TWA recorded a 6.5% decline in December traffic on 4.5% less capacity, which lowered the load factor 1.4 percentage points to 66.1%. Domestic traffic fell 2.9% on 0.4% less capacity, reducing the load factor 1.7 points to 66%. International traffic fell 20% on 20.2% less capacity, resulting in a load factor of 66.6%, flat year-over-year. For 1998, TWA boarded 24 million passengers, up 2.3%, and its system load factor rose 2.5 points to 71.4%, its highest level since 1978. Dec 98 Dec 97 12 Mths 98 12 Mths 97
US Airways told DOT that "the U.S. government now finds itself in the difficult position of honoring the legitimate rights of foreign carriers and of having serious problems enforcing the legitimate rights of U.S. carriers." The carrier was responding to comments by American and Delta on requests by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways for slots at Chicago O'Hare (DAILY, Dec. 14). American and Delta have been denied commercially viable slots at Tokyo Narita. DOT "should clarify government policy regarding U.S.
AirTran is offering its Grade A fare sale for travel Jan. 7-Feb. 28. A three-day advance purchase is required and tickets must be purchased by Jan. 14. Blackout dates are Feb. 12-15. Sample one-way fares are $39 Atlanta-Fort Walton Beach, $49 Boston-Philadelphia and $99 Houston-Orlando.
Kellstrom Industries said it has completed the acquisition of Solair from Banner Aerospace for about $57 million and a warrant to purchase Kellstrom stock at $27.50 a share. The purchase established Kellstrom in the avionics and high-end, after-market rotables business with the Solair brand name. Solair has facilities in Florida and Atlanta.
Comair, operating as Delta Connection, is expanding nonstop jet service to Nassau, Bahamas, New Orleans and Fort Myers, Fla., from its Orlando hub, beginning on Feb. 1. Comair will upgrade two nonstop Nassau-Orlando flights to jet service, add a nonstop New Orleans-Orlando jet flight and upgrade one roundtrip Fort Myers-Orlando flight to jet service. It also plans to become the first regional carrier to install automatic external defibrillators on board every aircraft. The installations will begin this year and will be completed by 2000, Comair said yesterday.
U.S. Carriers Landing Fees Third Quarter 1998 Major Carriers Cost Landing Fees Per Landing Alaska 6,836,000 151.88 America West 8,402,157 163.22 American 63,103,000 313.65 Continental 33,133,000 281.77 Delta 61,275,000 251.68
FAA has rated Costa Rica as "conditional," or Category II, which means the country's aviation oversight authority does not meet the safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Aircraft noise is dying quietly as an issue in this last year of operating older, Stage 2 aircraft in the U.S., but pressure is building, especially in Europe, for even more stringent standards. Jet aircraft noise, which once aroused the ire of entire U.S. communities, is now the source of occasional complaints, mainly around airports that receive frequent service by older 727s. This time next year, even those airports will be much quieter, said James Erickson, director of FAA's Office of Environment and Energy.
KLM and partner Braathens will enlarge their joint Amsterdam-Norway flight frequencies, effective March 28. KLM said the expansion is in response to passenger demand. The two airlines, which allied in August, will add two Norwegian destinations and raise frequencies and capacity on existing routes. KLM Cityhoppper will begin three daily Amsterdam-Sandefjord flights using 80-seat Fokker 70s and three Amsterdam-Kristiansand daily roundtrips using Fokker 50s.
Malaysia Airlines will implement a systemwide restructuring, shedding 27% of its work force and bringing home more than 1,100 employees stationed abroad, under plans to be submitted this week to top management. With the start of its 1999-2000 fiscal year April 1, the carrier will set up four main divisions - Virtual Airline, Physical Airline, Shared Services and Derivative Business. Virtual Airline will oversee reservations, traffic, sales and marketing, passenger services, cargo operations, security and ticketing.
Aerospace Industries Association President John Douglass says none of his member companies has expressed particular concern about the impact of the euro on their business.Douglass said AIA sees "no substantive advantage shifting to the euro at this time." The euro was introduced Jan. 1 in 11 European countries, including such big U.S. trading partners as Germany and France.
The Dutch government has made its choices for the future of The Netherlands' air transport sector with a decision to focus development on Schiphol Airport for the medium term. The decision narrows the government's long-term options to Schiphol or the construction of an auxiliary airport on an artificial island in the North Sea. After nearly a year of analysis, the Dutch cabinet announced that The Netherlands' aviation infrastructure and traffic development will remain focused on Schiphol until 2010.
U.S. airlines will waive penalties and rebook flights for military personnel whose non-refundable holiday travel plans were upended by U.S. and British attacks on Baghdad in Operation Desert Fox. U.S. Transportation Command reports that it has worked out separate agreements with American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, Reno Air, Southwest, TWA, United and US Airways for refunds or alternate travel arrangements under specific conditions. Terms vary. American will waive its $75 administrative charge through Jan.
Abacus International has re-introduced its Ticketed Passive Billing scheme, suspended last March when Abacus host migrated to Sabre, to help participating airlines manage distribution costs. Under Ticketed Passive Billing, passive segments booked on Abacus will be charged only if they are auto-ticketed via the Abacus system. An airline will be given a credit if a ticket is voided or deleted in the system.
Fierce snow and ice storms that hammered the U.S. Northeast and Midwest during the weekend caused airlines to ground thousands of flights, leaving more than 100,000 passengers stranded. Airlines were rebooking passengers on flights yesterday and today, lifting load factors from the 70s to the 80s. Chicago was hit by its worst snowstorm in more than 30 years, and nearly two feet of snow snarled air traffic at O'Hare Airport and almost shut down Midway on Saturday.
Number of scheduled courier flights departing U.S. cities will top a record-high 40,000 this year, according to William Bates, president of the International Association of Air Travel Couriers, which publishes The Air Courier Bulletin. "We are beginning 1999 with 40% more courier flights than we had just six months earlier," Bates said. He attributed the growth to the opening of new routes to destinations such as Athens and Kuala Lumpur, the addition of Boston and Orlando as new courier cities and a stronger schedule from Washington, D.C.
Continental has asked DOT to dismiss a complaint filed by United States Travel Agent Registry (USTAR) after Continental and other carriers capped commissions on international travel booked by U.S. travel agents. USTAR filed against Continental, United, Delta and American in November claiming the airlines were practicing unfair discrimination against U.S. travel agents by capping their international commissions (DAILY, Dec. 3).
National Transportation Safety Board Vice Chairman Robert Francis is on his third circumnavigation of the world. Francis leaves today for an American Association of Airport Executives meeting in Hawaii. He departs Jan. 7 for Manila for talks with the minister of transport and leaves Manila Jan. 12 for Hong Kong, where he will meet with officials at Cathay Pacific. He departs Jan. 13 for New Delhi and will be keynote speaker for the Aeronautical Society of India. On Jan. 20, Francis will depart for London, arriving back in the U.S. on Jan. 22.
Frontier Airlines has named Sean Menke director-planning and scheduling, including market selection and aircraft resource allocation. Menke most recently was senior planner-domestic scheduling planning at United.
Maintenance of all engines on an airplane at the same time or by the same team "presents the potential for error and the possible loss of thrust from all engines," according to two Boeing engineers. If possible, scheduled maintenance should be staggered to avoid multi-engine maintenance by the same personnel during a single shop visit, say Thomas Murray, a safety engineering analyst, and Vince Robel, manager of 777 engine programs.
Castle Harlan, a New York merchant bank, said it is acquiring AMR Services from AMR Corp. AMR Services provides ground services for 200-plus airlines at more than 60 major airports in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia.
DOT deferred through March 5 the period for taking action on United's complaint against the European Commission and the national authorities of Germany, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, at the carrier's request. United filed a complaint July 8 with DOT on the conditions, precluding bilateral open-skies rights, the EC wants to impose on the carrier's alliances with Lufthansa and SAS (DAILY, July 9).
European Union efforts to regulate slot trading strictly are misplaced and irrelevant in light of the sector's long-established practice, airline and national aviation experts said at a slots seminar presented last month by the European Aviation Club in Brussels. "The EU is convinced that slot trading is the most important aspect facing liberalization of Europe's air transport industry, but in reality it has been taking place for years and is a political issue beyond [airport slot] coordinators' control," Eric Herbane, Paris airports coordinator, told participants.
