America West will launch nonstop service Feb. 1 between Phoenix and Monterey, Calif., offering four daily America West Express flights using 50-seat Canadair regional jets.
British Airways is taking a novel approach in its attempts to steer people to book flights via the Internet. BA is offering a $30 voucher for duty-free purchases to anyone booking U.S.-originating flights from any web site through Dec. 18.
Continental said Friday it ordered 10 767-200ER aircraft, completing its widebody fleet plan. The aircraft will have the same updated interior as the 26 767-400ERs the carrier already has ordered, and the same common type rating as Continental's 757s. Deliveries of the newly ordered aircraft are scheduled to begin in 2000. "The 767-200ER allows Continental to complete its fleet plan in 2005 with the same number of widebody seats as at the end of this year," said Gordon Bethune, chairman. They will replace 747s and DC-10s the carrier intends to retire, he said.
American Society of Mechanical Engineers named Paul MacCready, chairman of AeroVironment, the recipient of its Ralph Coats Roe Medal, recognizing outstanding contribution toward a better public understanding of the engineer's worth to contemporary society.
Continental asked DOT to grant it the Houston-Sao Paulo authority that it requested in the U.S.-Brazil combination service proceeding, subject to "an extended dormancy period of 18 months" rather that the standard 90 days. The proceeding, which involves the four U.S. carriers designated to serve Brazil - Continental, American, Delta and United - was instituted in May to allocate seven frequencies that became available Oct. 1 (DAILY, May 21).
DOT still has not announced its policy toward terrestrial navigation systems, trailing Congress and the appropriations process.The Coast Guard and FAA are actively spending money to upgrade Loran, which DOT has planned to phase out, while Congress is limiting the amount the agency can spend on programs involving the space-based Global Positioning System. Still to come: What the Federal Radionavigation Plan for 1998, already late, will say about keeping terrestrial programs alive.
Korean Air has launched a program that gives instant upgrades to business travelers and offers travel agents commissions as high as 25% for bookings. The Prestige Plus program is free and requires no coupons or certificates. Once signed up, members who purchase a full-fare economy-class ticket will be upgraded to business class if a seat is available, and those buying full-fare business class will fly first class.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is running a six-part series this week on the Aug. 21, 1995, crash of the ASA 529 Brasilia in Carroll County, Ga. Staff Writer Gary Pomerantz details the feelings of the 21 survivors - of 29 crew and passengers - including acts of heroism. The accident happened when a propeller blade on the left engine separated, resulting in excessive drag from distortion of the left nacelle after engine shutdown. The series does not denigrate the carrier. Internet access is http://ajr.newslink.org; newspapers; by state; Georgia.
Blue Dogs welcomed Bob Livingston (R-La.) as House Speaker and promptly pressed him to correct what the conservative Democrats consider underrepresentation of their party on House committees.If Republicans keep as many committee seats in the 106th Congress as they had the 105th, an allocation according to overall party ratios would increase Democratic seats by 56, including six on the Appropriations Committee and four on Transportation.
Qantas will add London Gatwick and Birmingham, U.K., and other points to its code share with British Airways. Qantas will code share on BA's flights from Birmingham to Australia six times a week and Frankfurt and Australia-Birmingham three times a week, all via Paris. Gatwick-Australia operates via Paris and Frankfurt as well. The connections will help with the new Qantas three-times-weekly Sydney-Paris service. BA will add its code to more Qantas connections in Europe on flights from Brisbane to Auckland and from Sydney to three cities in New Zealand.
Load factors for 16 regional airlines increased an average 1.7 percentage points during October, to 57.2% compared with 55.1% for the same month a year ago. United Express Air Wisconsin led the gainers with the biggest increase and the highest load factor. It posted a 69.96% load factor, up 7.7 percentage points from a year ago. Delta Connection Comair was second with 64.1%, up 1.4 points, followed by Horizon Air, up four points to 63.5%, and American Eagle, up 2.1 points to 61.8%. Only two carriers fell below the 50% level.
Air France flight attendants, who concluded a two-day strike Wednesday, said they will strike again if the airline's management does not respond to their demand for more money and fewer hours. Also, a fractional pilots union is threatening to strike next week to protest a management agreement with the larger Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL).
Leaders of United's Air Line Pilots Association unit and representatives of pilots at the six United Express carriers are meeting in Chicago to develop a coordination structure similar to that of pilots at the Star Alliance airlines. The meeting, organized by the United ALPA Master Executive Council, began yesterday and is scheduled to end this afternoon. Coordination efforts are to include scheduling, training and safety. ALPA represents pilots at three of the Express carriers and the Teamsters at two.
Canadian Airlines said yesterday it will pay U.S.-based travel agents an 8% commission for international tickets capped at US$100 for roundtrips and US$50 one way. Canadian follows United, Delta and its code-share partner American, which capped international commissions this week. In a statement, Canadian said it "sets its commission policies independently and will make no further comment on this announcement."
BWIA International Airways of Trinidad has signed an agreement with Bombardier Aerospace to buy two 50-passenger Dash 8 Q300 aircraft and take two options, Bombardier announced. The two firm orders will be delivered in January; the optioned aircraft, if taken, could be delivered before the end of next year, Bombardier said. The deal was valued at about $27.2 million.
St. George, Utah-based SkyWest declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of three cents per common share, payable Jan. 15, 1999, for shareholders of record Dec. 31, 1998.
U.S. National Carriers Traffic October, 10 Months 1998 October October % 1998 1997 Change Air Wisconsin Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 83,163 49,214 69.0 Available Seat Miles (000) 118,864 79,075 50.3 Load Factor (%) 70.0 62.2
Confirming long-standing reports that a deal was brewing (DAILY, Sept. 2), American agreed yesterday to buy Reno Air for $124 million in cash in a move that turns the fiercely competitive West Coast into a four-carrier race, with Southwest, United and Alaska Airlines firmly bunkered from San Diego to Seattle. Reno's board unanimously approved the merger and recommended that stockholders tender their shares to American.
DOT Office of Inspector General said this week that a plan by FAA and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association to reduce the number of supervisors by one-third "will not have an adverse impact" on safety. But FAA must first identify and implement the duties that bargaining unit members acting as controllers-in-charge (CIC) will assume from supervisors, the IG said.
The right mix of infrastructure and environmental policies can enable Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to more than double its level of operations by 2010 without breaching current noise limits, according to a report from the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (NBEPA). The report, issued this week, said Schiphol could increase its "environmental capacity" to 450,000-500,000 aircraft movements per year by 2010 by adapting operations within current noise restrictions.
Salomon Smith Barney analyst Brian Harris yesterday downgraded the Big Three airline stocks - American, United and Delta - due to weak unit revenue performance reflected in October data revealed on Wednesday. After U.S. stock markets closed Wednesday, U.S. carriers said via the Air Transport Association that revenue per available seat mile (RASM) fell 3.1% year-over-year in October to 9.66 cents. The decline was driven by lower yields, which fell 4.2% as load factors rose 0.8 percentage points to 69.4%.
ERJ-145 manufacturer Embraer posted net earnings of $65.7 million for its first fiscal three quarters ended Sept. 30 on gross sales of $934.4 million. Those figures compare with a $68.3 million net loss on $425.5 million in gross sales for the comparable period in 1997. The September 1996 nine-month period was worse still - an $88.6 million net loss on $187.2 million in gross sales.
