Canadian Airlines' traffic and capacity declined domestically in August but increased internationally and overall. The carrier reported a system-wide increases of 5.9% in revenue passenger miles to 1.9 billion and 9.6% in available seat miles to 2.4 billion, which pushed the load factor down 2.8 percentage points to 78.5%. Domestic RPMs dropped 1.4% to 579 million and ASMs 4.2% to 703 million, creating a 2.4-point increase in the load factor to 82.4%.
Milwaukee-based Midwest Express Airlines and Reno, Nevada-based Reno Air have signed a letter of intent to enter a code-share agreement that would take effect early next year. Under the code share, Midwest Express passengers originating in Milwaukee or Omaha will be able to connect in Los Angeles to Reno Air flights serving Reno, San Francisco and San Jose, Calif. Midwest Express' Milwaukee-Las Vegas passengers will be able to link up with Reno flights to Reno and San Jose.
Air Canada reported a 6.8% increase in traffic on 7.1% more capacity in August, decreasing the load factor 0.2 percentage points to 78.7%. The carrier posted 2.7 billion revenue passenger miles on 3.5 billion available seat miles. Domestic traffic and capacity grew the most - RPMs rose 16.4% to 929 million and ASMs 14.5% to 1.17 billion, boosting the load factor 1.3 points to 79.4%. International RPMs rose 2.4% to 1.8 billion and ASMs 3.7% to 2.3 billion, and the load factor dropped 1.0 point to 78.3%.
GATX Flightlease Management is a new, 50-50 joint venture between Flightlease Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the SAirGroup, and GATX Capital Corp. The new company, subject to regulatory approvals, will take over the management of aircraft operating leases managed by GATX Capital and Flightlease.
Continental and its Continental Express pilots will return to the bargaining table Oct. 5-6. Pilots, who rejected a tentative contract proposal, had asked the National Mediation Board to release them from mediation.
Aero Continente, which has been battling allegations of drug connections lodged by competitor Fine Air (DAILY, Sept. 14), has quickly grown into Peru's dominant carrier just five years after its first flight. The airline, which began July 20, 1993, now carries more than 70% of Peru's domestic passenger traffic and serves all major cities in the country. Its growth comes after incumbents AeroPeru and Faucett suffered from air disasters in the past two years.
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic August, 8 Months 1998 (000) August August % 1998 1997 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 1,179,000 1,096,000 7.6 Available Seat Miles 1,599,000 1,467,000 9.0 Load Factor (%) 73.7 74.7
AirTran extended through tomorrow the purchase deadline in its Grade "A" fare sale, offering travel through Nov. 18. Sample one-way fares include $89 Atlanta-Boston, $79 Washington-Jacksonville and $69 Knoxville-Fort Lauderdale.
The European Commission was right to authorize the payment of a second tranche of state aid to Irish carrier Aer Lingus, the Court of First Instance of the European Communities ruled yesterday in Luxembourg. In 1993, the EC approved a 175 million Irish pound (US$260 million) rescue package for Aer Lingus, payable by the Irish government in three tranches - IR#75 million in 1993, IR#50 million in 1994 and IR#50 million in 1995 - provided the carrier implemented a restructuring plan.
American's Allied Pilots Association, concerned about the increasing number of unruly passengers, has established a hotline so crewmembers can report disruptive passenger incidents or personal safety events that occur during trips and layovers. APA checks the line daily.
Lufthansa Cargo said it will increase operations over the North Atlantic this winter and introduce the only scheduled main-deck freighter capacity to and from Detroit's Wayne County Metropolitan Airport. The Detroit service will begin Oct. 5 with four weekly flights plus connecting service to Los Angeles each Sunday and Mexico City on Monday, Wednesday and Friday with a new MD-11 freighter. With the winter schedule - Oct. 24-March 27 - it will offer three additional frequencies to Detroit.
Kitty Hawk said it has terminated discussions with Southern Air Transport about acquiring the carrier. Kitty Hawk announced Aug. 24 it had signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire SAT. "Although we are disappointed that we could not reach a definitive agreement, it has no impact on our long-term growth plans," said Tom Christopher, Kitty Hawk chairman.
FAA has failed to take action to curb illegal airport revenue diversion despite legislation passed four years ago and later directing it to do so, the DOT inspector general's office reported. Spending airport revenues on non-airport projects is prohibited but is an ongoing problem, according to the IG. In the four years since new policies were supposed to be enacted as part of the 1994 FAA Reauthorization Act, the IG identified $190.3 million in diversions.
Korean Air and Delta added several routes to their code share, including Las Vegas-Los Angeles-Seoul, Portland-Seoul, San Francisco-Los Angeles-Seoul, San Francisco-Honolulu-Seoul, Dallas-Los Angeles-Seoul and Boston-New York-Seoul. On Sept. 20, the carriers will add Orlando-New York Kennedy, Orlando-Los Angeles, Portland-Los Angeles, Philadelphia-JFK, Atlanta-Los Angeles and additional JFK-Los Angeles frequencies.
While Air Canada, fresh from its pilots strike, and competitor Canadian Airlines battle head-to-head to grab customers with fare sales and triple frequent flyer bonuses (see Page 469), Northwest is emerging from its pilots strike offering triple miles only to its first- and business-class passengers for travel through Oct. 31.Northwest's web site also offers 2,000 bonus miles for booking online, but not for CyberSaver fares.
London City Airport will expand its winter schedule of destinations with new daily services by Crossair to Basel and by KLM uk to Glasgow, starting Oct. 26. Each airline will offer three-times-daily flights from London City to their respective destinations, with Crossair using a 50-seat Saab 2000 and KLM uk a 110-seat BAe 146-300. Separately, London City is preparing for the next stage in its development.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said yesterday he will back confirmation of three presidential nominees to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority after all three said at their confirmation hearing they support McCain's proposed exemptions to the perimeter rule at Washington Reagan Airport. An MWAA spokesman told The DAILY yesterday it prefers that the perimeter rule remain unchanged, but the board "can live with" McCain's changes.
The Internet's capabilities may be attractive to the travel industry, but it will not replace computer reservations systems anytime soon, a panel of airline and CRS industry experts said at the New Frontiers In Travel Distribution seminar last week in Phoenix, Ariz. "Are CRSs dinosaurs? Clearly not in the foreseeable future," said Northwest VP-Distribution Planning Al Lenza. But with CRSs the fastest growing distribution expense, they will have to become more cost-effective to reduce the incentive to bypass them.
Air Canada, trying to lure back customers following its recent pilots strike, is offering a deep-discount fare sale and bonus frequent flyer miles. Canadian Airlines is offering similar incentives to retain new customers and reward longstanding clients.
Air Transport Association filed its opening brief in its suit against FAA for funding a rail link connecting New York Kennedy Airport to the Long Island Railroad at Jamaica Station, Queens. ATA argues that passenger facility charges can be used only for projects physically located on the airport, and that airport officials exaggerated projected ridership by 2,500%.
DOT can prohibit actions that are not barred by antitrust laws when it sets policy on airline competition, but it cannot prohibit actions that antitrust law permits, Norman Mineta said in response to former House aviation subcommittee colleagues who said he misinterpreted legislative history in earlier comments to DOT opposing the policy. Reps.
Vanguard said it added a sixth Minneapolis/St. Paul-Chicago Midway roundtrip "in response to overwhelming consumer demand." It plans to increase service on the route to eight daily flights in December.
Air Nippon Co. (ANK) applied at DOT for a foreign air carrier permit authorizing it to operate scheduled combination service from points behind Japan and points in Japan, via intermediate points, and points in the U.S. and beyond the U.S. to any points, with full traffic rights, and charters. ANK, which would be a non-incumbent combination carrier under the U.S.-Japan bilateral, is owned 73.5% by All Nippon Airways, 1.3% by Japan Airlines and 25.2% by 42 other entities.
American Trans Air, the principal subsidiary of Indianapolis-based Amtran, reported a 3.1% increase in systemwide traffic on 4% more capacity for August 1998, compared with the same month last year. The carrier flew 1.046 billion revenue passenger miles and 1.367 billion available seat miles. Block hours rose 6.7% to 14,924. Charter service reported a 7.5% decline in RPMs to 456 million on 6.6% fewer ASMs to 599 million. Block hours were down 8% to 4,971. The biggest increases came in scheduled service, which increased 13.8% to 589.5 million RPMs.
European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock will recommend today that the European Commission "take a negative decision" on the Milan airport distribution system, Kinnock said yesterday in Feldkirch, Austria. The Italian authorities intend to relocate all routes of fewer than 2 million passengers per year from Milan Linate Airport to the new Malpensa Airport, starting Oct. 25.
