Olympic Airways pilots have been conducting a work-to-rule action since the beginning of the year, causing delays and postponement last weekend of two flights by 24 hours. The pilots refuse to work overtime and want the Greek carrier to hire more cockpit personnel. On Tuesday, a meeting between pilot union representatives and the company's management failed to resolve the conflict.
National Transportation Safety Board data show only one fatality in Part 121 operations in 1998 and none among the 615 million passengers carried by the airlines.The single fatality was a ground crewmember struck by a rotating propeller on an Express Airlines I Saab 340.
House Aviation subcommittee chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.) said yesterday he is concerned that the 14-month schedule slip in the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) program (DAILY, Jan. 6) likely will increase the price tag for the $3 billion navigation system. Interviewed in the House as Congress began its new session, Duncan told The DAILY, "I'm sure in the end we'll have a good state-of-the-art system," but it will be expensive. Congress's responsibility, he added, is to see that costs are kept down and the taxpayers get value for their money.
KLM traffic for December was up 1% on 2% more capacity, lowering the load factor 0.3 percentage points to 72.6%. For the second straight month, KLM posted load factor gains on routes to the Asia/Pacific region. In December, the Asian load factor grew to 72.5% from 66.8% after climbing a similar amount in November. Traffic rose on routes to Africa, up 18%; the Middle East and South Asia, 13%; Asia/Pacific, 6%; and Europe, 8%. The load factor declined to 75.2% on routes to Africa, where traffic rose in double digits but fell short of 21% capacity growth.
American Eagle's jump to 13 million passenger enplanements in 1998 puts it ahead of most of the world's flag carriers. Eagle flew more people last year than Singapore, Swissair, Varig, Cathay Pacific or Air China did in 1997.
FAA and industry officials yesterday announced the launch of an ambitious program that, if successful initially, will make American the first airline to use controller-pilot data link communications (CPDLC) en route - by mid-2002 at Miami Airport. In subsequent phases, the technology will spread to other user groups nationwide for airport and oceanic applications. Robert Baker, executive VP-operations for American, told a packed auditorium at FAA that the program's launch made yesterday a "ground-breaking day."
TWA is offering a fare sale on international and domestic flights for tickets purchased until tomorrow. Offpeak roundtrip fares are $198-$298 in U.S. markets and $198-$698 for international travel. Domestic fares require a seven-day advance purchase and travel must be completed by April 30. International travel must begin by March 31 for Europe, April 27 for Mexico and the Caribbean, and May 15 for Cairo. Domestic travel requires at least a Saturday night stay. Sample roundtrip fares include $258 St.
India's Directorate-General for Civil Aviation withheld permission for British Airways to operate extra holiday flights between India and London late in December and early this month, and Air-India management is to blame, BA officials said. More than 3,500 passengers booked on flights between Mumbai and New Delhi and London - add-ons to those allowed under the U.K.-India bilateral that BA scheduled pending clearance - were accommodated on other carriers' flights to London via third-country stopovers.
Airlines Reporting Corporation has suspended its agreement with Swiss World Airways after learning that the carrier suspended all operations without announcing a resumption date. Validated transactions for the airline will cease on Jan. 24. Unless Swiss World announces resumption of scheduled service by Feb. 4, ARC's agreement will be terminated without notice.
Horizon Air is offering discounts of up to 35% for travel through June 12 on tickets purchased by Jan. 13. The sale applies to flights from California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta. Sale fares also are available to many cities in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles areas, and to other destinations served by Horizon's mainline company, Alaska Airlines.
Northwest and Continental begin domestic code sharing today on 850 flights that cover 95 destinations worldwide. Continental gains access to cities like Boise and Knoxville, while Northwest will be able to sell tickets to Daytona Beach and Corpus Christi. Starting Jan. 8, Continental will code share on Northwest's service to Canada. On Dec. 29, the carriers began code sharing on 28 weekly flights between the U.S. and Japan, as well as 21 weekly frequencies from Tokyo to Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.
United has set a financial goal of 11.8% pre-tax profit margin this year on a fully distributed basis.The airline, linking pre-tax margin to financial efficiency, calls the goal aggressive. Last year's objective was 12.4%. Some of the money generated by increased margin has helped pay down debt and enhance customer service.
Aloha Airlines has installed automatic external defibrillators on all its aircraft. The carrier said it is the first U.S. scheduled carrier to equip its entire fleet voluntarily. It installed the AEDs on all 18 of its 737s following completion of training for its inflight personnel.
Continental today will put its newest 777-200 into service on the Newark-London route and the aircraft soon will appear on flights from Newark to Paris, Frankfurt and Manchester, U.K.
President Clinton this week authorized expansion of charter passenger flights to Cuba and "an effort to establish direct mail service to Cuba" along with other "authorized measures designed to ease the plight of the Cuban people and help prepare them for a democratic future" while maintaining the 36-year embargo against the Communist Castro regime. James Dobbins, State Department senior director for inter-American affairs, said charter flights, which had been limited to service between Miami and Havana, will be permitted from other points in the U.S.
Sun Country is offering a $99 companion ticket with a roundtrip purchase between Minneapolis and Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Detroit and Cleveland.
Aviation Industry Stock Performance The Year 1998 12/31/98 11/30/98 10/29/98 9/30/98 Majors Alaska Air Group ALK 48.563 55.063 54.188 56.188 America West (Class B) AWA 21.813 24.875 25.625 30.250 AMR 1 AMR 126.500 126.563 143.188 152.500 Continental (Class B) CAI.B 46.375 50.250 58.813 58.750
US Airways yesterday added new MetroJet nonstop flights from Fort Lauderdale to Hartford and Washington Dulles, operating two daily nonstop roundtrip flights in each market. Lowest advance purchase fares are $69 for Washington Dulles-Fort Lauderdale and $77 for Hartford-Fort Lauderdale. The standard one-way walkup fare on both routes is $161.
British Airways passenger traffic for December increased 10.5% on 9.9% more capacity, boosting the load factor 0.4 percentage points to 64.9%. Premium traffic fell 3.6%, however, after declining 2.9% in November and 2.4% in October. Leisure traffic rose 12.9%, intercontinental traffic 11% and U.K./Europe traffic 8.2%. Cargo traffic gained 2.3%. It is "too early" to comment on booking trends for 1999, BA said, but the current outlook supports its intention to grow very slowly during the next three years.
House aviation leaders yesterday introduced legislation that would place the Airport and Airways Trust Fund off budget, a perennial goal of those seeking higher and more secure funding for aviation projects. The congressmen, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R-Pa.) and ranking member James Oberstar (D-Minn.), also introduced a bill that would extend spending authority for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) to Sept. 30. The AIP program is currently set to expire March 31.
Coast Rica's downgrade by FAA to the Category 2 safety standard (DAILY, Jan. 6) will quash expansion plans by the country's flag carrier, LACSA, part of Grupo TACA and an alliance partner of American. "We understand that FAA is actually freezing LACSA's Ops Specs retroactive to August 1998 and will not allow any of the half dozen or so new aircraft placed on the certificate to operate to the United States," said Bob Booth, president of Miami-based Aviation Management Services and a longtime Latin American aviation advocate.
In the U.S., from which many aviation trends emanate, the major airlines have taken a new, more aggressive tone against rival carriers. But, contrary to what DOT would like you to believe, this latest round of aggressive pricing and route expansion has been directed not at low-cost new entrants but at other major airlines. As Asia's economies crumbled and U.S.-U.K. talks stalled, airlines everywhere increasingly turned their attention toward domestic markets. As foreign carriers sort out local economic troubles and newly deregulated aviation bylaws, U.S.
Delta yesterday committed resources to four European destinations for its summer 1999 schedule, including Atlanta's first nonstops to Athens, Barcelona and Istanbul. The airline also will begin shared New York Kennedy service to Shannon and Dublin. The substantial expansion from the carrier's Atlanta hub is part of its "dual gateway strategy" that builds on its major presence from JFK, according to Fred Reid, executive VP and chief marketing officer.
Fairchild Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kaynar Technologies, a maker of aerospace and industrial fasteners based in Orange, Calif. Fairchild, Dulles, Va., said the purchase price is about $267 million, or $28.75 per common share, plus assumption of $98 million in debt. Most Kaynar stockholders have voted for the deal, but the transaction is subject to financing and regulatory approval.
United will announce today that is increasing by 60% the number of daily departures from its Washington Dulles hub starting April 4, including a significant increase in transcontinental service to four West Coast points and to Boston, The DAILY has learned. The move will elevate Dulles to a full-fledged hub for the airline, which to date has just 73 daily flights at the facility. In the first phase, United will add service to 13 U.S. cities, increasing departures to 117, but it is contemplating more international service.
