America West Holdings Corp. subsidiary The Leisure Company has agreed to acquire National Leisure Group, a national retail leisure travel company based in Woburn, Mass. NLG is a subsidiary of Cendant Corp.
In light of the recent crash of a Korean Air MD-11 cargo plane in Shanghai and a lack of confidence on the part of the Korean government, 29 senior executives at and above managing VP rank have handed in their resignations, including Korean Air's founder and Chairman Choong-Hoon Cho. He will be replaced by current President and Chief Executive Yang-Ho Cho, who will be responsible for external relations for the airline. Korean Air has appointed Yi-Taek Shim, who has been with the airline since 1972, as the new president and chief executive.
British Midland Chairman Michael Bishop said he is more optimistic than a few weeks ago about U.K.-U.S. bilateral talks. Speaking at a briefing in London, he said the slot situation at London Heathrow has changed following a recent court ruling in favor of slot sales. "I think it is going to ease the situation. If the bilateral were to be brought in incrementally, I believe there are enough willing sellers around to satisfy the U.S.
Air Pacific, the small, Fiji-based carrier partly owned by Qantas, expects to report a record financial year for 1998 when it releases its numbers next month. The carrier will post profits that are "multiples better than past years" and the best in its history, according to Chief Executive Michael McQuay. In an interview with The DAILY, McQuay said the airline has a new lease on life after recovery from high costs and a bloated structure.
DOT tentatively said that upon achieving open skies with Chile it will grant antitrust immunity to the American-LanChile alliance. (Docket OST-97-3285)
Air Canada's Canadian Auto Workers have ratified a three-year agreement effective April 1. CAW represents the airline's 3,840 customer sales and service agents in Canada.
Changan Airlines of central China ordered three Q400 Dash 8 turboprop aircraft from Bombardier Aerospace. The $60 million sale is the first for the new 78-seat regional aircraft in China.
U.S. Space Command said yesterday it will conduct Y2K compliance testing of the Global Positioning System on four days through mid-May, beginning today. The test involves a single on-orbit satellite and will not interfere with GPS users, the command said. During the tests, the clock on the satellite will be moved forward to specific dates to be tested in a Y2K environment. Before moving the clock forward, the satellite will be temporarily set "unhealthy," so GPS receivers made in accordance with manufacturing specifications will not be able to use its signal.
Rep. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), a member of the House aviation subcommittee, will appear on Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m.
Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.) used a letter to his House Transportation Committee colleagues outlining the terms of the U.S.-China aviation pact (DAILY, April 9, 15) to seek their co-sponsorship for his Aviation Bilateral Accountability Act, which would "require congressional approval of all U.S. bilateral aviation agreements." Lipinski, ranking member of the aviation subcommittee, told fellow members that "aviation agreements are trade agreements that determine the amount of access the U.S. will have to foreign markets.
TWA reported an operating loss of $37.6 million and a loss before extraordinary items of $21.6 million for the first quarter of 1999, an improvement from the $68.7 million loss incurred in the same quarter last year. The loss per share before extraordinary items was 42 cents. Operating expenses dropped $31.9 million to $802.2 million, lowering the cost per available seat mile (CASM) to 9.57 cents from 9.67 cents. CASM for the first quarter was impacted by an increase of $14.6 million in aircraft rentals.
Security precautions for the NATO summit in Washington will restrict access to the downtown area in which Aviation DAILY is published. Because of this, there may be delays in delivery of print issues on Friday, April 23, and Monday, April 26. The DAILY's Regional Aviation supplement, which appears on Fridays, will not be published this week. On Friday and Monday, readers may access The DAILY at the Aviation Week Newsletters web site, http://www.awgnews.com, by using the username aviation_daily and the password airline.
DOT should not entertain Sioux City's Chicago O'Hare slot request in the absence of an application from an eligible carrier willing to operate the services, United told DOT. The community applied for four slots for nonstop service (DAILY, April 7). United said a survey of its commuter carriers found that the shortage of slots at O'Hare makes service to Sioux City infeasible. If restrictions are modified or eliminated to make more slots available, nonstop commuter service to Sioux City could be restored, the carrier said.
Washington Dulles-based United Express affiliate Atlantic Coast Airlines reported increases in net profit (before the effect of an accounting change) and operating revenue for its first quarter ended March 31, compared with the same quarter in 1998. Net profit (before the accounting change) rose 26.1% to $3.8 million from slightly under $3 million, while operating revenues jumped 25.7% to $73 million from $58.1 million.
Arnold Lewis, 60, veteran aviation journalist, died unexpectedly April 21 at his home in Fredericksburg, Va. Lewis, for many years editor to The Weekly of Business Aviation, was a contributing editor for Business&Commercial Aviation magazine and The DAILY's Regional Aviation supplement; early in his career, he was a reporter for the Wichita Eagle. The family will announce a memorial service at a later date.
TWA Chairman Gerald Gitner said yesterday the carrier is upgrading its 767 fleet in a deal with GE Capital Aircraft Services (GECAS), which will provide it with three leased 767-300ERs this year and next. The three 767s are in addition to one new 767-300ER on order for delivery in August. TWA has sold and will lease back from GECAS five 767-200s that it will continue to operate until the larger aircraft arrive.
Aero Club of Washington luncheon on Tuesday, April 27, at the Capital Hilton will feature Jack Schofield, chairman and CEO of Airbus Industrie of North America, as speaker. His theme will be "The Flagship of the 21st Century - The Next Big Airplane." For reservations, call 1-800-322-3761, out of state 703-327 7082.
U.S. National and Regional Carriers Traffic, as of March, 3 Months 1999 March March % 1999 1998 Change Air Wisconsin Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 102,258 52,970 93.0 Available Seat Miles (000) 155,548 86,674 79.5 Load Factor (%) 65.7 61.1 Passengers 322,341 182,692 76.4
AMR Corp. said first quarter earnings fell 81% to $56 million as the February sickout by its pilots and harsh winter weather severely curtailed its flights. Chief Financial Officer Gerard Arpey estimated the total impact from the pilot dispute, which forced American to cancel 6,700 flights, at $225 million pretax or $140 million net after tax. He said the $45 million penalty against the Allied Pilots Association was not included in the quarterly analysis because the pilots will appeal the decision.
Japan Airlines is drawing a line in the sand with code-share partners American, British Airways and Cathay Pacific, vowing not to join their global oneworld alliance unless the Japanese carrier is allowed to keep some of its separate partnerships. "If they are not flexible, we don't want to join," Nobutaka Ishikure, VP industry affairs and interline marketing, told The DAILY in Nagoya.
US Airways Group earnings dropped to less than half of year-earlier levels during the first quarter as bad weather on the East Coast disrupted operations and increased the complexity and cost of converting the airline to outsourced information technology services. Flight operations improved with the weather as the quarter ended, and a US Airways spokesman said yesterday the conversion to Sabre systems for yield management, personnel scheduling and a variety of functions will reduce rather than increase costs from now on.
Mesa Air Group earned net profits of $2.9 million, or 10 cents per share, for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $13.3 million, or 47 cents per share, for the same quarter last year. Operating revenue dropped 34.8% to $77.9 million from $119.6 million, as operating expenses fell faster - 44.9% to $72.1 million from $131.1 million. Unit cost dropped 34.4% to 13.7 cents per available seat mile from 20.8 cents. On its unaudited balance sheet, Mesa listed cash and securities of $65.5 million, up 84%.
DOT granted Asiana a statement of authorization to conduct code-share operations for Gemini Air Cargo, under which Asiana will display Gemini's designator code on Seoul-New York; Seoul-New York/Chicago and Seoul-Los Angeles flights. DOT, noting that Asiana wanted to retain the option to change frequency on these routes or provide blocked space/code-share service with Gemini on other Asiana routes between the U.S. and Korea, dismissed that portion of Asiana's application.
FAA has issued a policy statement on determining sanction amounts to be paid for violations of DOT's hazardous material regulations. It says the policy should "promote a relative consistency in determining civil penalties."
