Denver-based Frontier Airlines reported a 48.2% increase in traffic and a 53.1% jump in capacity for April 1998 from April last year, which pushed the load factor down 2 percentage points. Frontier reported 113.2 million revenue passenger miles and 185.8 million available seat miles, creating a 61% load factor. Passenger enplanements rose 17.9% to 124,304. Year-to- date RPMs went up 41.7% and ASMs 49.2% over the same period last year, depressing the load factor 3.1 points. Passenger enplanements rose 13.6%.
Qantas will add 4% capacity during the next year and acquire more aircraft. In addition to orders for three 747-400s and two 767-300s, Qantas wants to acquire three used 747-400s, possibly from Asiana, and add another new 767- 300. The carrier will lease a second 747-200 to Air Pacific, of which Qantas owns 46%, and divest four older A300s by the end of the year.
American exercised rights under its long-term agreement with Boeing to purchase 25 more 737-800 aircraft, bringing its total firm 737 orders to 100. The aircraft are to be delivered between January 2000 and January 2002. Donald Carty, president, said the order will "allow us to continue the retirement of our 727-200 fleet that we began earlier this year as well as provide for modest growth." Carty said the additional 737s will enable American to meet an announced goal of retiring the last of its 727s by 2004.
TWA is expanding its TWQ short-haul business service to Philadelphia. TWA offers six Philadelphia-St. Louis flights daily, the only nonstop jet service with first-class cabins in the market. TWQ also is available between St. Louis and Chicago O'Hare, New York LaGuardia, and Washington Reagan.
- In Federal Register dated May 8...Superseded an airworthiness directive on Allison 250-C47B turboshaft engines concerning replacement of the main electrical harness.
European Commission no longer insists that American-British Airways must give up 350 slots at London Heathrow, a number Competition Commissioner Karel Van Miert proposed previously. Though not explicitly commenting on the figure, Van Miert said Friday that since the EC started examining the alliance, combined traffic on certain routes has fallen below a threshold considered to be an insurmountable barrier to competition. Van Miert's latest estimate for release of proposed "remedies" for that and the United- Lufthansa alliance is mid-June.
New York Kennedy's new Terminal One opened yesterday in a ceremony attended by New York Gov. George Pataki. Four partner airlines - Air France, Korean Air, Japan Airlines and Lufthansa - will be operational in the new facility by early June. Air Afrique, Olympic, Royal Air Maroc, Singapore Airlines and Turkish Airlines also have chosen to relocate to the new terminal.
British Airways' no-frills "Go" operation was cleared for takeoff Wednesday by the British courts. The London Stansted-based carrier is expected to start next week after a judge refused to grant EasyJet an injunction to stop Go.
House Judiciary Committee, chaired by Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), will hold a hearing on the state of competition in the airline industry May 19 at 1 p.m., Room 2141 Rayburn. Witnesses include DOT General Counsel Nancy McFadden.
The French government took a drastic step toward the consolidation of French aerospace industry yesterday, when it announced in Paris its decision to transfer its 46% stake of privately controlled Dassault Aviation to state-owned Aerospatiale. Their "moving closer" is intended to "further the implementation of a concerted strategy for the French aerospace industry in prospect of alliances with the main European manufacturers which seem necessary in the short term," according to a statement by the French Ministry of Defense.
The Greater Rochester, N.Y., International Airport asked FAA last week to dismiss a complaint lodged by nine regional airlines against the airport's facility use fee on the grounds that fee disputes between airlines and airports are specifically excluded from Part 16 proceedings under FAA's regulations (DAILY, April 17). Such disputes must be pursued through the expedited procedures established by Congress in 1994, but the carriers had let pass their 60-day period for filing a complaint at DOT, the airport argued.
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic April 1998 (000) April April % 1998 1997 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 897,000 823,000 9.0 Available Seat Miles 1,329,000 1,216,000 9.3 Load Factor (%) 67.5 67.7 America West
CCAIR, Charlotte, N.C., earned $548,825, or seven cents per share, for the three months ended March 31 - up 335.1% from the same year-ago period - even though its operating revenue dropped 11.7% to $14.6 million. Carrier VP-Finance Eric Montgomery said, "Advance reservations for existing markets are ahead of last year, and new market reservations are presently exceeding forecast."
Leasing companies engaged in major-airline aircraft leases are becoming more interested in the new fleet of regional jets. The companies have steered away from regional turboprops because of relatively low residual values. Small jets, however, have much higher residual values when leased out over a period of 15 years. Wexford Management was first with orders and options totaling 80 Embraer RJ-135s and -145s, some of which will go to its wholly owned Chautauqua Airlines. Bombardier has never sold large blocks of aircraft to lessors, however.
Boeing 717-200 successfully completed ground vibration and pneumatic testing and continues on schedule for a rollout ceremony June 10, the company announced. Ground-vibration testing, generally taking 10 days, was finished in fewer than four, said Mike Delaney, head of testing and validation. "Fortunately, we have experienced a leap in software technology since we last conducted a ground vibration test in 1992." He said more than 30 European airlines and leasing companies attended a conference on the 717 last week in Berlin.
Utah-based SkyWest Airlines reported a 1.9% increase in traffic to 61.9 million revenue passenger miles and a 3.1% decline in capacity to 120.1 million available seat miles, causing the load factor to go up 2.5 percentage points for April 1998 versus April last year. The load factor climbed 2.5 percentage points to 51.5%. April 1998 April 1997 4 Months 1998 4 Months 1997 RPMs 61,918,141 60,787,188 239,866,983 238,066,799
Fairchild Corp. said net earnings of $91.7 million for its third quarter ended March 29 were up from $40,000 in the same 1997 period. Results include gains on sale of Fairchild holdings in Shared Technologies Fairchild and disposition of other assets. Earnings from operations were $50.4 million, compared with a loss of $117,000. Operating income was $9.7 million, up from $3.6 million.
The six Star Alliance members yesterday agreed to add Air New Zealand and Ansett Australia to its ranks. The two carriers, which signed an agreement to participate fully by 1999, join United, Lufthansa, SAS, Air Canada, Thai International and Varig. With ANZ and Ansett, Star Alliance members and passengers have access to 84 new destinations in Australia, New Zealand, Asia and the South Pacific. The new members joined just as the Star Alliance celebrated its first year anniversary yesterday.
TACA's marketing alliance with COPA will not conflict with COPA's new pact with Continental (DAILY, May 14). The DAILY had reported the opposite. COPA will remain an integral part of Grupo TACA.
Mesa Air Group has brought in International Airline Support Group to advise it on the future need for 41 turboprop aircraft. After United ended its West Coast code share with Mesa unit WestAir, the need for all of WestAir's turboprops changed. IASG will advise Mesa on how best to deal with WestAir's leased fleet of 20 EMB-120 Brasilias and 21 Jetstream J31s. The United Express agreement expires May 31. IASG, headed by Alexius Dyer, is a spare parts supplier and lessor of aircraft and engines.
Mesaba Airlines, which operates as Northwest Airlink, reported an 97.6% jump in traffic to 85.2 million revenue passenger miles and an 86.2% rise in capacity to 153.9 million available seat miles for April this year compared with April 1997, pushing the load factor up 3.2 percentage points to 55.4%. April 1998 April 1997 4 Months 1998 4 Months 1997 RPMs 85,197,000 43,116,000 315,693,000 153,658,000 ASMs 153,854,000 82,645,000 589,573,000 309,531,000
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater will discuss major aviation issues, including competition, safety and FAA reauthorization, at an Aero Club of Washington luncheon at noon on May 19. Call 800-322-3761 or 703-327-7082.
Morten Beyer&Agnew aviation consulting firm in McLean, Va., has opened MBA International, based in London. The subsidiary is directed by Clifford Brown.
