Duff&Phelps has reaffirmed the ratings of Southwest Airlines' senior secured and unsecured debt, citing its low cost structure, strong market shares in cities served and strong management team.
SAS Commuter completed a deal to acquire 15 de Havilland Dash 8Q Series 400 aircraft from Bombardier. It also took options on 18 of the aircraft. The firm order, valued at $350 million, represents the largest single order for the turboprop. The aircraft will be delivered between July 1999 and December 2000.
Lufthansa's pre-tax earnings more than doubled to 975 million Deutschmarks (US$558 million), the best result ever in the quarter ending Sept. 30. The profits came despite increased airport and air traffic control fees. Airline revenues were up 12.6% in the first nine months of 1997 to DM17.1 billion ($9.8 billion). Nine-month expenses rose 10.3%, mostly due to increased fuel costs and airport fees. Lufthansa spent DM1.6 billion ($916 million) on jet fuel this year, DM308 million or 24.3% more than last year.
With Leo Mullin installed at Delta, four of the six biggest U.S. airlines have leaders from outside the industry. Furman Selz analyst Ray Neidl comments that carriers are "finally shedding their insularity," looking for new ideas on how to run an airline. The trend, also present in Europe, ensures that airlines will be run as businesses; in the past, market share was the motivator.
DOT appointed Robert Land special assistant to Charles Hunnicutt, assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs. Land was senior adviser at DOT's Federal Railroad Administration for two years, and before joining DOT in 1995 was an attorney with Proskauer Rose Goetz&Mendelsohn. He was legislative director of President Clinton's National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry in 1993.
A passenger who regularly flies Midwest Express took exception recently to a travel guidebook's observation that the airline offers "no-frills flights." The passenger fired off a two-page letter to the guidebook publisher praising the Milwaukee-based carrier's seating, service and food offerings, including its tenderloin, shrimp and warm chocolate chip cookies.
Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers has named Jakob van Zyl, manager of the Radar Science and Engineering Section at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the recipient of its 1997 Fred Nathanson Memorial Radar Award.
Airlines Reporting Corp. is considering granting accreditation to some corporate travel departments to allow them to issue tickets. ARC spokesman Allen Muten said some corporate travel departments already seek travel agency accreditation, a status that would allow them to do retail sales as well. This is not their goal, Muten said, but it is the only way they can write tickets. "They do not necessarily desire to compete with travel agents," Muten said.
Northwest chief John Dasburg is optimistic about the future of operations at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport despite government action to reduce noise pollution by curtailing flights there. Alliance partner KLM "has given us assurances they will fight this to the bitter end," Dasburg told The DAILY.
Teal Group predicts that 3,789 business aircraft valued at $45.9 billion will be produced in the 1997-2006 decade. Its analysts say that after "spending the late 1980s and early 1990s in the doldrums, the bizjet market has begun a healthy growth spurt" from 315 deliveries in 1994 to 353 in 1996. They predict 408 deliveries this year and 420 in 1998.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines has hit paydirt by marketing itself as a home-town carrier that offers low fares and quality service, analysts say. By controlling its growth and following a strategy of flying a few, but full, jets to secondary markets, the carrier, a new entrant three years ago, has been voted by analysts as the startup most likely to survive.
US Airways has set April 1 as the launch date for Philadelphia-London Gatwick service and is exploring Philadelphia-Amsterdam, soon to be served by Northwest/KLM. Expanding from its Pennsylvania hubs, the carrier has applied for Philadelphia-Milan and Pittsburgh-Paris.
FAA last week proposed two airworthiness directives aimed at potential ignition sources in or near the center fuel tanks of Boeing 747 aircraft. Tom McSweeny, director of aircraft certification, said the ADs are based on recent tests conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board but are "precautionary in nature. There is no evidence yet that either one of these ADs is linked to the cause" of the crash of TWA Flight 800.
Alitalia plans to raise its capital by 2,750 billion lire (US$1.6 billion) in March and April 1998, the Italian airline company said last week in Rome. The recapitalization was authorized July 15, by the European Commission. So far, Italian state holding company Istituto di Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI) has injected 2,000 billion lire into the airline. The injection will be formalized by the upcoming capital injection. The remaining 750 billion lire will be placed on the stock market. IRI said it will not subscribe to this part of the operation.
DOT Secretary Rodney Slater will be the keynote speaker at the 1998 American Bar Association Air&Space Law Forum Update Conference Jan. 30, 1998, at the Sheraton City Centre Hotel in Washington. Other participants will discuss U.S.-Japan and U.S.-U.K. talks, startup carriers' quest for airport slots, predatory conduct and safety/security issues. For more information, call 312-988-5794.
Airlines can reduce or eliminate air travel barriers to disabled passengers by training their personnel to communicate better, improving airport accessibility and ensuring that people with disabilities have access to public address systems and flight information, the Canadian Transportation Agency said. Reporting on such barriers, CTA recommended a travel guide for disabled passengers and alternative information formats at airports, such as placing airline information monitors at eye level.
Leading Carriers at Top U.S. and European-Middle East Gateways Year Ending March 31, 1997 U.S. Gateways to Europe-Middle East Inbound Outbound Rank Market Passengers Passengers 1 New York Kennedy 5,573,623 5,436,769 Delta 686,339 677,566 2 Chicago O'Hare 1,717,853 1,671,063
Flight attendants at Continental, Continental Micronesia and Continental Express who call in sick four days before or after the Thanksgiving holiday have to produce a doctor's note. The flight attendants, represented by the Teamsters, are required by their contract to provide a doctor's certification of illness around all the major holidays. CORRECTION 12/3/97: Continental's flight attendants are represented by by the International Association of Machinists. The union was identified incorrectly in the above article.
BMW Rolls-Royce shipped the first BR715 engine for the MD-95 to the Douglas plant in Long Beach, Calif. The second engine is to be shipped to the facility before yearend. The aircraft is to make its first flight in the second quarter of 1998 with delivery to launch customer AirTran Airlines due in mid-1999. The BR715 also has been proposed for the Chinese AE31X and the Indonesian IPTN N2130 100-seat regional jets.
Northwest will expand Detroit-Beijing service next year to five flights per week from three. The fourth flight takes off Jan. 1 and the fifth April 5. The route has performed "exceptionally well" since it began May 1, said Chief Executive John Dasburg. "The flight saves passengers up to seven hours of travel time compared to flying our competitors via the West Coast to China." Northwest also will boost Shanghai service to two weekly flights, starting Jan. 1. It operates to Shanghai via Tokyo.
Top 20 Carriers Operating Nonstop Between the U.S. and Europe-Middle East Year Ending March 31, 1997 Total Total Rank Market Passengers Departures 1 American 3,493,894 23,665 2 British Airways 5,321,550 23,264 3 Delta 3,815,082 21,701 4 United 2,642,058 13,849
Citing high interest in the Michigan-Washington State Rose Bowl, DOT warned buyers of game packages to be sure tour operators selling them have tickets on hand or a written contract for them as required by department rules. DOT tightened controls after the 1994 Rose Bowl, when many University of Wisconsin fans found - in Pasadena - that their tour packages did not include tickets to the game. Others had to pay hundreds of dollars more to obtain them.
- In Federal Register dated Nov. 21...Issued an airworthiness directive on several Eurocopter series aircraft requiring inspection of the main rotor blade reinforcement strips...Proposed to extend the expiration date for special training for pilots of Robinson R-22 and R-44 helicopters. - In FR dated Nov. 24...Issued an AD on Jetstream 3101 and 3201 aircraft with kits JK 2496 and JM 7537 requiring magnetic latching relays on the ignition system...Issued an AD on ASTA N22 aircraft requiring inspection of the aft wing break connectors.
