Midwest Express flew 131.8 million revenue passenger miles in May, up 10.4% from May 1997, and offered 199.7 million available seat miles, up 7.9%, which improved the load factor 1.5 percentage points to 66%. Enplanements rose 9.2% to 154,112.
Arrow Air, Fine Air Services, Polar Air Cargo and United Parcel Service applied at DOT for U.S.-Colombia all-cargo services. The U.S. may designate an additional carrier to provide cargo service in the market beginning Sept. 1, bringing the total to seven. Arrow, among six carriers already designated, also applied, although it holds underlying route authority.
Amadeus has signed a joint venture with Balkan Bulgarian Airlines to establish a national marketing company in Bulgaria. The parties will jointly set up the company to distribute and market Amadeus to travel professionals. The airline has a 51% share in the new company and Amadeus 49%. Travel agents using the Balkan Gets terminal will be moved to the Amadeus system. Amadeus also plans to introduce its Pro Tempo product to the Bulgarian market, a Windows-based front-office management tool that will enable travel agents to make bookings in record time.
British Airways carried 5,000 additional passengers between London and Paris during the 10-day Air France strike. World Cup traffic has enabled BA to take in about $1.6 million in extra revenue each day.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic October 1997 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles % (000) Change (Miles) (000) Change American Trans Air 389 61.05 1,721 669,802 78.33
Despite a lawsuit filed in May by the Dallas Fort Worth Airport board, Continental today will begin Continental Express service from Dallas Love Field to Houston and plans to go ahead with three daily roundtrips to Cleveland July 1 (DAILY, May 28). A hearing on the DFW suit, aimed at stopping the Love Field-Cleveland service, is scheduled on June 29, according to the carrier's attorneys. "We are still moving ahead with plans for service as scheduled," said Continental Express spokesman Bruce Kink.
China's recent removal of restrictions on domestic pricing arose from deep carrier losses and increased competition among airlines throughout the country. Fare wars have decimated revenues in the first four months of 1998, prompting more than $250 million in losses by Chinese carriers (DAILY, June 8.) China ended deep discount pricing allowances last week by limiting them to 20%. Regulators also set a 3% travel agent commission cap on ticket sales.
Vanguard posted decreases of 19% in traffic and 26% in capacity for May 1998 from May 1997, boosting the load factor 6 percentage points to 66.2%. The carrier logged 54.8 million revenue passenger miles and 82.9 million available seat miles. Year-to-date RPMs dropped 22% and ASMs 30%, increasing the load factor 7 points.
Air France and its main pilots union, Syndicat National des Pilotes de Ligne (SNPL), have reached an agreement over labor cost reductions, ending a 10-day-old strike that gave France a black eye during the World Cup soccer tournament. The company's management said it had "met its objective" with the accord, coming in a secret meeting that was not made public until after the agreement was completed. The airline operated 25% of flights yesterday and expects to operate 50% of scheduled service by Thursday, including transatlantic service to New York and Los Angeles.
AirTran President Joseph Corr, commenting on the rollout yesterday of the Boeing 717-200, which it launched under the airplane's former designation of MD-95 with 50 firm orders and 50 options, said "our plans are to replace our entire fleet with the 717." AirTran currently operates 48 aircraft - 37 DC-9s and 11 737s. Corr said AirTran expects to increase its fleet to 51 aircraft by this August. It will begin receiving the 717s next summer. Harry Stonecipher, Boeing president, was present for the rollout at the Long Beach plant.
Recommendations on reclassification of the nation's air traffic controllers could go this week to the White House and to DOT Secretary Rodney Slater, a source said. The National Air Traffic Controllers Association, saying it still is in negotiations with FAA, declined comment.
DOT notified U.S. carriers this week that they may apply by tomorrow for U.S.-Lima combination service frequencies available following conclusion of a phased open-skies agreement with Peru last month. Carriers with firm plans to use the seven frequencies now available should apply by June 12, filing exemption applications where applicable. Answers are due June 16 and replies June 18.
Atlantic Coast Airlines, which flies as United Express, will add service between Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and Washington Dulles on July 8 to accommodate business travelers. ACA will boost its schedule from 10 to 15 daily flights, five with the 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet and 10 with the 29-passenger Jetstream 41 turboprop. All flights will be staffed with cabin crew and offer beverage service.
U.S. and Peru officials formally signed the open-skies agreement initialed last month (DAILY, May 12), which phases in the full benefits over a four- year period. Although Peru is the second South American country to agree to open skies, it is the first to begin putting it into effect because the U.S.-Chilean agreement depends on a U.S. decision, not yet made, to approve antitrust immunity for an American-LanChile alliance. The Peru accord, signed in Lima by U.S.
DOT for a third time extended for 30 days the period for taking action on the complaint filed March 12 by US Airways against the U.K. alleging violations of the U.S.-U.K. aviation agreement for "refusing to ensure" the carrier "access it requires" to operate Charlotte-London Gatwick service. (Docket OST-98-3615)
National Air Traffic Controllers Association said controllers at the New York air route traffic control center lost radar contact Sunday night with Air Force Two, with Vice President Gore on board. Earlier in the week, controllers at the New York ARTCC lost contact twice with Air Force One carrying President Clinton.
Airlines worldwide have improved their operational accident rate 30% in the last three years, according to IATA. Carriers posted a loss rate of 1.09 per million flights in 1997, compared with 1.44 in 1995. Every second of every day there was a takeoff or landing, with only 21 accidents, eight of which were fatal.
Pilot protests against domestic code shares are growing. American's Allied Pilots Association is using a Washington, consulting firm to make presentations to DOT and the Justice Department arguing that domestic alliances harm pilot jobs. Last week, United's Air Line Pilots Association unit said it would pass the word to other airline industry unions, although it is still looking at the United-Delta deal.
America West will add the Best Western International and The Arizona Biltmore Resort and Spa to its frequent flyer program, starting June 15. It also has expanded mileage earning opportunities with Northwest.
A new market survey reveals that TNT continues to dominate the U.K.'s courier market, although rival DHL has made significant gains on its territory during the last year. According to its latest annual survey of 350 companies based across Britain, the market analyst firm of Triangle Management Services Ltd. says TNT came out on top of the 20 carriers evaluated by the companies, although DHL has improved its relative position since the previous survey. Nearly 60% of respondents said they sent or received express documents from Europe.
Fine Air has completed a $200 million private placement, with the intention of using the proceeds to acquire additional widebody cargo aircraft and additional DC-8 freighters, make strategic acquisitions, repay debts, buy spare parts and install hush kits on DC-8s.
London City Airport last week won approval from the Newham, U.K., Council to double its current aircraft movements during the next decade. The decision allows London City to accept up to 73,000 flights per year during the 10-year development period. Under its new agreement with local authorities, the airport will help pay for additional sound insulation for nearby residents and for improvements to public transport, local roads, landscaping and job training programs. The airport today employs 1,200 but expects to add 800 as its traffic expands.
American has told its pilots not to accept land-and-hold-short orders on runway 27 Left at Chicago O'Hare. Last week, an American 727 was ordered to hold while a 777 crossed runway 32 Left, but wind prevented the 727 from complying and the 777 was ordered into a go-around. Pilots want about 8,000 feet to land and hold short, and O'Hare 27 Left has about 6,700 available feet.
DOT granted Iberia an exemption for two slots at Chicago O'Hare to enable the carrier to operate a daily nonstop roundtrip during slot-controlled hours. Iberia plans to start the service Aug. 1 and continue it through the summer season, which ends Oct. 24. The Spanish carrier may use the temporary exemption only for the stated operations. Iberia appealed to DOT for the exemption after FAA notified the carrier that its request was likely to be denied because of the number of new requests for slots it received (DAILY, March 13).
