Senate antitrust, business rights and competition subcommittee will hold a hearing tomorrow on competition in the airline industry. Among witnesses are American Chairman Donald Carty, Midway Airlines Chief Executive Robert Ferguson and Sun Country CEO Bill LaMacchia. There also will be a panel from academia.
US Airways does not publicly appear concerned about competing with JetBlue along the U.S. East Coast, with Chief Executive Rakesh Gangwal telling analysts recently, "JetBlue is a very small operation at this stage." The startup offers a "different product" and there is "not a whole lot of overlap," he said. Analysts, however, tell a different story. JetBlue had a 100% completion factor for its first 1,000 flights, and Merrill Lynch analyst Candace Browning said, "JetBlue is starting to make inroads in US Airways' markets."
Swisscontrol will become the first country in Europe to beta test a new suite of software tools for the design, simulation and validation of GPS/GNSS procedures, according to Wavionix Software Ltd. The testing will take place at Swisscontrol's headquarters in Geneva. Results are due early this summer. The PrecisionWare software has undergone extensive testing in the U.S. and Canada.
The A3XX has a "number of factors favorable" to the eventual market for such an aircraft, say consultants Morten Beyer&Agnew. One is economy of scale and another is passenger preference for large aircraft. MBA says, "So far, Boeing's principal contribution to the A3XX debate has been similar to the Big Bad Wolf...trying to blow their house down." Boeing needs to "get serious and either match or exceed Airbus or abandon the field to the larger, far more efficient and passenger-friendly A3XX," MBA says.
The European Commission admitted Friday that 49% of the capital of the consultant hired to examine a complaint about Milan Malpensa Airport was owned by one of the plaintiffs, Lufthansa. An EC spokesman called the situation "annoying." He said the commission was willing to appoint another expert if the Italian authorities required it. On March 17, 12 European airlines lodged a complaint against Italian plans to shift traffic from Milan Linate Airport to Malpensa.
Carriers at Newark said recent fee increases at the international Terminal B could total $1 million per carrier annually, while the airport has "inadequate" facilities, "sub-standard" service and the "worst on-time performance in the U.S." British Airways and Virgin Atlantic filed a complaint last week against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey regarding increases in fees imposed with little notice and no prior disclosure. BA said its average per-passenger cost at Newark is $30, 50% higher than the $20 average cost at its U.S. gateways.
Rockwell Collins is expanding its inflight entertainment business by acquiring Sony Trans Com. The combined businesses are expected to generate revenues of more than $500 million a year by 2001, said Clay Jones, president of Rockwell Collins. "Our recently announced In Flight Network joint venture with News Corp. enhances our ability to address customers' content requirements," he said.
General aviation aircraft shipments rose 22.1% to 613 airplanes in the first quarter, while billings increased 12.3% to a record $2.1 billion, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported last week. "The momentum generated by first quarter shipments and billings promises to make 2000 another record year for every aspect of general aviation," said Ed Bolen, GAMA president. "Manufacturers continue to increase production as the year progresses," he said. Jet deliveries rose by 15.3% to 136. Piston-engine shipments rose 20.9% to 399 aircraft.
U.S. Carriers Rental Expense Fourth Quarter 1999 Major Carriers % Of Total Rental Operating Expenses Alaska 45,653,000 11.68 America West 97,015,937 18.62 American 277,928,000 7.14 Continental 248,777,000 12.38 Delta 265,745,000 7.38
Delta plans to start code sharing on global alliance partner Air France's three weekly flights between Paris and Lome, Togo. The code-share flights, on Air France's Airbus A310 aircraft, will begin June 1, 2000. Passengers traveling on Delta and Air France code-share flights are eligible to earn frequent flyer miles through either airline's program.
British Midland's pretax profits for 1999 jumped 22.3% to #13.7 million (US$21.6 million) due to stronger traffic. Revenues grew 9.8% to #613.3 million (US$966.6 million) as it expanded capacity during the year. Passengers carried grew 9.6% to 6.5 million, and the growth is continuing into 2000. During the first quarter, passenger numbers rose 12.4%. The airline highlighted London Heathrow-Amsterdam, where traffic soared 32%, and Heathrow-Nice, which grew 8% despite facing "some of our most intense competition," said Chairman Michael Bishop.
Galileo International's first quarter profits fell 39% to $47.4 million on weaker U.S. bookings and restructuring in its U.K. division. The profit includes one-time charges and the effect of its Trip.com acquisition. Excluding special items, profits were virtually unchanged at $71.2 million. Revenues grew 9.1% and its operating margin was 29.1%. Electronic distribution revenues increased 9.4% to $421.3 million and information services revenues for the quarter were up 3.6%.
Lee Iacocca's Online Asset Exchange, which bills itself as the largest marketplace for secondary and used industrial assets, said it will begin listing aviation equipment, giving buyers and sellers "immediate access to $100 million in pre-owned and surplus aviation assets online." He said the Online Asset Exchange (www.onlineassetexchange.com) has compiled more than 200,000 assets valued at more than $8 billion since its launch in February.
Singapore Airlines has called for government intervention to handle the problem passenger issue, which allows offenders of egregious behavior during a flight to go scot-free. Citing an increase in the number unruly behavior cases on board SIA flights in 1999, Alex De Silva, VP-safety, security and environment, said most are alcohol-related, and the trend is on the rise. De Silva said despite a prohibition by Singapore Air Navigation Order from getting drunk on board or entering the aircraft drunk, SIA reported 103 cases last year against 80 in 1998.
Very Large Aircraft will not solve airport congestion, according to Boeing. The world's 10 busiest hubs see about twice as many single-aisle as double-aisle airplane departures per day. On average, there are more than 145 smaller airplane departures for every departure of a jumbo jet. "Consequently, little or no hope exists for significantly reducing airport congestion by incrementally increasing the capacity of the largest airplanes that serve these hubs," Boeing says.
Export-Import Bank approved a $66 million long-term loan guarantee as part of a financing package enabling Boeing to export two 757-200s to Azerbaijan Airlines in Baku. Barclays Bank is the guaranteed lender.
Boeing expects to receive a complete report on FAA's four-month audit of its assembly-line process "in a few weeks," according to Commercial Airplanes President Alan Mulally.Speaking to journalists last week, Mulally said he has seen only portions of the draft, but the downplayed the comprehensive report, noting, "We know most of the results...I can't imagine any surprises."
SkyWest Airlines has created a new division to oversee recruitment, orientation, sales, advertising, human resources, communications, public relations and employee development. Necia Clark-Mantle is the senior director of the new division.
Evergreen filed for comprehensive behind and beyond U.S.-Argentina cargo rights that would be available under U.S.-Argentina open skies, which is being reviewed by the successor government to the Argentine administration that agreed to open skies with the U.S. Evergreen noted that the rights should be permitted under comity and reciprocity pending formal approval of the accord. (Docket OST-00-7294)
Canadian Airlines is "very confident" that its secured bondholders will approve its debt restructuring plan despite an informal vote last week indicating they would reject it. The company has made "tremendous advances" in creditor negotiations, a spokeswoman said. The official vote will take place May 26 and, if approved, will go through June 15.
U.S. Carriers Commission Expense Fourth Quarter 1999 Major Carriers % Of Total Commission Operating Expenses Alaska 17,826,000 4.56 America West 24,838,690 4.77 American 245,067,000 6.30 Continental 119,117,000 5.93 Delta 166,937,000 4.64
