Northwest is taking a new approach to trying to lure back strike-bitten business travelers. The airline is offering a free unrestricted trip to people who buy two full-fare tickets by Dec. 18. Northwest also is giving away double miles on business-fare tickets through Nov. 30.
Changes in air service agreements between nations, open-skies policies and the availability of economically efficient twinjets may increase point-to- point operations between North America and Asia and lead to North Pacific extended-range twin-engine operations rivaling the current level in the North Atlantic, according to Boeing Co. In its latest Aero publication for the aviation industry, Boeing noted that ETOPS routes are flown worldwide but "dominate traffic in the North Atlantic market." The company reported increasing interest in ETOPS by U.S.
Frontier Airlines reported a 22.9% rise in traffic and 15.3% more capacity in October, compared with the same month last year. The carrier flew 109.5 million revenue passenger miles and 203.1 million available seat miles, which pushed the load factor up 3.3 percentage points to 53.9%..Passengers boarded grew 11.9% to 115,759. Year-to-date, Frontier's RPMs jumped 35.9% on 32.2% more ASMs, boosting the load factor 1.6 points. Passengers were up 13.9%.
The language of the fiscal 1999 FAA appropriations conference report on overflight user fees amounts to a vote of no confidence that the agency will come up with a fee schedule anytime soon, congressional aviation sources agree. Approving a $5.563 billion FAA operating expenses budget, in addition to the mandatory appropriation of user fees, the conferees said that due to agency delays in addressing legal concerns over the proposed fees, the agency is not expected to realize any income from overflight fees in fiscal 1999, which began Oct. 1.
Southwest will offer Saturday-only nonstops from Reno to Austin, Houston Hobby and San Antonio, starting Jan. 16, charging one-way fares of $89. Joyce Rogge, VP-marketing, said the aircraft used for the flights normally would sit on the ground as part of the carrier's reduced Saturday schedule. In April, Southwest introduced Saturday-only nonstops from Las Vegas to Spokane, New Orleans and Tulsa, and from St. Louis to Fort Lauderdale.
United VP-government and international affairs Cyril Murphy, a key figure in development of the carrier's alliance strategy, yesterday was named VP- international network development. Murphy, a native Californian, will be based at the carrier's Western Regiona l office in Los Angeles and report to senior VP-international Stuart Oran, and will work on expanding United's alliances in Asia with an initial focus on China.
British Airways has retired the first 747-100 to join its fleet. The aircraft, purchased in May 1970, clocked 102,000 hours on nearly 21,000 flights. BA, which just took delivery of its 50th 747-400, will retire all 15 of its 747-100s by 2000. It sold them to AAR Corp. and European Aviation Ltd.
A pilo ts strike at Federal Express would have little impact on the U.S. economy and would shut most of the cargo carrier's operations down despite the company's plans to keep going, airline industry consultants and economists say. On Tuesday, FedEx announced a three-pronged approach to keep flying through a strike - reconfiguring its domestic air system, expanding its ground network and operating the international portion of its air network through contract airlift (DAILY, Nov. 11).
Air France has signed a five-year commercial accord with Air Mauritius that will begin this winter. The airlines together offer 12 weekly flights on the Paris-Mauritius route, with two stopping on the neighboring French island of Reunion. Air France flies five of the 12 flights with two-class 747s, while Air Mauritius offers the remaining seven using three-class A340s.
City of Dallas told DOT it does not support the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport board's motion for DOT to mediate in the legal and political moras s surrounding use of Dallas Love Field.
Japan's customs agency ordered two Vivid Technologies detection systems to screen incoming baggage for drugs at Tokyo Narita Airport. The sale is Vivid's first in Japan and its first for automated inspection of inbound baggage. Vivid said it also received orders for its explosives detection systems from Teesside Airport, U.K., and Amsterdam Schiphol. These systems will be used to inspect baggage prior to loading.
UPS yesterday said revenue for the September quarter grew 28% to $6.2 billion from $4.8 billion the same period last year, when there was a 15- day strike against the company. Net income rose to $449 million from a loss of $10 million. For the first nine months, revenues jumped 11% to $18.1 billion from $16.3 billion and net income surged 126% to $1.3 billion from $558 million. Domestic revenues for the first nine months totaled $15.8 billion, up 11.2% from $14.2 billion, and international revenues amounted to $2.3 billion, up 10.1% from $2.1 billion.
LanChile posted lower third quarter profits but said cargo yield and demand improved. The airline's profits for the quarter fell to US$2.1 million from $17 million and net margins dropped to 2.5% from 9.2%. The carrier, which foreshadowed the lower earnings last week (DAILY, Nov. 3), said increasing international competition hurt earnings and weaker regional traffic hurt demand. Passenger yield declined 14%, but cargo yield grew 11.4% and cargo revenue 16.8%. Cargo comprises 30% of revenue. Total revenue rose 1.3% to $255 million. For the nine months ended Sept.
International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA), meeting in Palm Springs, Calif., yesterday adopted a resolution to promote the use of Loran -C for "augmentation and as a back-up" for Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) such as GPS and Glonass. IAOPA noted that FAA was threatening to abandon Loran but that a European Loran-C chain "will be extended and improved." IAOPA supported the development of t he next generation of GNSS but said GNSS frequency protection from competing uses is critical.
British Airways had the lowest 1997 operating cost per available seat kilometer among the major European airlines, 8.4 U.S. cents, followed by KLM with 8.8 cents and Lufthansa with 9.6 cents.But Austrian Airlines had the best spread between breakeven load factor and actual, 5.2 percentage points, followed by KLM and BA, according to Merrill Lynch data.
TWA will begin nonstop service from New York Kennedy to Nassau in the Bahamas on Feb. 11. The roundtrip MD-83 service will operate every day except Wednesdays and TWA will be the only airline in the market. The flight is offered in cooperation with the Bahamian Ministry of Tourism and New Jersey-based tour operator Nassau Paradise Island Express.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic April 1998 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 84 2.08 1,105 92,912 3.00
United States Travel Agent Registry (USTAR) said the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) abused its trust and the confidence of travel agents recently when it abandoned plans to allow U.S. travel agents to operate satellite ticket printers (STPs) outside the U.S. The plan, which USTAR said was under study for five years, would have enabled agents to generate tickets to STPs for corporate or networke d agencies on a global basis.
Delta, Continental, Tower, TWA, US Airways and United filed a joint motion yesterday urging DOT to "take immediate action to dismiss" the American-British Airways immunized alliance application and cautioning against any action that would allow the two carriers to implement a phased alliance in advance of full U.S.-U.K. open skies.
Cincinnati-based Comair, which flies as a Delta Connection carrier, reported 18.5% more traffic and 15.6% more capacity in October 1998 than in the same month last year, which caused the load factor to rise 2.5 percentage points to 64.1%. Comair flew a record 195.5 million revenue passenger miles and 304.7 million available seat miles. Passenger enplanements jumped 15.4% to 568,462. Year-to-date, the carrier reported a 16.1% gain in RPMs on 8.9% more ASMs, which raised the load factor 6.6 points. Passenger enplanements increased 15.9%.
DOT Office of Inspector General (OIG) told FAA it is conducting an analysis of assumptions used to project aviation trust fund receipts, and it plans to begin an audit Dec. 7 to determine whether FAA has effective oversight over manufacturers' quality assurance systems for threaded fasteners.
