Share price of Cathay Pacific, which jumped during June from HK$11.65 to HK$16.05, has settled at about HK$15. The price at the start of the year was HK$12. The runup in June followed market rumors that Chinese involvement in ownership of the Hong Kong airline would increase. Cathay denies knowledge of any such intention.
Southwest, which has doubled its capacity since 1992, is leveraging its size, negotiating long-term supplier deals and reorganizing its purchasing department in moves it believes will save $50 million-$60 million annually. New cost-cutting targets include engine maintenance, a new reservations system, office supplies, ground operations and telecommunications. Southwest has grown from 21.4 billion available seat miles in 1992 to 40.7 billion at the end of 1996, and John Denison, executive VP-corporate services, noted that "size produces cost reduction opportunities."
American and Canadian Airlines International will merge their respective Canadian sales forces, creating a single team that will promote both airlines in Canada. The joint operation will eliminate the need for separate sales calls to the same clients. The carriers, which formed an alliance in April 1994, have expanded the accord to cover 500 destinations, including 300 in North America.
Worldspan has devoted a section of the company's Web site to corporate travel products and services, accessible at www.worldspan.com/tripmanager. The site is a corporate self-booking product. Its new Trip Manager booking tool for business travelers went into testing this week at two companies, which will evaluate its functionality.
Emery Worldwide intends to invest $55.9 million in improvements at its Dayton, Ohio, hub as part of its global expansion program. The upgrade will increase the hub's capacity more than 30%, said Emery President David Beatson. It includes a 145,000-square-foot building expansion, a 70,000- square-foot truck dock, new sort systems to increase capacity by 20,000 parcels per hour and additional freight-handling equipment.
Canadian Airlines International reported a 4.6% decline in June traffic on 2.3% less capacity, which lowered the load factor 1.8 percentage points to 75.8%. Domestic traffic fell 5.5% on 5.7% less capacity, boosting the load factor 0.2 points to 76.7%. The international load factor dropped 3 points to 75.3%, reflecting what Canadian described as a directional imbalance on flights to Hong Kong, which represents more than 20% of its international capacity. More people left Canada for Hong Kong in June, and the reverse is expected in July.
FAA announced plans to fine Lone Star Airlines $375,000 for shipping flammable hazardous materials that were "not properly classed, described, packaged, marked, labeled and in a condition for shipment." In addition, the Fort Worth carrier "did not provide proper emergency response information and failed to instruct each of [its] offices, agents and employees on the proper guidelines to ship hazardous materials." The shipment was a fiberboard package containing an adhesive used to seal fuel- tank leaks, which FAA described as flammable and hazardous.
Reno Air launched QQuick Miles, a frequent flyer program that awards at least 500 miles for every Reno flight or actual mileage for flights longer than 500 miles. Passengers can redeem 5,000 miles for a first-class upgrade or earn free trips with as few as 15,000 miles. Passengers who enroll in QQuick Miles start with 1,500 miles.
DOT tentatively chose American International Airways to take over three weekly frequencies flown by Millon Air between the U.S. and Ecuador before Millon Air suspended operations following a 707 crash. The show cause order rejected competing applications by Arrow Air, Challenge Air Cargo, Fine Airlines, Florida West International and Polar Air Cargo. In a response to filings for the rights, Million Air acknowledged it used the frequencies for eight months without U.S. authority.
Carnival Air Lines selected Aero Corp. for a $4 million contract to provide Q and C checks, corrosion prevention and service bulletin compliance work on 13 737s and 727s.
The Senate's Defense Department appropriations bill for Fiscal 1998, approved Tuesday, includes $75 million for procurement of flight safety equipment for Air Force transport aircraft. Sen. Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), who sponsored the allocation, noted that the new money would equip troop transport aircraft with equipment already being added to the Air Force's VIP airplanes.
Sony Trans Com has developed an improved inflight video Walkman that features a larger screen, better power source and multilingual audio system. The GV-F700, which will be available in October, is a hand-held device with a built-in monitor that enables passengers to control programming. The device uses InfoLithium batteries that provide three hours of play time and have built-in microprocessors that communicate with the Walkman communications terminal to recharge after each use. The screen displays the number of minutes left on the battery.
Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. said it completed major maintenance including S duct removal and reconditioning, interior refurbishment and exterior painting, of a U.K. Royal Air Force L-1011.
United has decided against adding a 14-day advance purchase requirement to its Mileage Plus Saver Award Jan. 1 as planned. Mileage Plus members responded negatively to the earlier advance-purchase announcement, saying business travelers find it increasingly difficult to plan their vacations very far in advance. Unlike the standard award, Saver Awards require fewer miles to earn trips but carry some restrictions.
Delta's electronic reservations desk on its SkyLinks World Wide Web site can now issue tickets online for domestic travel. Users can book and purchase ticketless travel on the site, found at http://www.delta-air.com. Passengers with electronic tickets and an advance seat assignment may check in at curbside. For security reasons, travel to and from Hawaii requires check-in at the counter. Delta said it plans to add electronic ticketing soon for Delta Shuttle and Delta Connection carrier flights.
LanChile posted a 39.9% gain in May traffic on 39.1% more capacity, which nudged the load factor up 0.3 percentage points to 54.5%. Freight ton kilometers rose 83.1%. For the first five months of 1997, LanChile's traffic soared 61% on 56.6% more available seat kilometers, increasing the load factor 1.7 percentage points to 63.1%.
A New Jersey bankruptcy court did not reach a conclusion Tuesday night on whether Kiwi International Holdings could acquire Kiwi International Air Lines for $16.5 million. The airline's creditors, which stand to lose millions if Kiwi's debts are wiped out because of the sale, objected to the carrier's sale to a holding company funded by Baltimore-based rescue investor Charles Edwards. The airline reported some progress, however, as it completed agreements with several creditors, including Sabre and Northwest, a Kiwi spokesman said. Hearings resume today.
The European Commission will turn down the Boeing-McDonnell Douglas merger July 23 "unless a big miracle happens," a European Union source said yesterday in Brussels, where talks between commission officials and Boeing representatives were interrupted at noon local time. EU sources said the commission needed written concessions from Boeing before yesterday evening in order to be in a position to approve the $14 billion merger on time, and it was not clear at DAILY press time whether the company made an acceptable offer.
Northwest said its recently announced daily nonstop code-share service with KLM linking Seattle and Amsterdam using Northwest DC-10-30s is another reason DOT should award it third-country code-share rights to South Africa. Northwest quoted a recent DOT show-cause order awarding third-country code- shares to the Czech Republic in which the role of U.S. gateways was a key criterion for allocating rights (DAILY, July 9). The Northwest/KLM service means Northwest could operate South African nonstop service from 13 U.S.
America West Vacations is offering summer and fall vacation packages to Mexico starting at $229, including air fare, accommodations and 500 frequent flyer bonus miles. The packages must be booked by July 18 for travel July 28-Sept. 23. The vacations are from Phoenix to Mazatlan, Acapulco, Manzanillo, Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta.
Argentina-based Aires del Sur signed a consent order levying a $10,000 fine connected to unauthorized operation of cargo service to the U.S. DOT said Aires del Sur was listed in past issues of The Official Cargo Guide as a certificated carrier for Miami-Buenos Aires. It said it also had information that the carrier was listed on an air waybill on April 19, 1995, as Aires del Sur S.A.-International Enterprises Group (IEG), a cargo carrier on Miami-Buenos Aires. The carrier agreed to the consent order but said it never operated the service.
Major Carriers % Of Total Operating Maintenance Expenses Alaska $ 26,488,000 8.39 America West 46,103,751 10.68 American 431,513,000 12.15 Continental 151,102,000 11.17
Worldspan has initiated a truth-in-advertising campaign using anecdotes from customers on how the computer reservations system company helped them. Worldspan said research conducted by the subscribers of three CRSs said they want "fewer sweeping promises and more well-defined commitments in CRS claims." Subscribers are tired of claims by CRSs that they can provide every solution and service, the company said. The first ad describes how Worldspan helped a travel agency provide services to an isolated U.S.
