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.
British Airways subsidiary Air Liberte and Corsair, the airline of French tour operator Nouvelles Frontieres, have lodged a complaint with the European Commission about French government plans to reorganize traffic distribution within the Paris airport system, a spokeswoman for European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock confirmed yesterday in Brussels. "We have received the complaint and we are looking into it," she said.
Acquisition of controlling interest in Continental by Northwest would reduce the chances that Continental's planned expansion at its Cleveland hub will include the launch of nonstop service to points Northwest already serves over Detroit, the Justice Department said last week in its attempt to block the transaction (DAILY, Oct. 26).
Air Transport Association and major carriers' attempts to defeat DOT's proposed competition guidelines are coming back to haunt them in the form of angry politicians and threats of even tighter controls, Business Travel Coalition President Kevin Mitchell charged last week. In a letter to Delta President and Chief Executive Officer Leo Mullin, Mitchell said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) has "declared war on major airlines" because of attempts to "subvert" his proposed legislation to open up high-density airports to new-entrant carriers.
Revised* Boeing 727-200 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Second Quarter 1998 B727-200 American Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 78 33 130 Total Fleet Operations Departures 276 115 691
Emirates has signed MedLink to provide service that will enable the airline to offer 24-hour air-to-ground medical assistance. The contract with the Phoenix-based firm, to begin Nov. 1, means Emirates will be the first airline in the Middle East to offer the service to distressed passengers.
The Senate confirmed Peter Basso as DOT assistant secretary for the Office of Budget and Programs and Ashish Sen as director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Basso, who has been acting director for more than a year, previously was deputy assistant secretary and has held financial and administrative positions in DOT's Federal Highway Administration. President Clinton nominated Basso in August (DAILY, Aug. 6) and Sen on Sept. 29.
Alaska Airlines parent Alaska Air Group became the latest company yesterday to post record third quarter profits, earning $45.4 million, up 7.6%. The results include a previously announced $10.1 million after-tax charge for a legal settlement. Without the one-time charge, profits would have jumped 32%. Alaska Chief Executive John Kelly noted that even with the special charge, the results set a record. "Everything came together," he said.
Emery Worldwide said it has deployed new "Hololrak" scanning workstations at its Dayton, Ohio, sorting center, "dramatically speeding the movement of freight through the facility by eliminating the need to scan bar codes manually with hand-held scanners." Several Hololrak workstations, which comprise an overhead scanner linked to a computer workstation on the dock floor, are installed at the bottom of Emery's "superslides," used to presort parcels weighing 70 pounds and less.
Midway Airlines, using a combination of smaller jets and an understanding of the Raleigh/Durham business market, has managed to stay profitable since it went public in October last year. Midway showed a net profit of $24.9 million in 1997, including net earnings of $2.6 million in the fourth quarter, the fifth consecutive quarter of record earnings (DAILY, Feb. 6). Yield grew 16.4% to 20.4 cents and revenue per available seat mile jumped 29% to 13.4 cents (DAILY, Feb. 10).
Frontier Airlines said yesterday it will lease two new 737-300s, one from Air New Zealand and the second from Heller Financial, Chicago. The two aircraft will go into service in mid-December, joining nine 737-300s and eight 737-200s. The carrier plans to begin serving three "major new markets in different areas of the country, starting in mid-December," said President Sam Addoms. He said the new points, to be announced soon, will bring to 18 the number of cities linked to Denver by Frontier.
Airborne Express reported net earnings of $32.8 million on revenues of $769.1 million for the third quarter. Comparison with the prior year are not meaningful since Airborne benefited in the third quarter 1997 from a strike at United Parcel Service, which added $55-$55 million to domestic revenues. Total net earnings for the third quarter 1997 were $46.6 million on revenues of $788.6 million. For the year to date, net earnings increased 11% to $99 million while revenues rose by 6% to $2.3 million.
American's investment in Aerolineas Argentinas and regional Austral, approved Friday by the carriers' board, is expected to close today or tomorrow. "We have not yet wired them the money, but the deal is done," American spokesman Mark Slitt said yesterday. American parent AMR Corp. has acquired 10% of Interinvest, a holding company that owns 85% of Aerolineas and 90% of Austral, which means AMR holds 8.5% of Aerolineas and 9% of Austral. Despite the minority holding, two American Airlines executives have been installed to run the Argentine carrier.
Emery Worldwide said yesterday it has formed a joint-venture company with China Elec-Trans International Service, a subsidiary of state-owned China National Electronics Import and Export Corp. The new company, Emery Worldwide International Transportation Co., will provide freight forwarding and logistics services through China. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation awarded the new company an "A" license, a full freight-forwarding license to engage in air freight, sea freight, customs clearance, warehousing, consolidation and other activities.
Singapore Airlines and South African Airways agreed over the weekend to form a strategic alliance that will go into effect April 1. The agreement will link Singapore and Johannesburg with cities beyond each carrier's hub. The alliance includes frequent flyer reciprocity, code sharing, network and schedule coordination, joint promotion and marketing. The two airlines also want to explore joint human resource development and training. SIA last week inked a similar pact with SAS, also beginning April 1.
American Eagle's rapid regional jet expansion now amounts to 90 departures per day from Chicago O'Hare, but the additions have not been too quick. Load factors are above 70% and the entire operation is "performing well," said American's Chief Financial Officer Gerard Arpey.
Amadeus and SITA have signed an agreement to offer SITA's Gabriel passenger inventory feature to Amadeus system user airline customers. System users - airlines that use the Amadeus system for both their internal reservations and external distribution operations - can receive an integrated service including neutral inventory hosting for one price. The agreement reinforces Amadeus's strategy of offering its customers the widest range of hosting partners possible.
FDX Corp. promoted Rodger Marticke to executive VP of subsidiary RPS and named Douglas Duncan president and chief executive of subsidiary Viking Freight, replacing Marticke.
Dick Gordon is getting good marks as acting director of flight standards since his appointment in July, according to FAA and industry sources. The job had been vacant for 19 months. "He is bringing accountability back into the organization," one source said.
My Flights and Fights by Max Karant with Charles Spence. Blends Karant's most unforgettable flights with his winning struggles to open up the airline-dominated skies to private pilots. McGraw-Hill; $29.95. To order, call 800-722-4726.
Federal Express pilots on Friday authorized the board of the Fedex Pilots Association to implement a no overtime flying policy. The FPA board will decide when to implement the policy.
