AirTran, which lost money throughout 1997 and 1998, yesterday reported a first quarter profit of $3.1 million. The carrier lost $7.9 million in the first quarter of 1998. New Chief Executive Joe Leonard attributed the gains to a strong economy and "conscientious efforts" by employees. AirTran's revenue increased 26.8% to $119.9 million, while expenses rose 13.8% to $110.9 million. Operating profits increased to $9 million, up from a loss of $2.9 million.
Singapore Airlines has delayed joining the Star Alliance until Oct. 1 while it negotiates for a larger role, an airline official told The DAILY in Singapore. Details of SIA's participation will be announced at the next meeting of the Star Alliance, May 3 in Sydney. The official said that as a major global carrier, SIA wants a bigger say following its proposed acquisition of News Ltd.'s 50% stake in Ansett. "SIA will push for a more influential say," the official indicated.
Aviation officials from the U.S. and the United Arab Emirates initialed an open-skies agreement Tuesday following one day of meetings in Washington, according to a DOT spokesman. He said the agreement, provisionally in effect immediately, is a full open-skies accord, with no phase-in provisions. The accord is the second with a Middle Eastern country; Jordan and the U.S. agreed to open skies in November 1996.
MCI WorldCom said it was selected by Delta to upgrade the carrier's data communications network at 28 locations nationwide. The contract is the first phase of Delta's larger Airport Renewal Project, under which the carrier plans to upgrade another 100 sites over the next two years. MCI WorldCom said its "asynchronous transfer mode" (ATM) and frame applications will help Delta expedite certain automated services including passenger check-in and board, credit card verification, baggage management and communications integration.
Virgin Atlantic applied for an exemption to operate Chicago-London Heathrow combination service. The carrier has been designated by the U.K. as the second British carrier on the route and is seeking slot exemptions at Chicago O'Hare for summer season service (DAILY, March 17) under Docket OST-99-5239. It noted that the City of Chicago is "strongly urging" DOT to grant its slot exemption application. Virgin said it would bring needed competition and generate economic benefits to Chicago, which "among U.S. cities [is] the fourth largest exporter of goods to the U.K.
DOT has made final a tentative decision to award Glennallen, Alaska-based Wrangell Mountain Air a certificate to offer scheduled service (DAILY, March 26). (Docket OST-99-5010)
Air Canada reported a 0.7% gain in systemwide traffic to 1.9 billion revenue passenger miles on 1.5% less capacity to 2.6 billion available seat miles for March 1999 compared with March 1998, which grew the load factor 1.6 percentage points to 71.4%. Air Canada's domestic RPMs dropped 1.5% to 640 million and ASMs 1.2% to 920 million, depressing the load factor 0.2 points to 69.6%. International RPMs gained 1.9% to 1.2 billion on 1.7% fewer ASMs, 1.7 billion, which boosted the load factor 2.5 points to 72.3%.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, a United Express carrier, will offer an additional regional jet flight between Sioux Falls and Chicago O'Hare, beginning May 17. The change creates a new schedule with a total of three United Express jet roundtrips to Chicago, replacing the combination of jet and turboprop service formerly offered at Sioux Falls. On May 7, ACA will expand its weekend-only jet service from Washington Dulles to four destinations and place extra flights on existing all-jet service to Savannah/Hilton Head and Fort Myers.
Contract aircraft have flown a total of 14 missions to date in support of the humanitarian airlift of food and supplies from the U.S. to refugees in Albania. The airlift contract has cost the U.S. military $2.6 million, and that number is expected to climb. Five additional missions are slated and more are possible, said Air Force Capt. Jeff Glenn, Air Mobility Command spokesman.
United is evaluating restoration of its daily Singapore-Hong Kong flights, suspended last year. Bill Byrne, United's general manager for Singapore, said demand in the sector is strong, and he is optimistic the service will restart. "I reckon it is only a matter of when," said Byrne, who was appointed to the position in October. The service was suspended because of the economic downturn in the region. Currently, eight airlines are offering a total of 14 flights a day on the route, described as the most lucrative in the region.
First quarter U.S. airline earnings will be 42% lower - $603 million versus $1 billion in first quarter 1998, according to BT Alex. Brown analyst Susan Donofrio.She picked United and Southwest for possible earnings surprises. Salomon Smith Barney singles out United, American and Continental for upside earnings potential. Two fare hikes during the period signal strong domestic traffic and will narrow the business-leisure fare gap, analysts said.
FAA should reject a proposal, expected to be issued in a week or two, to permit twin-engine aircraft to fly up to 207 minutes from a diversion airport, pilots from several airlines said yesterday at a news conference in Washington (DAILY, March 2). The Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations (CAPA) also called for FAA to get moving on updated flight and duty time rules and on requiring freighters to be equipped with Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems.
Pilot scope clause provisions that impose limits on an airline's regional jet flying short-circuit competition and should be eliminated, according to a study due to be published in two weeks.
AlliedSignal Inc. has restructured its aerospace business into three segments in a move that the company said yesterday will bring savings of up to $50 million a year. The $7.5 billion business will consist of Engines&Systems, which includes the engines, components and accessories businesses; Avionics&Lighting, comprising avionics, defense and space and aircraft lighting businesses, and Aerospace Services - aftermarket, logistics, technical services and consulting.
The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) over the next five months plans to ground and withdraw from commercial service 37 aircraft of the Russian Tupolev series in operation at 13 airlines. Another 33 of various models will be grounded between September and December. Known as the flying trash cans because of their poor condition, these aircraft are more than 14 years old, according to CAAC Director Liu Chen Ge. Ten of the aircraft are used for flights to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Spirit Airlines, as the result of record growth and the maturing of new routes added in 1998, saw traffic leap 121.6% and capacity jump 104.4% in March 1999 compared with the same 1998 month, which pushed up the load factor 6.5 percentage points to 84.1%. Spirit flew 220.5 million revenue passenger miles and 262.1 million available seat miles. Passengers flown increased 94.4% to 240,225. Year-to-date RPMs gained 115.1% and ASMs 107.6%, boosting the load factor 2.9 points. Passengers flown increased 89.2%.
Grupo TACA had the highest March load factor in its history at 68%, up 11 percentage points from March 1998. Traffic was 276 million revenue passenger miles, with capacity totaling 408 million available seat miles. The airline attributed the load factor surge to its new hub structure begun in December using both San Salvador, El Salvador, and San Jose, Costa Rica.
Communities in Louisiana and Alabama applied for Chicago slots that will be available for reallocation by DOT as a result of the June 1 termination by American Eagle of nonstop O'Hare service to Shreveport, La., and Montgomery, Ala. American Eagle was awarded the slot exemptions solely for nonstop regional jet service from the communities to O'Hare (DAILY, April 21, Sept. 28, 1998). The Baton Rouge Greater Airport District and the Huntsville-Madison County Airport Authority each filed applications for four exemption slots.
United is asking its flight attendants to report cabin maintenance problems by picking up a GTE Airfone while in flight and calling the maintenance directorate. The new link enables cabin crew to dial "*FIX" and give details about the broken item directly to an aircraft maintenance technician (AMT). "With direct two-way telephone communication, we gather more information than we could get through the old maintenance reporting procedure, and it speeds up the repair process," said Mike Lapacek, staff analyst-maintenance planning, in an internal communique.
Bulgarian Transport Minister Wilhelm Kraus chose European Airbus equipment for national carrier Balkan Airlines despite the fact that Prime Minister Ivan Kostov criticized the European Union's attitude toward Bulgaria. On March 2, Kraus said a work group headed by him chose two A310s to replace Boeing 767s. One of the 767s was returned at the beginning of the year and the second departed last month as their leasing contracts expired.
DOT yesterday upheld its earlier decision that federal law takes precedence over a Texas court's ruling to bar Legend Airlines and Continental Express from flying out of Dallas Love Field. DOT told the City of Fort Worth and the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport Board that state law and a bond ordinance aimed at protecting DFW do not preclude rights set down by the Shelby and Wright amendments allowing certain carriers to operate interstate routes. Dee Kelly, attorney for Fort Worth and American, said the ruling was "no surprise at all.
American Trans Air will offer nonstop service to San Juan from New York Kennedy starting June 16 and from Fort Lauderdale June 9, operating six roundtrips per week in each market. Flights from JFK will use a Lockheed L-1011 and will operate every day but Tuesday. Service from Fort Lauderdale will be aboard a 727-200 and will operate every day except Tuesday to San Juan and every day except Wednesday on return to Fort Lauderdale. American Trans Air also offers nonstop service from Chicago Midway and Orlando to and from San Juan.
Express Airlines I, a Northwest Airlink carrier, posted a 5.3% increase in March traffic to 28,748 revenue passenger miles and a 0.6% rise in capacity to 46,273 available seat miles compared with the year-ago month, boosting the load factor 2.8 percentage points to 62.1%. Passengers flown declined 4.3% to 105,249. Year-to-date RPMs grew 0.2% on 4.5% fewer ASMs, growing the load factor 2.8 points. Passengers flown dropped 5.7%.
US Airways will temporarily suspend service between Philadelphia and Amsterdam on June 12 until it receives new aircraft for its international fleet. The airline said it will pull aircraft from another route to serve Charlotte-London.
