AIRLINE NEWS.

Aer Lingus will launch new routes from Dublin to Liverpool, Las Palmas, Lanzarote and Budapest at the end of Oct., bringing to 17 the number of routes introduced this year. The airline will operate a daily service to Liverpool, while flights to Budapest will operate four days a week and those to Lanzarote and Las Palmas will be weekly. Jul 2, 2004

Aeroflot is expected to announce today an invitation to suppliers to tender offers for the supply of 50 regional aircraft in the 75/100-seat category. Separately, Sibir is expected to make an announcement regarding a regional jet purchase in the next two weeks. Jul 2, 2004

Aerolineas Galapagos took delivery of the first of two ex-Air Malta 737- 200s. The operating lease is provided by Amtec Corp. and the transaction was arranged by Sigma Aircraft Management. Jul 2, 2004

In the first six months of 2004, Air Berlin transported 5.4 million passengers, up 39% versus 2003, while load factor rose 1.5 points to 77.5%. Turnover increased 24.2% to eur453 million ($550.9 million). For the full year it expects to carry around 11.6 million passengers and post turnover of eur1 billion. Jul 2, 2004

Air Berlin may split its planned order for up to 70 aircraft between Airbus and Boeing and a decision could come at this month's Farnborough Air Show. Deliveries would begin in late 2005 or early 2006, which is around the same time that many of Air Berlin's 43 737s begin coming off lease. It also operates two F100s and two BAe 146s. "I can imagine having two separate fleets in the future. Air Berlin has reached a size now where outsourcing, like maintenance, gives us new opportunities. We like to take advantage of market opportunities like this, as well as attractive leasing rates," Managing Partner Joachim Hunold said. The airline plans to extend its network from Germany to Prague, Paris Orly and Scandinavia next year. It is operating a hub in Palma de Mallorca with 240 weekly flights and around 60% of its business comes from routes to and within Spain. The carrier wants to increase Spanish domestic flights and Hunold did not rule out the possibility of establishing a hub on the Iberian Peninsula. Jul 2, 2004

Air Berlin will start an alliance with the charter carrier from travel company TUI, Hapag-Lloyd Flug, by Nov. 2004. The airlines plan to operate 300 codeshare flights a week and will coordinate their schedules from four airports--Nurnberg, Stuttgart, Munich and Palma de Mallorca-- where both have a strong presence. Hapag-Lloyd Flug will concentrate on routes to Egypt and the Spanish Canary Islands while Air Berlin will focus on flights to the Spanish mainland, the Balearic Islands and Portugal. Both carriers hope to increase their load factors through the alliance. Jul 20, 2004

Air Canada this week launched three weekly nonstop flights between Toronto and Bogota and between Toronto and Caracas. In addition, AC recently boosted its service to Santiago and Buenos Aires from three to four weekly flights. Jul 1, 2004

Air Canada took delivery of its first A340-500 on June 29 2004. Jul 1, 2004

Air France and Air Europa agreed to expand their codeshare agreement to include new flights between France and Spain. AF flights between Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse and Madrid, between Bordeaux, Lyon and Barcelona and between Paris CDG2 and Vigo now are operated under the AF and UX codes. In addition, flights between Madrid and Paris Orly as well as three daily CDG2-Barcelona flights are operated under the UX and AF codes, bringing the total number of AF/Air Europa weekly flights between France and Spain to 680. The Spanish airline currently is negotiating to join the SkyTeam alliance as an associate member. Jul 7, 2004

Air New Zealand began three weekly flights between Auckland and San Francisco using a 392 seat 747-400. Jul 1, 2004

Air Wisconsin announced a restructuring of its senior leadership. Executive VPs and Directors William Jordan and Pat Thompson will become vice chairmen and remove themselves from the day-to-day operation of the company. Chairman, President and CEO Geoff Crowley will retain those titles but along with Thompson and Jordan will focus on long-term strategic and policy issues, the company said. Doug Horn, AWAC's current senior VP-customer service, will assume the role of executive VP and COO. Jul 2, 2004

AirAsia will add several key tourist destinations to its network next month. Beginning Aug. 5 2004, the carrier will launch service from Kuala Lumpur to Bali. On Aug. 27 it will begin direct Kuala Lumpur-Medan flights. Separately, Thai AirAsia, an affiliate of AirAsia, launched daily nonstop service between Bangkok and Macau. Jul 9, 2004

AirTran Airways completed construction of its first maintenance hangar at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The hangar is 65 ft. tall and can fit two of the airline's new 737-700s parked wing-to- wing. The structure also houses more than 76,000 sq. ft. of work space and features a computerized atmosphere control system. Jul 1, 2004

AirTran Airways began two daily nonstop flights between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Los Angeles. Jul 2, 2004

Alaska Airlines celebrated the opening of its new state-of-the-art Concourse C at Anchorage. Jul 1, 2004

Alaska Airlines was selected by the US Dept. of Transportation to provide twice-weekly service between Anchorage and Adak. To help offset the cost of the service, the airline said it will receive an annual federal subsidy of $1.6 million through 2006. It has been providing service to Adak since April 2003. Jul 20, 2004

American Eagle will begin flying between Dallas/Fort Worth and Torreon, one of Mexico's leading business and industrial centers, on Aug. 1, with one daily nonstop flight each way using 50-seat Embraer EMB-145 jets. The flight will provide convenient connections at DFW to and from dozens of destinations throughout American's route network. American Eagle is offering special introductory fares to Torreon from select U.S. cities ranging from $258 to $358 roundtrip, effective for travel Aug. 1 through Sept. 15 (special fares must be purchased no later than Aug. 31). From Aug. 1 through Oct. 31, the airline is also offering double Aadvantage frequent-flyer miles for travel on the new route. Jul 14, 2004

ATA Airlines flightdeck crewmembers, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., ratified concession and new equipment letters of agreement to their current collective bargaining agreement. Roughly 72% of the 896 crewmembers voted in favor of the deal. The amendments to the existing contract will save the company approximately $43 million over the next two years, according to the airline. A new contract amendable date extends the term of the current agreement by one year to 2007. In addition, the amendment includes a new competitive pay scale for a proposed 110-seat aircraft the company is contemplating acquiring in the next 12 months, ATA said. Jul 2, 2004

ATA Airlines will launch service between Dallas/Ft. Worth and Indianapolis Oct. 1 2004. The carrier will operate one daily morning flight except Saturdays and one daily evening flight on the route. It will add two daily flights on the New York LaGuardia-Indianapolis route and one daily nonstop flight between Indianapolis and Los Angeles. It also will launch morning daily (except Sundays) and evening daily (except Saturdays) flights between Chicago Midway and Indianapolis. Jul 21, 2004

AWAS delivered a 737-300 to Spanish airline Air Plus Comet. With the delivery, AWAS now has aircraft on lease to six Spanish and Portuguese carriers. Jul 1, 2004

bmi intends to fly to Las Vegas from Manchester, beginning Oct. 31. It will offer special introductory fares starting at $499 roundtrip good for travel Oct. 31 through Dec. 16. Tickets must be purchased by Aug. 19. It will operate three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, from Las Vegas and will arrive in Manchester the following morning. The airline said the flights are timed to make convenient connections to Heathrow, as well as Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland. bmi uses the 244-passenger A330 aircraft for the route, configured for business, new economy and economy. Jul 19, 2004

Bmi will launch Oct. 31 2004 three weekly flights between Las Vegas and Manchester, UK. Jul 20, 2004

Boeing announced to media in London that it has secured 140 additional orders for 7E7s from 20 airlines, although to date it only has identified four customers for the new aircraft: All Nippon Airways (50), Air New Zealand (two), First Choice (six) and Blue Panorama (four). With this year's Farnborough Air Show just days away, speculation is building about two sales campaigns at Asia/Pacific carriers in which Boeing is believed to have a leg up. Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific Airways both are looking to replace and/or supplement their 747-400 fleets and are thought to be close to announcing orders. The conjecture is that SIA will order 777-300ERs and dash 200LRs to replace its 747-400s and A340- 500s. It also is understood to be a launch customer for the 7E7 and has paid a refundable deposit on up to 20, insiders close to the deal said. Boeing declined to comment. Meanwhile, Cathay is thought to favor the 777-300ER to replace its leased A340-600s. In addition, Cathay and Qantas have been searching for at least a dozen secondhand 747s to handle traffic growth but the quest is proving to be difficult. Qantas now is believed to be looking at new 777-300ERs as a better investment. Jul 16, 2004

British Airways will shift its flights from the Berry Terminal to the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport July 8 2004. BA currently operates daily 777 service between Detroit and London Heathrow. Jul 1, 2004

CanJet will launch fall and winter service to Orlando, St. Petersburg- Clearwater, Sarasota Bradenton and West Palm Beach. The new flights will begin Oct. 9 and 10 2004, three weeks earlier than in 2003. Jul 13, 2004

Caribbean Star Airlines has announced an agreement allowing Star Miles passengers to earn mileage in conjunction with travel on Virgin Atlantic Airways. A one-way agreement was in existence for some time, whereby Virgin Atlantic's passengers were able to collect miles for travel on Caribbean Star Airlines. Star Miles members can now take advantage of a range of initiatives under the joint plan. "This initiative has been in the pipeline for some time now and we are very pleased that our Star Miles members can now trade miles they have earned on an international carrier," said Sandra Scotland, director of marketing, Caribbean Star Airlines. For more information, e-mail [e-mail]. Jul 1, 2004

Cathay Pacific Airways launched daily nonstop A340-600 service between Hong Kong and New York JFK. The airline will add several new audio and video products to its inflight sales catalog, Shop. Jul 2, 2004

Cayman Airways has announced direct nonstop service from Boston Logan International Airport to Grand Cayman Owen Roberts International Airport. The service will be offered on Fridays, while during peak winter travel the flights will be increased to a second weekly southbound service on Sundays with a northbound service on Saturdays. An introductory fare of $299 roundtrip will be offered for travel from Oct. 29 to Dec. 11 2004. Tickets must be purchased by Sept. 30 2004 to take advantage of this special offer. Call 800-4-CAYMAN or visit www.caymanairways.com. Jul 29, 2004

Continental Airlines ordered 35 Performance Improvement Program upgrade kits for the GE90-90B engines powering its 777s. Air France, Austrian, Kuwait Airways, China Southern and Saudi Arabian Airlines also have purchased GE90 upgrade kits. Jul 2, 2004

Continental Airlines will resume codeshare operations on 11 Copa Airlines flights this week. Beginning July 10, Continental will place its code on Copa services from Panama City to Guatemala City, Kingston, Lima, Los Angeles, Managua, Miami, Orlando, San Jose (Costa Rica), San Juan, Santiago and Santo Domingo. Jul 8, 2004

Continental Airlines is now offering free wireless Internet access in all of its President's Clubs in the U.S. except Chicago, where it shares a club with Northwest. It intends to expand to its international clubs by the end of the year. The airline will be handing out flyers to help club members learn to use the service. Travelers with an 802.11b Wi-Fi- enabled computer or client card can access the Internet from any point inside the club. Jul 12, 2004

Continental Airlines began offering free wireless Internet service in all of its Presidents Clubs at airports in the US except Chicago, where it shares a club with Northwest Airlines. The company said it expects to expand the service to its international clubs by year end. Jul 13, 2004

Continental Airlines will launch daily nonstop service between Tucson and Newark Sept. 30 2004 using a 104-seat 737. The airline offered Saturday service between Tucson and Newark from last Dec. until May 2005. Jul 27, 2004

CSA Czech Airlines will launch a daily scheduled service between Glasgow and Prague Oct. 31 2004, operating 737-500s in a two-class configuration. Jul 12, 2004

CSA Czech Airlines will launch daily service between Glasgow and Prague Oct. 31 2004 using a 737-500 in a two-class configuration. Jul 14, 2004

Delta Air Lines began service between New York JFK and Greensboro and San Diego. The JFK-San Diego service will be operated with 148-seat 737- 800s while the JFK-Greensboro flights will be operated by Delta Connection carrier Comair using a mix of 40- and 50-seat regional jets. Jul 2, 2004

Delta Air Lines will begin seasonal service between Atlanta and Gunnison/Crested Butte this winter. The flights will be offered on Saturdays from Dec. 18 through April 2 and will use 183-seat 757s. Jul 5, 2004

Delta Air Lines will launch Saturday-only service between Cancun and Salt Lake City Nov. 6 2004 using a 737-800. SkyTeam partner AeroMexico plans to codeshare on the flights once US and Mexican government approvals have been obtained. Jul 13, 2004

Delta Air Lines will launch daily service between Atlanta and Reno and a second daily flight between Atlanta and Honolulu Dec. 1 2004. Jul 20, 2004

Delta Connection carrier Comair will begin three daily flights between Cincinnati and Sioux Falls July 29 2004. Jul 9, 2004

easyJet is looking to open its fourth base and could end up setting up shop in Hannover. The move seems logical as the carrier already operates to three airports in Germany, Cologne-Bonn, Dortmund and Berlin Schoenefeld. However, Hannover is served by German LCCs Hapag Lloyd Express, Air Berlin and Germania Express, who believe the catchment area is too small for four LCCs. If easyJet were to establish a base in Hannover, the three carriers said they would either reduce their operations or move to other airports. Jul 5, 2004

easyJet will expand further into Central Europe this fall by adding six new routes to Hungary and Poland. This will bring to 17 the number of easyJet routes serving Central and Eastern Europe. Beginning Oct. 31 2004, the carrier will launch two daily Warsaw-London Luton flights and daily service from Krakow to both Luton and Dortmund. Additionally, it will begin daily service from Budapest to Newcastle, Bristol and Geneva. It will increase its Budapest-Luton service to twice-daily from Oct. 31 2004. The Luton-based carrier said it expects to carry well over 2 million passengers to/from the region in the coming 12 months. Jul 14, 2004

Emirates introduced a new service that allows passengers to check and send e-mails via their personal laptops while in flight. The service, which launched July 1 2004 on an A345, enables passengers with Wi-Fi- enabled laptops to access their regular e-mail accounts via "an onboard wireless hot spot" throughout the duration of a flight. Also, Emirates will launch its 17th weekly frequency from Dubai to Tehran Sept. 16 2004. Jul 9, 2004

Emirates SkyCargo began three weekly services to Christchurch and in mid-Aug. 2004 will expand to six weekly flights. The route will be served using an A340-500 with a 16-tonne payload. Jul 1, 2004

FedEx Express said it plans to begin operating regular flights using its own aircraft into Central Japan International Airport outside Nagoya when the facility opens in Feb. This will be the third Japanese airport the company serves following Narita and Kansai. Jul 1, 2004

Finnair and Aeroflot will begin codesharing on each other's daily flights between Helsinki and Moscow at the beginning of this month under a new agreement. Jul 1, 2004

As part of its strategy to acquire "the best possible fleet for its feeder traffic," Finnair signed an agreement with Embraer for 12 170s to replace its MD-80s and ATR 72s that are being retired. The airline took options on eight additional aircraft, which may be converted to Embraer 175s or 190s. The 170s will be configured with 76 seats in a one-class layout and deliveries will begin in Sept. 2005 and continue through May 2007. The value of the firm order at list prices totals $306 million and the contract has a potential value of $510 million if all options are converted. "We have renewed half our fleet in five years," Finnair President and CEO Keijo Suila said. "Our operational environment is changing and the most successful will be the one who reacts quickly to the new situation and is among the first to take advantage of it." Finnair currently operates a fleet of 61 aircraft comprising seven ATR 72s, 10 A319-110s, 12 A320-210s, five A321-210s, one DC-9-51, six MD- 11s, 13 MD-82s/83s and seven 757-200s. "Shifting to a single aircraft type will bring significant savings in operating costs," Suila said. "At the same time, fuel consumption will be cut by a third and air traffic charges will decrease." Jul 1, 2004

Finnair in cooperation with Lithuanian Airlines is increasing frequencies between Helsinki and Vilnius from two to three daily flights. Service will start Aug. 1 2004, operated with LAL Saab 2000s. Jul 30, 2004

Frontier Airlines will launch twice-daily service between Denver and Little Rock Oct. 10 2004. The flights will be operated by Horizon Air as Frontier JetExpress with CRJ700s. Delta Connection carriers Atlantic Southeast Airlines and Comair will realign flights at Huntington, W. Va. Effective Sept. 15, Comair will offer four daily nonstops between Huntington and Cincinnati using 50-seat CRJs, while ASA will discontinue its three daily flights to Atlanta. Jul 2, 2004

Global ePoint said its AirWorks division received initial orders from American Airlines to install laptop power systems in 103 additional MD- 80s. The initial orders are valued at $361,000 with follow-on buys anticipated. AirWorks previously provided laptop power systems to American in 1998. Jul 2, 2004

Gol confirmed that it was approved by the Brazilian Committee of Studies Related to International Air Navigation to commence regular international flights to Buenos Aires. The airline said it is taking all necessary measures to begin the flights by year end. Jul 9, 2004

Hawaiian Airlines www.hawaiianair.com in August will offer its passengers on transpacific flights the option of using portable audio- video players. The device, known as digEplayer, will enable travelers to choose from among 10 to 15 first-run movies, eight to 10 short subjects or sitcoms, 20 music videos and 100 audio tracks. Hawaiian says it is the first to offer the player on transpacific flights, and purchased 1,500 of them following a two-month test run earlier this year. They will be available for free to travelers in first class and for a $10 rental fee to those in coach. Jul 13, 2004

Iberia said its franchise partner Iberia Regional Air Nostrum launched twice-daily service from Madrid to Bordeaux using a mix of CRJ200s, F50s and Dash 8-Q300s. Iberia Group now operates 602 flights each week between Spain and seven French cities. Jul 12, 2004

Iberia and its oneworld alliance partner Cathay Pacific agreed to market flights between Spain and Hong Kong under a codeshare arrangement. This is the first such agreement between the two. Under the pact, which takes effect today, Iberia's code will be included on Cathay Pacific flights between Amsterdam and Hong Kong while Cathay Pacific codes will be placed on Iberia flights from Madrid and Barcelona to Amsterdam. Jul 2, 2004

The world's airlines in aggregate lost $6.57 billion last year after nonoperating items and taxes, according to preliminary estimates from ICAO, which last month reported that carriers of the organization's 188 member states recorded an operating loss of $2.8 billion. The net result represented an improvement from the 2002 net loss of $11.32 billion. Operating revenues were estimated to have increased 2.3% to $312.9 billion while operating expenses were estimated to have risen 1.5% to $315.7 billion. "Following the poor results of the last two years, the recovery in 2003 would have been stronger, but was adversely affected by continuing security concerns, events in the Middle East and the outbreak of SARS," ICAO said in a statement. World RPKs rose 1% in 2003 to 2.99 trillion, although this was still below the 2000 figure of 3.04 trillion. International passenger traffic was flat compared to 2002 at 1.73 trillion RPKs and down 3.3% compared to 1.79 trillion RPKs flown in 2000. Total FTKs rose 5% to 125.2 billion while international FTKs increased 2% to 103.7 billion. Jul 1, 2004

iJET Travel Risk Management has filed a trademark infringement complaint against Independence Air, Atlantic Coast Airlines and Atlantic Coast Airlines Holdings in U.S. District Court in Virginia. iJET, a Maryland company that offers travelers and corporations travel intelligence and risk management services around the world, said Independence has been carrying out a "media blitz" using iJET to refer to its fleet of airplanes. Independence Air says on its Web site that its iCLUB, iPOINTS, and the encircled "i" design are service marks of Atlantic Coast Airlines, which was the precursor to Independence Air. Jul 12, 2004

Independence Air today will launch six daily flights between Jacksonville and Washington Dulles. The schedule expands to seven daily nonstops Aug. 23. The airline will begin six daily nonstop flights between Nashville and Dulles with the service expanding to seven daily nonstops on July 23 2004. In addition, the carrier will launch eight daily nonstop flights between Syracuse and Dulles. Jul 1, 2004

Independence Air launched five daily nonstop flights between Washington Dulles and Burlington, eight daily nonstop flights between Dulles and Rochester (N.Y.), seven daily nonstop flights between Dulles and Lansing and eight daily nonstop flights between Dulles and Buffalo. In addition, the carrier began six daily nonstop flights between Dulles and Charleston, which will increase to seven by July 23, and six daily flights between Dulles and Greenville-Spartanburg, which will grow to eight by July 23 2004. Jul 19, 2004

Independence Air launched six daily nonstop flights between Washington Dulles and Yeager (W. Va.) Airport, seven daily nonstops between Dulles and Albany, six daily nonstops flights between Dulles and McGhee Tyson (Tenn.) Airport and nine daily nonstops between Dulles and Manchester (N.H.). Jul 26, 2004

Low-cost airline fever has taken off in India with several new carriers emerging. Indian Airlines has announced plans to convert its loss-making subsidiary Alliance Air into a low-cost airline operating new A319s, which would replace 737-200s. Wadia Group announced plans to launch a domestic LCC called Go with a fleet of 100-seat regional jets. Last week, UB Group announced its intention to launch Kingfisher by year end with eight A320s on major domestic routes with fares 30% below current rates. Jul 2, 2004

InteliSys Aviation Systems said its amelia Reservation System has been certified for use on ARINC's iMuse common-use terminals. Jul 1, 2004

Island Air www.islandair.com is launching five Hilo nonstops a day beginning Aug. 16. The carrier, which became independent earlier this year, is expanding its fleet and its route structure. Three of the roundtrips are between Hilo (ITO) and Honolulu (HNL); the other two are between Hilo and Kahului, Maui (OGG). The carrier says it will have seven planes in its fleet by the beginning of August to handle the additional flights. It also anticipates adding Kauai to its system before the end of the year, with nonstops linking Lihue (LIH) with Kahului and with Honolulu. Jul 28, 2004

JetBlue Airways will invade another low-cost carrier's turf on Oct 1 2004 when it begins new daily service from New York JFK to Phoenix, home to America West Airlines. Phoenix will become JetBlue's 29th destination. Jul 13, 2004

Korean Air flew 3.83 billion RPKs in May, up 46.4% over the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 23.6% to 5.27 billion ASKs and load factor gained 11.3 points to 72.7%. For the five months ended May 31, RPKs rose 19.3% to 18.07 billion, ASKs jumped 11.2% to 25.79 billion and load factor increased 4.7 points to 70%. Jul 2, 2004

Korean Air is now flying to St. Petersburg, Russia, from its Incheon hub. It is offering three weekly nonstop flights with A330-200s, making St. Petersburg its third Russian city in addition to Moscow and Vladivostok. J.H. Lee, president and COO, said, "With Korean Air's new flights, we are virtually opening a new door to the northern European market." Lee said Korean is the first Asian airline to offer flights to the Russian city. Jul 14, 2004

Korean Air launched three weekly nonstop A330-200 flights from Seoul Incheon to St. Petersburg, Russia. Jul 15, 2004

Korean Air launched three weekly flights between Penang and its hub at Seoul Incheon using a 269-seat A330. Jul 30, 2004

Kuwait Airways implemented Mercator's MARS Airline Reservation System and MACS Airport Control System. Jul 1, 2004

LAN Airlines members LanChile, LanPeru and LanEcuador have started a free shuttle bus service to and from New York-JFK Airport from points in New Jersey. The service is available daily from New Jersey's Paterson Station, Union City Station and Newark Station. Passengers must reserve the shuttle with a travel agent or by calling LAN, and show their airline tickets or e-ticket itinerary to the bus station attendants. The buses are time to coincide with Lan Chile/Lan Peru's flights to Lima, Santiago and Buenos Aires, and Lan Ecuador's flights to Quito and Guayaquil. Jul 13, 2004

LanChile, LanPeru and LanEcuador introduced complimentary ground shuttle service between New Jersey and LAN's New York JFK terminal. The shuttle service is available daily from Paterson Station, Union City Station and Newark Station. Jul 15, 2004

LTU will introduce a new Comfort-Class on its short and medium-haul network by Nov. 1 2004. The airline claims it will become the first European charter carrier to offer a premium product on continental routes. Jul 14, 2004

Lufthansa will begin three weekly flights between Frankfurt and Cape Town Oct. 16 2004 using an A340-300. The service will increase to daily from the end of Oct. 2004. Jul 16, 2004

Lufthansa Technik will provide total maintenance support to Barcelona- based startup Vueling Airlines under a five-year contract covering its A320 fleet, including line and base maintenance, component support and engine overhauls. Vueling will start operating this month with two A320s and plans to acquire six more by the end of 2005, according to LHT. Jul 1, 2004

Malaysia Airlines will begin service to Kuala Lumpur from Newark via Stockholm, effective Nov. 4. Presently, the airline provides service to Kuala Lumpur from Newark via Dubai three times a week. The new Stockholm route will replace that service, maintaining three flights per week. On Mondays and Thursdays the flight will depart Newark at 10:45 p.m. and on Saturdays at 9:40 p.m. Arrivals in Stockholm are at 12:25 p.m. and 11:20 a.m., respectively, the following day. Passengers can layover in Stockholm or continue on the same day for a 12-hour, 15-minute flight to Kuala Lumpur. The flights will be operated with three-class Boeing 777- 200 aircraft that in total will provide 834 seats per week per direction. Jul 28, 2004

Mesa Air Group announced several senior management promotions. Director- System Operation Control Zakaullah Khogyani was named VP-flight operations of the company's Air Midwest subsidiary. Director-Inventory Control Troy Lambeth was named senior director of the airline's system operation center, Director-Financial Planning/Analysis John Baker was named senior director-crew resources and Bob Ramirez was named director- quality assurance at Air Midwest. Ramirez previously was maintenance director for Mesa's Freedom Airlines subsidiary. Jul 1, 2004

Mexicana Airlines selected Terminal 4 at New York JFK as the new base for its daily nonstop service from Mexico City. Jul 2, 2004

Midwest Airlines will offer second daily flights between Milwaukee and both Ft. Lauderdale and Tampa between Dec. 18 and April 17. It also will extend through Oct. 30 the operation of a fifth daily flight between Milwaukee and Boston, service that was scheduled to end Sept. 6. In addition, it will convert service between MKE and Denver from Saver Service to Signature Service beginning Dec. 4 2004. Jul 28, 2004

Northwest Airlines has applied to operate more flights to Asia that became available following the new bilateral agreement signed between the US and China. "We need to maintain our leadership in the transpac market and meet the steadily increasing demand in China for both passengers and cargo service," CEO Richard Anderson said in a message to employees. The airline has applied to the US Dept. of Transportation for daily passenger service between Detroit and Guangzhou via Tokyo and additional freighter service between Chicago and Shanghai via Anchorage. It hopes to start the flights later this year. It also would like to add freighter service between Los Angeles and Guangzhou next year. If granted, the new routes would more than quadruple NWA's cargo capacity to China. Jul 9, 2004

Northwest Airlines cancelled and delayed a number of outbound flights at Minneapolis after one its facilities in Eagan, Minn., experienced an internal power failure in the morning, affecting the use of computer systems. The power went down at approximately 8:15 a.m. CDT and was restored about 45 min. later. The airline said departing flights were returning to normal yesterday but it anticipated cancellations and delays to continue into the evening. It expected to return to its full flight schedule late Jul. 14 2004. Jul 15, 2004

Northwest Airlines will begin daily service between Minneapolis and Greenville/Spartanburg Sept. 27 2004. Northwest Airlink partner Pinnacle Airlines will operate the service using 50-seat CRJs. Jul 15, 2004

Norwegian Air Shuttle said that its yield remained depressed last month as it continued to open new routes. According to Reuters, June's yield was Nok0.71 ($0.10), flat compared to May and below April's Nok0.76 and March's Nok0.99. Norwegian, the domestic rival of SAS, extended its network with 18 new routes from April to June. The carrier said June traffic more than doubled to 161 million RPKs compared to the same month last year. Passenger boardings also increased significantly from 112,048 to 206,329. The carrier operates domestic flights and serves destinations in Spain, Croatia and Germany. Jul 15, 2004

The Strategic Intelligence Center of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) www.pata.org says 30 nations in Asia and the Pacific tallied an overall growth in arrivals during approximately the first third of the year by international visitors of 15.3 million such travelers, a climb of 21 percent, compared with 2003 figures. Year-over-year comparisons aren't ideal this year because of the effects of SARS on travel last year, says John Koldowski, managing director of the center. "However, the good news is that the destinations that were most directly affected by SARS last year are collectively well ahead in volume terms in 2004," he says. "This is largely due to the dramatic increases in flows to and from mainland China." Koldowski adds that the 2004 arrivals thus far are the best " in volume terms' since the same period in 2000. Jul 9, 2004

QantasLink will operate 50-seat Dash 8s for the first time on flights between Melbourne and Devonport, Burnie-Wynyard and Mildura from Aug. 23 2004, replacing a number of the 36-seat aircraft currently serving the routes. Jul 13, 2004

Qatar Airways began thrice-weekly service between Istanbul and Doha. Jul 9, 2004

Qatar Airways launched four weekly flights between Zurich and Doha. Jul 16, 2004

Republic Airways Holdings, parent of Chautauqua Airlines, and United Airlines reached agreement on a revised schedule for Republic to begin operating Embraer 170s for United in a codeshare deal. Under the terms of the new agreement, Republic said Chautauqua initially will operate the aircraft for United. It planned to begin flying the 170s as early as Aug. through its newly created operating subsidiary Republic Airline but the certification process has taken longer than anticipated. The company said it expects Chautauqua to receive the required aircraft certification in Oct. In addition, Republic will boost from 16 to 23 the number of 70-seat 170s it will operate for United and reduce its ERJ-145 fleet from 16 to nine. Because Republic is changing the mix of 50- and 70-seaters, the increase in 170s will not result in a higher number of aircraft being flown for UA. United also has agreed to postpone from Sept. until Nov. 20 its ability to terminate the codeshare agreement with Republic Airline if Republic or Chautauqua is unable to obtain certification to operate the 170s. Jul 9, 2004

Sabre Airline Solutions launched customer care features, Customer Insight and Customer Data Delivery, that are part of its new-generation passenger management suite. The offerings have been implemented by several airlines including ATA, Aerolineas Argentinas and Jet Airways of India. Jul 1, 2004

Santa Barbara Airlines, a privately held Venezuelan passenger carrier, was to launch twice-daily service from Miami to Caracas using 757- 200ERs. Jul 9, 2004

SAS Group will be forced to cancel more than 30 flights to European destinations scheduled for July 17-19 2004 owing to a shortage of staff attributable to the summer vacation season. Last weekend, SAS cancelled 45 flights affecting about 4,000 passengers. Jul 15, 2004

Siberia Airlines launched weekly Tu-154 service between Leipzig and Moscow Domodedovo Saturday and additional frequencies could follow. Sibir serves four other German cities: Munich, Hannover, Duesseldorf and Frankfurt. Jul 5, 2004

Singapore Airlines launched three weekly 777 flights between Singapore and Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Jul 30, 2004

Brussels Court of Appeal has annulled the bankruptcy of Sobelair, the former charter subsidiary of defunct Sabena. Technically this means that Sobelair is now in liquidation, although curators have already sold off eur20 million ($24.3 million) of its assets, mainly three Boeing aircraft. In Jan., the Brussels Court of Commerce ruled the leisure carrier bankrupt. Jul 2, 2004

It took the intervention of Chairman Herb Kelleher and more than two years before Southwest Airlines and its flight attendants were able to reach a tentative agreement on a new contract. However, it appears that the long wait and the tough negotiating paid off for the cabin staff. According to the Transport Workers union, the agreement, if ratified by membership, will make Southwest's attendants "the leaders in industry pay and work rules over the life of the contract." Under the six-year deal, the compensation package provides raises that average 31% across the board, the union said. Pay scale increases range from 22% to 126% and flight attendants will reach their top pay in 14 instead of 17 years. Other increases and incentives include productivity pay, redeye pay, training pay for new-hire flight attendants and longevity pay for reserves. In addition, flight attendants will receive an increased per diem that is on par with what SWA pilots get. The agreement also includes first-time-ever stock options for flight attendants as well as first-time holiday pay, a.m./p.m. reserve and retirement medical insurance at age 55 and significant improvements to duty day protections. "For more than two years, we went to the bargaining table, facing the daunting task of creating a contract that corrected problems from the past and created a roadmap for our future as well as the future of the airline we love," union head Thom McDaniel said. "We addressed this challenge with steadfast resolve to 'do the right thing' and solved many problems with compromise and creativity from both the union and management." Union members will begin voting on the agreement July 16 and results are expected July 30 2004. Jul 2, 2004

Southwest Airlines will be adding 13 daily flights from Philadelphia starting Oct. 31 2004, three of which will be to a new destination. Starting on Halloween Day, the treat for customers will be fares that start at $29 one way. The new destinations are Hartford/Springfield, where it will fly five daily nonstops, Jacksonville with one daily nonstop and Oakland with one daily nonstop. It also is adding two more daily nonstops to Orlando, and one daily flight to Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, Chicago-Midway and Manchester. The lowest fares require a 14- day advance purchase. Jul 15, 2004

Southwest Airlines will introduce two daily nonstop flights between Baltimore/Washington and Columbus, Ohio on Oct. 31, 2004. The airline also will add one daily nonstop flight between Orlando and Manchester, N.H., and one daily nonstop flight between Orlando and Albany on Nov. 29 2004. Jul 29, 2004

Chairman of the Stanford group of companies, R. Allen Stanford, has announced today that there are no current plans for closure of Caribbean Star Airlines. Stanford added that he would be reviewing Caribbean Star in its entirety, and would assume a more active role in directing the company's continued growth. He also noted that meetings have been held with the airline's pilots to address specific issues and concerns, and stressed that this was the first step towards broader employee participation in the ongoing strategic management of the airline. Jul 9, 2004

SunExpress launched one weekly service from Antalia to Moscow. The Turkish airline will operate 737-800s on the route. Jul 16, 2004

Swiss's decision to operate Boeing Business Jets leased from PrivatAir on services between Zurich and Newark from next Jan. 15 2005 marks the second time a European carrier has opted to outsource flying to the Swiss VIP travel specialist. PrivatAir has been operating BBJs and CJ319s on Lufthansa routes to Newark and Chicago for 24 months. Swiss will withdraw its own service with A330s when the PrivatAir service commences. The BBJs will be outfitted with 56 lie-flat seatbeds. Jul 2, 2004

Swiss International Air Lines will begin Boeing Business Jet service on its Zurich-Newark route on Jan. 15. Simultaneously, Swiss will withdraw its current Zurich-Newark A330 service. The 56-seat BBJ will be operated by PrivatAir. Jul 1, 2004

United Airlines implemented a 5% fare increase on "most" of its international flights that originate in the US to help offset rising fuel costs. "Escalating fuel prices are a growing concern throughout the airline industry," Executive VP-Marketing John Tague said. "We must take the necessary steps to manage our exposure to this unprecedented rise in expense." The fare increase applies to all published nonsale fares to international destinations that originate in the US, including first and business class, unrestricted and discounted United Economy fares and most consolidator fares. Jul 1, 2004

United Airlines said it has withdrawn the 5% fare increase it implemented on most flights to international destinations that originate in the US. The increase was put into place last month in response to rising fuel costs. Jul 9, 2004

United Airlines launched daily nonstop service between Denver and Reagan Washington National Airport. Jul 12, 2004

United Airlines agreed to an $850,000 civil penalty to resolve its violations of state and federal hazardous waste laws at its San Francisco International Airport facility, the Dept. of Justice, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the State of California announced. The penalty relates to "widespread violations of hazardous waste regulations" throughout the UA aircraft maintenance center during inspections conducted by EPA in 1999 and 2001. The violations included failure to close hazardous waste containers, improper labeling of hazardous waste containers and storage of hazardous waste for longer than the allowable time. Jul 14, 2004

United Airlines will introduce daily nonstop service in several markets from Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles. On Oct. 4 2004 from O'Hare it will launch two daily nonstop flights to Albuquerque and Tucson as well as one daily flight to Palm Springs with seasonal service through April. United Express carrier SkyWest will add regional jet service on the same day from O'Hare to Edmonton with two daily nonstop flights. United will increase service on Dec. 16 to Aruba from O'Hare with one daily flight replacing Saturday-only service. From Dulles effective Oct. 4, United Express carriers will launch three daily flights to Memphis and Wilkes- Barre/Scranton and two daily flights to Milwaukee. The Memphis and Milwaukee flights will be operated by Air Wisconsin and Shuttle America will operate the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton service. On Oct. 17 United Express carrier Chautauqua Airlines will begin two daily nonstop flights between Dulles and Houston, adding a third daily flight Oct. 31. Lastly, effective Feb. 15 Air Wisconsin will introduce service to Myrtle Beach with two daily flights from O'Hare and four daily flights from Dulles. Jul 21, 2004

United Airlines will begin daily flights between San Francisco and Ho Chi Minh City via Hong Kong Dec. 9 following completion of the application process with the government of Vietnam. It will operate the service using 747-400s in a two-class configuration. Also, UA will launch two new daily nonstop flights between Denver and Pittsburgh Oct. 4 2004 using 737s in a two-class configuration. Jul 23, 2004

United Airlines www.united.com on Dec. 16 2004 will add daily service linking Chicago with Maui and the Big Island. The new daily service comprises a nonstop from Chicago (ORD) to Kahului, Maui (OGG) that continues to Kona (KOA) on the Big Island before returning nonstop to Chicago. United will use Boeing 777 aircraft accommodating 348 passengers in coach and 36 in first. United says the new service will enhance its long-term relationship with Norwegian Cruise Line. Announcement of this flight comes on the heels of United's re-launch of its Chicago-Honolulu daily nonstop on June 11 2004. Jul 28, 2004

JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker has widened his full-year loss forecast for the US airline industry to $3 billion from $1.7 billion previously and now predicts carriers will earn a "rather paltry" $500 million in 2005, although he notes that likely capacity reductions at United Airlines and US Airways "may afford considerable upside" to next year's earnings outlook. In a report released June 30 2004, Baker attributed the diminished forecast to "higher fuel costs and softer revenue trends." That latter is actually the bigger problem--"airline earnings are far more sensitive to revenue inputs then oil inputs," he noted, while adding that the industry no longer should expect a cyclical domestic demand recovery that will push revenues higher. "If it hasn't happened by now, it won't likely any time soon," he wrote. Jul 1, 2004

US Airways expanded its new fare structure, GoFares, to include flights from Reagan Washington National Airport to Syracuse and Nashville. As it happens, new low-fare carrier Independence Air inaugurated service from Washington Dulles to Nashville and Syracuse. Jul 2, 2004

US Airways has added Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, N.Y., and Charleston, S.C., to the markets where it is offering simplified GoFares. Flights from Washington, D.C., to Charleston start at $99 one way, and are $89 to the other three cities. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "Upstate New York is really turning a corner when it comes to low-fare air service. Up until a few years ago people complained there was no way to fly here at a reasonable rate. That has now changed dramatically." US Airways introduced GoFares in April in Philadelphia. Jul 14, 2004

US Airways expanded its new fare structure, GoFares, to include flights from Reagan Washington National Airport to Albany, Buffalo, Rochester and Charleston. New low-fare carrier Independence Air will launch service to these cities later this month. Jul 15, 2004

US Airways has reassured Pennsylvania officials that it intends to continue to operate about 240 daily nonstop departures to 65 markets from Pittsburgh this fall, even though its schedule is being reduced. Its fall schedule will not be released until mid to late August, and the airline says its service level at Pittsburgh hinges on a few factors, such as the delivery of regional jets. And, it will continue to offer turboprop service to smaller cities if its contracted airlines agree to continue that service. Its schedule will be slightly reduced from August to October because affiliate carriers are reducing or eliminating some service. As it currently stands, US Airways intends to operate about 70 mainline departures, 80 regional jet departures, 25 wholly owned turboprop departures and 65 affiliate turboprop departures. Currently, those numbers are 107, 122, 53 and 91, respectively. Jul 21, 2004

US Airways will resume service between New York LaGuardia and Ft. Lauderdale with four daily nonstop flights Nov. 7. The airline said the new flights are included under its new fare structure, GoFares. Jul 27, 2004

US Airways will increase its capacity by up to 90 percent to five destinations from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport starting Sept. 8 by using larger aircraft on certain routes. The cities affected are Buffalo, N.Y., Columbus, Ohio, Indianapolis, Ind., Manchester, N.H., and Syracuse, N.Y. The airline will upgrade one of five daily Washington-Columbus roundtrip flights from regional jet (RJ) service to Boeing 737 service. All three daily Washington-Buffalo flights will be upgraded from RJ service to Airbus A319 or Boeing 737-300 service. Between Washington and Syracuse, US Airways currently operates one RJ and four turboprops; starting in August two turboprop flights will upgrade to RJ service, and in September, one of the new RJ flights will be upgraded to 737 service. Washington-Indianapolis service will shift from five daily RJ flights to four-times daily service, with three 737s and one RJ. One daily outbound Washington-Manchester RJ flight will be added to the three existing roundtrip RJ flights, and one of those will be upgraded to 737 service. Jul 28, 2004

WestJet will add Tampa, New York and Palm Springs to its network this fall and early next year. The Canadian airline will begin 12 nonstop flights between Toronto and New York LaGuardia Sept. 20 2004, four nonstop flights between Toronto and Tampa Oct. 31 and two nonstop flights between Calgary and Palm Springs Jan. 7. It also will launch six nonstop flights between Toronto and Orlando Oct. 1, four nonstop flights between Toronto and Ft. Lauderdale Oct. 31 and six nonstop flights between Vancouver and Los Angeles Dec. 19 2004. Jul 12, 2004

WestJet, a Canada-based low-fare carrier, has added three new cities to its U.S. route network. The airline will begin nonstop service between Toronto and Tampa, as well as Toronto and New York, in the fall; and between Calgary and Palm Springs (Calif.) in January 2005. In addition, the carrier will begin nonstop to two Florida cities'Orlando and Fort Lauderdale'in October. Clive Beddoe, WestJet's president and CEO, said: "These new destinations will enhance the scope of our operations as we strive to be the airline of choice for low-fare service between Canada and the U.S.A. " Jul 14, 2004