Southwest reported a 0.2% fall in first quarter profits after fuel prices jumped 108.5% during the period despite higher load factors and traffic. For only the third time since December 1996, net income was down -- to $95.6 million, excluding the cumulative effect of an accounting change. The results surpassed analysts' expectations, however. After the one-time change in accounting for sales of frequent flyer credits, the airline's net income fell 23.3% to $73.5 million.
Delta's pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, are preparing for informational picketing at all eight pilot bases on May 2, the amendable date for their contract, but ALPA officials remain "optimistic" on the successful outcome of current negotiations this summer.
FlightSafety Boeing Training International received its first 737-700/800 full-flight simulator for its Palma Training Center in Spain. In a venture with Globalia Formacion, FSBTI will own and operate two 737 simulators within Globalia's facilities.
National Airlines plans to launch service between its Las Vegas hub and Newark on July 13 with two daily nonstops. Newark will the ninth city served by National since the carrier's inception in May 1999. National will compete with Continental on the route which offers six daily non-stop flights from its Newark hub and America West which offer two non-stop flights a day.
AirTran Airways plans to begin four daily nonstop flights from Chicago Midway to Minneapolis/St. Paul June 10 with new Boeing 717s. The airline also will offer direct flights from its Atlanta hub to Minneapolis/St. Paul, via Chicago. AirTran faces stiff competition on the route, currently served by Northwest with nine daily nonstops and by Vanguard with five weekday flights.
Orincon Corp. successfully tested its GSTARS ground safety tracking and reporting system April 14 at MacDill Air Force Base, Tampa. Program Manager John Petrescu said demonstrations were conducted from two locations -- the tower and base operations. "It worked as expected," he said. "We detected an incursion event, and GSTARS generated two alerts." The visual alert identified the runway by outlining it in red, he said. Simultaneously, an alarm sounded to alert controllers.
Lufthansa and German postal service Deutsche Post will put together their respective stakes in Brussels-based DHL International into a new company -- Aerologic GmbH -- that will then own the majority of the logistics company. Deutsche Post will take over entrepreneurial leadership in Aerologic. Lufthansa and Deutsche Post each already own 25%-plus-one shares of DHL International, effectively taking over the majority. The two companies said they will continue to operate Lufthansa Cargo, DHL and Deutsche Post as separate entities.
A U.S. attorney misspoke when he said that Fine Airlines and Aeromar Airlines pleaded guilty to crimes in a deadly airplane accident, according to an attorney for the two companies. U.S. Attorney Tom Scott was quoted in The DAILY March 29 as saying the case "represents the first time in aviation history that an air carrier had pled guilty to federal crimes arising out of an airplane accident resulting in death. These convictions soundly defeat the contention that aircraft accidents should not be the subject of criminal prosecutions.
Continental selected Advanced Systems International's web-based labor management software to provide the next generation of electronic labor reporting tools across the airline's network. The $4.2 million implementation of the new package will cover 26,000 employees worldwide. The implementation of the software began April 3.
Congo's international airport reopened this week for limited commercial air service, less than a week after a string of unexplained explosions at a hangar last Friday that killed more than 100 people and injured many more. After all carriers suspended service to the airport last weekend, a Sabena Airbus A340 from Brussels landed at Kinshasa D'Djili Airport Monday, according to the Associated Press.
Fourth Global Aviation Information Network (GAIN) conference, June 14-15 in Paris, will emphasize the shift from concepts to products. The conference is being sponsored by Air France and Airbus Industrie. A number of GAIN products are expected to be exhibited at "implementation workshops." For more information, contact Whitfield Kennon at [email protected].
TrainingTek.com of Seattle said it will offer a single source of access to aviation's regulatory required training materials. The company said it will provide customized web-based training and the tools for customers to share information and keep records for their airline pilots, mechanics, flight engineers, technicians, dispatchers, repairmen, ramp agents and cabin attendants. The new company will be launched April 26 at the World Aviation Training Symposium in Frankfurt.
Biztravel.com won a deal to be the exclusive travel service provider for ChamberBiz -- the only Internet site that has been officially backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Biztravel.com, a division of Rosenbluth Interactive, will make available its trademarked travel services to ChamberBiz's small-business customers.
Excluding one-time gains and charges, Delta earned $179 million in its fiscal third quarter, a drop of 10.9% from the 1999 period but still far above analyst expectations. Counting the sale of its investment in Priceline.com, Delta posted March quarter net income of $233 million, up 7.2% from $216 million a year ago. The results include pretax gains of $73 million from selling 1.2 million shares of Priceline.com holdings. Delta owned 6 million common shares of priceline.com stock and warrants to purchase up to 5.5 million more shares on March 31.
U.S. National and Regional Carriers Traffic March, 3 Months 2000 (000) March March % 2000 1999 Change Air Wisconsin Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 113,025 102,258 10.5 Available Seat Miles (000) 168,497 155,548 8.3
House Transportation appropriations subcommittee Chairman Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) has asked President Clinton to increase funding for the National Transportation Safety Board to cover the cost of the Alaska Airlines 261 and EgyptAir 990 accident investigations. He also wants the President to seek recovery from Egypt for payment of "certain costs." Wolf, in a letter sent Monday, said the House approved $24.7 million to reimburse the Navy for wreckage location and recovery in the two accidents, as well as for facilities, technical assistance and testing.
Honeywell Aerospace President Robert Johnson said yesterday it is "quite possible" that the Honeywell joint venture myaircraft.com could merge with the new joint Boeing/BAE Systems web site. Speaking at the Aviation Week MRO 2000 in Nashville, Johnson said it is "important to see down the aircraft supply chain."
Italian State defense and engineering group Finmeccanica chose European Aeronautic Defense and Space company (EADS) as a partner for its aircraft manufacturing subsidiary Alenia, rather than Britain's BAE Systems. The agreement, announced last week in Rome, gives Finmeccanica an option to buy 5% of Airbus Integrated Company (AIC), which will be created when EADS and BAE Systems, the Airbus consortium partners, finalize the merger of their Airbus manufacturing operations. The option has a duration of three years, starting with the creation of AIC.
Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, has been named by President Clinton to be a member of the Federal Aviation Management Advisory Council, the new management structure Congress established to improve the performance of the air traffic control system. The MAC was established last month when Congress approved the FAA budget. Boyer will serve a three-year term.
International Airline Support Group reported that revenues for its first quarter ended Feb. 29 fell to $5.7 million from $5.4 million the same previous quarter. For the first nine months, revenue grew to $20.6 million from $17.1 million. Alexius Dyer, president, said that while he was "disappointed" in the third quarter, "we believe that we are correctly positioned for future growth and this was reflected in our growth in net sales," which increased 10%. Lease and service revenue fell 62% due to the return of several lease aircraft and engines, he said.
FuelQuest Inc. said yesterday it has received a funding commitment from Lehman Brothers to develop FuelQuest.com, a new e-commerce portal for petroleum products marketing, including aviation fuels. "We are forming a relationship with online aviation procurement portals to become fuel-providing partners to their sites," a spokeswoman said.
A letter of intent signed last week by Avensa and Aserca to conclude a marketing and operational alliance was hailed as "a landmark in the history of aeronautical industry in Venezuela" by Avensa Chief Executive Wilmar Castro. The carriers hope to complete the partnership in the next 90 days (DAILY, April 13). Aserca will not put up any capital, nor assume Avensa's financial and legal responsibilities.
New Zealand government yesterday approved Singapore Airlines' application to own up to 25% of Air New Zealand's ordinary "B" shares. The approval likely will clear the way for SIA to acquire the 16.7% stake in ANZ that is held by the company's largest shareholder, Brierley Investments.
Crystal Airways last week added Colorado Springs to its list of potential launch cities, but the startup carrier does not anticipate beginning service until the first quarter of 2001. The airline planned to file for DOT certification in coming months but lost $60 million in funding this month that will delay its launch (DAILY, April 4). The startup hoped to begin transcontinental service with four Boeing 757-200s in an all-business class configuration.
Construction of Munich airport's second terminal has begun after Lufthansa and the airport's operator Flughafen Muenchen Gesellschaft (FMG) recently signed a contract covering the project. Under the agreement, Lufthansa and Munich airport jointly will build the terminal, which will cost about $1 billion, with Lufthansa investing $400 million. The building, which will be used exclusively by the airline and its Star Alliance partners, extends the airport's yearly capacity beyond 40 million passengers.
