Boeing lost about $1 million per airplane during 1998, Paul Nisbet of JSA Research, Newport, R.I., estimated after analyzing data published by Boeing following a recent reorganization of its commercial aircraft business. Boeing divided its commercial operations into narrowbody aircraft, widebody aircraft and customer services units, and customer services was said to bring in $4 billion per year in revenue. With that much removed from total commercial revenue, the segment had $31.5 billion in sales for 559 airplanes delivered in 1998.
United traffic for February increased 7.5% on 2.9% more capacity, forcing the load factor up 2.9 percentage points to 68%. Domestic traffic increased 9.8% on 5.9% more capacity, which raised the load factor 2.3 points to 67.9%. The airline reduced Pacific capacity 10.5% year-over-year but traffic dropped only 3%, resulting in a load factor increase of 5.6 points to 71.4%. February was the eighth consecutive month of year-over-year load factor increases in the Pacific.
FAA - In Federal Register dated Jan. 26...Revised a proposed airworthiness directive on Dornier 328 aircraft concerning inspections of various control cables.
FAA, which planned to issue a proposal this month for certifying airport screening companies, has postponed the milestone until the end of the year in order to field-test and validate the Threat Image Project, intended to be the basis for monitoring the companies, according to the General Accounting Office. This will delay a final rule until March 2000, about a year later than previously estimated, GAO says.
Alaska Airlines has the highest percentage of local traffic among U.S. major airlines, 93.2%, followed by Continental, 81.6%, and United, 77.8%, according to Salomon Smith Barney.Only 6.8% of Alaska's passengers connect through hubs in Seattle, Portland and Anchorage, versus the 33.1% industry hub average. Alaska has one-third less connectivity than the average of Southwest's five largest markets.
Cathay Pacific, in a competition with Singapore Airlines, won a leasing contract that will place five of Cathay's Boeing 747-300s with Pakistan International Airways for two years. The carriers signed a letter on intent last week. The five widebodies are leaving Cathay's fleet as it gets new aircraft, ensuring that the Hong Kong carrier will not add massive amounts of capacity to a shaky regional market. After the transaction is completed, Cathay will have secured homes for nine of 13 surplus 747s in its fleet at a time when little demand exists for used 747s.
DOT told U.S. carriers to notify it of U.S.-Russia charter services they plan to operate during the 1999 charter year so that the department may issue a notice of consistency, needed for applications to Russia, to each carrier with firm charter flight or program arrangements. DOT reminded carriers that applications to Russia are required and are subject to country-of-origin rules, and it recommended that carriers wishing to operate Russia-originating flights contact Russia's Federal Aviation Authority directly.
Dobbs International Services promoted Gordon Anderson to executive VP, operations; Robert Suttie to executive VP and chief financial officer, and Robert Teutsch to executive VP, administration and legal.
TWA's Transport Workers Union Local 540, which represents dispatchers, ratified a new collective bargaining agreement Friday. The contract, effective through Dec. 31, 2003, provides pay increases that bring dispatchers to 93% of the industry average by the end of its term.
US Airways supported Continental's request to waive the startup condition on its certificate so it can delay its Cleveland-London Gatwick service launch until June 30 (DAILY, March 3). US Airways, still awaiting London Gatwick slots for its Charlotte-London service at times acceptable to it, said it understands Continental's "difficulties in obtaining commercially viable access at Gatwick." Continental received the slots last month (DAILY, Feb. 26) after months of efforts, and its certificate requires it to institute the service by May 17. (Docket OST-99-5165)
Western Aircraft promoted Allen Hoyt to president-Aircraft Sales Division, Tim Hilde to president-Aircraft Operations Division and John Penn to chief executive officer.
An interagency team with representatives from FAA, the Customs Service, the Immigration and Naturalization Service and the State and Defense departments will perform a safety and security survey in Kenya next week, senior DOT officials told The DAILY. The team will review aircraft safety and maintenance, airport security and air navigational aids, the last of interest to DOD for safe military overflight.
American and the City of Chicago told DOT its tentative choice of Delta's Atlanta-Rome proposal for a U.S.-Italy service opportunity (DAILY, Feb. 24) does not take into account which U.S.
A third lawsuit against American's Allied Pilots Association is seeking partial refund of tickets for passengers stranded during the union's January sickout. The latest suit, filed on behalf of a Fort Worth couple, is asking for damages that could total more than $100 million. The sickout, spurred by AMR Corp.'s acquisition of Reno Air, led to thousands of flight cancellations and stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers. The suit seeks at least 50% refund of ticket costs for all affected passengers.
Fedex Pilots Association's new officers already are facing disgruntled members. Some pilots want details about why one board member was asked to resign recently, but it happened during an executive session and the board won't talk about it. New VP Wally Huggins said the issue is becoming a distraction and asked members to back off. He says giving out details would only damage "a guy that was working his butt off to help this union. We were also honor-bound, most of us anyway, to keep our mouths shut."
DOT granted Delta temporary authority to begin selling and marketing nonstop Atlanta-Rome service pending a final award. At Delta's request, the department shortened the answer period for its show-cause order tentatively selecting Delta for U.S.-Italy frequencies available April 1 (DAILY, March 2). (See related story on Page 384.) (Docket OST-98-4854)
Approach and landing accidents involving transport aircraft are occurring at a rate of 15 a year outside the Commonwealth of Independent States, according to a special issue of Flight Safety Digest. Flight Safety Foundation says that if this rate continues and air travel grows as projected, there will be 23 fatal approach and landing accidents per year, nearly two a month, by 2010.
SkyMall promoted Christine Aguilera, Scott Dastrup and Mark Schneider to executive VP, and named Robert Digan chief operating officer of the skymall.com subsidiary and Stephen Peterson chief financial officer.
Seeking to protect its members' interests, the Independent Association of Continental Pilots (IACP) asked DOT to accept it as a party in American's and Delta's request that the department reconsider the one-year exemption granted Northwest and Continental from certificate transfer requirements for international route authority.
