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2001 Air Transport News
News Center & ArchivesPresident George W. Bush will increase the number of National Guard troops assigned to US airports by 57% to nearly 11,000 during the holiday season and urged Congress to pass an aviation security bill quickly.
Air Transport Assoc. called Nov. 8 for federally issued voluntary identification cards for air travelers and said its member airlines, which account for 97% of domestic passenger traffic, have finished reinforcing the cockpit doors of their nearly 4,000 aircraft.
US House of Representatives named its members for the House-Senate conference committee on aviation security. Republican members are Don Young (Alaska), Tom Petri (Wis.), John Duncan (Tenn.), John Mica (Fla.) and Vern Ehlers (Mich.). The Democrats are James Oberstar (Minn.), William Lipinski (Ill.) and Peter DeFazio (Ore.). Main sticking point between the Senate and House legislation is the fact that the Senate bill calls for federalizing all baggage screeners while the House bill mandates federal oversight and regulatory authority, with the actual screening conducted by the private sector.
Air Transportation Stabilization Board, created by the US to issue aid to airlines in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, recently launched a website to provide information to carriers and their lenders. The site, www.treas.gov/atsb, includes loan guarantee guidelines and applications.
Aer Lingus has axed the Belfast-Shannon portion of its Belfast-Shannon-New York JFK run, and shelved service from Shannon to Paris. One more cut: Dublin-Stockholm is gone. http://www.flyaerlingus.com
Air Canada will at the start of this year's winter schedule introduce a four times weekly nonstop service between Vancouver and New Delhi, the first ever non stop operation between North America and India. An Airbus 340 will be used on the polar route. New timings allow for business travelers to Toronto to schedule same day returns.
The airline is to introduce this June a five times weekly afternoon nonstop summer service between London Heathrow and Edmonton, Alberta. The route will be operated by a Boeing 767-300 aircraft and a 205 seat two class layout. With the introduction of the new service, Air Canada and Canadian Airlines will offer up to 15 nonstop flights per day between the UK and Canada for the summer of 2001. http://www.aircanada.ca
Air China is to increase capacity on the Heathrow - Beijing route by adding a Saturday service with the start of the summer schedule. The extra flight will give passengers four services weekly, on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Boeing 747-400s operate the route. The airline has just introduced a nonsmoking policy. http://:www.air-china.co.uk
Air France is to drop its Paris CDG-Brussels service at the end of the winter season in response to the growing demand for rail travel between the capitals. Operations between both cities have been viewed as difficult to sustain largely due to the development of the high-speed train links that connect Paris and Brussels in 75 minutes and the very short flying time involved. There will now be five TGV services daily from Brussels to the CDG Terminal 2 railway station timed to connect with the main AF flight banks. Sabena will continue to serve CDG but has dropped Orly. Parent SAirGroup is attempting to develop Orly as a Parisian alternative.
Air France and British Airways resumed Concorde SST service from Paris and London to New York Kennedy on November 7. http://www.airfrance.fr
Airtran Airways began daily nonstop service to Tallahassee. It offers two daily nonstop flights between Tallahassee and Atlanta and three daily non stops between Tallahassee and Tampa.
AirTran plans to begin thrice-daily Atlanta-Baltimore/Washington-Atlanta service December 12. On December 19, the carrier launches nonstop Orlando-BWI service. Fort Myers-BWI is set for February 5, and Miami-BWI begins March 5. Florida routes are once-daily affairs. More post-9/11 expansion. America West wants to launch twice-daily non stops between Orlando and Columbus, Ohio on December 15 with A320s. http://www.airtran.com
Alaska Airlines will begin daily nonstop service from SeaTac International and both Dulles International and Reagan National. Alaska had previously inaugurated the National Airport run but substituted Dulles when National was closed down. However, traffic to Dulles turned out to be solid enough that with the reopening of Reagan National, Alaska opted to keep both destinations on the schedule. Service is operated with the 120-seat 737. http://www.alaskaair.com
American Airlines announced last Friday that it will discontinue daily nonstop services on its Los Angeles - Paris and Chicago - Rome routes, effective 1 November 2001. American serves both routes with 190-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft.
AA said that it will continue to provide daily non- stop services to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport from Boston, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, New York's Kennedy Airport and Miami, as well as from San José, California., where the airline launched a Paris service in April 2001. American operates also nonstop to Brussels from Chicago, to Zurich from Chicago and Dallas-Fort Worth.
From London it serves eight US gateways - JFK, Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, Newark, Los Angeles, Boston and Raleigh-Durham. BA is likely to be the biggest beneficiary of the cut back, passengers changing at LHR to the European destinations.
The airline has begun to introduce its "More Room in Coach" on flights London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow to various points in the USA. AA is currently removing more than 7,200 seats, an average of two rows per aircraft, increasing seat pitch from the industry standard of 31-32 ins to a predominant level of 34-35 ins, with some seats reaching as much as 36 ins. Adding to economy comfort are new-generation seats with a roomier seat contour, a six-way adjustable leather headrest, and armrests on most aisle seats that move up and back for easier seat access.
American which operates a formidable Chicago O'Hare hub, is laying on three to five extra inches of extra legroom for flyers in the back of the bus. American is ripping out a couple of rows of seats from its airplanes. All coach flyers will get extra room, no matter how far back they are in the aircraft. United recently added extra seat pitch for flyers in the front of the coach cabin. AA says half of its domestic fleet would be reconfigured by June. The entire ensemble should be reworked by year's end. The international fleet gets the treatment starting this fall, with work slated for completion by the second quarter of 2001.
American will open "Park Avenue" at Heathrow early in 2001, a new concept in check-in facilities for premium passengers. First and Business Class clients will completely bypass Heathrow Terminal 3 check-in area, can drive up directly to the canopied entrance to Park Avenue, check-in and go straight to the lounge or departure gate. Park Avenue will be a purpose built drive up check-in facility with its own car lane situated opposite the existing Terminal 3 departures building at Heathrow.
Say so long to TWA's JFK terminal. As American Airlines integrates TWA into the corporate fold, there's no need to field flights from the historic structure anymore. It's being closed this month American Airlines is showing some faith in the future, not just continuing &endash; but actually accelerating &endash; construction of its new terminal at JFK. A 17-gate midfield concourse is now slated to be up and running by June 2003 &endash; six months sooner than originally projected. The entire 2.2 million square foot complex is set to be complete by September 2006. The best thing about AA's new JFK facilities: the international arrivals facility will be able to take care of 2,400 flyers an hour. Asiana has relocated to JFK's Terminal 4. American Eagle intends to make DFW-Jackson an all regional jet affair starting December 3. http://www.aa.com
American West is laying on more service out of Columbus. "While passenger demand has yet to fully recover," said HP Executive Vice President Scott Kirby, "we have experienced recent increases and have responded with more capacity." December 15, the carrier begins twice-daily CMH-Orlando service. Over the next few weeks, American West says it wants to add additional flights out of Port Columbus International to Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, New York LaGuardia, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Chicago.
America West is bringing back in-flight food &endash; at least on some routes. From Phoenix, you can grab a bite to eat en route to Boston, Baltimore/Washington, New York (JFK), Philadelphia, Reagan Washington National and Newark. Menus have been "modified to lower costs." http://www.americawest.com
The cost of air travel down under has skyrocketed 40% since 9/11. The collapse of Ansett as we knew it, coupled with additional taxes and surcharges, prompted the rise. http://www.ansett.com.au
Austrian Airlines has put armed sky marshals on all its flights between Vienna and North America. http://www.aua.com
British Airways has inaugurated nonstop Boeing 777 services to the Port of San Diego, virtually the southern most point in California, USA. The new daily services are the first transatlantic nonstop operation in the history of San Diego and will open up the city for travel to and from Europe. A Terrace lounge is being opened and the flight time is 10hrs 20mins. The airport also serves Palm Springs and much of northern Mexico.
British has reopened its First class lounge at London Heathrow, following a major revamp that compliments the recently launched First class cabin on the airline's long haul aircraft. The lounge features deep, luxurious furniture in rich velvets and classic tailored herringbone. Tan leather recliners and vast sofas in burnt plum are offset by light reflective linen textured wallpaper. Mocha stained oak and stainless steel mesh screens offer privacy and a secluded place to work or relax. This theme continues into rich rosewood veneers and bronze, framing the wine bar and cappuccino bar. A new menu offering customers the freedom to either help themselves or be served anywhere in the lounge with warm breads and Danish pastries in the morning to fresh soup and roasted vegetable salsa and freshly prepared sandwiches throughout the day. State-of-the-art washrooms give direct access to the new spa with shower rooms, steam rooms and massage. There is a dedicated business suite.
The airline will offer its new World Traveler Plus full fare economy product on all seven daily services between London Heathrow and New York JFK. World Traveler Plus has its own dedicated cabin with up to 40 wider seats with 38" pitch (compared with 31" in World Traveler), all equipped with in-seat power and telephones. Each seat back includes a 12 channel television offering films, comedy, drama and news programs. World Traveler Plus will now be introduced on to the Hong Kong and San Francisco routes and phased in with the rest airline's long haul fleet over the next year.
British Airways is considering offering its range of 'special' meals in its Club World business class Terrace departure lounges at New York, Washington and the US East Coast airports. BA provides in-flight ethnic catering in all its three classes by pre-booking. As part of its highly successful preflight dining package BA could offer the facility on evening departures to the UK, allowing passengers to achieve a full night's sleep whilst in the air. Passengers will need to pre-book 24 hours before departure.
British Airways has axed Belfast-London Heathrow service, bmi British midland (that's the way they spell it across the pond, in lower case) has moved the majority of its Belfast flights from Belfast International to Belfast City Airport. Now, there are seven daily departures to London Heathrow from Belfast City, four from Belfast International.
Air France and British Airways resumed Concorde SST service from Paris and London to New York Kennedy on November 7. http://www.british-airways.com
British Airways has launched a revolutionary new on-line business travel management portal, 'Your Travel Manager', which will deliver significant savings to small businesses by implementing more effective travel policies. The easy to use system gives small to medium sized companies access to a one-stop shop for booking hotels, car-hire and airline travel, and enables the company to access competitive fares and save on administrative costs. It also represents an opportunity for companies to manage their travel budget as a single entity. The portal, developed in conjunction with technology partner GetThere.com can be personalized to reflect individual corporate travel policies and, in order to speed up subsequent bookings, it is possible to specify travelers' preferences. http://www.interview.yourtravelmanager.com
Cathay Pacific has confirmed that it plans to use its three ultra-long-range Airbus A340-600s on new nonstop routes to Chicago and New York when they arrive in 2002. Flight time from Hong Kong to New York will be around 16 hours, over twice the London-New York schedule. Cathay will compete with Continental who has launched a polar New York - Hong Kong route using Boeing 777, claimed to be the longest nonstop service operated by a US airline.
Looking to save money on Cathay Pacific? The carrier has opened a new Web site dedicated to small businesses in search of a break. Punch up http://www.CXLeverage.com
The airline has introduced the world's first comprehensive online check-in service allowing passengers to check-in for flights via the Internet before heading to the airport. The new service is available up to 90 minutes before the published departure time. Passengers can request window or aisle seats, just as they would at the airport. They can check-in anywhere they have a connection to the Internet - from home or office, or even an Internet café. Boarding passes are collectable on arrival from dedicated counters at Hong Kong International Airport, and at most of Cathay Pacific's international destinations. The service is initially available for all Asia Miles and Marco Polo Club members and their traveling companions. http://www.cathaypacific.com
Continental Airlines is to launch on 1 March 2001 the world's longest nonstop scheduled twin engine aircraft service, a 16 hour 13,600 km / 7,337 nm Boeing 777 flight between New York and Hong Kong. It will also be the first time that the two cities have been linked directly.
Continental has opened a splendid new panoramic Presidents Lounge overlooking the runway at London Gatwick providing accommodation for four times the number of its previous facility. The lounge is also available to arrival passengers and features showers and office facilities. A separate area has been set aside for children. http://www.continental.com
Crossair is describing as preliminary its proposal announced Thursday Nov 15 to retain the name Crossair AG and headquarters in Basel for the new company being launched under the aegis of the upgraded Regional airline that incorporates parts of Swissair. The proposal will be among a broad range of issues to be thrashed out at an extraordinary shareholder meeting in Basel Dec. 6. Spokesperson Manfred Winkler indicated the final decision on the name of the new carrier probably will not come until Jan., and an entirely different name conceivably could emerge.
Crossair is to switch to a 100% jet fleet by the end of 2006. The airline says that only jet aircraft met passengers expectations. They were also easier to schedule. The airline is to replace its MD-80 fleet with Airbus 320s, starting in 2002 and with completion the following year. Initially, eight 162 passenger 320s will be taken, drawn from a pool of aircraft leased by the SAirGroup. http://www.crossair.ch
Delta Airlines will resume nonstop service to Brussels from New York JFK Dec. 14, 2001 using a 767-300ER. The flight will operate five days a week before becoming daily on March 1, 2002.
Delta and Stress Recess, a work place massage provider, will offer complimentary chair massages to Delta's Crown Room Club members in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, New York LaGuardia, and San Francisco on select dates in April and May 2001.
Delta is to introduce a daily Gatwick - Boston service on 1 June 2001. A Boeing 767 ER will be used on the route, which has a flight time of not much over six hours eastbound, the nearest US destination to the UK. Logan International Airport Boston is virtually a downtown airport situated within the harbor complex. Delta will compete with a daily Virgin/Continental code share operated by a Boeing 747 - 400.
Beginning December 1, Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines intends to expand Canadair Regional jet service from ATL to a couple of southern destinations: Albany, Georgia and Dothan, Alabama. There will be four CRJs per day to each city.
Delta is bringing back seasonal ski service between ATL and Vail. There will be a single daily nonstop starting December 22.
Delta is testing a couple of anti-hijack measures on one of its aircraft: a closed-circuit camera system that scans the passenger cabin, and a transponder that pilots can activate if the aircraft is commandeered. The transponder displays a code to alert air traffic controllers. Despite the fall off in traffic stemming from 9/11, some airlines are forging new routes &endash; when it makes economic sense.
Delta Connection carrier SkyWest has begun daily nonstop regional jet service from Dallas/Fort Worth to Pensacola. By December 1, they plan to add two more daily roundtrips on the route. Previously, the run had been served on a one-stop basis by Delta proper.
Delta and Alitalia said they will begin code sharing on 11 nonstop transatlantic flights immediately and will offer code share service on more than 500 flights, including some beyond their hubs, by Dec. 1. The SkyTeam carriers' agreement will allow Delta customers to buy seats on Alitalia's seven transatlantic flights from six US gateways to Milan and Rome. Alitalia customers will be able to buy seats on the US airline's four nonstop 767-300ER flights from Atlanta and New York JFK to Rome, Milan and Venice. By Dec. 1, Alitalia customers will be able to fly on Delta code share flights to 134 destinations beyond the US gateways and Delta customers will be able to fly to 31 Alitalia destinations beyond Milan, Rome and Venice. http://www.delta.com
EasyJet is to launch a daily service from Gatwick to Amsterdam on April 5. The airline will compete with British Airways. BA offers nine outbound flights week daily and a reduced weekend service. The easyJet service will originate from Amsterdam with a 16:40 departure and a 17:30 departure from LGW. From the start of the summer season easyJet will double its Geneva service from Gatwick.
EasyJet is to commence direct services from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to Edinburgh, Belfast and Nice from 5 January 2001. There will be twice-daily flights to Edinburgh, and daily services to Belfast and Nice. EasyJet says that the services are the first step in the process of establishing Amsterdam as a new base airport. The airline already operates flights to Schiphol from Luton, Liverpool and Geneva. A 20 year agreement has also been "agreed in principal" between easyJet and Liverpool Airport which includes a commitment to base seven aircraft at the airport by 2003. http://www.easyjet.com
El Al will discontinue service to unprofitable destinations in Asia, Africa and Europe while boosting service on popular business routes. It intends to replace some of the older 747's and 757's the fleet with new aircraft, including acquiring a fourth 777 and leasing two 747-400s from Boeing, which will bring that fleet to six. The carrier said the acquisitions "are part of El Al's continued focus on business travelers," which also includes an investment of $15 million to upgrade first and business class sections of its 747s and 767s. http://www.elal.co.il
Emirates is to provide every passenger on its long haul flights with an exercise device proven to boost blood circulation in the legs. Called Aerogym, it is an ingenious piece of equipment where the user presses down on an inflatable footpad which compresses the veins in the foot and squeezes blood into the main veins in the calf. The pressure involved in squeezing the foot causes muscular contractions of the calf muscles which, acting like a muscle pump, promotes the flow of blood through the main veins to the heart. The idea is that it is simple and discreet, and allows passengers to exercise their leg muscles effectively and quietly without disturbing other passengers. The Aerogym was designed and developed by Paul Richards, a former British Airways' captain and long haul pilot. http://www.emirates.com
Frontier Airlines, on December 12, will resume service between Denver International and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The carrier will operate one daily nonstop. At DCA, Frontier will use Terminal B. http://www.flyfrontier.com
GO the low fare airline, has confirmed the first eight destinations to be served from Bristol International Airport. All of them are on the Continent and will be served daily: Nice, Faro and Palma Mallorca (starting 22 May), Alicante and Malaga (starting 23 May) and Ibiza, Barcelona and Rome (starting 15 July). http://www.go-fly.com
Goodwill Travel, the Concorde charter specialist, has introduced a new luxury program entitled "Flights of Fantasy" operating an Airbus A319 fitted out with just 28 seats. Goodwood will offer three "Air Cruises" in 2001 starting with a seven day World Wonder's itinerary outbound from Biggin Hill and visiting the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal and Petra. Cost is £ 9,895. The Monaco Grand Prix is also featured in the program at a cost of £ 3,995. http://www.flights-of-fantasy.net
Gulf Air Caviar is to disappear with immediate effect from First and Business Class menus of Gulf Air, the national carrier of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar, in the interests of environmental preservation. The airline, which prides itself in having the finest haute cuisine standards, has served Beluga caviar for more than 25 years, but now fears that its production is endangering the existence of the Caspian Sea sturgeon. http://www.gulfairco.com
Hong Kong The five star Peninsula Hotel is to have a helicopter service to and from the new Chek Lap Cokoa International Airport. The one way twin Aerospatiale Squirrel service takes just 10 minutes and is priced at £ 652 for up to four passengers with hand luggage. Additional items are transferred by a Peninsula vehicle at no extra charge. For guests who prefer a more traditional mode of transfer, the hotel offers a £ 60 one way Rolls-Royce Silver Spur service, or they can try the 1934 Phantom Two which takes between 30 and 40 minutes. http://www.peninsula.com
Iberia is to fly a daily, nonstop service from Dublin to Madrid from 25 March 2001, not only linking the two capitals for the first time but offering excellent connections to Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago de Chile, Sao Paulo and Johannesburg. http://www.iberia.com
Korean Air is doing some modest intra-Asian expansion. Seoul (Incheon)-Wuhan service is set to take wing December 5. Five days later, Seoul (Incheon)-Kunming is due to launch. Both flights are twice-weekly affairs. One more intriguing route: Seoul (Incheon)-Hanoi. Twice-weekly service should begin December 18. http://www.koreanair.com
LanChile has commenced a daily Madrid one-stop through service to Santiago, code-sharing with Oneworld partner IBERIA, following delivery of the airline's first (of two) Airbus A340-300s. All three cabins include personal video screens, PC points and satellite telephones. First Class offers individual full flat reclining seats with special back massage. Business Class has 56 inch seat pitch and maximum recline 150 degrees.
LanChile has introduced the A340 on its daily runs between Los Angeles International and on to Lima, Santiago and Buenos Aires. Computer ports and satellite phones are at every seat along with individual video screens with movies on demand. http://www.lanchile.com
Lufthansa is scrubbing more flights in the wake of 9/11. Latest to go: Munich-Sao Paulo. LH is also looking at dropping service to Singapore. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines has suspended service to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Macau. http://www.lufthansa.com
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is to add a further four weekly Heathrow services, making a total of 18, following British Airways' recent decision to halt its Kuala Lumpur flights. MAS has still to sort out additional slots but the increase will be much appreciated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport where there was deep concern regarding the loss of British Airways. MAS would like to operate three daily flights to Heathrow if possible. http://www.malaysiaair.com
Midwest Express just cast a vote of confidence in the future firming up an order for 20 new Boeing 717s. The 717 is essentially a re-engined DC-9, with upgraded cockpit, passenger cabin and other systems. http://www.midwestexpress.com
Northwest announced a major change to its fare structure, offering flyers a 40 percent discount off regular, unrestricted full coach when tickets are purchased 10 days in advance. The deal's called "BizFlex." There's no Saturday night stay over required, and these tickets are available in most Northwest domestic markets and in Canada. The only provisos: Flyers have to stay over at least one night, and there's a $75 change fee. Northwest was slated to start flying a second daily Detroit-Mexico City trip on January 31, 2001 using an A319.
Northwest Airlink has scheduled a third daily roundtrip from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Providence beginning December 17. The eastbound Canadair Regional Jet departs MSP in the morning, the return circuit leaves PVD midday.
Northwest Airlines and Malev Hungarian Airlines said they reached a code share and frequent-flier agreement linking their North American and European markets. The agreement, effective immediately, comes a month after Malev and KLM reached a pact that was seen as a possible prelude to a deal with Northwest. Northwest will put its code on Malev's flights between Amsterdam and Budapest. Tickets for the flights will be available Jan. 3, 2002. http://www.nwa.com
OneWorld, which includes BA, AA, QF & LA has made visiting Africa, Australasia, North America and South America easier and better value than ever with the launch of One World Visit Passes. The introduction of these new tickets - the first of their kind from any global airline alliance - follows the highly successful introduction of the One World Visit Europe Pass last summer. They offer visitors from other continents multiple flights across the networks of the alliance's members in each of the continental regions - with the potential for huge savings. Travelers buy a Visit Pass in conjunction with a long haul flight to the relevant continent. The Visit Pass can be tailored around their specific travel, covering just two or three flights - or more as needed to explore the sights that the continent has to offer. http://www.oneworld.com
Royal Jordanian has increased its presence at Shannon Airport with the introduction of daily Airbus 310 services to JFK. Amman to Shannon will also become daily. The Shannon - Chicago operation increases from twice to three times per week, the only nonstop service to the mid-west from Ireland's second international airport. Aer Lingus and Delta also operate to JFK and Aer Lingus offers Newark as does Continental. http://www.rja.com.jo
Sabena moved into a brand new state of the art terminal at New York's JFK airport on May 2001. Sabena recently introduced service between Brussels and Bucharest (4x weekly) and Sofia (3x weekly).
The three-way transatlantic partnership between Swissair, Sabena and American Airlines is in full swing. Some 90 North American destinations served by American Airlines from its domestic hubs now carry a Swissair or Sabena flight number.
Sabena suspended all flights November 7 and will file for liquidation, after Virgin Express withdrew from talks to save the failed carrier. http://www.sabena.com
Low-fare Spirit Airlines plans to begin twice-daily nonstop flights from Fort Myers to New York LaGuardia on December 14, and plans to get in on the act out of Chicago O'Hare with daily nonstop service to West Palm Beach. December 14 is the projected launch date. http://www.spiritair.com
After airline schedules were decimated in September, there are finally some resumptions and even additions to report. Southwest Airlines will offer new daily non stops between Oakland International and New Orleans and San Diego and San Antonio along with an additional daily nonstop between Burbank Airport and San Jose International. Oakland International now has a one-stop run to Fort Lauderdale as a result of the addition of the New Orleans run. http://www.southwest.com
Swissair moved into a brand new state of the art terminal at New York's JFK airport on May 2001. The three-way transatlantic partnership between Swissair, Sabena and American Airlines is in full swing. Some 90 North American destinations served by American Airlines from its domestic hubs now carry a Swissair or Sabena flight number. This figure should pass the 100 mark by the end of the year. Sabena now operates daily nonstop flights between Brussels and Dallas/Fort Worth. American Airlines links Zurich with its Texas hub daily, with Swissair its code share partner on this route.
Swissair suspended all flights October 4 and filed for reorganization. It restarted to fly a few days later with 50% of its flight operating. The airline plans to merge with regional airline, Crossair during the spring of 2002. http://www.swissair.com
Another new intra-Asian route: Thai Airways has begun thrice-weekly Bangkok-Mumbai (Bombay to us elders) service. A330s make the run three times per week &endash; Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. http://www.thaiair.com
Say so long to TWA's JFK terminal. As American Airlines integrates TWA into the corporate fold, there's no need to field flights from the historic structure anymore. It's being closed this month American Airlines is showing some faith in the future, not just continuing &endash; but actually accelerating &endash; construction of its new terminal at JFK. http://www.twa.com
United Airlines is set to introduce mobile check-in units, known as Chariots, at Heathrow in 2001, following their success in Chicago and San Francisco. Each chariot is battery powered, self-contained and requires only the addition of a Customer Service Representative. As it is not tied to a particular location, it can travel to any site and perform normal podium activity, including the issuing of tickets, boarding passes and baggage tags. United says the use of the chariots will reduce congestion and add to flexibility. Assuming the concept works the only problem likely to arise is when other carriers also gain their versions. Who will win the chariot race to the vacant location?!
The airline is to introduce 'Economy Plus' seating on transatlantic routes following successful domestic trials offers a 36 inch seat pitch, an increase of five inches. The carrier has introduced an enhanced economy cabin in the US in 1999, aiming at full fare passengers and loyalty card holders. Most of the aircraft flying transatlantic routes will be fitted with a new configuration by March.
United Airlines said it reached a code share agreement with Star Alliance partner Thai Airways on service to Vietnam. United will place its code on Thai's five weekly flights between Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City. The US and Vietnam reached agreement on third-country code sharing earlier this year; no direct air services exist between the countries.
United said it will become the first Major airline to install electronic stun guns in the cockpits of its fleet, subject to FAA approval, to allow pilots to defend the flight deck in the event of a hijacking. United plans to buy the weapons from Taser International and keep them in electronically coded lock boxes. It is implementing a special training program for pilots covering the use of Tasers, which fire an electronic charge that disables their target.
United also said it is beginning the first phase of a specialized training program for all flight attendants to impart "skill sand knowledge that can be used to protect themselves, enhance cabin security and assist customers." It declined further comment on its new training programs to maximize their effectiveness.
The schedule calls for a quartet of daily departures. Changes in the air between Arizona and the LA Basin. United Express is now operating six daily Phoenix-LAX flights, and four daily Tucson-LAX forays. Canadair Regional jets do the duty. They're subbing for UA's mainline aircraft. It's all part of a massive downsizing by United on the West Coast. http://www.ual.com and http://www.unitedairlines.co.uk
US Airways is pulling the plug on its BWI-based MetroJet unit, AirTran is preparing to move in. The low-fare carrier plans to begin thrice-daily Baltimore/Washington-Atlanta service on December 12. On December 19, the carrier launches nonstop. http://www.usair.com
Virgin Atlantic have confirmed their schedule to Toronto which is to be launched on 12 June. The flights will be from London Gatwick is the fourth busiest long haul route out of London with 1.3m passengers last year. The airline will operate Boeing 747-400s on the route, configured with 28 Upper Class, 36 premium economy and 358 economy seats. Virgin Atlantic is now flying all the top ten long haul destinations from the UK. Of the 10 most popular long-haul routes from London, Toronto is the only one not currently served by Virgin. http://www.virgin.com
Virgin Blue has brought forward the start of its Adelaide-Brisbane service last December. This follows the fast-tracking of temporary Adelaide airport facilities and the early availability of Virgin Blue's newest aircraft. Virgin Blue will also increase frequency on its Brisbane-Melbourne route, introducing a 0700 Melbourne departure to Brisbane allowing business people a full working day in Queensland. http://virginblue.co.au
Sources: Airlines, Airports and Air & Business Travel News http://www.abtn.co.uk
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