Czech Airlines (CSA) applied at DOT for rights to code share with Continental between Prague and Bucharest, for which CSA holds authority under its foreign air carrier permit. CSA wants the authority, provided for in the U.S.-Czech Republic open-skies pact, to display Continental's designator code on flights on the route beginning Nov. 1, extending to Bucharest code-share services operated by the carriers between New York/Newark and Prague.
United's discount vacation packages to Hong Kong, priced from $999, include 5,000 Mileage Plus bonus miles and cover roundtrip air fare, five nights at a Mandarin Oriental Hotel, airport and hotel transfers, a half day Hong Kong Island tour, and other benefits. The package is good for travel May 1-Dec. 31.
Southwest yesterday said it experienced its best quarter since 1981 and its best margins in years. "We enjoy a very significant cost advantage versus the industry, and it seems to widen every year," said Senior VP-Finance Gary Kelly. He said net income for the first quarter jumped 36.9% to $95.8 million, or 27 cents per fully diluted share. Included in the results was a non-recurring after-tax charge of $6.4 million, 2 cents per diluted share, related to the consolidation of certain software projects.
UAL Corp. yesterday reported what it termed a strong first quarter and said improving domestic yields and a rebound in Asia promise gains in the next three months. Earnings at United's parent were down year-over-year for the second consecutive quarter - net earnings dropped 14.2% to $187 million and operating earnings 13.9% to $328 million - but March net earnings set a record for the month as fears for the U.S. economy faded and premium travel gained.
The majority shareholder of Philippine Airlines has decided to inject the US$200 million required to keep the airline flying because interested parties had made unreasonable demands. Lucio Tan told The DAILY that most of those who showed interest to acquire a stake in PAL had the impression that he was cash-strapped and tried to take advantage. "We were prepared to give away a maximum of two board seats to whoever was successful, depending on the amount of investment they forked out. But it was shocking to note that two parties had wanted full control," Tan said.
America West Holdings yesterday reported record first quarter net income of $26 million, up 3.2% from $25 million in the same quarter last year, for America West Airlines and The Leisure Co. America West Airlines posted record revenue of $506.5 million, up 7.5% from $471 million. Operating expenses climbed 8.1% to $457.6 million from $423.1 million. Operating income was $48.9 million, up 2.2% from $47.8 million.
European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock will have no time to spare today to meet with U.S. Commerce Under Secretary David Aaron when Aaron arrives in Brussels with a proposal to shelve Europe's hushkit rule in return for a commitment to develop Stage 4 noise standards (DAILY, April 16). European Commission officials believe the U.S. reneged on an agreement to work on changes in the rule rather than trying to scrap it, and they fear that the U.S. will win out as part of resolving major U.S.-Europe policy issues unrelated to aviation.
Midwest Express and Skyway Airlines have reduced fares to selected markets for travel May 2-Sept. 30. Tickets must be purchased at least 14 days in advance. Sample one-way fares are Milwaukee-Omaha $71; Milwaukee-Boston $111, and Kansas City-New York LaGuardia or Newark $113.
US Airways is the best domestic major carrier in 1998 in terms of quality standards, according to the national Airline Quality Rating (AQR) study, but overall airline quality is declining relative to customer performance criteria. The annual survey, conducted by the W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha Aviation Institute, ranks the top 10 U.S. majors against a variety of quality and consumer measures. Continental placed second and American third.
Raytheon said yesterday it has successfully completed testing two weeks early a key component of FAA's Wide Area Augmentation System project, for which it is the prime contractor. The company, using the 25 installed reference stations, two master stations and Inmarsat geosynchronous satellites, completed a required 72-hour signal-in-space test on April 9. Dan Hanlon, FAA program manager, said the agency's analysis of the WAAS signal showed the system provided a horizontal 95% accuracy of three meters and vertical 95% accuracy of five meters.
U.S. Carriers Maintenance Expense, Fourth Quarter 1998 Major Carriers % Of Total Maintenance Operating Expenses Alaska 30,370,000 8.80 America West 67,283,965 14.57 American 485,862,000 13.46 Continental 181,982,000 10.76 Delta 307,148,000 9.59 Northwest 358,715,000 15.49
Lockheed Martin said yesterday it suffered a net loss of $87 million compared with a net gain of $269 million the same quarter last year. Net sales were a wash, $6.2 billion for each quarter. Pre-tax earnings slid 2% to $424 million from $434 million. Space and missiles revenues were off 15% to $1.6 billion while net sales were off 53% to $125 million from $267 million. Aeronautics revenues were up 14% to $1.5 billion and net sales climbed 12% to $169 million.
Air Line Pilots Association was responding to a draft of a GKMG study on the limitations on the use of regional jets (DAILY, April 19). The study will be completed in two to three weeks. GKMG said it does not know at this time whether the study will be available to the general public, but it plans to brief ALPA, other pilots unions and the media.
Japan Airlines' profits for fiscal 1998 will be twice as much as previously forecast due to lower fuel prices and one-time benefits from the sale of aircraft. The carrier yesterday revised its fiscal 1998 earnings forecast to show an expected 100% increase in pre-tax profit. JAL now expects to show a 32 billion yen (US$266.6 million) profit for 1998, including an 8 billion yen ($66.7 million) gain from the sale of aircraft and a 7 billion yen ($58.3 million) aircraft purchase credit.
Continental paid 43 cents per gallon for jet fuel in the first quarter but expects prices to edge up later this year.The carrier already has hedged one-third of its fourth quarter jet-fuel needs.
Alaska filed separate applications at DOT for code-share operations with Qantas and Air China. Alaska requested indefinite-duration approval for the Qantas code share, which would place the Australian carrier's code on some Alaska flights between Qantas's Los Angeles gateway and Portland and Seattle. Seeking expedited action, Alaska told DOT it could begin the code-sharing flights as early as May 16 but no later than May 25.
FAA yesterday issued an emergency order suspending the operating certificate of Sun Pacific International, Phoenix. FAA said "continuing maintenance and record-keeping problems" prompted the action. Sun Pacific, which received its Part 121 certificate in 1996 and operated as a supplemental carrier, has 10 days to appeal the suspension to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Decision on a contractor for the color display of the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) could come this week or next, FAA said yesterday. Competing for the contract are Raytheon and Lockheed Martin. FAA hoped to announce a winner earlier (DAILY, April 7).
Boeing Commercial President Alan Mulally said Friday that the company has successfully completed Year 2000 flight demonstrations of its commercial airplanes, reconfirming earlier laboratory and simulation studies showing an absence of safety of flight issues related to the Y2K date rollover. Mulally said the company also tested a wide range of possible computer-date anomalies, including Feb. 29, 2000, a leap-year date. There were no surprises, he said.
Canadian Airlines reported a 9.7% gain in systemwide March traffic, compared with the same year-ago month, to 1.5 billion revenue passenger miles, and a 5.5% increase in capacity to 2.1 billion available seat miles, boosting the load factor 2.7 percentage points to 70.3%. Canadians' domestic RPMs remained flat at 412 million, while ASMs climbed 2.5% to 617 million, depressing the load factor 1.6 points to 66.8%. International RPMs jumped 14.8% to 975 million and ASMs 7.6% to 1.3 billion, pushing the load factor up 4.6 points to 73.3%.
Outdated FAA rules governing air crash firefighting and rescue put millions of passengers at risk each year by relying on too few firefighters and too distant supplemental help in the event of a crash, a group representing fire safety experts and flight crews contends in a report issued last week.
IATA has certified that Taiwan's air traffic control system is Y2K-compliant, according to Civil Aeronautics Administration Director General Chang You-heng. He said the CAA also installed a backup system. "And if the backup system should also fail," he said, "we have developed two contingency plans, the first of which is to trick the computer by turning the clock back 28 years to 1972, a year in which all the days and dates match those of 2000."
Midwest Express Holdings reported a 12% increase in operating revenue in the first quarter of 1999 to $98.9 million. Operating income rose 20% to $11.3 million and diluted earnings per share 16% to $0.50. Operating expenses grew 10.9% to $87.6 million. The carrier experienced a 10.3% jump in salaries, wages and benefits to $29 million and a 39% rise in aircraft maintenance materials and repairs to $10.4 million, offset by a 7.6% drop aircraft fuel and oil to $10.4 million.
A London-bound British Airways flight carrying nearly 350 passengers and crew set "a dubious world record of sorts" last week when a series of technical snags delayed its takeoff by about 70 hours, officials at Mumbai Shivaji Airport said yesterday. While BA officials refused comment, airport officials confirmed reports from passengers that the BA 747 aircraft "City of York" suffered a malfunction and breakdown in the air conditioning system, and that crew members found two doors that would not shut properly, plus a hydraulic leak.
