European computer reservations system Amadeus will be listed on the Madrid stock exchange this fall in an attempt to raise funds and step up competition with U.S. and British rivals Sabre and Galileo, which already have gone public. Lufthansa, Air France and Iberia each own 29.2% of Madrid-based Amadeus, Continental of the U.S. holds 12.4%. They intend to reduce their holdings as Amadeus is floated on the stock exchange. At the same time, the CRS intends to call on the financial markets to increase its capital.
American signed Procter&Gamble, a longtime Delta customer, to a corporate travel contract. The deal makes American the preferred airline on routes from Cincinnati to Brussels, London, Zurich and Mexico City. American expects $5 million in additional annual revenue from the agreement. Earlier, Domino's Pizza signed with American, increasing revenue $100,000 in five months on the Detroit-Minneapolis route via Chicago.
The airline industry may not know exactly what the Justice Department is up to on airline antitrust issues, but at least it knows whose information Justice will use to analyze the industry and formulate policy. The Library of Congress is amending an agreement with Back Information Services, New Haven, Conn., to provide Back's value-added electronic aviation information databases to DOJ's antitrust division through Sept. 30.
SAS Commuter has ordered two additional Bombardier Dash 8-400 turboprop aircraft, worth 300 million Swedish crowns (US$37 million). The addition brings to 17 the number of aircraft ordered since August last year. Delivery of the Dash 8-400s will take place between July 1999 and December 2000.
AirTran flight attendants will hold a rally and picketing event today at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. Flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, and management are in a 30-day cooling-off period until Sept. 5. Flight attendants have threatened to launch a CHAOS (Create Havoc Around Our System) campaign if no contract agreement is reached by the Sept. 5 deadline.
Charlotte, N.C.-based CCAIR, which flies as US Airways Express in the southeastern U.S., reported 10.6% more traffic on 2.4% more capacity for July 1998 over July last year, which boosted the load factor 8.1 percentage points. CCAIR flew 14.8 million revenue passenger miles and 25 million available seat miles, producing a 59% load factor. Year-to-date RPMs declined 0.2% and ASMs 14.6% from the first seven months last year, raising the resulting load factor 16.9 points.
AirTran, which faces a possible strike by its 400 flight attendants, is offering full-coach-fare travelers the opportunity to upgrade to business class for no extra charge through Sept. 30. Customers traveling on a full fare coach ticket (Y class only) will be placed on a priority list at the gate for an upgrade to business class if space is available. AirTran, which will add four-times-daily Miami-Atlanta nonstop service on Sept. 16 and daily Atlanta-Quad City/Moline service Sept. 9, completed fleet-wide installation of its business class seating in June.
World Airways yesterday posted a net second quarter loss of $3.2 million, a significant drop from the $5.6 million profit in the same quarter last year.
Atlas Air said yesterday it has acquired a 747-200 freighter operated by Air France for delivery in the first quarter of next year. Atlas said it currently operates one 747-400 freighter and will take delivery of four more this year, with a total of 10 747-400 freighters scheduled for delivery through 2000. The CF6-powered 747-200 is a high-gross-weight aircraft and will remain on lease to Air France until delivery to Atlas Air.
DOT made final yesterday its tentative decision to award 16 Tokyo Narita slots to Polar Air Cargo for U.S.-Japan and beyond services, and two to United Parcel Service for beyond-Japan service. But it modified its decision to award two year-round slots to Delta and two winter slots to American, instead giving them to FedEx. DOT said that its primary purpose in this round is to maximize all-cargo service, and that FedEx has clarified its aim to maintain its current pattern of summer-season services.
Mechanics at America West will hold a rally in front of FAA's Phoenix office at 10:30 this morning to voice support for FAA's "heightened oversight" of the carrier. Mechanics, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, also will call on America West to bring subcontracted and outsourced work back in-house to ensure passenger safety.
Delta and TWA are withdrawing their application to do same-country code-sharing between the U.S. and Japan.TWA's code was to be placed on Delta flights from three U.S. points, but sources said the companies could not agree on commercial terms for the deal. The action leaves Northwest-Continental as the only current same-country code-share applicants.
Midwest Express Airlines reported a 15.2% rise in traffic and 10.5% more capacity for July 1998 over July last year, which boosted the load factor 2.9 percentage points. It flew 152.1 million revenue passenger miles on 214.8 million available seat miles, creating a 70.8% load factor. Passengers boarded increased 13.3% to 175,139. Year-to-date RPMs grew 13.5% on 11.6% more ASMs over the first seven months last year, pushing the load factor up 1.1 points.
Aero Continente applied at DOT for a foreign air carrier permit to allow it to engage in scheduled foreign combination service between Lima, Peru, and Miami, and in "on and off route charter services" between points in Peru and the U.S. and "points outside Peru to and from the United States." The Peruvian carrier applied separately for an exemption to provide the services pending action on the permit application. It wants to operate seven weekly Lima-Miami roundtrips using 727 aircraft configured with a maximum of 129 passenger seats.
Minneapolis-based Mesaba Airlines, a Northwest Airlink affiliate, reported an 81.1% rise in traffic on 75.1% more capacity for July 1998 over July last year, which pushed the load factor up 2.1 percentage points. Mesaba reported 112.3 million revenue passenger miles on 180.7 million available seat miles, creating a 62.2% load factor. Year-to-date RPMs were up 91.6% on 83.4% more ASMs, raising the load factor 2.4 points.
Cincinnati-based Comair Holdings, a Delta Connection carrier, recorded a 19.1% jump in traffic in July on 13.5% more capacity than in the 1997 month, which lifted the load factor 5 percentage points. Comair reported 189.8 million revenue passenger miles, 286.6 million available seat miles and a 66.2% load factor. Enplanements increased 18.4% to 558,653. Year-to-date RPMs grew 14.6% on 6.5% more capacity, boosting the load factor 7.6 points. Enplanements rose 15.2%.
Lufthansa Cargo AG (LCAG) expects to sign business-partnership agreements with three more international forwarders in September. They will join seven others in Germany that have been testing LCAG's new "virtual integration" logistics project since January. The project completed a six-month test phase in June. Separately, LCAG's parent company, Lufthansa, has reshuffled its board responsibilities.
Telephone number for the New York Bar Association, originator of the "Report on Aviation Safety" (DAILY, Aug. 10), is 212-382-6685. The group's new web site - www.abcny.org - will become active Aug. 17.
Sabena said it carried 4.08 million passengers during the first six months of 1998, a 32% jump compared with the same months last year, when it transported 3.09 million. The airline's route network grew 29.6%, with London Heathrow, Barcelona and Rome its top destinations in Europe. The long-haul network mushroomed by 48.2% as long-haul passenger volume rose from 13.7% of total traffic to 15.4%.
Swissair will pay a $25,000 civil penalty to DOT for flights that overflew prohibited Afghan airspace while carrying alliance partner Delta's code. A DOT spokesman said the citation is the department's first for such a violation. Both U.S. and foreign carriers are responsible for complying and Delta also was cited for the violation. But DOT said Swissair was primarily responsible when an internal miscommunication led to a failure to inform Delta of the routing. Civil war in Afghanistan prompted DOT to bar code-share overflights in 1995.
Inspections ordered by FAA on the center wing fuel tanks of 747s have found wear on the inlet adapters of the override/jettison pumps of the latest 400 series aircraft, prompting a new airworthiness directive that the pumps be inspected for excessive wear. Previous ADs have involved fuel tank wiring in an attempt to reduce center fuel tank explosions following the TWA 800 accident. FAA said that during the inspection of a 747-400, it found that two of the inlet adapters had worn down enough to cause damage to the rotating blades of the inducer.
Fuel Cost and Consumption U.S. Majors, Nationals and Regionals June 1997 to May 1998 Total Total Cost Cents Per Gallons (Dollars) Gallon 1997 July Domestic 1,198,779,567 703,580,530 58.691 International 455,999,315 292,430,075 64.129
Indianapolis-based Chautauqua Airlines, which flies as United Express, reported 10.1% more traffic on 2.6% less capacity for July 1998 compared with last year, which caused the load factor to jump 13.8% percentage points to 55.3%. The carrier reported 15.3 million revenue passenger miles and 27.8 million available seat miles. Year-to-date RPMs grew 6.6% on 3.6% fewer ASMs in the same period last year, which pushed the load factor up 10.4 points.
