July 1995, and contract negotiations began in January. ALPA said little progress has been made in the talks.
Air Canada and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) agreed to form a comprehensive alliance, building on the partnerships both carriers have with United and Lufthansa. Provisions in the agreement cover code sharing, reciprocal participation in frequent flyer programs, schedule coordination, through-flight check-in and reciprocal lounge usage. The agreement, which is subject to government approval, is expected to begin in April 1997 and join flights between Canada and Denmark, Norway and Sweden via Frankfurt, London and New York.
Controllers' union says it "made history" with Senate passage last week of the FAA reauthorization bill. "For the first time, a federal sector union has full negotiability, no longer restricted by the Civil Service Reform Act," which "limited negotiable issues to generally mundane topics," said Mike McNally, National Air Traffic Controllers Association VP. "We now have an equal place at the table" with FAA negotiators, he said.
Revenue passenger miles rose 5.6% at USAir in September on 5.1% greater capacity, which forced the systemwide load factor up 0.3 percentage points to 62.4%. Domestic traffic gained 1% and international traffic 67.6%. USAir added several international destinations within the last 12 months. The average passenger journey in September rose 5.9% to 700 miles from 661 miles in September 1995. Sept 96 Sept 95 9 Mths 96 9 Mths 95 RPMs 2,976,043,000 2,840,463,000 29,186,325,000 29,024,344,000
New Aircraft Orders And Options July 1996 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders/Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Dates #/Type #/Type Air China 3 747-400 - TBA 7/97-7/98 - - Air France* 2 A340-300 - CFM56-5C4 3/97-5/97 - - Air Malta
United opened a flight attendant domicile last week in Frankfurt, its sixth outside the U.S. and 19th overall. It will base 77 flight attendants there initially. The domicile was a red-flag issue last year with the Association of Flight Attendants, which has not improved its relations with management. Last week, the union noted that contract talks have resumed between "us and them."
DOT has granted British Airways' application for an amended carrier permit, adding authority to conduct scheduled combination London-Los Angeles- Auckland and London-Tampa services. BA currently holds exemption authority to operate these services. (Docket 49946)
The U.K. Office of Fair Trading is expected to publish this week its report on the BA-American alliance, including a recommendation whether the proposal should be referred to the U.K. Monopolies and Mergers Commission for further scrutiny. The OFT, which has represented consumer interests exclusively in the past but has broader scope under new European Union procedures, has held its findings close to the vest since finishing up its work last Tuesday.
