South African Airways is launching a North American promotional campaign that seeks to create a more comforting image for its new livery. Touting the carrier as "Africa's Warmest Welcome," SAA is drawing attention to its nonstop service from New York and Miami and its frequent flyer links with American.
All 166 certificated U.S. carriers required to submit family assistance disaster plans to the government have done so, complying with the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act of 1996. But as noted in a letter sent to them by DOT General Counsel Nancy McFadden, who worked with the task force, DOT's acceptance of the plans does not constitute approval.
Western Pacific is prepared to continue with conservative growth by increasing its frequencies and adding one or two destinations later, President and Chief Executive Robert Peiser told The DAILY yesterday. On Wednesday, Westpac received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Colorado in Denver for debtor-in-possession and reorganization financing.
Horizon Air flew 70 million revenue passenger miles last month, up 7.2% from the same 1996 month's 65 million. Capacity climbed 3.6% to 120 million available seat miles from 115 million. The load factor was 58.5% - up two percentage points higher than the prior November's. The number of passengers totaled 287,900, up 2.1%.
Association of European Airlines Traffic October, 10 Months 1997 October 1997 Passenger Data % RPKs Change ASKs Region (Mil) 97/96 (Mil) EUROPE 10,233.8 11.0 15,391.3 NORTH AFRICA/MIDDLE EAST 1,628.5 9.3 2,491.5 LONGHAUL
Sun Pacific International received reissued certificates under a DOT order removing the condition that limited its operations to one aircraft. The carrier holds interstate and foreign charter certificates. DOT imposed the restriction because of the limited service proposed initially by the carrier and DOT's concerns that the carrier's "financial resources might not be adequate" if it acquired and operated more aircraft. The order requires Sun Pacific to inform DOT if it plans to operate more than eight aircraft.
Vanguard Airlines said it has extended the expiration date of a rights offering from 4 p.m. today to the same time Dec. 10. For holders of record as of Oct. 10, the Kansas City-based niche carrier is distributing without cost two non-transferable rights to purchase shares of the company's stock at 50 cents a share for each share of common stock held on the record date. Vanguard has distributed about 30.5 million rights to purchase shares of common stock. The carrier serves Atlanta, Chicago Midway, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver and Kansas City.
Lawrence Nagin, executive VP-corporate affairs and general counsel for US Airways, yesterday asked the Airports Council International-North America to support open-skies relationships that are truly competitive and ensure equitable access to key international airports in a way that will foster competition. Speaking to ACI's International Air Service Seminar in Washington, Nagin praised airport leadership for supporting US Airways and helping the carrier build and improve its hub facilities. He also made a pitch for a more equitable competitive environment.
CityBird, Belgium's low-cost, long-haul carrier, racked up a substantial operating loss for its third quarter. The airline said heavy startup costs and advertising charges were the main causes for the deficit. CityBird S.A., based in Brussels, suffered an operating loss of 467 million Belgian francs (US$13 million) for the three months that ended Sept. 30. Its final results, after interest charges and extraordinary income, totaled BEF 419 million ($12 million). CityBird was incorporated Aug. 7, 1996, but did not begin operations until March this year.
Ticket change fees, recently raised to $75 by major airlines, may bring more benefits to smaller or struggling carriers who follow suit. Vanguard Airlines noted in a securities filing that the fees amounted to $2.4 million, or 4.1% of operating revenue, during the January-September period. Vanguard has been charging $50.
A last-minute bid by a group of West Coast investors proposing to finance Mahalo Air for up to $10 million persuaded a bankruptcy court judge on Monday to give the carrier more time in Chapter 11 to come up with a plan for survival (DAILY, Dec. 2). Mahalo Principal Investor Robert Iwamoto told The DAILY two other investors have expressed interest in buying Mahalo. Neither English Worldwide Aviation nor Vista International, Inc. has come up with any cash.
CCAIR improperly operated 21 flights with three Jetstream 31 aircraft in June 1995 without having inspected the windscreens of the aircraft under an effective airworthiness directive and should be fined $94,500, FAA said this week. The AD, which became effective in March 1995, requires airlines to inspect visually certain British Aerospace Jetstream aircraft for cracking of the polyvinyl butyrate interlayer of the left and right windscreens.
The dramatic rate at which Spencer, Iowa-based Great Lakes Aviation has shrunk after deciding in the second quarter to reduce its scope of operation is illustrated by a fleet comparison reported in its third quarter financial statement (DAILY, Nov. 18). As of May 16, when it voluntarily suspended operations temporarily under threat of FAA shutdown, Great Lakes was operating 53 aircraft; it now operates 41, a reduction of nearly 23%. Great Lakes said it still continues "to actively pursue" sale or lease of another six aircraft.
Jean-Pierre Hoss, Air France's general manager-development and international affairs, has resigned, citing "disagreement with the decision not to privatize the company and with the strategy" of the new Chairman Jean-Cyril Spinetta. Since Spinetta took over from Christian Blanc in September, two other top executives have left the company.
Swissair is bringing closer the members of its "family", said Paul Reutlinger, chairman of Sabena, which is 49.5% owned by SAirgroup, Swissair's parent company. The Belgian airline signed a code-share agreement with TAP Air Portugal yesterday in Brussels. The Portuguese state-owned carrier entered a wide-ranging alliance with Swissair in September. TAP and Sabena intend to increase frequencies between Lisbon and Brussels. Their pact - which will be applied "beyond their respective hubs," Reutlinger said - will become effective in March 1998.
Indonesian aircraft manufacturer IPTN is selling CN-235 turboprop aircraft through the barter of commodities. The company has signed a counter-trade with Thailand for 110,000 tons of rice in exchange for 20 aircraft and 1,500 Proton automobiles. Counter-trade agreements also have been made with Malaysia, Pakistan and South Korea, and deals are pending with Finland and Croatia. Although the deals are based on commodities, IPTN is paid in cash from other government agencies. The nation is buying Russian multi- role fighters for palm oil, coffee and rubber.
Venezuelan carrier Linea Aerea IAACA has ordered one ATR 72-210 turboprop in a deal estimated at $18 million. The aircraft, which will be delivered next month, brings IAACA's fleet to five ATRs - two model 42s and three 72s. IAACA was founded in 1954 as an air spraying company; it later became the largest air taxi operation in Venezuela. It became an airline in 1995.
Varig posted a 4.8% rise in October traffic, while freight volume surged 16.3%. Passenger load factor was 71.6% on international routes and 64.2% on domestic. The airline carried more than 887,500 passengers in October and 8.3 million in the first 10 months of the year.
Correction: Chris Witkowski, director-air safety and health for the Association of Flight Attendants, said, "FAA needs...to set uniform limits on the volume and weight of carry-on bags per passenger." The DAILY Dec. 2 incorrectly used the phrase "per customer." Carry-on baggage is a safety, not a competitive/consumer issue, Witkowski said.
Nonstop Passengers Between The U.S. and World Regions Years 1992 To 1996 U.S. To/From: 1992 1993 1994 Africa 262,997 293,372 367,027 Percent Change * 42.3% 11.5% 25.1% Australasia/Oceania 2,449,429 2,482,536 2,492,433 Percent Change * 2.3% 1.4% 0.4%
United Express affiliate Atlantic Coast Airlines reported a 6.1- percentage-point increase in its load factor last month to 50.4% as traffic jumped 29.6% to 36.6 million revenue passenger miles and capacity climbed 14% to 72.6 million available seat miles. Boardings were up 29.5% to 147,430. Nov. 1997* Nov. 1996 11 Mths 1997* 11 Mths 1996 RPMs 36,619,000 28,256,000 376,702,000 330,307,000 ASMs 72,644,000 63,731,000 767,561,000 704,859,000
Mexicana traffic for October rose 19.8% on 15.3% more capacity, which boosted load factor 2.2 percentage points to 57.7%. Domestic traffic grew 9.5% and international/charter 27.1%. Year-to-date traffic increased 23.6% on 14.9% more capacity.
Europe suffers from exorbitant handling fees at its airports, says the Association of European Airlines. In a new independent study from the U.K.'s Cranfield University commissioned by the AEA, the findings reveal that the average cost of operating a commercial flight in and out of a European airport is "much higher" than at sites in North America and the Far East. It says the cost of turning around a 747-400 at Vienna, for example, is nearly three times that at San Francisco. The cost differences are wide within Europe as well.
Fifty-three percent of airline passengers avoid commuter flights for safety reasons, according to the 1997 Frequent Flyer magazine poll, published this month. The percentage is up from 47% of respondents in the 1996 poll. Only 15% said they changed or canceled a flight because of unease about an airline's or airplane's safety record. The mean percentage of flights on commuter versus larger carriers during the past 12 months was 9.9% versus 11.1% a year ago. And 75% preferred jets when flying to small cities, even if fewer flights were available.
IATA called yesterday on the United Nations' environmental meeting under way in Kyoto to affirm the pre-eminent role of the International Civil Aviation Organization in aviation-related environmental issues. The IATA endorsement of ICAO follows by one day a go-it-alone approach announced by the European Commission concerning emissions from jet engines (DAILY, Dec. 4). IATA noted that an ICAO report on "Aviation and the Global Atmosphere" is due in March 1999.
