U.S. Major Carriers Top 10 Airports Ranked By Total Passengers 12 Months Ended June 2001 Average % of Stage Onboard Carrier % Change Length Passengers Total Yr./Yr. *Alaska 1 Seattle/Tacoma 897 4,078,210 31.1% 0.4% 2 Portland 727 1,390,600 10.6% -6.3%
United's Cargo Division last week launched a new online tracking service to track their small package deliveries. The enhancement provides customers with real-time tracking information and can be accessed from any page on the unitedcargo.com web site. The new feature makes use of United's previous investment in "BullsEye" baggage scanning technology, according to Mark Haeussler, director-strategic planning and business development.
Air Line Pilots Association and PSA Airlines, after two years of negotiations, reported reaching tentative agreements on Jan. 4 on a new contract for the airline's 250 pilots. The tentative agreement on the four and a half year contract, which includes pay increases and improvements in work rules, retirements and in other areas, will require approval by the pilots. PSA operates a fleet of Dornier 328s as a US Airways Express carrier.
American and British Airways, which seek to concentrate their market power with a strategy aimed at business traffic and toward containing capacity, "dominate markets between major U.S. cities and London," especially at London Heathrow, the General Accounting Office stated in a report on the proposed alliance. A full review of the competitive landscape is important, GAO said, with AA/BA's impact to be determined on "whether other airlines can enter these markets under an open-skies agreement."
NTSB is drafting recommendations to address rudder usage techniques in airliner "advanced maneuvers" training programs and could send them to FAA as early as this week, The DAILY has learned. Sources close to the board said the recommendations stem from the probe into the Nov. 12 crash of American Flight 587 in Queens, N.Y.
British Airways and KLM are expected to announce this week a code-sharing deal covering the two airlines' Middle Eastern operation. KLM yesterday confirmed a Financial Times report saying it was "not unlikely" that a deal between the two could be made public in the course of this week. BA warned that no far-reaching conclusions should be drawn from the arrangement and pointed out that the two airlines are not discussing a merger.
Northwest ended the year with about $2.6 billion in cash, and reported strong holiday load factors. The airline's December traffic fell 11.3% from the same period last year on an 11.8% capacity drop. Load factor was 72.2%, up 0.4 points. The airline reported holiday load factors of up to 90% during peak travel days resulting in December systemwide, domestic, Pacific and Atlantic load factors of 72.2, 69.3, 76.9 and 76.8%, respectively. Separately, United saw a much sharper drop in traffic last month, but said its operations performed well.
Air Transport Association Monthly Airfare Report November 2001 Based on a 1,000 Mile Trip First/Business Coach Average Annual Average Annual Domestic U.S Fare Change Fare Change January $254.22 5.3% $132.11 3.6% February $258.11 0.5% $134.84 0.6% March $257.74 -0.9% $130.15 -2.5%
The NTSB said that between 1993 and 1999, an average of 43 public-use aircraft accidents occurred each year, killing 21 and injuring 28. The board said four states -- California, Alaska, Florida and Texas -- topped general aviation accidents during that period, accounted for 46% of all public-use aircraft accidents.
FAA adjusted its timeline for gearing up aspects of its Operational Evolution Plan (OEP), but the agency's 10-year technology and procedures modification plan remains on track, anticipating an upswing in demand and corresponding traffic growth, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said last week. While schedule changes are based on both ATC needs in the post-Sept. 11 environment and industry requirements, the goal of increasing capacity by 30% remains unchanged, FAA affirmed.
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system was invented in the U.S. but the smaller, faster-moving Australian air traffic system will be the first to use it, according to Thales ATM. The company said it signed a major contract with Airservices Australia for the implementation of ADS-B system, which will give Australia the "first system worldwide to provide an integrated operational upgrade of an air traffic control system with ADS-B."
Contracts covering more than 76,000 IAM aerospace workers will expire this year in 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Major agreements are expiring with Boeing in Puget Sound, Wichita and Portland, Wash., and with Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, Palmdale, Marietta and Cape Canaveral. "Job security continues to be the overriding issue," says IAM VP Bob Thayer.
American CEO Donald Carty over the weekend denied that American had conducted racial profiling in refusing to allow an armed secret service agent of Arab decent on board a flight out of Baltimore Washington International Airport to Dallas on Christmas Day. The pilot alleged the agent improperly filled out his pre-flight forms and became hostile when denied boarding while the company tried to verify his story that he was a Special Agent (DAILY, Jan. 7).
Contracts covering more than 76,000 IAM aerospace workers will expire this year in 60 locations across the U.S. and Canada. Major agreements are expiring with Boeing in Puget Sound, Wichita and Portland, Wash., and with Lockheed Martin in Sunnyvale, Palmdale, Marietta and Cape Canaveral. "Job security continues to be the overriding issue," says IAM VP Bob Thayer.
American and British Airways, which seek to concentrate their market power with a strategy aimed at business traffic and toward containing capacity, "dominate markets between major U.S. cities and London," especially at London Heathrow, the General Accounting Office stated in a report on the proposed alliance. A full review of the competitive landscape is important, GAO said, with AA/BA's impact to be determined on "whether other airlines can enter these markets under an open-skies agreement."
The Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast system was invented in the U.S. but the smaller, faster-moving Australian air traffic system will be the first to use it, according to Thales ATM. The company said it signed a major contract with Airservices Australia for the implementation of ADS-B system, which will give Australia the "first system worldwide to provide an integrated operational upgrade of an air traffic control system with ADS-B."
EasyJet is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over an order for up to 75 aircraft, the company said yesterday. EasyJet plans to boost its fleet to more than 100 by 2007, an annual growth of about 25%. The order would be the largest ever placed by a European no-frills carrier and would bolster EasyJet's position as one of the two leading carriers in the segment. The airline operates a 27-aircraft fleet of Boeing 737s and has 23 more 737-700s on order for delivery until May 2004.
No one should be fooled by the U.S. major airlines. While all carriers are facing the worst times they have seen in a decade and thousands of hard-working people have lost their jobs in the past three months as a result, there is little doubt that a handful of top airline executives are plotting their next acquisition. Whether they are mergers of equals or acquisitions of weaker airlines, the industry's leaders will make some shrewd business deals this year that will eventually lead to a dramatic restructuring.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic November 2001 Revenue Ton Miles (000) November November % 2001 2000 Change Domestic Freight 847,096 866,106 (2.2) Mail 69,713 182,327 (61.8) Total 916,809 1,048,433 (12.6) International
General Aviation Manufacturers Association and other GA groups, responding yesterday to the flight of a light aircraft into a Tampa building by a 15-year-old boy, said the incident "underscores the need for continued vigilance at the nation's airports." GAMA President Ed Bolen said the GA groups after the events of Sept. 11 developed a list of security recommendations and sent it to DOT and FAA Dec. 12. The recommendations covered security measures for aircraft, passengers, pilots and airports.
EasyJet is in talks with Airbus and Boeing over an order for up to 75 aircraft, the company said yesterday. EasyJet plans to boost its fleet to more than 100 by 2007, an annual growth of about 25%. The order would be the largest ever placed by a European no-frills carrier and would bolster EasyJet's position as one of the two leading carriers in the segment. The airline operates a 27-aircraft fleet of Boeing 737s and has 23 more 737-700s on order for delivery until May 2004.
Machinists yesterday filed suit to block the Presidential Emergency Board from holding its first meeting tomorrow on resolving the union's dispute with United Airlines. The Machinists sought a temporary restraining order or a preliminary injunction to set aside the presidential order establishing the PEB and charged that the National Mediation Board failed to perform "basic statutory requirements" before recommending the president appoint the PEB.
