Airline News

Continental has applied for authority to operate from Newark Airport to Beijing beginning next spring, and to Shanghai the following spring. It would operate the flights daily with 777 aircraft. Continental currently operates from Newark to Hong Kong. Delta also has applied for the rights, saying it would fly direct from Atlanta to Beijing beginning in 2006. Gordon Bethune, chairman and CEO of Continental, said, "U.S.-China traffic has surged as the two economies have grown and formed strong trading ties." Sep 23, 2004

Continental Chairman and CEO Gordon Bethune said airlines would like to drive more customers to the Web by offering discounts, rather than charge fees for booking by other methods, such as calling for reservations or using a GDS. "The GDS is a dying business," he said, adding that years ago travel agents were the only ones who could understand how to use them to make a booking. But with the Internet now, he questioned the need for customers and airlines to be forced to pay the fees incurred by using a GDS. Regarding Northwest's failed attempt to pass part of its GDS fees on to agents, Bethune said to make a move like that, an airline had better have a lot more sales already being conducted over the Internet, certainly more than Northwest did when it tried to make the fee stick. Sep 13, 2004

Continental, Northwest and KLM will officially join the current six members of the Sky Team Alliance on Sept. 15 2004, bringing expanded route networks to customers and more cost savings, potentially, to the alliance members. The alliance intends to add Aeroflot and China Southern in the coming year, and will finally gain momentum to compete with the larger Star Alliance. The alliance expect to serve 341 million customers a year. The savings to the airlines comes in the form of joint fuel purchasing and distribution, but only for those alliance members that already enjoy anti-trust immunity. Jean-Cyril Spinetta, chairman and CEO of Air France, said there are no plans to form a specific Sky Team structure for governance. It will continue to use steering committees, he said. Sep 13, 2004

Customers traveling from the Tampa/St. Petersburg region will soon have access to even more destinations thanks to planned new service from Delta Connection. This new service is part of Delta's emphasis on point- to-point and focus-city growth, a key element of the airline's transformation plan. On Jan. 1, 2005, Delta Connection carrier Chautauqua Airlines will add new non-stop jet service from Tampa/St. Petersburg International Airport to Dayton, Ohio; Greensboro and Raleigh-Durham, N.C.; and Pensacola, Fla. Chautauqua will operate the service with 50-seat Embraer Regional Jet aircraft. This new service is in addition to previously announced Tampa/St. Petersburg point-to-point service to Huntsville, Ala.; Charleston, Columbia, and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C.; and Knoxville, Tenn., effective Nov. 1, 2004. Sep 21, 2004

Customers traveling from Central Florida soon will have access to even more non-stop destinations thanks to planned new service from Delta Connection. This new service is part of Delta's emphasis on point-to- point and focus city growth, a key element of the airline's transformation plan. On Dec. 1, 2004, Delta Connection carrier Chautauqua Airlines will add new non-stop jet service to Asheville, N.C.; Gulfport/Biloxi, Miss.; Lexington, Ky.; Little Rock, Ark.; and Panama City, Fla. Chautauqua will operate the service with 50-seat Embraer Regional Jet aircraft. This new service is in addition to previously announced Orlando point-to- point service to Charleston, S.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Knoxville, Tenn.; and Savannah, Ga. To celebrate the new service, Delta will offer one-way sale fares as low as $59* (based on a roundtrip purchase) to these cities. Additional taxes and fees apply. See below for important terms and conditions related to the fare sale. Sep 21, 2004