Federal Express and its pilots union, the Fedex Pilots Association (FPA), will resume contract talks today in Memphis, but the two sides still are far apart on important pay and work rule issues, FPA said yesterday. The union, which claims it remains under the National Mediation Board's release from mediation of several years ago when pilots were represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, is committed to an agreement, FPA VP Byron Cobb told The DAILY. He added, however, that the union will not back off from a holiday strike if the talks fail.
TWA's fixed costs did not shrink in the third quarter as fast as its overall capacity, which was down 10% year-over-year, pointing to one of several core issues the airline still faces to achieve profitability. TWA has maintenance, reservations, administration and head count inefficiencies it needs to address, including overseas employee issues unresolved 10 months after it trimmed international routes. The airline lost $5.3 million in the normally profitable third quarter (DAILY, Oct. 22) as its unit costs shot up 10.6% to 9.2 cents.
DOT issued an order yesterday granting exemptions for two New York LaGuardia slots each to Pro Air, for nonstop service to Detroit City, and Spirit, for nonstops to Myrtle Beach, enabling each carrier to operate a daily roundtrip. The slots became available by the return of four slots by AirTran, which received slots for recently scrapped Knoxville-LaGuardia plans.
Long-term growth of the world's air cargo fleet of 6.4% annually will create a need for more than 1,000 additional jet freighters in the next 20 years, according to Boeing's yearly World Air Cargo Forecast, issued yesterday. The Asia-related air freight market will slow, but "its growth rates will still lead the rest of the industry," the forecast says. Air cargo currently accounts for about 13% of passenger airlines' revenue "and may grow at a faster pace as customers require additional value-added services."
Travelocity, the online travel booking web site, at www. travelocity.com, and Visa have formed a marketing alliance in which Travelocity will designate Visa its preferred payment card. Visa will receive prominent branding and banner advertising on the web site. The partners will collaborate on a series of promotions designed to encourage online consumers to shop Travelocity and use their Visa cards for online purchases. Travelocity will be featured as Visa's Merchant of the Month at www.visa.com.
Congress will not second-guess DOT's proposed competition policy, DOT Deputy Secretary Mort Downey said in a review of the DOT budget in the omnibus spending bill signed last week by President Clinton - it is "just staking out an appropriate role." He noted that the National Academy of Sciences competition study will be on a "parallel path" to DOT's review and analysis of airline competition data.
FAA named Howard Wesoky its first chief scientific and technical adviser for environment in the Office of Environment and Energy. Wesoky will advise the agency on environmental issues related to aircraft operations, including noise, sonic boom and engine emissions. Wesoky spent 34 years at NASA, most recently as team leader for environmental compatibility assessment in the Office of Aero-Space Technology.
Horizon Air is adding a third daily nonstop flight between Seattle and Sun Valley and a fourth flight on weekends, starting Dec. 17. The new schedule will increase flights from 18 to 23 roundtrips per week. Between Jan. 9 and Feb. 5, the additional nonstop flight will operate on weekends only. It will resume weekdays Feb. 6-April 3.
Former American Chief Executive Robert Crandall said yesterday he is astounded by DOT's attempts to impose competition guidelines, calling them short-sighted and blaming the federal government for creating many of the woes it is now trying to regulate. Crandall, accepting the 1998 Aero Club Trophy for Aviation Excellence, in Washington, D.C., said, "God did not create airline slots, the FAA did" because FAA was unwilling to let market forces solve airport congestion problems.
Southwest carried 40.3% of the 44.3 million domestic O&D passengers who had to fly last year in "monopoly" markets in which only one carrier had more than a 5% share, according to an ACCESS USA study.The combined share of US Airways, Delta, Continental, United, Northwest and American was 38.2%. ACCESS USA, initially funded by United and Delta, says the prospective domestic alliances among the six big hub carriers would introduce a second competitor in 16 of the top 50 domestic monopoly markets.
Northwest, which won DOT approval this month for its code share with Air China, petitioned DOT to review a staff action that attached a condition it said will "expose the parties to free-riders which have not made the investments that underlie this arrangement." DOT conditioned its approval "to preclude the carriers from exercising the exclusivity provisions" in their agreement "to the extent that they would prevent Northwest and Air China from entering into cooperative service arrangements with U.S.
Triumph Group, an overhaul and repair business, acquired DG Industries, which specializes in precision machining of hydraulic and pneumatic aerospace parts.
Northwest's 15-member Northwest Airlines Meteorology Association unanimously ratified a new contract yesterday, gaining 18% in pay raises before the next amendable date, a 3.5% one-time, lump-sum signing bonus and improvements in work rules and retirement. Northwest isn't having as much luck with its other unions. Flight attendants will rally Thursday at the state capitol in St. Paul, Minn., with more to follow in other cities, and mechanics still seek release from mediation.
Northwest and Air China will consummate their alliance relationship this morning with an announcement in New York.They have planned a code share since 1996 with flight links, frequent flyer reciprocity, joint marketing and through check-in.
Heico Corp. announced that its Heico Aerospace Holding Corp. subsidiary, which is 20% owned by Lufthansa, acquired Aircraft Composite Inc., a Miami-based repair and overhaul company.
American objected yesterday to DOT's tentative allocation of 97 additional Chicago-London winter-season frequencies to United and 32 to American (DAILY, Oct.
Korean Air continues to confront safety and structural issues in the wake of the Korean government's decree that the carrier must cut 20% of its domestic service for six months. The curtailment, which began over the weekend, covers 138 weekly flights and has forced the airline to cut 10 domestic routes from its network. The government action came shortly after the airline had another incident - an MD-82 with faulty brakes skidded off the runway in Ulsan during heavy rains.
Air Canada launched daily nonstop flights yesterday from Toronto to New Orleans, saying they are the first scheduled service in the market. The carrier is using DC-9s with 16 executive-class and 75 hospitality-class seats.
Metropolitan Airports Task Force praised local legislators for stopping - for now - increased operations that would have resulted from exemptions to slot controls and the perimeter rule at Washington Reagan Airport. Task force President Leo Schefer cited Sen. Charles Robb (D-Va.) as the only senator to vote against the legislation, hatched by Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.).
Cirrus Design Corp. has received FAA approval to build its new SR20, described as the "first and only general aviation aircraft to be certified with an airframe parachute system." The company said the parachute can "safely lower the aircraft to the ground in the event of an emergency." Cirrus said it has more than 200 orders for the SR20.
Delta President Leo Mullin will be the speaker Thursday at the International Aviation Club's monthly luncheon, to take place be in the Caucus Room at 345 Cannon House Office Building.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater, speaking Friday in Des Moines at an airline deregulation and competition forum, said Iowa is one of the "pockets of pain" feeling the effects of declining competition. He noted that among the 5,500 comments DOT is reviewing on its proposed competition policy is a letter from the managing owner of the Iowa Barnstormers football team, "whose opponents sometimes must fly into and ride a bus to Des Moines," and other Iowa travelers who "often must drive to Kansas City or Omaha to find affordable flights."
Italian carriers Alitalia and Meridiana criticized traffic disruptions Sunday on the first day of operations at Milan Malpensa Airport. Reporting "more problems than expected," Alitalia asked airport company SEA to take corrective steps as quickly as possible. Meridiana said some of its aircraft were forced to park near a terminal where no fuel was available. SEA Chairman Giuseppe Bonomi replied that "the worst [was] over" and noted that the baggage-handling system "held out," unlike the one at Hong Kong's new airport at Chek Lap Kok.
