Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. said its implementation of Retirement Protection Act reforms makes it unnecessary to maintain its annual list of 50 companies whose pensions are underfunded the most.
Northwest's August traffic gained 3.1% on 3.7% more capacity, reducing the load factor 0.5 percentage points to 80.1%. International traffic increased 3.4% on 4.9% more capacity, and the international load factor lost 1.2 points to 85.9%. Domestic traffic rose 2.8% on 2.8% more capacity, holding the load factor constant at 76.1%. Aug 97 Aug 96 8 Mths 97 8 Mths 96 RPMs 7,136,578,000 6,921,965,000 48,708,819,000 46,701,224,000
Pan American and Carnival Air Lines want an extraordinary-circumstances slot exemption to fly Boston-New York Kennedy, a bid that brings the current round of applications for exceptions from slot rules to all four high-density airports. Chicago O'Hare and New York LaGuardia are the subject of numerous applications, and AirTran last week filed the first for Washington National.
US Airways is pushing its Air Line Pilots Association unit to put the company's latest contract proposal before its members for a vote and possible ratification. ALPA and the carrier continued negotiations yesterday, and airline officials hope for a resolution as the Sept. 30 deadline for a contract for 400 Airbus Industrie aircraft looms. The airline is offering ALPA guaranteed parity with other major carriers, but ALPA members are concerned because no one has defined what parity means, said Mike Oakey, US Airways ALPA media spokesman in Pittsburgh.
Strong lobbying by Indian airline managements has spared aviation turbine fuel from the petroleum product price increase announced last week by the federal government, industry analysts said. The hike affected gasoline, diesel, and cooking gas prices the most. Airline managements demanded that ATF prices be untouched - if not reduced - because the price of fuel in India was two to three times that of other countries, and any jump would be "a crippling blow" to cash-strapped domestic airlines.
FAA invited the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association to help it explore ways to speed processing for airman medical certification applications, particularly applications involving special issuance. EAA President Tom Poberzny said delays in medical certification "cause undue hardship and added expense for pilots. For more than 10 years, EAA's Aeromedical Council has advised and assisted pilots with numerous medical issues." Special issuance certificates, which once cleared in two weeks, now face significant delays, he said.
National Aeronautic Association will issue the Elder Statesman of Aviation award for 1997 to six people - John Baker, past president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association; William Kershner, author of Student Pilots Flight Manual; Ralph Nelson, who established the International Aviation Theft Bureau; R. Dixon Speas, founder of the consulting firm bearing his name; Edward Stimpson, retired president of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, and Peter Wright, founder of the American Helicopter Museum.
TWA announced yesterday the completion of its agreement to acquire the second of two new 767-300s that will join its fleet early next year (DAILY, Sept. 8). The two aircraft, to be leased from International Lease Finance Corp., will be the first new 767s among the 16 that TWA will operate. TWA will use them on longer routes, including service to the Middle East.
Taiwan and Russia ratified the bilateral agreement they negotiated in March, entitling China Airlines and Transaero to two roundtrips per week apiece between Taipei and Moscow, increasing to three per week next spring. CAL probably will not launch service on the route before the end of the year, however.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses First Quarter 1997 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues Alaska 26,194,000 25.76 24,979,000 Latin 26,194,000 25.76 24,979,000
Bombardier reported provisional type certification from FAA for its Learjet 45 business jet and said it expects final type certification soon. Deliveries will begin in November.
Although British Airways has yet to comment on DOT's procedural schedule for its proposed alliance with American, Chief Executive Bob Ayling complained yesterday that the application is in a "perpetual holding pattern above Brussels as the [European Commission] bureaucrats grind over detail gone over so many times before." Speaking in Glasgow at the American Society of Travel Agents' (ASTA) annual congress, Ayling said that in contrast, other alliances were "now roaring ahead."
DOT deferred action on the joint application of Star Alliance members Air Canada and SAS to code share between Canada and Scandinavia via points in the U.S. The department linked its decision to "further discussions" with Canada on third-country code shares and said it is "not contrary" to U.S. open skies agreements with Canada and the Scandinavian countries. The carriers claim underlying authority under U.S. accords with Denmark, Norway and Sweden and the U.S.-Canada bilateral, which does not specifically authorize or deny such code sharing.
Lufthansa Cargo said it returned to the black in the first half of 1997 with a pretax profit of 33 million Deutschmarks (US$18 million), compared with a loss of DM44 million ($24.4 million) during the 1996 first half. Turnover was DM1.8 billion ($1 billion), a gain of 10%, even though targeted freight volume "could not quite be achieved." Sold capacity declined by 0.1%. Pricing policy and exchange rate advantages led to the profit, aided by worldwide economic conditions and cost reduction measures introduced last year.
Continental reported a 13.1% jump in August traffic on 9.5% more capacity, producing a record load factor of 76.8%, up 2.4 percentage points from August 1996. The load factor was the highest for any month in the airline's 63-year history. International traffic, which represented 32% of total traffic for August, swelled 25% on 23.4% more capacity. Domestic traffic grew 8.2% on 3.9% more capacity. Aug 97 Aug 96 8 Mths 97 8 Mths 96 RPMs 4,656,694,000 4,118,662,000 32,015,814,000 28,323,825,000
International Lease Finance Corp. has leased a 767-300ER powered by General Electric engines to TransAero of Russia, an A320-200 with V2500 engines to Air Alfa of Turkey and a 767-300ER powered by General Electric engines to Britannia Airways of the U.K. TransAero is scheduled to receive its aircraft next March and intends to use it to replace DC-10-30s. The Air Alfa delivery is scheduled in January. ILFC already has placed 757-200ERs at TransAero and A321-200s at Air Alfa.
United's August traffic increased 3.3% on 3.4% more capacity, which held the load factor virtually constant at 78.5%. The airline reported strong growth in the Atlantic, where traffic jumped 27.4% and capacity 22.9% over August 1996. The Atlantic load factor gained 3.1 percentage points to 85.8%. Latin America traffic fell 1.5% on 1.7% less capacity and North America traffic was up 1.2% on 1.5% more capacity. Cargo ton miles rose 24%, with mail volume increasing 17%. Aug 97 Aug 96 8 Mths 97 8 Mths 96
The Association of Flight Attendants is threatening to sue ValuJet over the firing last Thursday of a flight attendant who was a member of AFA's negotiation committee. The flight attendant, Lisa Robinson, was fired for supporting the union, AFA's staff attorney Steve Francy alleged, but ValuJet said she was fired for making derogatory comments in front of customers. Contract negotiations between AFA and ValuJet stalled on Friday.
Tracor Applied Sciences said it received a $20 million DOT contract to provide breath alcohol testing and urine specimen collection services. Other federal, state and local governments may also receive services under the contract, and this could increase its value to $50 million. Rick Wrobel, program manager, said Tracor has been providing about 7,800 breath alcohol tests a year to DOT and its operating units, mainly FAA.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses First Quarter 1997 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American Trans Air 185,235,679 (5.77) 81,527,605 Carnival 79,333,826 1.31 64,626,485
TAP Air Portugal reached an agreement with its pilots that Chairman Manuel Ferreira Lima said "brings back peace within the company." The accord increases the pilots' working hours but grants them days off if they exceed fortnightly thresholds, and it restricts night flying. TAP and its pilots were in conflict for months over work schedules, and pilots agreed three weeks ago to interrupt their job action and return to the negotiating table (DAILY, Aug. 18). The company said it faced a loss of $110 million if the pilots resumed their action through September.
Northwest is restricting passengers to one piece of carry-on luggage and requiring them to check extra bags in an attempt to facilitate departures and eliminate onboard storage-area crowding. Requests to change the carrier's unlimited-carry-on policy came mainly from customer service employees and flight attendants, said Northwest spokesman Jim Faulkner. "We don't have to hold up the plane as much while people store their bags," he said. Passengers still can carry on a purse, laptop computer, coat, camera, infant bag, reading material and umbrella.
America West has added second daily nonstop flights between Phoenix and two northeast points, Philadelphia and Boston. The carrier offers two one- stops from Phoenix to Boston and three one-stops from Boston to Phoenix. Its nonstops to Boston are the only ones from Phoenix.
With the House and Senate going to conference as early as this week on the DOT appropriations bill, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee apparently intends to insist on language in his bill making changes in statutory restrictions on service at Dallas Love Field (DAILY, July 23). "I think the Wright Amendment ought to go," Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said in an interview taped for broadcast yesterday on Aviation News Today. "I'd like to repeal it - period.
