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September 2003 Frequent Flyer Program News
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Travel News
Airline NewsTRAVEL NEWS US Airports Airline passengers reported waiting times at airline ticket counters at US airports lasted an average of 22 min. for their most recent flight, while clearing security checkpoints took an average of 14 min., according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics Omnibus Household Survey. Five out of 10 travelers rated the time they spent at security checkpoints as "about what they expected" while four out of 10 reported the wait time was less than expected. Additionally, 82% of passengers regarded the thoroughness of the screening process as adequate. Only 9% considered the screening inadequate while 9% rated it as excessive.
National Academies' National Research Council and Transportation Research Board US Government needs to make air transportation a "national priority" to meet the growing demand for air travel, which is expected to double in the next 10-35 years, a new report from the National Academies' National Research Council and Transportation Research Board said. "Business as usual is unlikely to satisfy passengers' future travel needs, because aircraft and air-traffic management systems are not being expanded and improved as quickly as demand is growing," the committee said. In addition, environmental effects of aviation are increasing and passengers still are dissatisfied with the cost of travel and "uncomfortable conditions in aircraft," while security continues to be "a major concern." These shortcomings need to be addressed together instead of separately to "avoid conflicting priorities among the various stakeholders in aviation," the committee said. Improvements to the air transportation system can be achieved through advances in "aircraft design, materials and structures." Additionally, advanced electronics in aircraft are expected to improve safety and increase automation in navigation, while nanotechnology should lead to stronger materials. "Computer-based simulations of the entire US air transportation system, incorporating human behaviors, aircraft technologies and economic constraints, should be used to develop new technologies and operational concepts," the report said.
EU Parliament in Strasbourg approved legislation empowering the European Commission to negotiate international aviation accords on behalf of member countries in anticipation of the next round of EU-US aviation consultations in Oct 2003. It also called on the countries to consult with it over bilateral bargaining in other areas. The law must be approved a second time by member governments and the EP before it can go into effect. Some legislators still favor a step-by-step approach, saying the EC first should negotiate an EU-wide agreement with the US, reported Dow-Jones Newswires. The news service quoted from documents it obtained that indicate the EU may be heading for a showdown with the US over Washington's antiterrorism measures for airlines. Talks between the EC and US Homeland Security Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson are scheduled for Sept. 22 in Brussels to address privacy issues related to a US requirement that airlines collect and provide passenger ticketing information to the US government. This requirement conflicts with EU consumer privacy protections.AIRLINE NEWS AirAsia in what may be a defining moment in the further development of commercial aviation in Southeast Asia, AirAsia announced that it will start two daily services Oct. 11 2003 between Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula just a short drive from Singapore.
Air Berlin will increase its City Shuttle services from Duesseldorf as of Nov. 1 2003 to thrice-daily to London Stansted, twice-daily to Zurich and Vienna and once daily to Bergamo-Orio near Milan. All-inclusive fares start at eur29 ($32). The only previous AB City Shuttles from DUS were to Barcelona.
Air Canada will add 148 weekly flights between Canada and destinations in the Caribbean, Hawaii, Florida and Mexico this winter.
Air Canada will introduce more flights, new routes and scheduled air services on most of the 15 routes it operates to Cuba from cities across Canada this winter.
AirArabia, which touts itself as the Middle East's first low-cost airline, said it will launch service Oct. 28 2003 with two A320s from home base Sharjah. Initial destinations will be Bahrain, Doha, Muscat, Kuwait, Beirut and Shiraz, with a point in Saudi Arabia to follow along with Colombo and Khartoum. The carrier plans to add two A320s in Oct. 2004 and two more in early 2005.
AirTran Airways will add three daily nonstop flights between Boston Logan and both Philadelphia and Baltimore/Washington International effective Nov. 4 2003. With the additions, the carrier will offer 15 daily nonstop flights between Boston and each of the two cities.
All Nippon Airways signed a letter of intent with Boeing to install the Connexion by Boeing broadband Internet service on its long-haul aircraft. ANA said rollout of the service is planned for the fourth quarter of 2004 on routes with the heaviest business demand, coinciding with delivery of the first of six 777-300ERs. Financial terms were not released.
America West Airlines will add one daily nonstop service between St. Louis and Las Vegas Oct. 26 2003, one daily nonstop between Las Vegas and Billings Nov. 26 and one daily nonstop between Las Vegas and Des Moines Dec. 19. In addition, the airline will add a third daily nonstop flight between Phoenix and St. Louis Oct. 26. Flights to and from Billings and Des Moines will be provided by America West Express and operated by a subsidiary of Mesa Air Group using 50-seat and 80-seat CRJs. AWA will use 737-300s in a two-class configuration on flights to and from St. Louis.
American Airlines launched a Buy at the Gate test program at New York JFK. The program gives passengers the opportunity to purchase "gourmet-style" menu items developed by LSG Sky Chefs at gate areas for select flights to St. Louis and Miami. AA said food kiosks will be located near the boarding gates and sales will begin 1 hr. prior to the beginning of the boarding process. Passengers may use cash or credit cards to purchase meals.
American Eagle Airlines began a test of a "buy on board" program that gives passengers the option to purchase a meal or snack on flights between Cleveland and Dallas/Ft. Worth. Breakfast selections are priced at $7 while lunch and dinner are $10. The carrier said it will test the program on other flights as well.
ATA Airlines, the 10th largest US passenger carrier, said it will remove 16 seats from each of its 15 757-200s, reducing density from 216 to 200 seats and increasing seat pitch from 30 in. to 32-33 in. The change will be completed by the first week of Oct. "and will make the seat pitch more consistent" with that in the airline's 31 737-800s and 12 757-300s, Senior VP-Marketing and Sales John Happ said. ATA, a budget airline, offers a single-class product.
China Southern Airlines launched a third weekly service from Sydney to Guangzhou using a 777. China Southern Airlines took delivery of its 10th 737-800 last week. The aircraft, configured with eight first-class and 159 economy seats, will be put into operation with China Southern's shareholding company Guizhou Airlines at Longdongbao.
Continental Airlines will launch daily nonstop flights between Newark and Edinburgh June 10 2003 using a 172-seat 757 in a two-class configuration.
Delta Air Lines will launch a 30-day food sales test in its Crown Room Club airport lounges in Atlanta, Chicago and Tampa that will give customers the opportunity to purchase "competitively priced" branded food items. "During the hustle and bustle of a travel day, Crown Room Club members can now enter the club, work, relax and enjoy a meal; and not have to leave until it's time for their next flight," GM-Customer Lounge Programs Betty Hollan said. In Atlanta, menu selections will be provided by Chili's to Go, Au Bon Pain and Art of Baking. In Chicago they will come from Wolfgang Puck and Corner Bakery, while Flatbreadz will supply items in Tampa.
Delta Air Lines launched interline e-ticketing with Alaska Airlines for customers who travel both carriers on a single itinerary. More than 90% of Delta's customers are using e-ticketing, according to company officials. Delta Air Lines and Avianca implemented the second phase of their codeshare alliance. Under this phase, Delta will place its code on Avianca flights between Bogota and Baranquilla, Cali, Cartagena, Medellin and Pereira; between New York JFK and Bogota and Medellin, and between Miami and Bogota, Baranquilla, Cali, Cartagena and Medellin.
Delta Connection carrier Comair will launch two daily nonstop flights between St. Louis and Salt Lake City Nov. 1 2003 using a 70-seat CRJ.
Delta Connection carrier Comair launched daily nonstop service Saturday between Flint and Atlanta using CRJs. Comair took delivery of its 150th CRJ last week. United Express will launch three daily flights from both St. Louis and Kansas City to Washington Dulles Oct. 4 2003. Service will be operated by Air Wisconsin.
Finnair became the first airline from northern Europe, and the first oneworld alliance carrier, to launch services to Shanghai. Opening the thrice-weekly route represents an extension of Finnair's Asian growth strategy.
Frontier Airlines launched three daily services between Denver and Milwaukee and three daily nonstops between Denver and John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Calif.
Frontier Airlines said Mesa Air, operating as Frontier JetExpress, will be replaced by Great Lakes Airlines on three daily services between Denver and Wichita Mid-Continent Airport effective Nov. 1 2003. Frontier said its self-service check-in kiosks, FlexChecks, are available for customer access at its Denver hub.
JetBlue Airways introduced nonstop service between Atlanta and Oakland, operating a single daily roundtrip. The Oakland-Atlanta leg is a redeye flight departing at 10:40 p.m. local time.
KLM unveiled its winter schedule that begins Oct. 26 2003 and includes introduction of the 777-200ER into its fleet. The carrier will take delivery of six 777-200ERs during the period that ends March 27, 2004, and will use them on services to Toronto, Cape Town, New York JFK, Nairobi and Tokyo. In addition, KLM will stop using 747-300s on its network during the winter. Internationally, it will operate daily 747-400 service to Johannesburg and will phase in two additional weekly flights for a total of seven to Cape Town using 777s. Flights to Tokyo will increase from six to seven per week beginning in March and will be operated with a combination of 747-400s and 777s. In Feb., 747-400 flights to Beijing will rise from three to four per week and services to St. Maarten will increase from one to three weekly, two of which will be nonstop. KLM will maintain its fifth weekly flight introduced this summer to Paramaribo using a 747-400. Additionally, recently initiated services to Malabo and Douala will be continued. The carrier said that owing to traditionally lower demand, frequency reductions will be implemented to Almaty, Beirut, Bonaire/Guayaquil/Quito, Bonaire/Lima, Casablanca, Miami, San Francisco, Teheran and Vancouver.
KLM denied yet again that it has decided to join the SkyTeam alliance, refuting media reports citing comments by Northwest Airlines CEO Richard Anderson that the Dutch carrier has "definitely chosen" Air France as its alliance partner. "This is not true. We have definitely not decided. It's true that talks are in an advanced stage with Air France but no decision has been taken," KLM spokesperson Bart Koster said.
In Europe, KLM cityhopper will introduce F100s to many continental destinations and utilize F70s and 737s on more flights to the UK. KLM will maintain services launched this summer to Trondheim and Thessaloniki. In addition, the codeshare agreement with Air Europa, which was expanded this summer, will be continued this winter. The carrier will operate two fewer daily flights to Edinburgh and Glasgow and will lower its daily flights by one to 26 destinations. KLM will begin two daily services from Amsterdam Schiphol to Riga and one daily flight from Schiphol to Kristiansand March 28 2003.
KLM will suspend service between Eindhoven and Amsterdam effective Dec. 20. The decision reflects prevailing market and cost developments, the airline said. Flights on the route will be operated by KLM exel until Nov. 1 and subsequently by KLM cityhopper until Dec. 19 2003.
LOT Polish Airlines moved closer to becoming a Star Alliance member last week after signing a commercial cooperation agreement with Star member United Airlines. Under the accord, LOT will codeshare on United flights from Chicago, New York and Newark to nearly 30 cities including Boston, Denver, Washington Dulles, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The codeshare will become effective Oct. 26 2003, the day LOT becomes an official Star member.
Lufthansa, which believes the serious crisis besetting the industry has bottomed out, introduced its winter schedule beginning Oct. 26 2003 that features moderate growth in its European and intercontinental services. From Dec. 8 through March 31, LH will operate a daily flight between Frankfurt and Rio de Janeiro using a 747. The airline also will increase its weekly flights from Frankfurt to Sao Paulo from seven to 10 initially up to mid-Dec. In the Middle East, LH will offer five weekly flights from Frankfurt to Kuwait, two via Cairo and the other three direct from Frankfurt. It is increasing flights from Munich to Shanghai from three to five per week using an A340. Weekly flights from Munich to Tokyo will increase from three to six. Also from Munich, LH will offer five weekly flights to Dubai, six weekly services to Johannesburg and seven weekly flights to Miami, with these additional flights available only during the winter timetable.
The airline said it will drop flights from Munich to destinations in "less demand" in the winter such as Boston and Montreal. It will operate seven additional weekly flights from Frankfurt to London Heathrow, Milan, Brussels, Turin, Amsterdam, Duesseldorf, Bologna and Katowice. A further seven weekly flights are being added to connections between Munich and Amsterdam, Madrid, Milan and Zagreb plus five additional frequencies between Munich and Hamburg as well as between Munich and Zurich. Lufthansa's winter schedule also includes five additional weekly flights between Cologne and Berlin, Cologne and Paris and Hamburg and Nuremburg. Four weekly flights will be added on its Duesseldorf-Hamburg route and two extra flights between Dresden and Duesseldorf as well as between Nuremburg and Paris.
Royal Brunei Airlines will operate its first A319, delivered last month at the Airbus center in Hamburg, on regional services from Bandar Seri Begawan to Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Taipei, Jakarta, Bali and Darwin. A second A319 is scheduled to join the fleet later in Sept. 2003.
Singapore Airlines' long-term growth plans are getting closer to crystallizing. In one direction, the airline is looking to set up a joint venture to form a no-frills airline in Thailand based at Chiang Mai. The move is set against a background of greater cooperation between Thailand and Singapore with agreement reached this week on liberalizing the air cargo industry. At the same time, SIA is looking at setting up its own low-cost operation to take on airlines such as AirAsia. A little further down the road, it plans to operate between Australia and the US and hopes to launch flights by Dec. 2003 if, as expected, Australia and Singapore conclude an open skies agreement in Sept. SIA wants to start with daily Sydney-Los Angeles flights using 747-400s, increasing to double-daily by June. Flights from Melbourne and Auckland to Los Angeles would follow in 2004.
SN Brussels Airlines will start two daily services from Brussels to Athens in codeshare with Hellas Jet Sept. 8 2003. Flights will be operated by the new Greek full-service airline.
Song launched daily nonstop service between Los Angeles and both Tampa and Orlando. These are the airline's first flights to the West Coast.
South African Airways will route all its daily flights to New York via Dakar from Oct. 1 2003. Four of the seven flights will return nonstop to Johannesburg and three will stop over in the West African city. SAA said the new schedule is in line with its Networking Africa strategy of creating African hubs and the increasing demand for seats from West Africa to New York and Johannesburg. Flights to Atlanta will be routed via the Cape Verde island of Ilha do Sal. SAA said it is forging closer ties with its 49% equity partner Air Tanzania in East Africa to pool resources and improve service. Future codeshares are foreseen on Johannesburg, Dar Es Salaam, Cape Town, Durban, Zanzibar and Kilimanjaro routes.
Southwest Airlines will launch new daily nonstop service between Spokane and Las Vegas Jan. 18. It will begin Saturday-only flights Jan. 24 2003 between Los Angeles and Tampa, Chicago and Salt Lake City, Ontario and Reno, and Orlando and Las Vegas.
United Airlines intends to launch its still-unnamed "low-cost operation" next Feb. with four A320s based at its Denver International Airport hub, the carrier said yesterday. By the end of 2004, the unit will be operating 40 A320s, 19 of which will be based at DEN. Initial cities to be served from Denver are Las Vegas, New Orleans, Orlando, Ontario, Phoenix and Tampa. All are regarded as vacation destinations in line with the carrier's self-defined mission to target "predominantly leisure markets and feature a simplified fare structure with low-cost business and leisure fare options." Aircraft will be configured for 156 seats, with a section of Economy Plus seats offering extra legroom. All seats will be pre-assigned and food and beverages will be offered, although United did not state whether these will be complimentary.
United Airlines will launch Saturday-only service between Washington Dulles and Cancun Feb. 14 2003, pending government approval, using an A320 or similar aircraft with 138 seats.
US Airways will launch seasonal weekend service to Vail from Charlotte and Philadelphia beginning Dec. 20 using 757s. The service will end April 4 2003.
USA 3000 will add one daily flight between Cleveland and Ft. Myers Dec. 24 and another daily flight between the two cities Dec. 31 2003.
Volare will transfer its UK operations to London Luton with the launch of daily low-cost services under volareweb.com branding to Venice (Marco Polo), Rimini and Cagliari on Oct. 26 2003, using A320s.
Zurich Airport officially inaugurated its futuristic-looking glass-and-concrete midfield terminal on Sept. 1 2003 after delays of more than a year linked to the bleak economic environment. Given current woes facing the aviation industry, along with cutbacks by home carrier Swiss, officials concede that the expansion appears somewhat out of sync with reality.
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Sources: Airlines, Airports, Air & Business Travel News, Airliners.net, Prnewswire.com and Travelocity.com
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