Embraer has established a "strategic alliance" with AeroCentury Corp. under which Aero Century will help Embraer financially in leasing and selling used EMB-120 (Brasilia) aircraft, AeroCentury announced. AeroCentury President Neal Crispin said, "This strategic alliance with Embraer is an excellent opportunity." Crispin said the aircraft "is a leading aircraft of choice in our key markets - regional airlines and government/military - and we believe this alliance should significantly enhance our deal flow."
United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines and Northwest Airlink Mesaba Holdings saw triple-digit traffic gains in March, leading The DAILY's sampling of 14 regional airlines to an average increase on the month of 17.9%. That compares with an average capacity growth of 9.7%. ACA and Mesaba are in the midst of significant regional-jet deliveries - ACA the Canadair Regional Jet and Mesaba the Avro RJ85. ACA traffic was up 111.5% versus an increase in capacity of 59.7% while Mesaba's numbers were up 102.8% to 88.0%.
One early comment on DOT's predatory activity guidelines suggests alternatives to the department's attempt to gauge whether majors are taking irrational losses to defend their hubs against new entrants. Protecting competition is the proper goal, but DOT is preparing to use the wrong tools, according to Allan Rossmore, a professor of aviation at Miami-Dade Community College, textbook author and aviation attorney.
Austrian Airlines' revenues shot up more than 13% last year compared with 1996, while its operating profit more than doubled. The AUA Group also turned in a strong performance last year. The group's supervisory board plans to declare a 5% dividend on existing share capital and raise new capital this year. Austrian's revenues rose 13.1% to approximately ATS14.7 billion ($116 million) last year from 12.9 billion Austrian schillings (US$101.7 million) in 1996. Its operating expenses in 1997 increased more slowly by 11.2% to ATS14.5 billion ($114 million).
Barco N.V., Belgian electronics and visual technologies firm, last week signed an agreement with Belairbus, the office linking the Belgian aviation sector with Airbus Industrie, to participate in production of the future Airbus A3XX superjumbo jet. Barco is developing a range of products that incorporate avionics with video, data, imaging and graphics visual display systems, which it hopes to sell to the Airbus consortium.
FAA relinquished control yesterday of its last airport in the U.S., Atlantic City International, to the South Jersey Transportation Authority. FAA Technical Center Director Anne Harlan and SJTA Executive Director James Crawford signed a 50-year lease and cooperative agreement during the turnover ceremony, and as a result hundreds of acres of prime airport land will not be open for development. The transfer involves 2,000 acres of land, including airport runway and taxiway systems and land acquired for future commercial airport development.
Polar and Fine Air Services filed separately to renew Latin American authorities this week. Polar wants a two-year renewal of its two weekly narrowbody U.S.-Argentina frequencies so it can retain authority linking New York, Miami and Los Angeles to Buenos Aires, Argentina; Barranquilla, Colombia, and Santiago, Chile. Polar acquired the authority in 1995. The cargo carrier is using its authority for all-cargo service in the markets to Chile and Argentina but is not currently serving Colombia due to limits in the number of U.S.
Association of European Airlines Traffic January 1998 January 1998 Passenger Data % % Pts. RPKs Change ASKs Change Load Change (Mil) 98/97 (Mil) 98/97 Factor 98/97 EUROPE 7,741.5 10.9 14,733.0 8.1 52.5 1.4
Pan Am continues to stay afloat via "charter demand greater than our ability to serve it," a spokesman said. After a spate of contracts for U.S. carriers and companies, Pan Am has been flying for Air Jamaica and Air Aruba. Its next bankruptcy hearing is scheduled May 6.
Cathay Pacific is expected to save roughly HK$2 billion (US$258 million) per year in 1998 and 1999 due to the lower cost of jet fuel, according to a report from Salomon Smith Barney. One reason for the large fuel savings is that Cathay paid 20% more for fuel in 1997 than it should have, the report said, because the airline locked prices higher than the spot market for jet fuel. The savings will partially offset revenue declines the Hong Kong- based airline has experienced.
Air Canada flew 2.4% more traffic and 8.4% more capacity in March than in the same month last year, largely the result of gains in domestic traffic and capacity, which depressed the load factor 4.1 pecentage points. Systemwide, the carrier reported 1.84 million revenue passenger miles and 2.63 million available seat miles for a 69.8% load factor. Domestically, it saw a 10.2% rise in RPMs and a 9.5% increase in ASMs, which pushed the load factor up 0.4 points. International RPMs declined 1.4% and ASMs went up 7.8%, causing the load factor to drop 6.5 points.
American parent AMR Corp. yesterday posted first quarter net profits of $290 million, improving on the 1997 quarter by 91% and setting a record by a wide margin. Even factoring out the disruptions and lost bookings from last year's pilot strike, which cost the company $70 million, net income would have risen more than 30%. The improvement in earnings this year also came despite unfavorable year-over-year comparisons due to the federal excise tax on tickets, which was absent during January and February last year but present this year.
DOT's Bureau of Transportation Statistics, criticized by the DOT inspector general for lack of consistency in its monthly analysis of on-time performance by the 10 largest U.S. airlines (DAILY, April 3), asked for public comment by June 12 on whether it is necessary or useful to keep collecting data on timely arrivals and mishandled baggage.
DOT granted Uzbekistan Airways' request to implement rights available to it under the U.S.-Uzbekistan open-skies agreement, signed in February. The carrier received a two-year initial exemption to operate scheduled combination service between any points behind Uzbekistan, via any points in Uzbekistan and any intermediate points, and any points in the U.S. and any beyond points, as well as all-cargo service between the U.S. and any points. It must obtain DOT approval before operating charter services.
Braathens of Norway has taken delivery of the first of three 737-700s it is leasing from International Lease Finance Corp. The carrier also is buying six more directly from Boeing. Deliveries are scheduled over the next three years. The carrier also operates 737-400s and 500s.
Air France and Delta filed applications with DOT for services enabled by the new U.S.-French bilateral, and the department already has approved a pending application by Tower Air for services beyond Paris to Tel Aviv and Cairo. DOT is moving rapidly to grant services available in 1998 (DAILY, April 15).
American Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Crandall announced his retirement yesterday, effective May 20, and the industry legend has made plans to sail across the Atlantic Ocean in his new sailboat. Crandall, 62, will be succeeded by President Don Carty, who will retain the presidency and hold all three top titles at AMR Corp. Crandall will end a 25-year career at American, during which he is credited with developing computer reservations system and frequent flyer programs, and refining the hub-and- spoke network system that has given U.S.
British Midland asked DOT for approval of its expanded code share with American. The U.K. carrier currently holds authority to place American's code on its flights beyond London Heathrow to Amsterdam, Brussels, Glasgow, Paris, Nice, Frankfurt, Belfast, Edinburgh, Leeds, Teesside and Zurich. Now it wants to add selected flights between Heathrow and Manchester, starting this month. These will be a continuation of American flights between Heathrow and New York, Boston, Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles. The code-share flights to Manchester will be blind-sector.
British Airways said yesterday it will retire all eight of its DC-10s next year and replace them on Gatwick long-haul routes with two new 777s that it ordered yesterday and six 767s already in service or on order. The 767s were intended originally to operate from Heathrow. BA yesterday also announced orders for six 757s that will replace the six 767s at Heathrow. The carrier said orders for four 747-400s will replaced with three more 777s. All newly ordered aircraft will be delivered next year.
Documents from US Airways' suit against British Airways over the end of the carriers' alliance could wind up in the American-BA antitrust immunity proceeding. John Coleman, director of DOT's Office of Aviation Analysis, wrote to BA last week that US Airways representatives informed his office recently that some of the material is relevant to the American-BA case.
Northwest's pilots are not the carrier's only union frustrated about the pace of contract negotiations. Flight attendants, mechanics, ground crew, clerical personnel and agents have been in negotiations with the carrier for as long as 20 months with little or no progress.
Crediting on-time performance and reliability improvements, TWA said it canceled 5,413 fewer flights in 1997 than in 1996. The airline completed 98% of flights and moved from 10th place in on-time performance in 1996 to second in 1997.
U.S. Major Carriers Pacific Share of Service Fourth Quarter 1997 Total Revenue Departures American 519 Delta 705 Northwest 6,218 United 6,255 Total 13,697 Average Number of Seats Per Departure American 234 Delta 250
