Sabena is scrapping first-class service on its intercontinental flights, starting Jan. 1, because of insufficient profitability, the airline said last week. Sabena halted first-class services on European flights five years ago, as did Swissair, Lufthansa, KLM and other European carriers.
Boeing 767 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Second Quarter 1997 B767-200 American Delta TWA Number of Aircraft Operated 30 15 12 Total Fleet Operations Departures 55 65 24 Block Hours 332 165 147
Canadian Airlines is increasing code-share service with American to include Nicaragua and Costa Rica, beginning Nov. 19. Canadian will code share from Toronto through Miami to the two countries. The carriers coordinated schedules to accommodate Canadian travelers. In June, Canadian began serving Central America with code-share service to El Salvador and Guatemala.
DOT made final its tentative order selecting Northwest and United for two available U.S.-South Africa code-share opportunities and dismissing Continental's bid for service with Air France. Service to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Harare will be operated by Northwest under code share with KLM via Amsterdam and by United under code share with Lufthansa via Frankfurt (DAILY, Sept. 19). Northwest, KLM and Lufthansa were granted two-year exemptions, and United received a certificate for five years.
Chinese, European and Singaporan industry partners in the AE100 program to develop a 100-seat jetliner by 2003 still cannot agree on how to divide the work. Chinese industry, seen mainly as a source of low-tech labor when initial agreements were reached in May, wants roles in design and marketing as well, befitting its 46% program share. European companies, with 39%, fear technology transfer would cause delays.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey will deliver today what is being billed as one of her first major speeches. The address, at the Aero Club of Washington, is expected to stress safety issues and initiatives.
ASA Holdings, parent of Atlantic Southeast Airlines, reported a third quarter net profit of $15.3 million, down 7.3% from $16.5 million in the prior-year period. Operating profit fell as well, by 10.5% to $22.8 million. Even so, Atlantic Southeast posted a 23% operating margin. The Atlanta-based carrier reported revenue of $99 million, up 4.6% due to 8% traffic growth. Yield dropped 2.9% to 40.5 cents per revenue passenger mile, however. The load factor increased 2.9 percentage points to 51.9%.
DOT's rejection of American Eagle/Simmons slot exemptions applies to a 1995 request for six slots for Chicago O'Hare-London, Ontario, not its more recent bid for 60 slots from O'Hare as reported yesterday (DAILY, Oct. 27). But given the service approved, DOT's reasoning and its new policy, Simmons has little reason to hope its massive application will be approved. The approvals were for service by Reno and Trans States for O'Hare, and Frontier, ValuJet and AirTran for New York LaGuardia.
Reno Air reported record net third quarter profits of $4.8 million, versus $4.75 million in the same period last year. Revenue increased 4.4% to a record $105.2 million, but the carrier continued to feel a financial bite from carrying five additional spare Pratt&Whitney engines after a spares shortage earlier this year forced it to ground several aircraft. The move has cost it $250,000 each month, but Chief Executive Robert Reding predicts the engine crunch will end by early next year.
Continental is adding six new routes and increasing frequency on five to Mexico and Central America as part of its Latin American expansion. Subject to government approval, Continental will add daily service between San Diego and Mexico City, Dec. 18; Los Angeles-San Salvador, Feb. 12; Newark/New York-San Salvador, April 5; Mexico City-Guatemala City, May 7, and Newark/New York-San Jose and -Guatemala City, next summer. The Mexico City-Guatemala flight will be an extension of its daily Newark/New York- Mexico City route and provide same-plane service from Newark.
Delta and United filed in opposition to the American/LanChile code share, arguing that American already is dominant in Latin America through its Miami hub and that code shares like this one will make its position virtually irreversible. In its filing on the proposal - the code share itself is undocketed but LanChile's bid for authorization is not - Delta noted DOT has yet to rule on a Sept. 11 motion filed by United asking the department to force American and TACA to submit information on how that proposed alliance relates to LanChile.
U.S. transportation stocks mirrored yesterday's record drop in the Dow Jones industrial average, as every major airline fell. The Dow Jones transportation average lost 7.2% of its value, with most airline stocks falling between 6% and 10%. Southwest and US Airways lost more than 10% of their value. Analysts noted that the market correction was not a reflection of current positive aviation industry trends and that U.S. major airline stocks are up more than 35% so far this year, even after yesterday's decline.
Ryanair is lowering the bar further on European airfares, offering seats for as little as #19 (US$31) each way between Dublin and Newcastle. The carrier is undercutting Aer Lingus, which dropped prices on the route to #59 roundtrip. Ryanair serves Teesside Airport, south of Newscastle, while Aer Lingus serves Newcastle Airport.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) praised DOT's approval of slot exemptions last week (DAILY, Oct. 27; also see Page 162), but he said it is not sufficient and questioned why acting on some of the applications took two years.
America West is increasing roundtrip nonstop service between Florida points Miami and Fort Myers and hub at Columbus, Ohio, and between Palm Springs and Phoenix. An introductory "Go-First" fare on Fort Myers/Miami routes enables passengers to book first-class services for at least 50% less than regular first-class fares - $600 roundtrip with a 14-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. Tickets must be purchased within 24 hours of booking and are non-refundable. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights.
FAA said yesterday it is ordering, effective immediately, more frequent inspections and modification of 33 older 737s in the fleets of 16 U.S. carriers. The inspections involve 17 aircraft with more than 60,000 flights and the modifications impact 16 aircraft with more than 70,000 flights. An additional 34 aircraft in worldwide fleets have reached 60,000 cycles and four have more than 70,000, FAA said, and the regulatory agencies overseeing these aircraft will be alerted.
Vanguard Airlines is extending its fall fare sale through tomorrow. The tariffs, which apply to selected flights Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday, are available with a three-day advance purchase and must be used by Dec. 16. Sample one-way fares include $52 from Atlanta to Denver, $26 from Minneapolis/St. Paul to Kansas City, and $102 from New York to San Francisco. Restrictions and blackout dates apply, and a one-night stay is required. Seats are limited and may not be available on every flight.
Reno Air has added six cities to its code-share agreement with American Eagle carrier Wings West. Reno will serve Albuquerque, Chicago, Colorado Springs, Denver, Detroit and Oklahoma City. The expanded agreement enables travelers to make reservations with Reno or a travel agent to or from nine Wings West destinations - Bakersfield, Carlsbad, Fresno, Las Vegas, Monterey, Palm Springs, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.
DOT granted two-year exemptions to Air New Zealand and United for code- share operations between the U.S. and New Zealand. ANZ has authority to display United's code on Los Angeles-Papeete, French Polynesia, Honolulu- Nadi, Fiji, and Honolulu-Rarotonga, Cook Islands, flights. United may display ANZ's code on flights, nonstops or via intermediate points, between New Zealand and the U.S. and between Los Angeles and Vancouver.
Kiwi offers students flying Newark-Boston and Boston-West Palm Beach a standby ticket for $40 each way for the Newark-Boston portion. It also is marketing a student standby book of six tickets for $320 to all its destinations. The $40 standby tickets, valid until Dec. 20, must be purchased no later than one hour before the flight. Kiwi serves Newark, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Orlando, Tampa, West Palm Beach and San Juan.
Beginning Dec. 1, Eastwind Airlines will offer Sunday-through-Friday service from Washington Dulles to Trenton, N.J., with connections to Greensboro, N. C. One-way fares between Trenton and Dulles are $99 to $159, and between Dulles and Greensboro $129 to $199, based on availability, with no advance purchase or Saturday night stay requirements. Eastwind recently purchased two new 737-700s, scheduled for delivery in April and June 1998. The carrier plans to announce new destinations in January.
Singapore Airlines parent SIA Group posted pre-tax first-half profits of S$601 million (US$382 million), up 20.3% before one-time items, as passenger traffic rose and unit costs declined. Traffic gained 9.9% on 9.6% more capacity, pushing the load factor up slightly to 70.4%. For the six months ending Sept. 30, the company reported S$3.52 billion ($2.24 billion) revenue, up 10.5%, while expenses grew 7.3% to S$3.08 billion.
Any global navigation satellite system (GNSS), such as those proposed by the U.S. and Russia, must meet certain conditions, or the European Union will press ahead with its own system, EU Transport Commissioner told the Fourth World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems last week in Berlin (DAILY, Oct. 23). The EU's conditions are (1) collective international control over the system; (2) guarantees that the service cannot be withdrawn, and (3) opportunities for European industry to compete in all segments of the market. The U.S.
Lufthansa is weighing startup of a no-frills, low-cost carrier in a response to what one official described as Germany's "crushingly high" air traffic control and landing fees (DAILY, Sept. 5). Josef Grendel, VP- corporate communications, told The DAILY last week that Lufthansa launched a feasibility study Oct. 14 to determine how it might compete in Europe's growing low-fare niche market.
