U.S. Carriers Labor Expense First Quarter 1999 Major Carriers % Of Total Labor Operating Expenses Alaska 118,103,000 33.71 America West 112,359,302 24.34 American 1,194,544,000 33.28 Continental 492,753,000 27.85 Delta 1,110,050,000 34.54
Atlantic Coast Airlines yesterday reached a conditional agreement with Fairchild Aerospace to acquire up to 110 of its 328JET and 428JET aircraft. The contract will remain conditional until partner United provides its approval for ACA to operate feeder jet aircraft with fewer than 50 seats as United Express, or until ACA waives the condition itself.
Pan Am, which filed for bankruptcy in February 1998, seeks to resume scheduled combination service beginning Aug. 24. The carrier, which has continued charter operations after its acquisition by new owners and its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 1998, plans scheduled service from its Portsmouth, N.H., headquarters.
FAA and the Cargo Airline Association last weekend began the first large-scale testing of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B), which the airline industry is developing as an alternative to the Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System. Using an aircraft's Global Positioning System sensor, ADS-B sends accurate position information, along with speed and identification data, to other similarly equipped aircraft and to ground receiving stations. FAA said the technology is "not currently designed to serve as an airborne collision-avoidance system."
Iceland-based wet-lease airline Air Atlanta Icelandic will go public within the next 18 months. The company has hired the Icelandic bank Bunaoarbankinn Verobref to handle preparations for registration on the Icelandic stock market. As part of this process, the airline has increased its share capital by selling an approximate 20% stake of Air Atlanta to the bank. The bank, with the airline's agreement, will sell approximately half its shares to Icelandic pension funds. The airline now is entirely owned by Captain Arngrimur Johannsson and his family.
A day before New York-based New Air Corp. unveils its startup plans, another well-heeled startup is waiting in the wings. Florida-based Constellation International Airways will finalize its financing next month, which will give it 30 months of operating capital, or more than $130 million, Chief Executive Patrick Huey told The DAILY yesterday.
Aeroflot has applied to the Russian and Philippine governments to operate twice-weekly flights between Europe and Manila to fill the gap created by the withdrawal of Philippine Airlines and Alitalia. The flights will operate via Moscow and Hong Kong, starting Sept. 2, with plans to increase by one every six months to daily frequency by 2002.
Second quarter net income for U.S. majors excluding Northwest will plunge 36%, driven down by a deteriorating supply/demand and unit revenue environment, according to Merrill Lynch analyst Candace Browning. Five out of nine U.S. majors are expected to report lower earnings next week. Browning predicts that United and US Airways "may disappoint" Wall Street analysts.
LanChile began to operate three weekly nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Santiago, Chile, with direct service to Buenos Aires and connections to the rest of Chile as well as Mendoza and Cordoba in Argentina. The new flights account for a 42% increase in frequency and capacity to South America's "Southern Cone." Alex de Gunten, LanChile's International VP-North and Central America in Miami, said, LanChile is committed to serving the U.S. West Coast and "provides the only nonstop service from there to Santiago and Lima.
Ozark Air Lines is fit to operate scheduled combination service, DOT said in an order proposing issuance of certificate authority. The carrier plans to operate scheduled passenger service from Columbia, Mo., where Ozark is headquartered, offering three daily roundtrips six days a week to Chicago and two to Dallas, using its two 32-seat Dornier 328 jets. DOT limited its determination of the carrier's fitness to operations with aircraft having 60 or fewer seats.
Taiwan and Thailand have signed a new aviation agreement that will enable more carriers to fly between the two countries. Under the terms of the agreement, signed July 9 in Taipei, any Taiwan airline qualified to provide international service will be permitted to fly the Taipei-Bangkok route. Previously, only China Airlines and EVA Airways were authorized to do so.
Mesa Air Group traffic gained 39.4% and capacity 48.3% in June, depressing the load factor 3.5 percentage points to 54%. Passengers carried jumped 25.4%. Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein said the addition of CCAIR "has significantly improved Mesa's traffic comparison," but added that even without CCAIR, Mesa's revenue passenger miles increased 20.8% year over year.
Kendell Airlines of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, Australia, will start taking delivery of its 12 Canadair Regional Jet 200s in October. Delivery of the 50-seat aircraft will continue through to June 2001. Kendell, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ansett Holdings will introduce the new aircraft on the Tasmania (Southeast Australia) and Queensland routes, currently operated by Ansett Australia.
United last week promoted Stephen Beatus to VP-Latin America based in Miami, replacing Maria Sastre, who has held the post since 1993. Reporting to United Senior VP-International Stuart Oran, Beatus, 50, will assume his new responsibilities next week in Miami.
Galileo International developed Preferred Availability, which offers detailed data for all carriers that are members of an alliance or frequent flyer groups. Amadeus last week announced a similar display.
Lebanon and Syria have prohibited flights by Balkan Bulgarian Airlines after the carrier sold 75% of its shares to Israel's Zeevi Group. The Lebanese civil aviation director said the ban, which will begin Thursday, was not a blanket ban on all Bulgarian carriers, only Balkan, and will allow other carriers to operate services between Sofia and Beirut. Israel is officially at war with Lebanon and occupies part of south Lebanon as a buffer zone to protect its northern region.
DOT postponed until Aug. 25 the effective date of rules requiring consumer notification when flights involve code sharing, long-term wet-leasing or change of gauge, slated to take effect today. The department acknowledged that carriers, computer reservations systems (CRSs) and travel agents may not be able to comply with the rules in their entirety "before the information systems' freezes on implementation take effect in November."
American Trans Air reported an 18.5% jump in systemwide traffic in June on 9% more capacity, compared with June 1998. Boardings rose 22.5% and block hours flown 10.3%. Scheduled service traffic climbed 22.5% and capacity 17%, boosting the load factor 3.8 percentage points to 83.3%. Passengers carried grew 23.2% and block hours flown 16%.
Continental Express and its Teamsters union reached a tentative agreement for a first contract covering the airline's 300 mechanics and related employees.
FAA is calling for changes in air tour operations over Grand Canyon National Park that it says will "maintain and further enhance the 'natural quiet' of the area." FAA said the proposals contain input from the National Park Service and also accommodate interests of American Indian tribes and local businesses. In the latest national park noise battle, FAA said the proposals acknowledge the NPS's definition of "substantial restoration of natural quiet" with no aircraft noise within the park 75% to 100% of the time.
Mesaba's roughly 500 flight attendants seek representation by the Association of Flight Attendants, the union said yesterday. AFA filed with the National Mediation Board to hold a representation election at the Minneapolis-based airline. Mesaba cabin crew cited job security, stagnant wages and unfair work rules as reasons for unionizing.
US Airways will add three daily US Airways Express Charlotte-Montgomery flights Sept. 9. It recently expanded MetroJet service to West Palm Beach from Baltimore, Boston and Hartford. MetroJet now operates two flights daily between West Palm Beach and Baltimore, one West Palm Beach-Boston and two West Palm Beach-Hartford flights. It will add two more flights to Boston on Aug. 6.
