Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Regionals November 1998 to October 1999 Total Total Cost Cents Per Gallons (Dollars) Gallon 1998 November Domestic 1,127,590,097 564,938,755 50.101 International 413,635,561 223,302,303 53.985
Aerospace research and development has "shrunk to just a sliver" of national R&D funding, according to Aerospace Industries Association. Aerospace R&D declined from 19% of all R&D in 1986 to 8.3% in 1996. Federal investment "has fallen even faster," AIA says, and it advocates increasing R&D spending more than $70 billion over the next five years.
National Transportation Safety Board will hold an international conference on child safety in aviation Dec. 15 and 16 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Va. NTSB Chairman Jim Hall and FAA Administrator Jane Garvey will address the conference, as will officials from airlines, Transport Canada, researchers and child seat manufacturers. Hall said that the board for 20 years has been making recommendations concerning child safety to FAA.
Vanguard posted a 17% rise in traffic last month on 38% more capacity, which forced load factor down 10.1 percentage points to 57.3%. Passengers carried year-over-year increased 21% to 153,289. "While our November load factor fell about 10 points, we were pleased to achieve an increase in passenger yield of approximately 7%," said Chief Executive Rocky Spane. Vanguard plans to add several new flights on March 2.
Delta plans to launch daily nonstop service from New York Kennedy to Zurich beginning in August with Boeing 767-300ER equipment. "With the start of our New York JFK-Zurich service in the summer, Delta will offer 21 nonstop European destinations, more than any other airline serving New York," said Mark Drusch, senior VP-network. Delta previously served the route through a code-share with Swissair.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic September 1999 Revenue Ton Miles (000) September September % 1999 1998 Change Domestic Freight 888,346 835,562 6.3 Mail 163,011 149,641 8.9 Total 1,051,357 985,203 6.7 International
Grupo TACA is experiencing growing traffic in the second half and Chief Executive Federico Bloch told The DAILY that 1999 financial results "should be good." Next year should show "positive growth" in the region, he said noting Brazil is recovering "much faster than anyone could have imagined." Brazil's recovery is crucial to the region as the country "drives the rest of Latin America."
The Ministry of Transport has with immediate effect lifted the ban on charter flights to North Korea. The ban was imposed in August 1998 after Pyongyang conducted rocket testing. According to Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Soichiro Matsutani, MOT decided to lift the ban after the North Korean government gave the U.S. assurances that North Korea will not conduct further missile tests. Soichiro said the lifting of the ban also would contribute to the strengthening of ties between the U.S. and Pyongyang and to lead to improved relations between Japan and North Korea.
Fourth quarter profits for U.S. majors are estimated to drop 34% to $472 million, according to Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown analyst Susan Donofrio.Full-year 1999 profits are projected to fall 20% from a year ago. Donofrio points to United and Northwest for fourth quarter "positive earnings surprises" due to potentially improving Asian revenues.
Frontier Airlines' traffic leapt 62% and capacity 47.8% for November, which pushed load factor up 4.6 percentage points to 52.7%. Passenger boardings rose 55.6%.
DOT will determine whether airline security selection criteria "disproportionately" impacts minority group members during the baggage screening process. The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center will carry out the first part of a study over the next six months under DOT's Aviation Enforcement Office, which is being assisted by the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department.
After cutting back flights on the Seoul-Europe route during the past two years, several airlines have expressed an interest in resuming service. Among them is South Korea's Asiana, which will relaunch flights to Frankfurt in April using Boeing 747-400 aircraft. According to Asiana spokesman Lim Sook, passenger traffic to Europe is on the rise as more South Koreans are traveling with the recovery of the country's economy.
FAA issued a final rule amending the eligibility and certification requirements for aircraft dispatchers, a task that has been underway since FAA requested the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee in 1993 to review dispatcher training and certification. FAA said an industry task force found that technology had outpaced the current regulations. "The task force also found that various designated examiners and FAA regional offices were interpreting several of the regulations in a manner inconsistent with each other and FAA headquarters," the agency said.
House aviation subcommittee member Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.), winner of the closest House race last year - by 515 votes - almost doubled the funds raised by his 1998 rival in preparation for next year's rematch. For the first six months of 1999, Democrat Pat Casey raised $168,000, compared to slightly under $300,000 for Sherwood.
Dutch Caribbean airline Air ALM suspended its flights to Aruba last week because government authorities refused to service the airline's fleet. According to the Associated Press, the government alleges the airline owes 1.1 million guilders (US$629,000) in landing fees. Both sides have been working to negotiate a deal, but airline officials only are willing to pay 100,000 guilders a month. The airline suspended flights to Aruba from Miami, Curacao, Suriname and Bonaire last week. Air Aruba has agreed to accommodate stranded Air ALM passengers.
Higher fuel prices could "imperil" the aviation industry and perhaps the entire economy if costs keep climbing, according to American Chief Executive Don Carty. "Higher prices tend to have a ripple effect throughout the world," he told reporters in Chicago last week. Despite rising prices, he remains optimistic that fuel prices will soften next year. "Time will tell," he said.
The Dominican Republic may become the 39th open-skies partner for the U.S. this week during DOT Secretary Rodney Slater's trip to the Caribbean and Central America. Today, in a visit to Tegucigalpa, Slater is scheduled to present Honduras with a Global Positioning System and an Instrument Landing System on loan. Slater's meeting with Dominican President Leonel Fernandez on Thursday may conclude with an open-skies agreement.
Delta, with its new control of ASA and Comair, will have 114 regional jets at its disposal by yearend and 352 RJs in five years, giving it 43% of all RJs in domestic service, says Merrill Lynch's Michael Linenberg. With the largest RJ fleet under its control, Delta could generate higher revenue growth rates than the rest of the industry.
The Internet travel competition continues to escalate as Priceline.com, Travelocity.com and Preview Travel announced plans to combine forces under a broad marketing alliance. The companies will generate "incremental revenue each time they facilitate the sale of each others' products under certain conditions," they said. When implemented next year, Travelocity.com and Preview Travel members will be able to name their own prices through Priceline's bidding service. Priceline's customers will have access to Travelocity and Preview Travel's retail fares.
Heavy showers of ash from the Pichincha volcano which closed Quito's international airport during the past week might not be an isolated instance, and emergency measures are needed for future crises, according to a report by Ecuador's Civil Aviation Administration (DAC).
KLM traffic last month increased 8% on 3% more capacity, which improved load factor 3.8 percentage points to 79.3%. The airline said it was encouraged by a 10% rise in business class traffic, which "slightly" exceeded economy growth. The strongest traffic growth occurred on its Asia/Pacific routes, which jumped 14%. Passenger traffic grew 11% each on routes to Europe, and 18% to Africa. Cargo traffic gained 8% and capacity rose 1%, producing a cargo load factor of 76.5%. Cargo traffic to Asia/Pacific jumped 19%.
