National Express Group plc, a U.K. bus and rail operator that owns East Midlands and Bournemouth airports, is the preferred bidder on a long- term lease for Stewart Airport in Newburgh, N.Y., state officials said yesterday. The company, which also operates the Subic Bay airport in the Philippines, beat out four other proposals with an offer of $35 million in cash and a percentage of revenues.
Continental's March traffic rose 10.2% on 11.55% more capacity, resulting in a load factor of 73.6%, down 0.9 percentage points. Domestic traffic rose 3.3% on 5% more capacity, while international increased 26.9% on 27.1% more capacity. The airline's international network represented 34% of systemwide capacity in the first quarter. Continental Express posted a 32.8% rise in revenue passenger miles on 29.1% more capacity, which pushed load factor up 1.6 points to 57.3%. March 1998 March 1997 3 Months 1998 3 Months 1997
AirTran Holdings reported a 25.4% increase in traffic and a 34.1% rise in capacity for March 1998, causing the load factor to drop 4.4 percentage points from the same month last year. AirTran flew 283.9 million revenue passenger miles and 454.2 million available seat miles, producing a 62.5% load factor. Passenger enplanements were up 17.2% to 454,936. The first three months saw a 37.4% increase in RPMs and a 42.5% rise in ASMs from the first three months last year, which pushed the load factor down 1.7 points. Passenger enplanements rose 28.2% to 1,114,418.
US Airways continued to shrink in March, moving toward delivery of new Airbus aircraft - and growth - later this year. Traffic fell 4.5% on 4.5% less capacity, keeping the load factor constant at 75.2%. Domestic traffic fell 5.9% on 5.2% less capacity, resulting in a 74% load factor, down 0.5 percentage points. International traffic increased 9.7% on 3.9% more capacity, boosting the load factor 4.6 points to 86.3%. Despite the international expansion, the average passenger journey on US Airways last month fell 0.6% to 711.4 miles.
Malaysia Airlines has introduced a bargain package from Los Angeles or Newark to Malaysia for $739 per person roundtrip, including four nights in a hotel. The fare is available to 10 different cities in Malaysia, and travel must occur between April 15 and June 30. The airline begins one- stop service from Newark April 13.
KLM's overall traffic increased 8% on 5% more capacity, boosting the load factor 1.8 percentage points to 77.8%, for the 1997-98 fiscal year, which ended March 31. Passenger traffic rose 12% on 8% more capacity. Mid- and South Atlantic, North Atlantic and Europe traffic increased 22%, 17% and 16%, respectively. On Asia routes, passenger traffic grew 6% on 5% more capacity. In March, traffic rose 4% on 5% more capacity, which reduced the load factor to 79.5% from 80.7%.
Joseph O'Gorman, former executive VP of United and chairman and president of Reno Air, has been elected to the board of Cade Industries, which develops components for aerospace and air transport companies.
The U.S. and France have postponed signing their new air transport agreement, scheduled to take place yesterday in Paris. The delay is due to "technical reasons" and "will not alter the contents" of the accord, said a spokesman of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The signing is now expected to take place on April 8, "at the earliest," he said. U.S. negotiators "wanted to 'comb' the text and the annexes of the agreement one last time before signing," he added. A U.S.
Industry may believe it has been promised a satellite-based sole-means system of navigation, but no such promise has been made, according to a top FAA official. The agency expects an answer "within six months" on whether the GPS-based Wide Area Augmentation System should offer sole or primary means for approach and landing, Dennis deGaetano, acting associate administrator for research and acquisitions, told The DAILY. DeGaetano said he wants to clarify reports that FAA has promised industry a sole- means WAAS.
Depending on whom you ask, DOT's proposed guidelines to stop anti- competitive behavior by the major carriers are either a big boost for consumers or the worst policy ever and bad for the future of airlines. On the pro side are consumer groups, small airlines that would benefit from the regulations and legislators who believe their constituents stand to be served better if more markets are opened to startups. On the con side are the majors and economic analysts who see the proposals border on draconian.
The Washington debate over major airlines driving smaller carriers out of business and collecting fat profits at fortress hubs "ignores the remarkable absence of profits in recent history," observes Robert Gordon, Northwestern University economics professor. "Between 1982 and 1997, the 10 major U.S. airlines earned small profits in some years that were exactly canceled out by losses in other years, with a net profit of zero over that 16-year period."
DOT yesterday invited U.S. carriers to apply for the one remaining U.S.- London Gatwick service opportunity available under the existing U.S.-U.K. aviation agreement for service to a new U.S. gateway. Applications are due by by April 20 and answers seven days later.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic January 1998 Revenue Ton Miles (000) January January % 1998 1997 Change Domestic Freight 732,451 706,699 3.6 Mail 169,028 163,636 3.3 Total 901,479 870,335 3.6 International Freight 686,629 612,538 12.1
Pratt&Whitney said yesterday it has recalled more than 8,000 turbine blades from PW4000, PW2000, JT9D and V2500 engines used on aircraft ranging from A320s to 747s. The company and FAA are concerned that some of the blades may have been damaged by an "overly aggressive" new ultrasonic cleaning machine at Eagle Services, New Haven, Conn., a P&W subsidiary. Eight engines with the blades were installed on United and Delta aircraft but FAA said there had been no incidents. The engines have been removed.
Aerospatiale, British Aerospace and Daimler-Benz Aerospace (Dasa) put some of their disagreements about European aerospace industry reorganization on display last week in Paris at a symposium organized by Ernst&Young and French financial daily Les Echos. As ever, conflict centered on British and German demands that Aerospatiale be privatized.
Northwest Air Line Pilots Association unit's Master Executive Council and contract negotiating committee are "outraged" that management has decided to outsource regional jet flying to Mesaba Airlines while the union and management are negotiating RJ and scope issues. Mesaba signed an agreement Monday to fly six RJs for Northwest (DAILY, April 7).
CCAIR, which operates as US Airways Express in the southeastern U.S., reported a 5.3% drop in traffic and a 20% decline in capacity during March, which increased the load factor 18.4% percentage points, a record, over the same month last year. CCAIR flew 11.3 million revenue passenger miles and 19.9 million available seat miles, creating a 56.7% load factor. Passenger enplanements declined 2.5% to 62,783. For the first three months, RPMs dropped 7.6% and ASMs 23%, increasing the load factor 20.2 points. Enplaned passengers declined 5.2% to 163,121.
Southwest posted a 10.9% increase in March traffic on 7.45% more capacity, which pushed the load factor up 2.2 percentage points to 68%. The average length of haul in March was 595 miles, up from 552 miles a year earlier. For the first quarter, Southwest's traffic rose 5.65% on 7.2% more capacity, which resulted in a load factor of 61.2%, down 0.9 points. March 1998 March 1997 3 Months 1998 3 Months 1997 RPMs 2,662,000,000 2,399,000,000 6,899,000,000 6,533,000,000
Vanguard Airlines reported a 28% reduction in traffic and a 34% decline in capacity in March 1998 compared with March 1997, which pushed the load factor up 5.5 percentage points to 78.8%. Vanguard reported 64.6 million revenue passenger miles and 87.4 million available seat miles for the month. Year-to-date RPMs were down 26.5% and ASMs 32%, causing the load factor to rise 5.6 points.
Honeywell Inc. has challenged the European Commission's decision to allow France to help two European companies finance development of avionics equipment for Airbus aircraft. The U.S. company said the decision, made public last December, would distort competition. The EC authorized the French government in December to provide 140 million French francs ($23.6 million) to Airbus Industrie to back development of a new flight management system by Sextant Avionique of France and Smiths Industries of the U.K. (DAILY, Dec. 5, 1997).
Canadian Airlines will issue US$175 million in senior secured debt in a public offering in the U.S. The company intends to conduct the offering late this month, subject to regulatory approval, and use the funds to repay debt and for general corporate purposes. Separately, Canadian Regional Airlines announced it will begin two daily Fokker 28 flights from Canadian's Vancouver hub to San Jose, Calif., on June 1.
The General Services Administration proposed yesterday various changes to its regulations under the Fly America Act governing travel by representatives of federal agencies, including a provision to make it easier to fly a foreign flag airline when connecting at an overseas airport. Under current regulations, one of the exceptions to the Fly America Act when traveling between the U.S. and another country is when flying a U.S. airline would require a connecting time of six hours or more at an overseas interchange point.
