The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) is threatening to raise the stakes in its four-month protest of Lufthansa's LSG SkyChefs by bringing picketers from London to Lufthansa headquarters near Frankfurt. ITF is accusing the company of "union busting" because it fired workers last November. ITF said Lufthansa terminated 300 workers at a recently purchased London Heathrow catering unit who elected to go on a 1.5-day strike over proposed work changes. The union said it followed procedures backed by British law.
U.S. National and Regional Carriers Traffic January 1999 January January % 1999 1998 Change Air Wisconsin Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 76,069 45,096 68.7 Available Seat Miles (000) 125,528 85,505 46.8 Load Factor (%) 60.6 52.7
Sen. Frank Lautenberg's (D-N.J.) decision not to seek re-election next year will open up the position of ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee in 2001. Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is next in line.
Sabena leased from International Lease Finance Corp. a used A330-300 for 70 months, with delivery in April, and three new A330-200s for delivery this year.
U.S. aviation officials to meet with Chinese representatives Wednesday U.S. aviation officials will meet with Chinese representatives Wednesday through Friday in Beijing to discuss overall expansion of services.
Express I, which flies as Northwest Airlink, reported 0.9% more traffic on 5.5% less capacity in January, raising the load factor 3.3 percentage points to 51.9%. The Northwest subsidiary flew 23.2 million revenue passenger miles and 44.7 million available seat miles. Passenger volume grew 8.6% to 84,120.
Construction of the second terminal at Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek Airport is in the final stage, with completion scheduled in June. A spokesman for Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said completion of the new terminal is expected to eliminate pressure on the airport's handling capacity. At present, he said, some 12 million travelers pass through CKS each year, nearly two times as many as expected when the airport was designed.
National Transportation Safety Board recommended that FAA limit the distance that liferaft ceiling stowage compartments can open on jet transports, and that FAA find a way to ensure that seatbelts remain attached to their shackles. The two recommendations stem from the board's ongoing investigation into a landing accident involving an American 727 on Feb. 9, 1998, at Chicago O'Hare. The aircraft landed 180 feet short of the runway and was substantially damaged. There were minor injuries.
Hawaiian Airlines reported a 14% jump in systemwide traffic on 4% more capacity for January 1999 compared with the same 1998 month, which boosted the load factor 6.3 percentage points to 71.6%. Hawaiian flew 355.4 million revenue passenger miles and 496.4 million available seat miles. Passengers flown increased 9.1% to 436,373.
U.S. and U.K. aviation negotiators expressed disappointment Friday following two days of informal talks in London, the first meeting since the U.S. walked out on formal talks last October. U.S. officials said they were disappointed in U.K. suggestions on a transition to open skies, "particularly the U.K.'s focus on ideas which would require a change in U.S. law," according to a DOT spokesman. He said the U.S. responded with "general principles for structuring a transition to a new open-skies agreement," which the U.K. said it would consider. The U.K.
Aerospace Industries Association named Robin Beard, president and chief executive of Raytheon's Washington corporate operations, chairman of AIA's International Council and Dave Morris, senior marketing development manager of space programs for Honeywell Space and Aviation Control, chairman of AIA's Space Council for 1999-2000.
Tower Air posted higher earnings for the year but lost $3.7 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a $10.5 million deficit in the same 1997 period. The company made "a major turnaround in its operations" last year, said Chief Executive Morris Nachtomi. The operating loss for the quarter was $1.6 million, versus $12.6 million, and revenue fell to $104.6 million from $108.7 million. For 1998, Tower reported a $1.5 million net profit, compared with a loss of $3.9 million in 1997, and revenue increased to $483.8 million from $461.5 million.
Distribution costs are dropping thanks largely to web-based bookings, and the costs are expected to go down even further as more consumers bypass the traditional travel agent and global distribution system (GDS) channels. But airlines still face significant challenges to electronic commerce, including keeping up with technology and helping GDS and travel agents change the way they do business, according to airline executives.
Swissair Chief Executive Jeff Katz, faced with a high cost structure, lower yields and competition from small carriers and mega-alliances, is taking steps, with the cooperation of employees, to alter the airline's structure. A series of changes will be visible this year and next as Katz grows the airline and its alliances and rationalizes the fleet to position it better against the realities of Switzerland's higher costs.
January's U.S. domestic yield and revenue per available seat mile fell 3% and 0.8% year-over-year, according to Salomon Smith Barney analyst Brian Harris. Adjusted for stage lengths, yield dropped 2.1% and RASM rose 0.1%. Harris expects February RASM to climb 1% due to reduced capacity from the American pilot sickout and a boost from the fare hike that took effect Jan. 29.
America West stock climbed $2.75 per share Friday, or 14%, on speculation that United had made a cash offer for the Phoenix-based carrier. United's stock rose 25 cents to $59.50. While sources say United still is interested in America West, neither side would confirm that a deal has been reached or an offer made. United refused to comment. America West's Air Line Pilots Association spokeswoman Yvette Freeman said ALPA was trying to find out if the rumors were true. "We have asked to be involved, but we've been left out of the loop so far," she said.
The Master Executive Council of Delta's Air Line Pilots Association unit will meet today to discuss the impact of the carrier's Atlantic Southeast acquisition on Delta pilot careers.Delta's pilot director and the MEC chairman wrote the rank and file last week, each giving his own perspective of the deal. The pilot director sees it as a business transaction and the MEC chief wants to know what it means for jobs.
Airline management in a mature, post-deregulation U.S. environment has shifted away from executives schooled in operations and piloting and toward analytical and finance-savvy leaders, according to Michael Bell, VP with search firm SpencerStuart. "It's a more competitive industry today," he said, but traditional airline knowledge still is critical to a successful company.
In Federal Register dated Feb. 17...Issued an emergency airworthiness directive on Boeing 727 aircraft requiring inspection of the lower skin panel at the lower row of fasteners in certain lap joints of the fuselage.
