DOT - Approved an amendment to indefinite-duration authority previously granted to Air Canada and SAS to permit SAS to place its designator code on any U.S.-Canada transborder services operated by Air Canada and to permit Air Canada to place its designator code, on a blind-sector basis, on any flights operated by SAS between the U.S.
Comair is expected to have 80 regional jets in its fleet by August, accounting for 93% of its capacity, says Jim Parker, managing director of Robinson-Humphrey. It has options for 115 more RJs, and unlike other regional affiliates, it is not hamstrung by its mainline carrier's pilots contract. Delta's Air Line Pilots Association deal does not limit the number of RJs its feeder airlines operate, a situation that could change during the next round of talks. Based on Comair's RJ orders and options, Parker predicts the carrier will grow 12%-15% over the next five years.
Traffic at Continental continued in February to outpace the carrier's considerable capacity increases. Traffic rose 14.9% on 11% more capacity during the month, which boosted the load factor to a record 70.5%, up 2.4 percentage points over February 1998. Continental is one of several airlines presumed to have benefited from American's 6,500 flight cancellations during last month's pilot sickout, since the two carriers' service overlaps in Texas, the New York area, across the Atlantic and to Latin America.
Aloha Airlines flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, have applied for federal mediation by the National Mediation Board in their contract negotiations with the company. "Negotiations are at a crawl," said Aloha Master Executive Council President Peggy Gordon. "At this speed, flight attendants won't see any improvements at work until the new century." Negotiations, dating from August 1998, have stalled over pay, benefits and staffing of new routes to the South Pacific, according to the union.
Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport (XNA) finally cajoled a second regional airline into switching to the new facility from Fayetteville Drake Field, but only after easing some of its high costs. Northwest Airlink Express Airlines I agreed to make the move after XNA agreed to waive a head fee on all passengers above the benchmark level established at Drake Field the previous year. As a result, Airlink carrier Mesaba will introduce 69-seat Avro RJ85 regional jet service from Memphis, joining American Eagle's Chicago O'Hare service with ERJ-145 regional jets.
Varig reported increases of 4.2% in January traffic and 7.9% in passengers carried, to 992,694. The airline's freight volume plunged 23.35% to 69.8 million freight ton kilometers. The passenger load factor was 71.7% on international flights and 67.4% for domestic service.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic August 1998 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 1,283 4.09 866 1,110,677 6.26
U.S. Air Force pilots have concluded tests of an autonomous landing guidance system that could enable C-130 aircraft to land in zero visibility. In tests from Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., the AF said, test pilots used the system to fly a C-130H in increasingly challenging landings, culminating with a touchdown at a fog-bound, below-minimums airfield in Fresno where the ceiling was 50 feet and the runway visual range about 700 feet. The restriction for C-130s with current landing systems is a ceiling of 200 feet and RVR of about 2,600 feet.
TWA will launch daily service May 1 from St. Louis to Richmond, Va., and Portland, Maine. Richmond will receive two daily nonstops operated with DC-9s, with 16 seats dedicated to Trans World First, and Portland will have daily direct service with MD-80s, with 20 seats in TWA's domestic first class. Passengers on both routes will accrue double frequent flyer miles May 1-June 30.
US Airways and its International Association of Machinists unit, which represents about 6,000 fleet service workers, reached a tentative contract agreement. It is subject to ratification by the rank and file.
Continental retired its last 747 and 737-200 this week as part of a fleet renewal program and reduction in Pacific capacity. The carrier will retire 57 aircraft this year and place 60 new Boeing jet transports in service, bringing the average age of its fleet to 7.6 years by yearend. On Tuesday, the carrier launched daily 777 nonstop service between Gatwick and Houston.
Delta greatly increased the pressure on Atlantic Southeast leading up to the Feb. 15 buyout agreement. Since September 1997, Delta has attempted to recover costs related to ASA's operations and those of its other regional affiliates - including a royalty fee for ASA's use of the Delta code. At ASA's request, Delta withdrew the proposal in November 1997, when the regional said the new cost structure would make it uneconomical to continue service at Delta's Dallas/Fort Worth hub, according to a recent Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Delta.
Southwest yesterday officially announced it will launch daily nonstop service to five cities from Raleigh/Durham on June 6 - Baltimore/Washington, Nashville, Chicago Midway, Tampa and Orlando. Southwest will operate four daily nonstop flights to BWI, two to Chicago, four to Nashville, one to Tampa Bay and one to Orlando, plus connecting service to 28 other cities. The carrier will offer a $65 one-way unrestricted fare between Raleigh/Durham and BWI, a 78% savings from the $297 charged by its competitors on the route.
Commission overrides change travel agents from neutral sellers into distribution agents for specific airlines, a relationship passengers likely are unaware of , according to a report from the DOT Inspector General's office. Travel agents receive overrides in addition to commissions from some airlines in return for meeting sales quotas on particular routes or overall sales levels.
Delta made an offer Atlantic Southeast could not refuse in its $700 million buyout of the Atlanta-based regional. First, the senior partner gave ASA 45 days to "improve significantly" its customer service; it rejected ASA expansion into new markets; it proposed changes in revenue allocation that ASA estimated could cost it $40 million to $50 million per year, and it threatened to bring Cincinnati-based Delta Connection Comair into certain Atlanta markets. According to an SEC filing, Delta Chief Executive Leo Mullin Jan.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts has joined EVA Air's frequent flyer program, Evergreen Club, enabling members to earn 500 bonus miles for each stay at a Shangri-La or Traders hotel at a corporate or higher rate. As a special offering through May 31, members can earn double miles on qualifying rates.
The Sabre Group and Trilogy Software are developing plans for the first integrated travel and purchasing product for small to medium-sized companies. By integrating the corporate travel purchasing system of Sabre Business Travel Solutions with Trilogy's Buying Chain software, companies can align all purchasing functions into an Intranet-based application and help drive down operating costs. Sabre and Trilogy are developing the Sabre BTS/Buying Chain application to provide corporate employees with one-stop shopping for goods and services with unprecedented control.
