Federal Express said yesterday that on Nov. 1 it will begin offering International Priority second-day delivery from the U.S. to more than a dozen major commercial centers in Europe by 10:30 a.m. The cities are Amsterdam, Antwerp, Basel, Brussels, Cologne, Dusseldorf, Eindhoven, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hamburg, London, Milan, Munich, Stuttgart and Zurich. FedEx said it will introduce International First Service to Europe early next year with an 8 a.m. delivery commitment, following last year's successful introduction of the service from Europe to the U.S.
Qantas and Japan Airlines have signed a code-sharing agreement between two points in Australia and Tokyo. The agreement, which the two carriers hope to start in April, covers the Brisbane-Tokyo and Cairns-Tokyo routes. JAL will fly daily nonstop 747 service to Brisbane, replacing its current Tokyo-Cairns-Brisbane service. Qantas also will fly 747s daily from Cairns, instead of a 767 from Brisbane through Sydney to Tokyo. Qantas said it was building on an already strong relationship with JAL, which wet- leased three Qantas 747s in 1991.
The German Land of Brandenburg intends to sell a stake in Berlin's Schonefeld Airport to private shareholders in an attempt to compensate losses incurred because of its involvement in the airport's holding company, Berlin Brandenburg Flughafen (BBF). The losses, related to the purchase of 115 hectares of land adjacent to the airport, are currently being investigated by a parliamentary committee.
Rosenbluth International said it will share with its clients its portion of the settlement in the class-action suit brought by agencies against airlines that capped commissions. Federal Judge James Rosenbaum granted preliminary approval last week to a $72 million settlement with four of the six capping airlines - Northwest, American, United and Delta.
America West will roll out a plan next month to try to eliminate passive segments booked by travel agents, which cost it $7 million-$8 million per year. The carrier will focus on high-volume offenders, or about 35% of its agency community, Bill Spilman, director of product distribution, told The DAILY at a travel distribution conference in Boston. America West will give agencies about two months to get used to the idea before it bills them for passives.
A significant number of pilot sickouts during American's recent contract negotiations with the Allied Pilots Association, coupled with much higher fuel costs, will result in lower-than-expected third quarter results, Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Crandall said yesterday. Speaking to the Society of Airline Analysts in New York, Crandall said three-month results due next month "will not be as strong as we would like," due to capacity shortfalls, canceled flights during the summer and 20% higher year-over-year fuel expenses.
Transport Canada and Winnipeg Airports Authority (WAA) have agreed on the transfer of Winnipeg Airport's operation and management to WAA from the federal government, effective Jan. 1. Winnipeg is one of the National Airports System airports designated in July 1994.
Vanguard Airlines said it plans several new services at its Kansas City base, including daily flights from Cincinnati with continuing service to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Dallas/Fort Worth and Salt Lake City, starting Oct. 1. On the same date, it will begin Cincinnati-Chicago Midway service for $59 one way. Introductory fares are good between Oct. 1 and Dec. 18. It will begin service Oct. 10 from Kansas City to Seattle with connecting service between Seattle and Wichita, Cincinnati and Des Moines. Vanguard will offer new daily flights Oct.
Rolim Amaro, president of TAM of Brazil and newly in control of LAPSA of Paraguay, plans to establish Asuncion as a regional hub connecting passengers from the U.S.
America West recorded a 10.2% gain in revenue passenger miles for August and a 10.7% gain in available seat miles, forcing the load factor down 0.4 points to 74.7%. It reported its July and August yields were "below expectations," even though its loads were on track. It anticipates earnings per share for the quarter ending Sept. 30 to fall below the $0.45 earned in the third quarter of 1995.
The House debated yesterday a revised version of the FAA authorization bill (H.R.3539) and is set to vote on the measure today. Among changes from the bill as reported by the House Transportation Committee (DAILY, June 7) are elimination of FAA's dual mandate to regulate and promote the aviation industry and incorporation of the committee-approved child pilot safety bill (H.R.3267) and the airline pilot record transfer bill (H.R.3536).
Requiring the airlines to conduct 100% domestic baggage match as ordered by President Clinton will create "enormous delays" and cost the industry $2.3 billion a year, the Air Transport Association said yesterday. ATA said it supports most of the Gore Commission proposals on ways to improve aviation safety and security, but the requirements for bag matching and fingerprinting will not improve security (DAILY, Sept. 19).
All Nippon Airways has started flights to and from India with a twice- weekly service from Mumbai to Osaka, airline officials said yesterday. The service, which is the first direct link between the two cities, is being offered in two classes, using a 204-seat Boeing 767-300 extended-range aircraft with 13 Club ANA business-class and 191 economy-class seats, they said.
American may reach the 200,000 subscriber mark this week on the E-mail system it launched in March to alert customers to short-term low fares not available elsewhere. International fares will be added in the fall. John Samuel, managing director of distribution planning, predicts a "steady stream" of new electronic products.
American Automobile Association and The Thomas Cook Group plan to form "the world's largest" leisure travel alliance pending regulatory approval. AAA's 1,000 travel agencies will join with Thomas Cook's 1,800 offices, and the combined entity would serve more than 54 million leisure travelers, beginning Jan. 1, giving AAA a much more global reach. "With AAA's extensive network in the U.S.
Open skies between the U.S. and the U.K. "will remain beyond reach for some time to come," and open skies between the U.S. and the European Union are even less likely, former U.S. aviation negotiator Jeffrey Shane said Monday at an IATA symposium in Cape Town, South Africa. Despite widespread speculation that the U.S. and the U.K.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic, First Quarter 1996 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 188 13.70 1,059 198,903 Latin 188 13.70 1,059 198,903 American 3,544 5.72 2,096 7,427,249
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) this month will research wake vortices created by jet transports on Runway 33L at Baltimore Washington International Airport. APL said data collected by researchers at BWI and other locations will be used to develop a "reliable vortex detection system." It said such a system would increase airport safety by providing controllers with observed vortex location and intensity information to help them decide when to delay landings and takeoffs.
This week marks the second anniversary of the Sept. 8, 1994, crash of a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh that killed all 132 aboard. It also marks the longest period following an accident in which the National Transportation Safety Board has not issued a probable cause finding.
Jean-Louis Berrendonner has been named senior VP for Europe, Africa and the Middle East in the Large Commercial Engine business of Pratt&Whitney. He will have offices in Paris and East Hartford. He had been a VP at Snecma.
Reno Air's revenue passenger miles jumped 29% in August to 308.9 million from 239.6 million on 33% more capacity. Available seat miles totaled 423.8 million, up from 318.9 million, lowering the load factor 2.3 points to 72.9%. For the year-to-date, RPMs rose 46% to 2.022 billion from 1.388 billion, while capacity rose 34% to 2.960 billion from 2.212 billion ASMs. The load factor was up 5.5 points to 68.3%.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Revenues and Expenses, First Quarter 1996 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues Alaska 263,535,000 21.42 215,695,000 America West 405,792,121 17.79 376,108,297 American 2,524,106,000 (4.18) 2,298,343,000 Continental 1,087,378,000 8.63 961,909,000
Delta Express will offer fares, starting Oct. 1, for travel through Dec. 13 between eight cities and Orlando at a cost of $49 to $89 one way. Delta Express will begin serving Boston, Hartford, Indianapolis, Louisville, Nashville, Newark, Philadelphia and Providence at that time, and will phase in service to more cities on Nov. 1, Dec. 1 and Jan. 1, operating 25 737- 200s by Jan. 1.
Strong traffic during the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta helped Delta post record August numbers. Revenue passenger miles increased 13.3% on 2.7% greater capacity, and domestic revenue passenger miles grew 20.5%. Domestic capacity rose only 5.9%, so Delta recorded a booming 7.3-point gain in systemwide load factor, to 77.7%. "Our record traffic performance for August exceeded our expectations," said Thomas Roeck Jr., Delta's senior VP-finance and chief financial officer.
Midwest Express Airlines named Christopher White director of safety and regulatory compliance, effective Oct. 1. He also will be the carrier's representative on the Air Transport Association's Safety Council. White most recently was manager of internal safety evaluation. Before joining Midwest Express in 1992, he worked for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group for eight years.
