Airline News

Swiss International will serve London City Airport from Basel from Aug. 30 2004. The flights to and from City Airport, which is conveniently close to London's central business district, will be operated thrice daily on weekdays and daily at the weekend using Saab 2000 equipment. The current Basel - London (Heathrow) services will be withdrawn from the start of the 2004/05 winter schedules.

Swiss International has decided the first week of June 2004 not to proceed with the envisaged integration of its Swiss Travel Club frequent flyer program into the Executive Club, its counterpart at British Airways, under the present conditions. The sizable costs of such an integration and the drawbacks it would bring currently outweigh its projected mid- to long-term benefits. As the abandonment of the proposed integration also means that the bilateral agreement between SWISS and British Airways cannot be put into practice, Swiss is unable to join the oneworld alliance at the present time. Swiss and British Airways have reached an amicable agreement on how they now intend to proceed. Swiss's bilateral commercial agreements with other oneworld members remain unaffected by these developments.

United Airlines announced on June 30 2004 a 5 percent fare hike Wednesday on most flights to international destinations from the United States, citing rising fuel costs as the reason. The increase is the latest of numerous attempts by U.S. carriers this year to try to have passengers share the burden of soaring jet-fuel prices. Last month, United rescinded a $10-per-round-trip fuel surcharge on most North American fares after only a day when American Airlines was the only competitor to follow. "Escalating Fuel prices are a growing concern throughout the airline industry," said John Tague, executive vice president-Marketing, Sales and Revenue. "We must take the necessary steps to manage our exposure to this unprecedented rise in expense." The fare increase applies to all published non-sale fares on flights to international destinations that originate in the United States, including United First and United Business fares, Unrestricted and discounted United Economy fares and most consolidator fares.

United Airlines announced on June 29 2004 that, following the conclusion of a new aviation agreement by the governments of the People's Republic of China and the United States, the airline has applied to begin new, daily nonstop service between Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Shanghai's Pudong International Airport (PVG) effective October 31, 2004. Service would commence on that date pending completion of the necessary regulatory procedures by the relevant Chinese and U.S. government agencies.

United Airlines thanked the governments of the People's Republic of China and the United States on June 18 2004 for their collaborative effort, resulting in a new agreement liberalizing air services between the countries. Under the new agreement, United plans to apply for authority to launch daily, nonstop service between Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) and Shanghai's Pudong International Airport (PVG). The new agreement provides United the opportunity to apply for additional nonstop service to China, as well as increases the carrier's code-share rights to China with Air China and Star Alliance members.