SAS will launch reduced-fare service Oct. 22 for business and leisure passengers between Stockholm and Oslo, offering 14 "SAS Express" roundtrips per day, ticketless travel and individualized food and beverages.
Nine regional-airline stocks dipped an average of 98 cents during September to $10.64 per share. Total market value of the nine issues was down $133.7 million to nearly $2.4 billion. Only one of the nine stocks was on the up side during the month. Northwest Airlink Mesaba Holdings increased 13 cents to $10.88 per share. Decliners were led by Delta Connection SkyWest, which was off $2.88 to $14.24 per share, followed by United Express Atlantic Coast, down $2.77 to $11.75 per share.
Pan American said yesterday it is leasing two Airbus A300s for five years from C-S Aviation Services, bringing its fleet to five A300s, all with General Electric engines. The aircraft, originally flown by Lufthansa, will be delivered by mid-November. Pan Am, which began daily scheduled service between New York Kennedy and Miami and Los Angeles last week, said Mobile Aerospace, Mobile, Ala., has begun work to bring the aircraft to "zero time." Its aircraft are configured with 24 first-class and 230 coach seats.
An Aeroperu 757 crashed into the Pacific Ocean yesterday shortly after takeoff from Lima. The crew reported technical problems shortly before the crash.
Alaska Airlines was named "Best U.S. Airline" by Travel&Leisure magazine, which plans to give the award annually. The October issue, which ranks airlines based on a survey of 6,400 readers, assigned second place to United, followed by Delta, American, Hawaiian, Northwest, Aloha, TWA, America West and Southwest. Alaska will receive the award Oct. 19 aboard the QE2 during Travel&Leisure's 25th anniversary celebration in New York.
Uzbekistan Airways selected Pratt&Whitney to provide a 10-year engine fleet management program for its PW4000 and PW2000 engines. The contract is valued at about $60 million. The carrier operates two Airbus A310s and late this year will acquire two new 767s and a 757 VIP aircraft, all powered by Pratt engines.
Airlines serving U.S. airports are well ahead of deadlines for switching to quieter aircraft, Transportation Secretary Federico Pena said yesterday. Carriers have until 2000 to assemble fleets that comply with the Stage 3 noise rule. In a report submitted to Congress, Pena said more than 200 of the noisiest jetliners were retired in the past year "under our aggressive effort to phase out these aircraft.
GTE Airfone is offering a $24.95 calling card good for unlimited calls while flying throughout the month of December. GTE said the card covers every Airfone service - domestic, international and satellite calls, three- way calling and data connections. Orders must be placed by Nov. 15.
DOT made final with one minor modification its allocation of combination frequencies in the U.S.-Russia market. The department allotted three weekly frequencies to Alaska Airlines, 19 to Delta, 8.5 to Northwest, seven to TWA and seven to United. Five weekly frequencies are being reserved for Baltia Air Lines in the event it starts proposed U.S.-Russia services as authorized by DOT. The other 4.5 weekly frequencies will remain available for allocation.
The air traffic control facility responsible for the "busiest airspace in the world just moved into the 21st century," according to members of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association who staff the Chicago O'Hare Tracon. In a letter to President Clinton, local union leaders said the new tracon will be dedicated Oct.
Singapore Aircraft Lease Enterprise ordered eight A320s and four A321s and took options on 12 aircraft of any type from the A320 family. Deliveries of the firm-order aircraft begin in January 1998, and Airbus Industrie said they will be Singapore's first single-aisle types. The company is jointly owned by Singapore Airlines and Boullioun Aviation Services. An engine choice has not been made.
DOT should insist that Magadan Airlines drop its code-share arrangement with Aeroflot in exchange for new U.S. service authority, Alaska Airlines said in a filing to the department. Operating as Mavial, Magadan has requested an exemption to provide scheduled combination service between points in Russia and co-terminal points Anchorage and Seattle, via intermediate points (DAILY, Sept 18).
Janitors are striking at Washington National Airport, claiming unfair labor practices by PRIEM, a joint venture partner of their employer, P&R Enterprises. The janitors are asking the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority to put pressure on PRIEM, a subcontractor at National. MWAA told the janitors Sept. 25 that it would be inappropriate for the authority to intervene in the labor affairs of a subcontractor.
DOT warned U.S. carriers not to transfer foreign charter allocations to other carriers and threatened civil penalties in future transfer cases. Noting that government-to-government agreements limit the number of charters U.S. carriers may operate in several markets, such as Japan and Brazil, DOT said it learned that, "contrary to the intention of the department, some trading or selling of these slots has occurred between airlines." The department said its Enforcement Office "has recently taken enforcement action regarding the use of several U.S.
Finnair applied for renewal of its exemption to operate scheduled combination service between Helsinki and San Francisco. Saying it intends to continue providing three roundtrip flights per week on the route using MD-11 aircraft during the summer, the carrier said it would adjust the flight schedule as market conditions warrant. It said the application is consistent with the public interest and it is within the scope of the U.S.- Finland open skies agreement. (Docket OST-96-1831)
Jet startups in most of the U.S. - not just Kiwi, which filed this week for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection - have been stung throughout the summer from negative publicity surrounding ValuJet's May 11 crash, its flaws in maintenance management and the debate about whether it should start up again. "It is a problem, but it's not a serious problem," said Ed Beauvais, chairman and chief executive of Western Pacific Airlines.
Seven U.S. airlines have outlined to the State Department procedures for exchanging passenger information after aviation disasters that happen outside the U.S. and involve U.S. citizens, the Air Transport Association said yesterday. The airlines - American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA, United and USAir - account for most international traffic from the U.S., and other carriers also may follow the procedures, ATA President Carol Hallett said.
South African Airways asked DOT to amend its current authority, granting it fifth-freedom charter rights between Vitoria, Spain, and New York Kennedy on its existing flights. The carrier asked DOT to act on the request by noon Friday.
The Teamsters union has won an election to represent mechanics and related workers at ValuJet Airlines. The National Mediation Board said that of 70 eligible voters, 42 cast ballots for the union. Ron Carey, Teamsters general president, said, "ValuJet needs steady, experienced mechanics, not subcontracting of safety to the lowest bidder." The union said ValuJet's mechanics sought representation to increase their say in what happens with the airline and expand its in-house maintenance capabilities.
Royal Jordanian Airlines and TWA signed a memorandum of understanding to establish code-share service between the U.S., Jordan and The Netherlands. The agreement, subject to government approval, would provide for passenger and cargo service between New York Kennedy, Amsterdam and Amman five times per week, and on TWA's service from New York to Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. Both carriers hope to launch the code share Dec. 18. TWA's direct service to Amman would be the first by a U.S. carrier.
Passport Travel Guide, a division of ITEX Corp., has signed an agreement with Mexican tour company Best Days for online reservations to Passport's properties in Mexico. Passport maintains a directory of resorts, hotels, motels and bed-and-breakfast inns that can be found on the Internet at www.webnights.com. Passport also launched a marketing campaign that includes advertisements in the inflight magazines of Continental, TWA, USAir, America West and Sun Country.
Lufthansa has signed a code-sharing and franchise agreement with German regional Augsburg Airways, the first agreement of its kind for Lufthansa. The pact will begin Oct. 27, as Lufthansa's code is placed on Augsburg's daily service from Munich to Dortmund, Erfurt and Leipzig. Augsburg, which operates 50-seat Dash 8-300s and 37-seat Dash 8-100s, becomes the first of what Lufthansa expects to be several franchisees under an umbrella called Team Lufthansa. Augsburg will carry a "Team Lufthansa" insignia on its aircraft.
