Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic November 1997 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change Alaska 73 1.46 1,134 82,606 5.67
Gordon Bethune, chairman and chief executive of Continental, discusses pending domestic airline alliances, DOT's proposed airline competition policy, international aviation and airport/airline relations on Aviation News Today, to air Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
DOT granted Alaska's request for an exemption to serve Los Angeles-La Paz, Mexico, withdrawing Delta's designation for the city-pair. Delta, which did not begin service on the route, faced a June 18 dormancy deadline and would have had to apply by June 3 for an extension. American, the second U.S. carrier designated for the city-pair under the U.S.-Mexico agreement, serves the market under a code share with Aero California.
An FAA program to permit its inspectors to write tickets for alleged infractions of regulations is causing an uproar among the nation's airlines and in the general aviation community. The tickets could not be appealed because they are deemed "administrative actions," even though two of them would be converted automatically into a violation, Al Prest, VP-operations for the Air Transport Association, said yesterday.
General Electric Co. plc said yesterday that, in regard to its acquisition of Tracor Inc., the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. has completed its review process, pursuant to the Exon-Florio Act. GEC said no other governmental or regulatory clearances remain as a condition for the purchase of Tracor stock at $40 per share. The offer is scheduled to expire June 17.
ProAir has reached tentative agreements with General Motors and Chrysler to become the preferred carrier to the four cities the airline serves from Detroit City Airport. The five-year deal, expected to be signed today, includes a requirement that ProAir fly up to 40 GM and Chrysler passengers each day for a flat monthly fee. The airline also will hold seats open for last-minute travelers for the two companies. GM expects to save $4-$6 million annually, while Chrysler believes ProAir's lower air fares will save it up to $3 million a year.
FAA last week proposed requiring a modification of certain Honeywell IC-600 integrated avionics computers found on Embraer ERJ-145 regional and Learjet 45 business aircraft. The proposal stems from a report that during a number of test flights of a Cessna Excel business jet, the electronic flight instrument system screen went blank, FAA said. An investigation revealed that the IC-600 used on the Excel, ERJ-145, and Model 45 Learjet failed, resulting in a "random reset" of the EFIS.
FAA last week revised requirements and narrowed the scope of a Priority Letter airworthiness directive calling for repetitive inspections and possible removal from service of Allison 3007A and 3007C engines powering Embraer ERJ-145 and Cessna Citation X aircraft. FAA issued the Priority Letter AD in January after Allison became aware of a problem with the No. 4 bearings on Allison 3007 engines and issued a service bulletin recommending operators inspect their engines for signs of bearing wear, said Allen Novick, director-large aircraft engines for Allison.
Chautauqua, the US Airways Express carrier recently acquired by Wexford Management, is turning up the PR heat. It published its first monthly traffic results this week (story below) and also announced a cash-incentive scheme for travel agents. The Indianapolis-based carrier is offering $5 (one way) and $10 (return) to book customers on three Newark routes - to Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse - on all of which it competes heavily with Continental Express. "Economic incentives have the proven ability to stimulate markets," said VP-Marketing John Presburg.
Midwest Express regional-airline subsidiary Skyway Airlines flew 6.4 million revenue passenger miles in May, up 12.4% from the same year-ago month. Capacity climbed 3.4% to 13 million available seat miles, boosting the passenger load factor four percentage points to 49.2%. Enplanements increased 12.2% to 29,163. May 1998 May 1997 5 Months 1998 5 Months 1997 RPMs 6,412,884 5,704,393 29,010,966 27,493,114 ASMs 13,042,677 12,609,623 66,377,786 64,937,239
Lufthansa Cargo said it has joined with Environtainer Inc. in the transportation of temperature-sensitive cargo in "Coolbox" containers. Lufthansa Cargo initiated the concept in response to requests from shippers in the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. With Envirotainer's expertise in manufacturing refrigerated containers, the Coolbox is designed to fit in the bellies of narrowbody aircraft and keep cargo within a temperature range of 2 to 8 degrees Celsius.
St. George, Utah-based SkyWest Airlines posted a 9.7% increase in revenue passenger miles last month to 69.5 million, while capacity rose just 2.8% to 131.3 million available seat miles. The resulting load factor, 52.9%, was 3.3 percentage points higher than the one recorded for May 1997. Passenger boardings, on the other hand, soared 39.8% to 331,991.
Atlantic Southeast traffic rose last month 13.1% to 93.2 million revenue passenger miles as capacity gained just 3.1% to 163.1 million available seat miles. The resulting load factor was 5.1 percentage points higher than the one recorded in May 1997. The carrier boarded a monthly record 366,189 passengers. The previous record was 343,172 in October 1997. May 1998 May 1997 5 Months 1998 5 Months 1997 RPMs 93,214,465 82,452,325 400,598,485 363,794,326
Atlantic Coast Airlines, which flies as United Express, will build a 69,000-square-foot regional passenger concourse at Washington Dulles International Airport, scheduled to open in summer 1999. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority will provide financing for the $18 million concourse through passenger facility charges and airport bonds.
Nav Canada's proposed user charges for air navigation services (DAILY, June 3) would tap operators of propeller aircraft and small jets for the first time and increase most fees for commercial transports. The charges, subject to change this summer after the July 31 deadline for comments on the proposal, will take effect Nov. 1, when Canada's current airline ticket tax will expire and Nav Canada must begin self-sufficient operations.
Indianapolis-based US Airways affiliate Chautauqua Airlines, recently purchased by Greenwich, Conn.-based Wexford Management, reported a 3.2- percentage-point increase in its load factor last month to 52.6%. Revenue passenger miles increased 4.6% to 13.7 million while capacity declined 1.7% to slightly more than 26 million available seat miles. Boardings gained 3.9% to 61,886.
Lufthansa is introducing children's menus on European routes, catering to the needs of two- to 12-year-olds. The carrier will offer some food in the shape of jumbo jets and dinosaurs.
Mesaba Airlines posted an 80.4% increase in capacity last month to 157.3 million available seat miles, while traffic, while sharply higher, didn't keep pace - up 75.3% to 84.8 million revenue passenger miles. As a result, the load factor dropped 1.6 percentage points to 53.9%. Boardings were up 60.9% to 333,000. May 1998 May 1997 5 Months 1998 5 Months 1997 RPMs 84,818,000 48,390,000 400,511,000 202,048,000 ASMs 157,316,000 87,181,000 746,889,000 396,712,000
Virgin Atlantic has agreed to lease two Boeing 747-200Bs from Cathay Pacific for five years. Under the agreement, Virgin has the option to buy the aircraft or extend the lease for two years. The two aircraft are among five 747-200s Cathay has said it would sell or lease this year. The Hong Kong-based carrier is taking delivery of 13 new aircraft through 1999, and with Asia/Pacific leisure traffic declining, the used aircraft sale limits the airline's capacity growth.
European Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert's stance on airline alliances "suggests he has the ability to unilaterally rewrite agreements between the U.S. and member states that have entered into open skies," according to Cyril Murphy, United VP-international affairs. Van Miert's DG4 soon will issue proposed "remedies" addressing competition concerns on one consummated alliance, United-Lufthansa-SAS, and another proposed one, American-British Airways.
Trade envoys appointed by Brazil and Canada in their squabble over government export subsidies extended to Embraer and Bombardier have said their report, endorsed by both governments, draws no conclusions about specific programs, such as joint-venture subsidies to Bombardier and the ProEx program in Brazil. Marc Lalonde of Canada and Luiz Olavo Baptista of Brazil said they made general recommendations about the contents of a trade bilateral and made no findings on alleged violations of World Trade Organization rules.
Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok Airport, due to open July 6, will feature a non- exclusionary premium lounge offering hot showers, fresh bread and massage chairs to all passengers, regardless of the airline they are flying or class of service they have booked. Entry to the Plaza Premium Lounge will cost HK$250 (US$32).
US Airways Express CCAIR has rationalized its fleet, switched from a July-June fiscal year to January-December and booked $22.8 million in non- recurring charges in the September-December transition period, and the results in its new first quarter were encouraging. Net income for the quarter was up 335% following two consecutive losses in excess of $10 million each. The carrier returned its nine Shorts 360s to lessors and swapped 14 Jetstream 31s for 20 Jetstream Super 31s, and is adding to its Dash 8 fleet as well.
British Regional Airlines Group has published a prospectus for flotation on the London Stock Exchange with a placing of 150 pence per share, capitalizing the Group at #97 million (about US$158.1 million). The flotation is expected to raise around #20 million (US$32.6 million), which is to be used to repay an outstanding loan of approximately #7.95 million (nearly US$13 million) to British Midland plc; fund the purchase of Embraer ERJ-145 aircraft, and provide additional working capital to develop new routes.
Atlantic Coast Airlines will launch United Express service from Chicago O'Hare Airport to Charleston in August, Springfield/Branson in September and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in October (DAILY, June 11).
