American today is expected to report that its operational dependability has improved sharply, but it will warn separately that it faces potential layoffs at American Eagle. AMR today will report a deep fourth quarter loss, but its operations are running smoothly thanks to its new dependability project. In a message to employees, CEO Don Carty reported that American hit its new "D-zero" on-time departure targets every day last week. "Now, that's a pretty amazing feat," he said.
AeroMexico and Mexicana parent Cintra last week reported that it has complied fully with all of its payment obligations under the respective agreements. "Any information to the contrary...is incorrect," the company said. Due to the Sept. 11 attacks and drop in travel, Cintra and its subsidiaries watched revenues fall.
Delta yesterday issued new rules in preparation for Friday's new federal regulations that require 100% checked baggage screening. Effective immediately, Delta will no longer accept checked baggage at ticket counters or curbside locations less than 30 minutes before a flight's scheduled departure time.
Haikou-based Chinese carrier, Hainan Airlines is set to expand aggressively into the international market following approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China to operate flights to Australia, Japan, Singapore and Thailand. Hainan will be the fifth major international Chinese carrier after Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines and China Southwest Airlines.
FAA recently rejected the privatization of Niagara Falls, N.Y., after investors' revised, post-Sept. 11 projections showed the airport would not be profitable for years, sharply reducing or eliminating the investment and airport modernization for which the pilot privatization program was created.
Robert Kuijpers, former CEO of freight carrier DHL Worldwide Express and president of Belgium's Delta Air Transport, is scheduled to unveil this morning in Brussels his plans for the creation of a successor to the bankrupt carrier Sabena.
Continental, Southwest and Alaska Air are expected to report quarterly results better than analyst estimates, according to UBS Warburg. For carriers not in labor negotiations, analyst Sam Buttrick predicts that upcoming conference calls will "highlight strong liquidity and favorable trends tempered with acknowledgement of current losses."
Aeroxchange and Overhaul Search signed a strategic alliance to make Overhaul Search's MRO capabilities data and repair tracking services available as part of Aeroxchange's AeroRepair service. This agreement will provide Overhaul Search customers "extended market reach" and will allow Aeroxchange's 32 member airlines access to pricing data and repair tracking information.
The long-awaited chief operating officer for FAA could be named by the end of the month, FAA Management Advisory Council Chairman Ed Bolen told an Air Traffic Control Association meeting yesterday. Bolen said that John Snow, chairman of the MAC's Air Traffic Subcommittee, "assured me we are getting close to naming a chief operating officer, hopefully by the end of the month."
Ava Mims was named director of FAA's office of international aviation, overseeing both Washington headquarters staff and 130 FAA representatives on five continents. The international office provides aviation assistance and technical training to other countries and is responsible for maintaining communications with the agency's counterparts in more than 187 countries. Mims became acting director of the flight standards division in September 2001; she had been deputy director of flight standards since May 1999.
DOT should "compel" British Airways to release details of its "Size and Shape Review," Continental, Delta and Northwest told DOT yesterday, in order to have a complete record in deciding the antitrust immunity for American/BA. The three carriers want DOT to require submission of the strategic planning study, which, according to reports, points to an imminent cut in BA's intra-Europe service. Any network change for AA/BA would have to be considered by DOT. (Docket OST-01-11029)
Lufthansa will start five-times-weekly flights between Shanghai and Munich in early March, using an Airbus A340-300. The service will bring Lufthansa's total number of flights between mainland China and Germany to 19. It operates daily on the Beijing-Frankfurt and Shanghai-Frankfurt routes. Both are code-share services with Air China. In another development, Lufthansa yesterday suspended its three-times-weekly, A340-300 service between Singapore and Munich.
Visual inspections of Airbus A300-600 and A310 composite tails have turned up nothing that suggests a fleet-wide problem played a role in the crash of American Flight 587, though investigators working the accident haven't ruled anything out. The checks, ordered by FAA and France's DGAC on Nov. 16 (DAILY, Nov. 19-20), have been done on 335 of 398 in-service planes, Airbus told customers in a recent bulletin. Airlines found nothing on 233 planes. On 11 others, corrosion in metallic rudder hinge parts required minor repairs.
Airbus yesterday successfully began the A318 test flight program with a 224-minute flight from the manufacturer's Hamburg facility. The flight crew put the Pratt&Whitney PW6000-powered twinjet through a variety of routine tests, gathering data on buffet and control characteristics close to stall, as well as noise, vibrations and handling at high speed. Also done were handling checks with the landing gear up and down, and with flaps and slats at various settings.
Vought Aircraft Industries named Tom Risley president and CEO and will elect him a director of the corporation. Risley succeeds Gordon Williams, who will become chairman of the company. Williams succeeds Allan Holt, a managing director of The Carlyle Group, who will remain a director of Vought. Most recently, Risley served as chief operating officer. Risley has been with the company 33 years.
No-frills Gol Airlines, which completed its first year of operations yesterday, is ranked sixth in Brazil and aspires to become fourth in the immediate future. According to CEO Constantino de Oliveira, Gol expects to be a key player in the new shuttle between the downtown airports of Congonhas in Sao Paulo and Santos Dumont in Rio, on the basis that its successful trump card of low fares will appeal to millions of Brazilians who up to now could not afford to travel by air.
Continental and Beau Rivage Resort&Casino signed a joint marketing deal to provide daily nonstop service between Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss. and Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport. The new service begins Feb. 14 with a Boeing 737. With the new flight, Continental and Continental Express will offer four daily flights between the two cities. Through the new agreement, Beau Rivage said it would be able to provide discounts for its guests on all Houston Continental flights. AirTran currently serves Gulfport-Biloxi with three daily flights from Atlanta.
General Aviation is losing a long-time advocate on Capitol Hill with the planned retirement of Rep. James Hansen (R-Utah) at the end of the year. Hansen, 69, a 22-year veteran of Congress, serves as chair of the House Resources Committee, where he has been a strong defender of access to airspace over public lands and a supporter of the air tour industry. Hansen also was a key backer of the General Aviation Revitalization Act, which provided product liability protections to small plane-makers.
The City of Phoenix and the State of Arizona last week combined efforts to provide America West with $12 million in additional financial aid. The airline reported that Phoenix would provide approximately $7 million in assistance through the purchase and leaseback of its jet bridges at Phoenix Sky Harbor Terminal 4. Arizona will provide $1.5 million through jet bridge purchases and another $3.5 million in job-training grants and low-interest loans.
Pan Am received an exemption from DOT for U.S.-Bahamas scheduled service, which it plans to operate on a Orlando Sanford-Freeport routing five times weekly, beginning about Feb. 18 using a 149-seat Boeing 727 configured for business-class seating.
U.S. National Carriers Traffic December, 12 Months 2001 (000) December December % 2001 2000 Change Air Wisconsin Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 104,791 108,390 -3.3 Available Seat Miles (000) 164,686 169,976 -3.1 Load Factor (%) 63.6 63.8
Delta plans to lift travel restrictions for unaccompanied minors -- children ages five through 11 traveling alone on Delta -- on direct flights and on connecting flights. The change is effective immediately and is a reinstatement of former policy, which was suspended Sept. 13.
With the deadline for implementing 100% checked baggage screening coming up fast, regional carriers say they are depending largely on bag matching and a variety of other screening methods that don't involve explosives detection systems (EDS) to meet federal security requirements.
