Midwest Express saw a 15.7% increase in traffic on 20.2% more capacity for December 1998 over the same month in 1997, which depressed the load factor 2.4 percentage points to 61.6%. The carrier flew 138.9 million revenue passenger miles and 225.3 million available seat miles. Passengers flown increased 13.5% to 154,319. Subsidiary Skyway Airlines' traffic rose 7.2% to 5.8 million RPMs on 12.5 million ASMs, down 4.3%, pushing the load factor up 5 points to 46.3%. Passengers flown grew 8.2% to 26,078.
AirTran posted a 15.7% rise in traffic on 17.6% more capacity for December over the same month in 1997, depressing the load factor 0.9 percentage points. AirTran flew 254.2 million revenue passenger miles and 456.3 million available seat miles, creating a 55.7% load factor. Passengers flown grew 38.1% to 467,164. Year 1998 RPMs jumped 34% and ASMs 28% from 1997, boosting the load factor 2.6 points. Passengers flown increased 33.2%.
Denver-based Frontier reported a 37.4% jump in traffic on 23.5% more capacity for December 1998 compared with the same 1997 month, boosting the load factor 5.9 percentage points to 57.8%. The carrier flew 134.3 million revenue passenger miles and 232.4 million available seat miles. Passengers carried surged 35.8% to 149,941. Year-to-date RPMs increased 30.5% and ASMs 20.6%, pushing the load factor up 4.1 points. The number of passengers flown jumped 24%.
Air-India Employees Union, representing more than 13,000 of AI's roughly 18,500 employees, has asked the civil aviation ministry to move up the retirement age from 60 to 58 years. India last year introduced a 60-year limit for all its employees. The union said it fears the new limit will result in "demotivation" of AI personnel as vacancies at higher job levels would be blocked. AI management has not issued an official statement on the issue.
Jet fuel price declines have mirrored the plunging cost of gasoline at the street pump, and for airlines the savings during 1998 could reach $2 billion. The phenomenal drop in the price of jet fuel boosted airline profits but also masked a worsening unit revenue picture. "For 1998, without a fuel price drop, operating profits would have been down," said Edward Starkman, airline analyst with Warburg Dillon Read. He estimates that lower fuel prices mean $1.9-$2 billion in expense savings for U.S.
Cincinnati-based Comair, which flies as a Delta Connection carrier, reported a 23.2% surge in traffic on 23.1% more capacity for December 1998 compared with the same month in 1997, which left the load factor unchanged at 60.9%. Comair flew 184 million revenue passenger miles and 302 million available seat miles. Passengers flown grew 20.1% to 541,344. Year-to-date RPMs gained 17.1% on 11% more ASMs, boosting the load factor 5.5 points. Passengers flown jumped 16.6%.
United traffic for December rose 3.8% on 3.6% more capacity, which raised the load factor 0.1 percentage points to 69.4%. Pacific traffic fell 7.5% on 13.7% less capacity, boosting the load factor 4.8 points to 72.3%. North American traffic gained 7.2% on 7.6% more capacity, resulting in a 70.2% load factor, down 0.2 points. Atlantic traffic grew 6.7% on 15.5% more capacity, forcing load factor down 5.2 points to 64.0%. Latin American traffic increased 4% on 7.2% more capacity, lowering the load factor 2.0 points to 62.7%.
FAA yesterday issued a proposed rule amending slot allocations at the three high-density airports - Chicago O'Hare, New York LaGuardia and Washington Reagan - that are specifically addressed in the Feb. 24, 1995, bilateral agreement between the U.S. and Canada. The agreement provides that Canadian carriers will be able to obtain slots at the airports under the same prevailing allocation system as U.S. carriers. The base level of slots for Canada includes 42 at LaGuardia, plus 36 winter and 32 summer slots at O'Hare.
Lufthansa has installed automated check-in terminals complete with baggage loading systems at its Frankfurt hub. The Terminal 1 improvement enables passengers traveling with electronic tickets to check themselves in with touch-screen technology and place their bags on a conveyor belt, where they are shipped from one of six locations in the airport to the aircraft. The baggage terminals, which weigh baggage and print out a two-part tag for bags and passenger, can be used by all passengers traveling on nonstop flights operated by Lufthansa and SAS.
The 10 largest U.S. carriers achieved improved month-over-month and year-over-year records during November 1998 for on-time arrivals and mishandled baggage, according to DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report. The airlines posted an on-time record of 83.3% in November, higher than October's 81.7% and November 1997's 78.2%. The carriers' reported November mishandled-baggage rate, 4.21 per 1,000 passengers, was an improvement from the 4.39 posted in October and 4.66 in November 1997.
Virgin Express posted a 25.5% rise in December traffic on 18.8% more capacity, boosting the load factor 3.8 percentage points to 71.1%. The airline flew 231,107 passengers last month, up 32.6%.
Delta has graduated the first group of flight attendants who are trained to become on-board leaders. More than 4,400 flight attendants completed the special program, designed to emphasize commitment to superior customer service. The participants underwent interviews, assessments and performance reviews.
Sabena and El Al signed a pact under which all flights between Brussels and Tel Aviv will be code shared, starting April 1. The Belgian airline announced yesterday in Brussels that it will increase its services to Tel Aviv from five to six frequencies weekly on Jan. 17. Beginning in April 2000, flights will be daily. Starting in April 1999, El Al will operate five weekly frequencies to Brussels, with six weekly flights in April 2000.
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.), a member of the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, has introduced a bill in the House that would prohibit abuses in FAA's Liaison and Familiarization Training Program cited in the Transportation Inspector General's memo last year on the program.
U.S. and U.K. aviation representatives are scheduled to meet informally Feb. 17-19 in Washington, according to a British embassy official. Characterizing the talks as "exploratory" in nature, she said the meetings will be an opportunity for the two sides to "get back in touch" after formal negotiations held Oct. 5-7, 1998, in London broke down when the U.S. delegation walked out, citing "no possibility for making progress" (DAILY, Oct. 8, 1998). A DOT spokesman said that the U.S.
Thailand's Ministry of Transport and Communications (MTC) has proposed a computer reservations system code of conduct that would give the Amadeus CRS a monopoly for all domestic bookings made on Thai Airways International. The move would shut out Abacus International, which for four years has been asking Thai authorities to liberalize the CRS market instead. Abacus Chief Executive and President William Liu has urged Thailand to open up its CRS market to free and fair competition for the benefit of the country's travel trade.
America West reported a 3.8% rise in December traffic on 6.5% more capacity, lowering the load factor 1.6 percentage points to 62.8%. Traffic levels of 1.3 billion and 16.4 billion revenue passenger miles set records for December and the full year, respectively. The airline carried 17.85 million passengers last year, 2.6% less than the 18.33 million passengers transported in 1997. Dec 98 Dec 97 12 Mths 98 12 Mths 97 RPMs 1,337,052,000 1,228,226,000 16,370,438,000 16,204,139,000
Clinton administration has resubmitted to the Senate the names of Norman Mineta, John Paul Hammerschmidt and Ohio financier Robert Clark Browne to be members of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. Mineta was nominated for a six-year term, Hammerschmidt for four years and Brown for a term expiring Nov. 22. The nominations were made last Wednesday, the opening day of the new Congress.
U.S. Airports Operating and Financial Summary Small Hub Airports* Fiscal Year 1997 (Dollar Amounts in Thousands) Non- Operating Operating Total Operating Revenue Revenue Revenue Expenses Akron/Canton 3,593 2,387 5,980 3,347
Korean Air is the only carrier operating nonstop service from Seoul to the U.S., the U.K. and Switzerland following pullouts by Delta, United, Northwest, British Airways and Swissair, notes Craig Jenks, president of New York-based Airline/Aircraft Projects Inc. "It may be a comment on Korean Air's tenacity to stay in markets," he said, and it shows beyond-Tokyo rights to be "tactically very valuable in a point of economic downturn." When Korea's economy improves, he predicts re-entry with smaller aircraft, such as Boeing 777s.
Delta said yesterday it will add a $1 surcharge each way for each published fare component on all U.S. domestic service, including San Juan and the U.S. Virgin Islands, because of higher distribution costs in some channels.
FAA yesterday issued a final rule imposing severe payload limits on 727s that have been converted to cargo aircraft until the floor structure is reinforced or requalified to carry heavier loads. The agency said it will hold a meeting Jan. 20 in Seattle to "clearly communicate" the requirements of the long-anticipated airworthiness directive. The ADs affect about 270 aircraft in the U.S. fleet at an estimated cost of $192 million, according to FAA. Since there are four supplemental type certificate holders on the conversions, there are four separate ADs.
Airline management has spent the past year pushing employee groups that historically have not opted for representation into the arms of waiting unions, and 1999 will be the year unions reap the rewards. This will be the year that drives to organize the remaining non-unionized ground workers, ticket counter and reservations agents will succeed, especially as automation rises to threaten jobs.
Delta Air Line Pilots Association unit's current contract becomes amendable May 2, 2000, but Master Executive Council Chairman Chuck Giambusso handed Chief Executive Leo Mullin a proposal Friday to begin talks in September.The union is asking for early openers to solve some issues it believes might complicate negotiations, citing working conditions and eroding pilot morale. Giambusso asked Mullin to respond by Jan. 18.
Northwest traffic for December fell 4.2% on 1.6% less capacity, forcing the load factor down 1.6 percentage points to 69.4%. International traffic declined 8% on 6.1% less capacity, resulting in a 73.3% load factor, down 1.5 points. Domestic traffic dropped 1.5% on 2% more capacity, reducing the load factor 2.0 points to 67%. The airline carried 50.5 million passengers in 1998, 4.16 million fewer than in 1997. Last year, Northwest's traffic fell 7.3% on 5.8% less capacity, resulting in a 73.1% load factor, down 1.2 points. Cargo volume decreased 14.4%.
