Midwest Express reached a tentative contract agreement with its pilot group over the weekend that avoided mass cancellations. The airline's 330 pilots are expected to vote on the agreementby monthend, and the pilot negotiating team assured the airline's management that no work action will be taken. The carrier canceled 15 flights in anticipation of a potential strike on Friday and Saturday but reported normal operations by late Saturday.
There may be "some slippage" in Boeing's aircraft deliveries due to a strike by its engineers and technicians, but a spokesman said yesterday the company will still remain "well within the contract delivery month." The strike by the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) began last Wednesday, and the union said yesterday, "To our knowledge, no airplane has been delivered since this started." Both sides said resumption in contract talks has not been scheduled.
The Lebanese government plans to privatize national flag carrier Middle East Airlines (MEA) in June. As part of the privatization, the government wants to sell 40% of its equity to a foreign carrier that has the expertise and management skills to expand MEA's operations. It will hold 51% and float the remaining 9%. Bids for foreign carriers will open next month. MEA is the second Arab carrier within a month, after Royal Jordanian, to seek a foreign carrier as a partner. Like Royal Jordanian, MEA also plans to sell its engineering division.
Thai Airways is expected to report a drop in its first-quarter earnings today, largely due to significantly higher fuel costs.The government has not allowed the Star Alliance partner to raise fares and, therefore, Thai has been unable to compensate for higher operating costs.
U.S. and Australian aviation negotiators were not able to reach a full open-skies accord after three days of talks last week in Hawaii. The two sides agreed to open skies for cargo late last year. They plan to "work through diplomatic channels to resolve differences" before scheduling additional talks, according to a DOT spokesman.
American Trans Air (ATA) will continue its aggressive expansion this spring by leasing coveted slots at Washington National to launch nonstop Boeing 757 service from its Chicago Midway hub. The airline will begin double-daily flights April 3, but it expects to offer a third daily in the near future. New service to National "has been one of our primary, long-held objectives," said Chief Executive John Tague. Officials would not say who leased ATA the slots or gates. Flights leave Washington at 6:45 a.m.
AccessAir relinquished two of its four Boeing 737s on lease from Pegasus Aviation after the bankrupt airline could not afford the $500,000 monthly cost, an airline executive told The DAILY. AccessAir plans to continue charters with its two remaining 737s as it restructures.
Senate Budget Committee analysis of the Clinton administration's fiscal 2001 FAA budget request raises questions about White House intentions to cut aviation excise taxes. The committee said Clinton assumes collection of $965 million in user fees and claims current taxes would continue at a reduced rate. However, the President's projection shows user fees increasing to $2 billion in 2005 but does not show reductions in excise taxes in outyears.
Lufthansa Technik continues to gain external customers and predicts "double-digit" revenue growth this year. The company expects more than 50% of its total sales will come from airlines other than Lufthansa, which is a "huge growth area," VP of Marketing and Sales Karl-Rudolf Rupprecht told the DAILY. LHT inked 90 deals in 1999 worth $500 million and now serves 240 customers.
US Airways' said fuel costs jumped 112% in January and predicts that its average per-gallon expense will soar 153.1% in February, according to a securities filing. The carrier slightly altered its full-year 2000 growth forecast. Traffic is expected to rise 7.8%, lower than earlier estimates. Capacity is forecast to grow 9.5%, slightly more than before and far ahead of competitors. Its full-year fuel costs are expected to rise 41.1%, compared with 1999.
TradeAir.Com said a $200,000 parts transaction on its Internet exchange by BFGoodrich Aerospace was the "first time commercial aircraft parts were specified, sourced and negotiated via a neutral Internet marketplace." William Morales, chief executive, said TradeAir.Com enables buyers and sellers in the $50 billion commercial aviation parts industry to conduct secure business on the Internet with either the open market or a user-selectable group of approved trading partners.
CityBird, based in Belgium, is offering travel agents the option of booking flights on its Internet site at www.citybird.com. The booking engine enables agents to check seat availability and fares on all scheduled flights. Agents can complete the transaction by entering the customer's credit card information.
SAS's January traffic was up 1% year-over-year, while load factor gained 1.4 percentage points to 56.0%. Passenger boardings rose 2% to 1.6 million, and freight volume dropped 2%.
Three long-haul nonstop flights to and from South America have had to make emergency landings in recent days due to mechanical/maintenance problems: A United Boeing 767 from Chicago to Buenos Aires on Jan. 24 in Santa Cruz, Bolivia; an American 767 on a flight from Rio to Miami in Caracas on Feb. 7, and an Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus 340-200 that had to return to Auckland, New Zealand, after taking off for Buenos Aires on Feb. 8.
LanChile's January traffic remained virtually flat, falling only 0.3% year-over-year on 3.7% less capacity, raising load factor 2.5 percentage points to 71.5%. The airline experienced a 0.8% drop in international traffic, while domestic traffic grew 1.6%. Cargo volume soared 20.4% to 154.4 million freight ton kilometers.
Knoxille's McGhee Tyson Airport will open its renovated terminal and new concourses on Feb. 13, which will feature 140,000 square feet of new floor space. The $55 million construction project began in April 1998 and includes expanded ticket counter and gate areas, two additional gates (for a total of 12), new escalators, elevators and flight information displays. The new concourse also will have the first Ruby Tuesday airport restaurant in the U.S. McGhee Tyson Airport currently hosts 12 major airlines serving 16 nonstop destinations with 115 flights each day.
Top 50 Southeast Airports, Ranked By O&D Passengers % of Annual O&D Region Average Airport Passengers Total Yield 1 Atlanta 25,368,580 16.3% 18.15 2 Orlando 21,323,730 13.7% 10.78 3 Tampa 12,399,480 8.0% 11.88 4 Fort Lauderdale 11,157,060 7.2% 10.87
U.S. Regional Analysis Southeast Region Carrier Ranking, Passenger Flows, Airport Activity and Trends Top 15 Carriers Serving Southeast Region, Ranked By O&D Passengers Southeast % of Northeast Region O&D Region Passengers Per Carrier Passengers Total Day Each Way
Southwest continues to boost its East Coast service with plans for additional nonstop flights from Baltimore/Washington, beginning July 5. From BWI, the carrier will add two new nonstops to Indianapolis, one new nonstop to Austin, and one additional nonstop to Houston Hobby. The budget airline also will add one new nonstop from Indianapolis to Phoenix Sky Harbor. "Baltimore/Washington continues to be a strong launching point for us to reach further west with longer-haul flying," said Pete McGlade, VP-schedule planning.
Early returns from FAA-mandated inspections of Douglas twinjets showed no evidence of excessive wear on tail components, several U.S. carriers reported. As of late Friday, American, US Airways and AirTran had checked some 160 of the combined 393 DC-9s, MD-80s, MD-90s, and 717s in their fleets and reported no unusual findings. FAA mandated the checks late Thursday in an emergency airworthiness directive based on service bulletins issued by Boeing Wednesday, the same day a jackscrew assembly with excessive wear was pulled from the wreckage of Alaska 261 (DAILY, Feb.
