The only sensible way to reform FAA's air traffic control financing is to introduce a user fee system, but most recreational pilots should not be affected, Air Transport Association head Jim May said last week.
United parent UAL Corp. on Friday reported an eye-popping $16.9 billion fourth-quarter net loss and a $21.2 billion full-year deficit due to one-time reorganization costs, but the carrier still reported a $182 million operating loss in the quarter.
Korean Air's full-year 2005 net profit sank 61% to KRW202.3 billion largely due to the high fuel prices and pilot strike last month. Revenue was up 5.2% to KRW7.6 trillion and operating profit rose by 12.6% to KRW432.2 billion. "High fuel prices throughout the year, combined with the pilot's strike in December, caused a decrease in the airlines net profit," said CEO Y.H. Cho. "However, our efforts to enhance profitability through cost savings and fuel surcharges brought about an increase in Korean Air's overall operating profit."
Parent UAL Corp. tapped Cindy Szadokierski to become VP-O'Hare operations, a new position, and named Ajay Singh to replace her as VP-corporate real estate, effective immediately.
Midwest Airlines this year is getting some breathing room at its Milwaukee hub as rival Northwest plans to cut MKE capacity by 29% and departures by 49%, based on its April schedule. Northwest added a lot of flights in Milwaukee last summer as part of its "Heartland" strategy but is now backing off as it reorganizes. Midwest executives reported double-digit market share gains as other airlines also pulled flights.
Alitalia's luck has been a mixed bag lately: Winter weather hit the airline's operations only days after troublesome wildcat strikes, while its EUR38 million bid to acquire low-cost carrier Volare was accepted by Volare's administrator (DAILY, Jan. 18).
Correction: FAA was spending more than $300,000 a month in overtime for the first six months of 2005, and $100,000 or less in each of the last four months of the year. The DAILY gave incorrect numbers for the amount of overtime FAA is using at the New York Terminal Radar Approach Control facility.
Elected Northrop Grumman Chairman Ronald Sugar to chair its board of governors, and named executive committee members: James Albaugh, executive VP-The Boeing Company; David Calhoun, president and CEO-GE Infrastructure; Nicholas Chabraja, chairman and CEO-General Dynamics Corp.; Kenneth Dahlberg, chairman, president and CEO-Science Applications International Corp.; John Douglass, AIA president and CEO; Stephen Finger, president-Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., United Technologies Corp.; Dean Flatt, Honeywell Aerospace, president-defense and space; James Guyette, president and CEO-
LAN Peru plans to launch new service from Los Angeles to Sao Paulo, March 22 with four weekly flights. The service will leave LAX on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and will depart Sao Paulo Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. The new flights include a stopover in Lima and will be operated with Boeing 767s. In addition to LAN Peru's four new weekly flights, the carrier also offers connecting flights between LAX and Sao Paulo (via Lima) on two additional days.
Frontier posted a higher-than-expected net loss of $10.3 million for the December quarter, but the carrier predicted its March quarter results would be up from last year's and should approach breakeven. The December loss was slightly smaller than the $11.1 million net loss recorded in the same quarter last year. Mainline traffic grew 9.2% on an 8.6% capacity increase. Load factor was up 0.4 points to 72.1%.
Embraer says it won't suffer any production delays from the wind damage inflicted on buildings at its major Brazilian facility last week. Strong gusts of wind hit the Embraer headquarters, ripping the roofs from a warehouse and a hangar used for aircraft maintenance, and about a quarter of the roof of a hangar where ERJ145 assembly is done. One employee suffered a fractured pelvis, and 19 others received medical treatment.
To list an event, send information in calendar format to Ingrid Lee at [email protected] (Bold type indicates new calendar listing in PDF format.) FEB. 2 -- American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law Annual Update Conference, Willard Intercontinental Hotel, Washington, 312-988-5660, e-mail [email protected] FEB. 6 -- Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), Disaster Summit, Omni Tucson National Golf Resort & Spa, Tucson, AZ, 202-293-3029, email [email protected]
Frontier expects that 15.5% of its schedule will overlap with Southwest in March, when Southwest introduces Baltimore and Salt Lake City service to Denver. Currently, Southwest overlaps with 11.3% of Frontier's schedule. Frontier estimates many Denver fares have dropped by $10-$30 since Southwest began Denver service earlier this month. The capacity Southwest has introduced at Denver is about the same as the capacity cut by ATA in that market, Frontier says.
Modern aircraft parked in the desert are up 15% to 576 planes between mid-December and mid-January, according to the latest Airclaims data. Parked Bombardier CRJs were by 41 planes, many of which were flown by defunct Independence Air. There were 14 more Airbus A320 family planes parked, also due to the end of FLYI. Several Boeing 737s returned to service, notes Merrill Lynch.
AirTran's new White Plains service and seasonal flights "may be it" in terms of new destinations added this year, says President Bob Fornaro. The carrier has not officially announced how may frequencies it will fly to White Plains, but CEO Joe Leonard tells The DAILY the airline will likely operate four or five to Atlanta, two to Orlando and one to West Palm Beach.
AVIATION WEEK Conferences & Exhibitions You can now register online for Aviation Week events. Go to www.AviationNow.com/conferences or contact Lydia Janow, 212-904-3225 or 800-240-7645 ext. 5 (U.S. and Canada only) APRIL 5-6 -- U.S. Defense Budgets and Programs Conference, Arlington, Va. APRIL 25-26 -- MRO Military Conference, Phoenix APRIL 25-26 -- MRO USA Conference & Exhibition 2006, Phoenix MAY 17-18 -- MRO Military Europe, Berlin SEPT. 19-21 -- MRO Asia, Xiamen, China
Panama's COPA faces some risk with its aggressive fleet growth plan. "It took 50 years to get 25 planes, and the company now has plans to double in the next four," says JP Morgan analyst Jamie Baker. "Without a proven track record, it is unclear whether its systems are sophisticated enough to identify new market/route potential." He notes that incremental growth may be uneven as COPA tests new markets, particularly given Panama's "diminutive local demand."
Appointed TACA Costa Rica President Fernando Naranjo Villalobos VP-systemwide coordination of institutional relations, Estuardo Ortiz-system commercial VP and Enrique Beltranera CEO of TACA's Mexican affiliate Volaris.
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration is using in-house explosives experts to improve airport screeners' ability to find bomb-making materials in air passengers' carry-on bags, says TSA Administrator Kip Hawley.
