Mesa Air Group's airlines stand to carry about 28% of passengers who will benefit, beginning Oct. 1, from reduced ticket taxes due to the special treatment afforded flights to and from certain regional airports. Earlier this week, DOT's Office of Airline Information (OAI) published a list of nearly 500 airports that OAI and the Internal Revenue Service have determined qualify for a ticket tax reduction to 7.5% and an exemption from the new segment fees (DAILY, Sept. 24).
The European Commission sees "clusters" of companies, encompassing the continent's entire aerospace industry or in specific sectors of it, as the way to compete with the U.S. aerospace giants. The commission dismissed the Airbus Industrie "partial integration scenario" as a long-term solution to the competitiveness problem (DAILY, Sept. 25), saying it "could run the risk of isolating a number of European companies and would not guarantee sufficient synergies, e.g.
U.S. Carriers Interest Expense Second Quarter 1997 % Of Total Interest Operating Expenses Alaska $ 5,731,000 1.76 America West 12,058,989 2.80 American 63,301,000 1.77 Continental 26,813,000 1.97
Peter Blute, chief executive and president of the Massachusetts Port Authority, will discuss modernization of Boston Logan Airport, the federal government's support of aviation programs and the need to provide adequate levels of funding for airport capital improvement projects on Aviation News Today, to be broadcast on Washington's NewsChannel 8, Sunday at 12:30 a.m. and at 1:30 p.m.
American signed a code-share agreement with French airlines Air Liberte and TAT for beyond-Paris service. Air Liberte is 67% owned by British Airways and TAT is 100% BA-owned, and BA is merging their operations. They are listed in the current joint TAT/Air Liberte timetable as serving 24 cities in France, several French island territories, Milan and three cities in Morocco. Both carriers are based at Paris Orly, and the code share will take effect as soon as government authorities approve it. The U.S.
DOT has tentatively decided to award Austin, Texas-based Austin Express a certificate. The carrier initially plans service from Austin to Beaumont/Port Arthur, Corpus Christi and Tyler, Texas, using four leased 19-seat Metro III aircraft (DAILY, Sept. 19). By the end of its first six months, the company wants to have added to its fleet two leased 30-seat Embraer Brasilias and launched service to other small- and medium-sized cities in the region.
TWA and Royal Jordanian will begin their code share on U.S.-Middle East routes Nov. 1, with seats available for sale tomorrow. The core route is New York Kennedy to Amsterdam, and beyond to Amman, which Royal Jordanian serves five times weekly. The new service marks TWA's re-entry into Amsterdam and its first service into Amman. The Jordanian carrier will feed passengers via TWA throughout its U.S. system, with initial code-share routes from JFK to Los Angeles and Detroit.
US Airways' Air Line Pilots Association unit will conduct informational picketing today at Pittsburgh Airport between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ALPA has been in negotiations with management this week as the airline approaches a Sept. 30 deadline to finalize its Airbus Industrie order.
Baltia has asked DOT to deny a dormancy waiver request by Delta for U.S.- Moscow service that is facing delays in gaining Russian approval. Delta wants a waiver of the 90-day dormancy provision for 9.25 combination frequencies. Baltia, preparing for startup, earlier urged DOT to deny Delta's request for temporary allocation of frequencies long reserved for Baltia's use (DAILY, Aug. 18); however, DOT granted Delta use, for one year, of 1.5 frequencies that will revert to Baltia if the carrier inaugurates service within six months (DAILY, Sept. 16).
American West will begin daily nonstop service today between Phoenix and Baltimore. Flights will depart Phoenix at 2:55 p.m. and arrive in Baltimore at 10:13 p.m., and leave Baltimore at 8:05 a.m. arriving in Phoenix at 9:53 a.m.
Continental will introduce twice-weekly nonstop service between Houston and Aruba on May 10, 1998. Flights will operate Sundays and Wednesdays from Houston and Sundays and Thursdays from Aruba. The schedule is designed to enable travelers to book a four-day stay in the Caribbean with departure in the beginning or middle of the week.
Eastwind Airlines is resisting the trend of major airlines by raising its commission to travel agents from 10% to 12% for all fare classes, providing a minimum guaranteed commission of $10.68 per booking. The airline receives about 30% of bookings through travel agents, said VP-Passenger Services Deborah McKeever. Western Pacific, Kiwi International Air Lines and Vanguard will continue to pay 10%.
Standard&Poor's raised the corporate credit and senior debt ratings of Delta to triple-B-minus from double-B-plus, resulting in an overall outlook of stable. About $5.6 billion in debt was affected. S&P said the ratings upgrade was based on strong earnings and cash flow and debt reduction.
Atlantic Coast Airlines said Thursday it had successfully completed placement of $111.6 million (aggregate principal amount) of enhanced equipment pass-through trust certificates (EETCs) under Rule 144A of the Securities Act of 1933. The net proceeds will be used to provide debt financing for leveraged-lease transactions for the first six of 12 new Canadair Regional Jets. A portion of the proceeds also will be used to finance leveraged leases for four used Jetstream 41 turboprops and the purchase of three used and one new J41.
U.S. and Russian companies working on the Tu-144LL supersonic flying laboratory have agreed to reduce the number of test flight to 18 from 32, according to sources close to this week's Gore-Chernomyrdin Commission meetings in Moscow. The first eight flights have been completed, and the aircraft is currently in a stand-down for engine work and other modifications involving aircraft and instrument experiments. The last two flights are being reserved in case it is determined that earlier tests need to be repeated.
Southwest is offering Internet users discount fares on nonstop flights to and from Houston. Fares as low as $30 one way based on roundtrip purchase will be available through Sunday for travel from Oct. 6 through Dec. 18, with Nov. 25-26 and Nov. 29-30 blackouts. Travelers can access Southwest's web page at http://www.iflyswa.com and click on "Internet Specials." Rapid Rewards members who purchase discount tickets through the Internet will receive double flight credits through Dec. 31.
Northwest's June announcement for acquiring Airbus aircraft specified 50 firm and approximately 100 options. Wednesday's order virtually mirrored the earlier statement and did not double the June order, as reported in The DAILY Sept. 25.
FAA has proposed to require replacement of the anti-skid control unit of the Dornier 328-100 aircraft braking system with an improved unit. The move is intended to prevent disconnect of the anti-skid control unit and reversion to manual braking during operation on runways contaminated by standing water, slush or wet snow.
Unhappy Pan Am shareholders are expected to propose today to oust Chief Executive Martin Shugrue because of the carrier's poor financial performance. The shareholders' meeting, in Miami, is Pan Am's first.
Continental Express this fall is dropping five Brasilia markets from Newark because of airspace congestion that is"wreaking havoc on our operational integrity." Markets being dropped are Charlottesville and Roanoke, Nov. 1; Binghamton and Ithaca, Dec. 3; and New Haven, Dec. 18. The carrier, plagued by ATC-related delays and cancellations, decided nothing smaller than the 46-seat ATR 42 will be operated at Newark and is lobbying Congress and FAA - with support from local interests - to re-jigger the Newark airspace for more capacity.
Standard&Poor's believes U.S. carriers continue to benefit from a stable, profitable marketplace, unlike airlines in Europe and Japan. Despite steeper labor costs and progressively higher federal ticket taxes, U.S. airlines are in their third consecutive year of "strong profits and stable- to-positive outlooks industry-wide," S&P said in a report. The agency noted that deregulation in Europe and Japan is "causing upheaval" in those markets, while U.S. airlines are nurtured by a favorable balance of supply and demand domestically.
U.S. National, Regionals and Cargo Carriers Advertising Expense Second Quarter 1997 % Of Total Advertising Operating Expenses American Trans Air $ 2,637,216 1.45 Carnival 621,826 0.60 Hawaiian 2,692,084 2.63 Midwest Express 1,784,686 2.69
Business Express's American Connection service at first will comprise six cities in New England and Canada but later this fall will be expanded by an another seven cities (DAILY, Sept. 25). The code-sharing agreement initially will cover Business Express service from Boston to Burlington, Vt.; Portland and Bangor, Maine; Lebanon, N.H., and Quebec City, Quebec. Later this fall the connections from Boston will be expanded to include Syracuse, Rochester, Albany, White Plains and Islip, N.Y., and Ottawa, Ontario and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Load factors surged again in August for regional airlines, nearing 60% for The DAILY's sampling of 15. Average for the 15 was 59.01%, up nearly four percentage points from last year's average of 55.24%. United Express Air Wisconsin was over 70% for the second consecutive month - unheard of several years ago for a regional carrier. The carrier's 70.9% in August compared with July's 71.7%. Seven of the 15 carriers topped the 60% level while only Midwest Express unit Skyway fell under the 50% level at 44.6%.
