Consulting firms supervised by national and regional government agencies have begun work on future air travel demand in the north of England and ways to accommodate it through service and facility improvements at "the combination of airports that are available," said U.K. Transport Minister John Reid. The study, the fourth of six regional analyses for use in developing a long-term U.K. airports policy, will be carried out by Environmental Resources Management, supported by Aviation and Travel Consultancy, Oscar Faber and TPS Consult Ltd.
The first fare hike in more than a year appears to be sticking, and while that is good news for shareholders, it also could indicate that more hikes are on the way, airline industry consultants say. Delta last Thursday evening raised business fares 2% and leisure fares 4%. Northwest, which has balked at more than 10 fare hikes in the past 16 months, also raised fares. American, Continental, America West, US Airways and TWA did so on Friday, and United followed suit over the weekend.
DOT Inspector General faulted Denver officials last week for spending airport revenue improperly, and said Denver International Airport is not as self-sufficient as it could be because it is under-collecting certain revenues. The report, submitted by Assistant Inspector General for Audit Lawrence Weintrob, found that airport revenues were being used to redevelop property at Denver Stapleton, closed since it was replaced by Denver International opened, beyond the degree necessary to dispose of it.
Lufthansa Group carried 40.5 million passengers in 1998, up 8.8% from 1997, while the CityLine division showed growth of 14.5%. The company said passenger revenue increased 5.8%, but it did not publish specific figures. The scheduled passenger division, Lufthansa German Airlines, posted 8.2% passenger growth to 36 million. Overall capacity of the group grew 4.2% while the overall load factor dropped 0.1 percentage points. Passenger traffic was up 5.8% as capacity increased 3.6%, boosting the passenger load factor 1.5 points to 73%.
U.S. Major Carriers Unit Revenues and Expenses, By Region, Third Quarter 1998 Operating Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Profit (Loss) Yield per ASM per ASM per ASM per RPM (cents) (cents) (cents) (cents) Alaska 9.68 7.97 1.71 12.34 Domestic 9.82 8.05 1.77 12.46
America West flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), claim contract negotiations are "not even close" to settlement and have asked the National Mediation Board (NMB) again to release them from mediation. The company says, however, that the two sides are close to an agreement. America West AFA President William McGlashen said last week's negotiations, held under the auspices of the NMB, ended Friday with both sides still "$16.5 million apart. We're not even close.
Reacting to growing traffic in the Bahamas-Caribbean area, FAA is proposing to establish the San Juan High Offshore Airspace Area.The agency says applying domestic ATC procedures in that airspace would increase system capacity and enhance safety by providing for positive control of all aircraft operating.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, which flies as United Express, is offering significant upgrades to nine destinations. ACA is increasing the number of regional jet flights on its daily Raleigh/Durham and Columbus, Ohio, operations. CRJs will operate on five of the scheduled 16 daily Raleigh/Durham-Dulles roundtrips and on four of the five scheduled Columbus, Ohio-Dulles roundtrips. ACA will add first-time jet service to Dayton, Ohio - three daily roundtrips, and one RJ on its four daily Burlington, Vt.-Dulles roundtrips.
Mesa Air Group, growing the scope of its East Coast operation for US Airways Express, leaped further in that direction yesterday with a merger agreement with Charlotte, N.C.-based CCAIR Inc. With 31 turboprop aircraft and a staff of 599, CCAIR will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Mesa. Both Mesa and CCAIR operate on the East Coast as US Airways Express carriers. The move was expected for some time, since Mesa Chief Executive Jonathan Ornstein is part of Barlow Partners, the investment group that already owns a minority stake in CCAIR.
AeroCentury Corp., Burlingame, Calif.-based leasing company, said yesterday it has purchased a Fokker 50 aircraft from an affiliate of Lazard Freres&Co. The aircraft currently is on lease to Rio Sul of Brazil.
As traffic growth slows to about 2% per year, carriers will be faced in 1999 with limiting capacity and growing their revenues on existing assets, analysts from Denver-based The Boyd Group said Friday at the group's Forecast 99 conference. Brian Simpson, VP, predicted that more mega-carriers will rely on regional jets to grow domestic markets, a trend that will continue indefinitely.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) yesterday announced a one-day postponement of the markup of his multi-year FAA reauthorization bill - the Air Transportation Improvement Act - until Thursday. The Senate Commerce Committee action will come one day after the House is expected to approve the bill extending FAA programs and the Airport Improvement Program through Sept. 30, which cleared the House Transportation Committee last month.
Canadian Airlines will launch daily nonstop Edmonton-Chicago service on April 4. The transborder route will offer easy access to Chicago and destinations beyond, the carrier said. Canadian will serve the route with a 100-seat 737 aircraft.
ProAir launched Detroit-Chicago Midway service yesterday, offering an unrestricted walkup fare of $49. The carrier also will offer direct flights from Chicago to Atlanta, Newark and New York LaGuardia. Unrestricted walkup fare to Chicago is $49 one way.
European Union finance ministers will discuss on March 15 a proposal by France to phase in the abolition of duty-free sales to passengers traveling inside the EU, French Minister for European Affairs Pierre Moscovici said last week in Paris. Excise duties "should be restored progressively, over a few years," he said. Based on considering the EU as a single market, the EU decided in 1993 to end duty-free sales to passengers traveling inside its territory beginning July 1, 1999.
American Airlines Cargo will sell lower-deck space for cargo on a 777 proving run Thursday from Dallas/Fort Worth to London and on most of the 777 test flights American will conduct this month. American received its first 777 Jan. 21 and its second Jan. 29, and it is scheduled to receive nine more this year and a total of 34 over three years. Other 777 proving flight destinations from DFW for which cargo space is for sale are Tokyo, Osaka, Seattle, Miami, Boston, New York, Washington, Chicago, Tulsa, Los Angeles and San Jose.
Judith Muhlberg, director of public affairs for Ford Motor Co. Automotive Operations, will become Boeing Co.'s VP of communications on March 1, Boeing said yesterday.
American will be the first airline to stop producing printed timetables. It will introduce an Internet version of the timetable next month on its www.aa.com web site, updating it monthly.
Continental last week received five Freddy awards for its frequent flyer program - Best Award for its BusinessFirst international upgrades, Best Customer Service, and Best Web site, Program of the Year and Best Elite-Level Program. The awards are sponsored by InsideFlyer magazine.
Japan Airlines announced plans last week to enter the airport terminal management business with a joint venture company overseeing Vientiane Airport, Laos. The new company, Lao Japan Airport Terminal Services Company Ltd., is capitalized at US$500,000 and owned 51% by Laotian businesses and 49% by a partnership of JAL Trading Inc. (JLT), Tomen Corp. of Japan and government-run Lao Airport Authority. JLT is a subsidiary of JAL and owned 69.5% by the airline. The joint venture company expects first-year revenue of $3.7 million.
Singapore Airlines tomorrow will launch its new frequent flyer program, KrisFlyer, which includes, for the first time, accumulation and awards for all three service classes. The introduction is part of SIA's S$500 million product revamp covering cabin seating, interiors, inflight video systems and cuisine. The new SIA program will offer free international trips at the low redemption level of 15,000 miles; the airline does not offer domestic service. The carrier also is offering a 50% mileage bonus through yearend.
All Nippon Airways will tie its ANA Mileage Club frequent flyer program to SAS's EuroBonus, Air Canada's Aeroplan and British Midland's Diamond Club, starting April 1. ANA's 3.2 million members will be able to collect miles and claim awards on the three carriers' systems. Air Canada and SAS are Star Alliance members, and ANA expects to join all the Star carriers in frequent flyer partnerships, including Ansett and Air New Zealand, which will join Star this spring. ANA's membership in Star begins in October.
