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.
The National Mediation Board approved an Association of Flight Attendants representation election at Midwest Express. Ballots will be mailed March 25 and counted April 29.
A General Accounting Office report released yesterday "validates the need" for proposals to lower competitive barriers by measures that include adding slots to high-density airports and adopting exemptions to the perimeter rule at Washington Reagan Airport, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) and aviation subcommittee Chairman Slade Gorton (R-Wash.) said.
Shuttle America will begin nonstop service between Buffalo and Albany Airport April 6, the company announced. Shuttle America, an airline started by former Continental executives that launched service in the Hartford-Buffalo market last November, will operate three nonstops on the Buffalo-Albany route, using 50-seat Dash-8-300 aircraft (DAILY, Nov. 9 and Nov. 13). The startup also also will boost its weekday service between Hartford/Springfield and Buffalo to seven daily nonstops from three.
United is fitting some aircraft with seats that convert into beds. The seats, marketed as United First Suite, recline to 180 degrees to convert into six-foot, six-inch-long beds, and the seating area is large enough to use as an office work space. United will install the reclining seat in first class on some international Boeing 777 and 747-400 airplanes, with plans to convert the first 20 aircraft by yearend.
Air Jamaica is restructuring nearly every element in its operation except the sandy beaches it flies to in an effort to improve connections and return to profitability. The airline yesterday announced plans to restructure its fleet further, add U.S. service and increase frequencies in international markets. It also is considering acquiring regional jets to serve island destinations in the Caribbean. The airline survived Jamaica's Category 2 safety rating by FAA, which precluded adding service to the U.S. for nearly two years.
End of an era? The acquisition of Chicago Express by code-sharing partner American Trans Air could spell the end of an era in regional aviation. Express is owned by Michael Brady and family, owners of Express Airlines I before it was acquired by Northwest. Brady has been a controversial figure since his tenure as president of Eastern Metro Express in Atlanta, a subsidiary of Dallas-based Metroflight. Brady was accused of establishing Express I and its parent Phoenix Airline Services while on the Eastern Metro watch, leading to a protracted legal battle.
...ASA hired Morgan Stanley Dean Witter as financial adviser and the firm put together a number of alternatives to the Delta buyout, according to a second SEC filing. One was the leveraged acquisition and recapitalization of "Asteroid," deemed to be ASA's low-cost neighbor AirTran in Atlanta's Terminal C, which it said was rumored to be for sale. Dean Witter also suggested a merger with "Comet" and/or "Star," deemed to be Comair and Delta affiliate SkyWest. The filing did not state whether any of these alternatives was seriously considered by ASA.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic August 1998 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 61 28.82 1,124 68,222 35.18
American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American, reported an 8.7% growth in system-wide traffic and 9.5% more capacity for February 1999, compared with the same 1998 month, which depressed the load factor 0.4 percentage points to 56.2%. The carrier posted sys-temwide 205.8 million revenue passenger miles and 366.3 million available seat miles. Passengers flown grew 3.6% to 938,977. American Eagle Sees Boost In Traffic, Capacity Feb 99 Feb 98 2 Mths 99 2 Mths 98
Chautauqua Airlines, a US Express carrier based in Indianapolis, on Wednesday launched nonstop service between Buffalo and Washington Dulles. The carrier operates three daily nonstop flights every business day and one on Sunday, using Saab 340 aircraft.
Charlotte, N.C.-based CCAIR, Inc., an independent airline - but being acquired by Mesa Air Group - that provides service as US Airways Express in the southeastern U.S., reported a 54.6% jump in traffic on 60.1% more capacity for February 1999 compared with the same 1998 month, which depressed the load factor 1.9 percentage points to 53.2%. CCAIR flew 13.9 million revenue passenger miles and 26.1 million available seat miles. Passengers boarded grew 23.8% to 61,954. CCAIR February Capacity, Traffic Up Sharply
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) opposes Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain's (R-Ariz.) bid to add 48 daily slots at Washington Reagan Airport, a key feature of the committee's proposed FAA reauthorization. Lott says other senators are concerned that 48 slots will jeopardize passing the bill in the Senate and reconciling it with the House measure, which permits just six. He urged the Senate to approve only the 24 slots that 92 senators backed last year before the bill died in conference.
DOT Office of Inspector General (OIG) says developing digital data link technology to meet growing demand for air travel will be a "complex, long-term effort" of "substantial but uncertain" costs. The technology has been under development at FAA for 15 years and was to be in use at selected air traffic control facilities by late 1996, the OIG said. Estimates now are that data link "will be in use at only one location in mid- 2002 - six years later than anticipated," the OIG said.
U.K.-based Suckling Airways plans to launch new service between London's close-in London City Airport and Dundee, Scotland. The service, the airline's first from London City, will comprise four daily flights operated with a new-generation Fairchild Dornier 328 airliner. The Scottish flag will be displayed on the aircraft's nose, and cabin decor and crew uniforms will have a tartan theme. To promote the launch of the service, Suckling is offering a roundtrip fare of #69, plus taxes, for weekend flights. The fully flexible business round-trip will be #284, plus tax.
Manx Airlines said it will honor all tickets sold by Emerald Airways on the Liverpool-Isle of Man service after March 28, when Emerald plans to withdraw from the route. Manx said it will boost service on the route to eight flights daily.
The ATR partnership is setting its sights on reducing maintenance costs by 17% before the middle of 2000. The manufacturer hopes to extend the interval for ATR 42 and 72 A-checks to 500 flight hours, while the C-check interval go up to 4,000 flight hours. "In addition, the program will significantly streamline and downsize the content of each maintenance check, reflecting the excellent in-service reliability achieved to date with the ATR fleet. A special focus will be on engine and vendor equipment," ATR said.
Continental Express and the city of Knoxville yesterday announced plans to build a new regional jet maintenance facility in the city. The carrier also said it would launch daily nonstoop service between Knoxville and Houston in July with plans to add service to Cleveland Newark by yearend.
FAA executives expressed confidence yesterday they will meet the June 30 deadline set more than a year ago to attain "100% implementation" of Year 2000 computer date changeover measures. Administrator Jane Garvey and Roy Long, Y2K program office director, said this does not mean there will be no disruptions, such as baggage system problems, on what Garvey said is "going to be an unusual day." But both likened the problems expected for airlines and airports to those produced by bad weather.
