AA-BA revisit alliance
In a move that has drawn fire from UK rival British Midland, British Airways has submitted a joint application with American Airlines for US approval to start codesharing between Chicago and New York, and eight UK cities, excluding London. The alliance partners also aim to share codes beyond these gateways to 31 US domestic locations and 40 cities in Europe and Africa. This is said to be allowed under the Bermuda II air services bilateral agreement. Separately, the US Department of Transportation and the UK's Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions, meanwhile, re-opened informal talks on open skies 16 November.
Concerns grow over delays
The proportion of business passengers concerned with short-haul delays has risen from 36% to 52%, according to IATA's 1999 Corporate Travel Survey, based on returns for mid-1999. The proportion of the 1,000 business travellers questioned by IATA in July-August 1999 preoccupied with long haul delays has risen from 21% to 30%. Use of the Internet for bookings and information, meanwhile, has doubled over the last two years while 50% of business travellers expect to be using the web by 2004. Around 60% of passengers made use of electronic ticketing in the latest survey, up from 43%. In addition, over one-third of the respondents expected their company travel budgets to increase through to mid-2000.
Supersonic Delta
Air France has announced that it will put the code of its new alliance partner, Delta Air Lines, on its Concorde flights. The code is expected to be in place by early next year and will make Delta the first US carrier to offer Concorde service.
Tanzania opens skies to USA
Tanzania has signed an open skies agreement with the USA, the first African nation to do so. US Department of Transportation assistant secretary of aviation and international affairs Brad Mims led a delegation to Africa in November to encourage African countries to consider an intra-African multilateral aviation agreement.
Source: Airline Business
