Standard&Poor's has lowered its rating on Boeing Co. and Boeing Capital Corp. and removed them from CreditWatch. S&P said the downgrades reflect "significantly weaker commercial aerospace intermediate-term business prospects" and a "soft global economy." It said the outlook for both is "stable."
Brazil's civil aviation department (DAC) yesterday extended until Feb. 14 the deadline for grounded Transbrasil (DAILY, Feb. 6) to submit a new financial restructuring plan and renew operations in 30 to 45 days or face loss of certification. DAC also demands correction of specific operational problems. After several attempts in the past two weeks to sell the company ran aground, majority shareholders continue groping for a viable rescue plan and elected a new board of directors and CEO.
Professional Air Traffic Control Organization President Ron Taylor filed a class action suit against FAA in U.S. district court in Miami alleging the agency has failed to rehire many former controllers after an executive order in August 1993 lifted the ban on re-employment. Taylor said PATCO soon would file another class action suit in the U.S. Court of Claims in Washington under Title V of the Age Discrimination Act.
Lima Airport Partners (LAP), development and management concessionaires of Lima's Jorge Chavez Airport, forecast $64 million in revenues this year, $10 million more than in 2001, when passenger traffic decreased by 9% after the events of Sept. 11. According to LAP CEO Juan Antonio Casanova, Peru will be paid royalties of $45 million in 2002, up from $38 million in 2001. LAP will invest $20 million this year in apron expansion to accommodate more aircraft, the "Peru Plaza" shopping area and a four-star hotel.
American plans to add two additional flights from Boston Logan as part of its spring plan to rebuild its flight schedule. Effective March 2, the airline will add a second daily Boston-Orlando flight as well as a second daily Boston-San Jose, Calif., flight. The new frequencies will bring AA's total flights at Boston to 50 per day to 16 destinations. "We are optimistic that we will soon be able to add even more flights at Logan Airport as the demand increases," said Mike Gunn, executive VP-marketing and planning.
TAME, operated by Ecuador's air force as a commercial airline, is lobbying to get legislation changed so it may enter into strategic alliances with foreign carriers as the only possible way to renew its aging fleet of aircraft. A TAME Boeing 727-200 crash last week that killed all 92 on board raised awareness of TAME's equipment crisis.
US Airways CEO Stephen Wolf is scheduled to meet today and tomorrow with its pilots union unit, which said it expects the talks to "focus on the company's small jet negotiating objectives." Wolf is expected to meet with pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, today in Charlotte and Philadelphia and tomorrow in Pittsburgh and at Washington National.
Airborne reported net income of $2.2 million for the fourth quarter, compared with a loss of $11.9 million the same quarter a year earlier. The results included a credit of $5.2 million under the Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act and gains of $1 million from the sale of radio frequencies. Net loss for the year totaled $19.5 million, compared with net earnings of $28.5 million a year earlier.
TRAFFIC DATA FOR JANUARY 2002 RPMs Change ASMs Change In From In From Load Airline Billions 1/01 Billions 1/01 Factor Alaska 0.89 +0.5% 1.43 -4.8% 62.5% American 9.00 -15.6% 13.63 -17.8% 65.9% Continental 4.43 -9.5% 6.33 -13.3% 70.1%
The Greek government gave Australia's Integrated Airlines Solutions Consortium (IASC) until Feb. 15 to muster sufficient funding for the purchase of a majority stake in struggling flag carrier Olympic Airways. IASC "requested an extension of 15 days in order to fulfill its previous undertakings, citing the potential addition of new investors to its consortium and procedural delays in complying with the Hellenic Republic's financing requirements," government adviser Credit Suisse First Boston said yesterday.
South African state holding Transnet is close to reaching an agreement with Swissair Group for the sale of the Swiss concern's 20% stake in South African Airways (SAA), according to daily Business Day. The transaction could be concluded within days, the paper wrote. Once the deal is final, SAA effectively will be be renationalized. Transnet allegedly can acquire the stake for 85% of its fair value. Swissair did not comment on the negotiations.
FAA has issued a suspected unapproved parts (SUP) notice based on the Italian probe into parts broker Panaviation, but it remains unclear whether the Rome-based company has done anything wrong. Meanwhile, The DAILY has learned that the parts seized in last week's raids on Panaviation hangars are owned by a U.S. distributor and were headed for the U.S., but not as certified-new or reconditioned parts.
American last week upgraded its equipment to Montevideo, Uruguay, from the Boeing 767 to the 777. American is the only airline serving Uruguay with the 777 and will operate the service in a three-class configuration.
United CEO Jack Creighton this week reiterated his previous position that he "didn't come to United to preside over a bankruptcy." In a message to employees, Creighton said he came to the airline to "turn the company around, and that's what I intend to do." He said the airline will reinvent itself. Senior executives last week refused to answer questions about bankruptcy considerations (DAILY, Feb. 4).
Continental yesterday launched its new TripAlert program, a free service for members of the OnePass frequent flyer program that sends electronic mail and pager messages in case of pre-departure flight delays and cancellations.
Transbrasil's new CEO Michel Tuma Ness and two directors yesterday announced their resignation "without having even taken office." The executives were appointed by an emergency stockholders' meeting last Thursday to head the new management team at Transbrasil, now grounded for two months due to financial difficulties (DAILY, Feb. 4). They blamed their decision on a "breach of confidence" by controlling shareholders (the carrier's founding Fontana family and former CEO Antonio Celso Cipriani) when they did not keep the commitment to pay by Feb.
Europe's largest low-cost airline continues on its impressive growth path despite the current industry crisis and the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Ryanair posted a EUR28.8 million profit after tax in the quarter ended Dec. 31, up 35%, and revenues increased to EUR135 million, up 18%. It carried 2.7 million passengers, a gain of 30%. Ryanair plans to place about 26 million new ordinary shares, 3.6% of the current share capital of the company to raise an estimated EUR170 million to partly fund the planned fleet expansion.
Members of the Senate Conference Committee, acknowledging steady progress in improving aviation security, yesterday expressed frustration at the slow pace of implementing important security measures and questioned whether DOT would meet federally mandated guidelines for installing explosives detection systems (EDS) and switching from a private to a federal screening work force.
InVision Technologies announced some $8.2 million in orders for various explosives detection systems. Canada's transport ministry ordered "multiple" CTX 9000Dsi systems for the company's first sale to that country. Service Technique des Bases Aeriennes (STBA), operator of French airports outside Paris, ordered an unspecified number of CTX 2500s under the three-year CTX 2500 "master supply agreement" announced in September. El Al, which already operates several InVision EDSs, ordered an unspecified number of CTX 2500 and CTX 5500DS systems.
Low-fare airline Go Fly is positioned for growth with the opening of a third base in East Midlands and plans to build up a network there in about six weeks, Go Fly CEO Barbara Cassani told analysts in New York last week. Flights are scheduled to begin in the spring. The carrier has bases at London Stansted and Bristol. The airline also plans to open its first base on the continent next year and will make its initial public offering in 2002 or 2003 to help fund a fleet expansion and repay debt.
United is scheduled to resume mediated negotiations next Monday in Chicago with a Machinist unit representing its ramp and public contact employees. This unit is not tied to the Presidential Emergency Board package scheduled for a vote Feb. 12 by the mechanics and related employees represented by the union. A union spokesman said yesterday he could not characterize whether the 13,000 mechanics would vote in favor of the PEB recommendations, including a wage increase of up to 37% (DAILY, Jan. 24).
United Cargo said it plans to realign its cargo customer service centers, moving them from United's North America division to United Cargo. Expected benefits include improved capability to deliver services better, especially for sensitive products. It also is expected to provide better use of fleet resources and lead to standardization of warehouse activities.
The oneworld alliance, despite failed efforts by American and British Airways to gain antitrust immunity at a satisfactory price, celebrated its third anniversary Feb. 1, expressing optimism that the group will continue to thrive. While critics at the Star and SkyTeam alliances believe oneworld is lagging behind the two groups in terms of cooperation, oneworld officials maintain that its eight members are still enjoying significant financial benefits.
