Donna Rosato, transportation reporter for USA Today, will discuss electronic ticketing and airline passenger baggage issues on Aviation News Today, to be broadcast Sunday on Washington's NewsChannel 8 at 12:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Regional airline stocks have increased in value an average of 82.1% since Dec. 31, 1995. Mesaba Holdings topped the list with 100 shares acquired on that date increasing in value by 235.5% through Dec. 31, 1997. Atlantic Coast was second at 209.8%. It was followed by SkyWest, up 130%, Comair up 101.9% (following two three-for-two stock splits during the period), CCAIR up 45.6% and Atlantic Southeast up 32.3%. On the negative side were Mesa and Great Lakes, down 45.1% and 53.3%, respectively.
SAS said its new cargo building at Newark airport will open tomorrow to accommodate "dramatic growth in freight volume." The 292,000-square-foot facility will help handle the growth, which reached a record 1 billion tons of cargo in 1997.
Delta's Washington government relations office has moved to 1275 K St. N.W., Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20005, and has new telephone numbers - 202-216-0700 for voice and 202-216-0824 for fax.
United Express affiliate Atlantic Coast Airlines posted a 4.8- percentage-point increase in its passenger load factor last month to 47.7%, as traffic jumped 48.8% to 42.3 million revenue passenger miles, but capacity climbed 33.9% to 88.6 million available seat miles. Dec. 1997 Dec. 1996 12 Mths 1997 12 Mths 1996 RPMs 42,284,000 28,418,000 419,490,000 358,725,000 ASMs 88,644,000 66,209,000 861,222,000 771,068,000
Embraer, which lost about $80 million during the first half of 1997, is poised to become profitable in the short term, according to President and Chief Executive Mauricio Botelho. The Brazilian manufacturer launched its 37-seat RJ135 in September, with first deliveries in late 1999, and completed a $120 million capital infusion in August. It also proceeded in the short term with repayments of $84 million in Brasilia production costs not accounted for in planned sales, he added.
Appleton, Wis.-based BAe 146 operator Air Wisconsin flew 51.2 million revenue passenger miles last month, an 11.1% increase from December 1996. Available seat miles for the United Express affiliate rose 9.7% to 84.9 million, allowing the load factor to increase 0.8 percentage points to 60.3%. Dec. 1997 Dec. 1996 12 Mths 1997 12 Mths 1996 RPMs 51,168,000 46,075,000 608,223,000 524,474,000 ASMs 84,875,000 77,407,000 954,254,000 932,822,000
Rolls-Royce's Allison Engine Company said Industri Pesawat Terbang Nusantara (IPTN)/Universal Maintenance Center will become the 28th approved authorized maintenance center for the Model 250 engine.
Colorado Springs-based regional Mountain Air Express yesterday was scheduled to drop nearly half its flights between Colorado Springs and Denver, as Fairchild Dornier exercised its right, granted in a recent court hearing, to take back the carrier's fifth aircraft. MAX said it hoped to regain use of the aircraft by monthend. Negotations between MAX and Fairchild Dornier are continuing, "based on the positions each of the companies find themselves in as a result of the hearings," MAX said.
U.S. Major Carriers Latin Share of Service Third Quarter 1997 Total Revenue Departures Alaska 1,318 America West 1,190 American 24,165 Continental 9,210 Delta 2,252 United 4,126 US Airways 1,700 Total 43,961 Average Number of Seats Per Departure
American Eagle's four regional carriers flew 215.7 million revenue passenger miles last month, up 0.7% from December 1996. Capacity increased 1.1% to 363.8 million available seat miles, causing the load factor to fall 0.2 percentage points to 59.3%. Passenger boardings were up 0.9% and surpassed 1 million. For 1997, RPMs dropped 1.4% to 2.6 billion; capacity fell 4.7% to 4.2 billion available seat miles, and the load factor rose two points to 60.5%. Enplanements fell 2.2% to 12.1 million. (More regional aviation news follows.) Executive
The Douglas MD-95 has been rechristened the Boeing 717 and will be Boeing's entry into the short-haul regional jet market, Boeing officials said yesterday. Tom Schick, executive VP of Boeing Commercial, said Boeing has several unannounced customers for the airplane and several more who are "highly interested." AirTran Airlines is the launch customer - and the only buyer disclosed so far - with an order for 50.
Qantas is the latest airline to cut back flights to South Korea as weak traffic and a plummeting Korean won have made service unprofitable. But even though several carriers Down Under are leaving Korea, other airlines in the region have stayed the course and are not experiencing the increasingly cited Asian meltdown. Many carriers, at least so far, are isolating Korea in their assessment of Asian markets.
Air Line Pilots Association said FAA has provided "satisfactory solutions" to problems some of its members were having with the new reduced vertical separation minimum rule. Some pilots reported receiving Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System advisories and encountering wake vortices while flying in airspace where minimum separation had been reduced (DAILY, Jan. 5).
US Airways and its Air Line Pilots Association unit are negotiating this week for pay for pilots who fly the company's new widebody aircraft. The carrier is looking at purchasing Airbus A330 and A340 and Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft as part of a planned expansion of its transatlantic service. A decision on which and how many aircraft will come "at some point in the near future," said spokesman Rick Weintraub.
AirTran has reduced one-way fares to $29-$99 through March 11 (Feb. 11 for Florida destinations) for travel throughout AirTran Airlines' and AirTran Airways' systems. The non-refundable fares require a three-day advance purchase and must be bought by Jan. 21.
The United 747-100 involved in last month's turbulence episode over the Pacific has been parked in the desert near Las Vegas and will not return to operation. The aircraft is about 25 years old and was scheduled to be retired next month, a United spokesman said. It will remain in the desert with United's other retired aircraft until the National Transportation Safety Board has examined it, and later it will be offered for sale.
Kiwi International Air Lines is offering passengers flying between Jan. 13 and Feb. 10 a certificate good for a $19.98 one-way fare on a future Kiwi flight. Certificates must be redeemed in conjunction with a roundtrip purchase, and travel must be completed by June 17. Space is limited and blackout dates apply.
United and American filed objections at DOT in response to a departmental show cause order to establish temporary service mail rates for January-June 1998 reflecting lower transatlantic and transpacific rates than those in effect for the second half of 1997. (Docket OST-96-1629)
Used Jet Aircraft Deliveries September 1997 Carrier # Type Engines Previous Operator Aerolineas Argentinas 1 747-200B JT9D-7F TWA Aeromexico 1 MD-83 JT8D-219 MDFC Air Atlantic 1 BAe 146-200 ALF502R-5 Atlantic Southeast Air Charter 1 A310-300 PW4152 Oasis Air Philippines 1 737-200 JT8D-7B United
Singapore Airlines (SIA) received two-year DOT authority to display Lufthansa's designator code on SIA-operated flights between Frankfurt and New York, which the carriers intend to implement early this year. SIA has served this market for several years, and Lufthansa operates on the route using its own equipment. Both carriers hold requisite economic authority. DOT issued SIA an amended foreign air carrier permit (DAILY, Jan. 5) consistent with the U.S.-Singapore open-skies agreement.
The two biggest prizes for the U.S. in international aviation talks this year will be Japan and the United Kingdom, cheering those with a love of the familiar. But as negotiators zero in on a deal in the first case, a new U.K. agreement seems scarcely closer than a year ago. The larger objective of open skies marches on, with many small victories in 1997.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries September 1997 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Canada 2 A319 CFM56-5A5 14 Air China 1 747-400/CO PW4056 1 Air France 1 A340-300X CFM56-5C4 2
Leisure International Airways selected Pratt&Whitney PW4000 engines to power two new Airbus A330-200s, to be delivered in 2000. The aircraft will replace Boeing 767s on transatlantic and Caribbean charter routes.
