British Airways is restructuring its Caribbean network from London Gatwick with a redeployment of flights operated under franchise by the paper airline Airline Management (AML) from March. AML services are operated by two-class Boeing 777s, with BA providing pilots and Flying Colours (to be renamed JMC Air) the cabin crew. BA is suspending its own flights from Gatwick to San Juan and the AML services to San Jose (Costa Rica). BA-operated three-class Boeing 767-300ERs will replace AML operated 777s to Grand Cayman and Nassau. AML will increase weekly frequencies to Kingston from four to six, and to Havana from one to two. Antigua will have its own direct AML 777 service, with an extension to St Lucia. Both points are now served indirectly by BA 747s, as is Grenada, which will share Tobago's twice- weekly AML 777 service. Separately, BA has introduced a four-times weekly service from London Gatwick to Salzburg. Japan Airlines will transfer two routes to its low-cost division JAL Express in January. The routes from Osaka to Sendai and from Sapporo to Sendai will be operated twice a day in each direction by Boeing 737s. KLM will reschedule its services from Amsterdam to Aruba and Curacao in the Caribbean from the end of March. The total number of weekly flights will remain at 16, but some routings will be rescheduled and/or re-routed. Qantas' regional partner Sunstate Airlines is to launch four-times weekly services between Cairns and Hamilton Island in January. Brisbane-based Sunstate will operate a Dash 8 on the route. American Airlines marketing alliance with EVA Airways has gained US approval, allowing the airline to codeshare immediately on EVA's routes between the USA and Taiwan. The second and third phases of the deal are due to be implemented in mid-2000 and will see EVA's code on selected American connecting flights operated by from EVA's US gateway points.
Source: Flight International
