Continental reported a 10.9% gain in systemwide jet traffic on 9.4% more capacity for June 1999, compared with the same 1998 month, pushing the load factor up 1 percentage point to 76%, the highest June load factor in the carrier's history. Continental flew 5.2 billion revenue passenger miles and 6.8 billion available seat miles. Domestic RPMs jumped 5.4% to 3.3 billion on 5.9% more ASMs, 4.3 billion, despite a slight decline in the load factor - 0.3 point to 75%.
With the company's latest tentative offer headed for failure and Labor Minister Claudette Bradshaw offering the help of mediators to help avoid a strike, Air Canada on Friday said it hoped to return to contract talks with its flight attendants this weekend. The 5,100 flight attendants, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Airline Division are in the final days of a seven-day countdown to a strike.
Virgin Atlantic appointed John Riordan to the position of VP-sales and marketing, North America. Tim Claydon, who last month resigned after 11 years with the airline, previously held the position. Riordan will oversee the carrier's marketing, market development, corporate and leisure sales. He joins Virgin after six years with US Airways, where he most recently was manager of the frequent flyer program.
Skymark Airlines raised its fares last week by 17% on its Tokyo-Fukuoka route to 16,000 yen (US$133) from 13,700 yen, reflecting a sharp drop in seat occupancy and an expected increase in capital spending. Officials at the startup discount airline said the new rate would remain in effect until Sept. 30 because the airline needs increased funds to expand. Skymark plans to lease a third aircraft next year and expand flights when a third runway at Tokyo Haneda Airport goes into use in 2000 or 2001.
U.S. pilot scope clauses that restrict regional jet growth are, according to European Regions Airline Association Director General Mike Ambrose, "reminiscent of 19th century industrial relations" and about as successful as "King Knut, who tried to stop the tide." Europe has very limited pilot scope clause restrictions, and the situation in the U.S. "is ridiculous. You can't go on growing 10% per annum with scope clauses," Ambrose said.
FAA, in recognition of the development of code-sharing arrangements in the industry, proposes to change the meaning of "operator" as interpreted in its High-Density Rule to permit one code-share partner to operate an extra section of the scheduled flight of another code-share partner. FAA currently limits the extra section to the operator who has the slot. Air carriers still will not be able to use commuter slots.
House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) said yesterday that the Congressional Budget Office's projection that the federal budget surplus would be $180 billion higher than its earlier projection means "there will no longer be a need for the federal government to tap" the aviation trust funds and other transportation-related trust funds.
Rep. James Duncan (R-Tenn.) will discuss House Transportation Chairman Bud Shuster's (R-Pa.) AIR-21 FAA funding measure and its chances of passing the Senate in an interview on Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Jet fuel spot prices ended last week at $0.48 per gallon, up 6% from the previous week and up 13% from a year ago, according to Deutsche Bank Alex. Brown. Over the past two weeks, the price of jet fuel has averaged $0.48 per gallon, up 14% from the same period last year.
Limits on airport and runway space and the high cost of doing business are driving the popularity of larger regional jets in Europe. These are the same aircraft that many U.S. domestic carriers are having trouble bringing on line because of pilot scope clause restrictions. Free from most of labor woes that cap regional flying in the U.S., European regional carriers are casting their eyes on 70- to 100-seat turbofan-powered aircraft.
International Lease Finance Corp. placed two Boeing 777-200s with Continental to replace two DC-10-30s. The leases on the 777s, equipped with GE-90-90B engines, will have 12-year terms. Continental officials said the aircraft will be used on transatlantic routes.
Fortis Aviation was appointed by Arab Leasing International Finance to offer a Boeing 737-400 for sale. The aircraft has been operated since it was new by Turkish Airlines, which is returning it to ALIF in October after taking delivery of newly ordered 737-800s.
The House yesterday by a vote of 404-24 approved and sent to the Senate a compromise bill designed to limit the costs of litigation associated with the year 2000 computer problem. The conference report requires potential plaintiffs planning to file a Y2K action to give 30 days' written notice of symptoms pointing to a material defect alleged to have caused injury and the injury suffered. It should also give the facts that led the potential plaintiff to hold the person or entity responsible for the defect and the injury and the relief or action sought.
American has started placing "blue-dot" oneworld alliance logos on the outside of its aircraft next to the front boarding door to make passengers more aware of the alliance. The carrier's international fleet will include the branding by the end of August and the domestic fleet will be done by September.
Northwest added one Ontario, Calif.-Minneapolis flight to its two daily nonstops, to be operated with Airbus A320s. The carrier also will begin service to Missoula and Kalispell, Mont., from its Minneapolis hub. Beginning Sept. 8, Northwest will operate twice-daily Minneapolis-Missoula nonstops with 100-seat DC-9-30s. Northwest previously served Missoula with one nonstop in the summer and two daily flights from the Twin Cities with a stop in Great Falls, Mont.
Pegasus Aviation reported record annual revenues of $241.9 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, up 93%. Operating income jumped 139% to $51 million and net income 133% to $30.8 million. Pegasus, which specializes in leasing commercial jet aircraft, comprises the privately held companies Pegasus Aviation Inc., Aviation Assets Holding Co. and Pegasus Capital Corp. It manages or owns 613 aircraft and has 47 airline customers.
Olympic Airways employees launched a 24-hour strike yesterday, forcing the cancellation of half the company's flights, in protest at the takeover of company management by a subsidiary of British Airways. The strike started at midnight, a day after the company's board approved the takeover of its management duties by BA subsidiary Speedwing. The company canceled 46 of its scheduled 77 internal and inter- national flights, while its subsidiary Olympic Aviation canceled 27 of 45 flights.
The U.S. Export-Import Bank asked Filipino regulators to conduct a "fair and open" auction of the non-core assets of debt-ridden Philippine Airlines, the Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said yesterday. Eximbank complained to the commission that efforts to sell PAL assets such as the airline's maintenance and engineering division favored majority shareholder Lucio Tan, who also is the airline's chief executive.
