The last of a dozen Avro RJ100s, which Crossair calls Jumboliners, was accepted into the Swissair subsidiary's fleet just a few days ago. The carrier now has a jet fleet numbering 24, including eight MD-82s and -83s, and four Avro RJ85s. The company's 20-strong lineup of Saab 2000 turboprops is to be increased by five in the first quarter of 1997.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund - Income Statement October 1, 1995 - May 31, 1996 Current Month RECEIPTS (Revenues) Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas $ 0.00 Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. 0.00 Use of International Travel Facilities 0.00 Transportation of Property and Cargo 0.00
Federal Judge James Rosenbaum gave preliminary approval yesterday to the settlement reached in an antitrust lawsuit brought by travel agents against six airlines last year. The agents, represented by the American Society of Travel Agents, charged that the carriers unlawfully capped domestic travel agent commissions at $25 per one-way ticket. The suing parties have until Nov. 1 to file objections to the settlement, and a hearing is scheduled Nov. 15.
McDonnell Douglas, whose military aircraft business has prospered over the last two years, is determined to do the same with its commercial transports, according to Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher. Rebuilding the Douglas Aircraft division as a force in civil jet transports ranks in importance with winning the competition for the Pentagon's proposed Joint Strike Fighter, Stonecipher said at the Farnborough Air Show. Rejuvenated management and manufacturing teams would focus on both priorities, he said.
TWA posted a 10% gain in revenue passenger miles in August, as traffic grew slightly more than the airline's 9.8% increase in capacity, pushing the load factor up 0.1 points to 74.1%. Domestic RPMs rose 12.4% from August 1995, while international RPMs were up 6.9%. Year-over-year enplanements grew as well, to 2.32 million from 2.13 million. During the first eight months of the year, traffic jumped 11.1% while capacity increased 7.7%, boosting the year-to-date load factor 2.1 points to 69%.
GATX Capital Corp. has ordered $40 million worth of auxiliary power units, wheels and brakes, and avionics from AlliedSignal Aerospace for use on 33 Airbus and Boeing aircraft. The contract is AlliedSignal's second major agreement this year with an aircraft leasing company, which it called a "growing and important customer category in this part of the aircraft purchase cycle." GATX, through partnerships, has placed firm orders for 10 737-800s with options for 10, one 757 with options for two, and 11 A320/A321 aircraft with undisclosed options.
InVision Technologies said it has shipped a CTX 500 explosives detection system to El Al for use at New York Kennedy Airport. El Al is the first air passenger carrier to install the CTX 500 inside the U.S. on a commercial basis. The unit is expected to be operational today. It will be placed in the El Al check-in area, where it will scan carry-on and checked baggage for explosives and other contraband prior to departure. El Al ordered the CTX 500 in March before the TWA 800 crash, InVision said.
International travelers are favorably disposed toward open skies agreements and international alliances, including the proposed American-British Airways liaison, according to a survey backed by American. Conducted by Peter D. Hart Research and Wirthlin Worldwide, the survey comprised phone interviews with 838 passengers, of whom 92% traveled internationally in the last three years and 8% planned to travel in the next three years, said Peter Hart, chief executive of Hart Research Associates.
Airline Industry Stock Trends Closed Closed Exchange 8/30/96 7/31/96 Majors Alaska Air Group NYSE $ 21.120 $ 24.000 AMR NYSE 82.000 78.875 America West (Class B) NYSE 13.370 16.000 Continental (Class B) NYSE 22.620 25.500 Delta NYSE 70.870 69.875
The union representing United Parcel Service pilots said yesterday it has petitioned FAA to require collision avoidance systems on the nation's 700- 800 all-cargo aircraft. Air Line Pilots Association voiced similar concerns earlier (DAILY, Aug. 22). Unlike passenger carriers' fleets, cargo aircraft operated by UPS, FedEx and other cargo airlines are not required to be equipped with traffic alert and collision avoidance systems (TCAS).
The Machinists union is calling on the Clinton administration to reject the proposed American-British Airways alliance on grounds that it "would result in a monopolistic international cartel answerable to no one," said International President George Kourpias in a letter to President Clinton dated Aug. 28. The union urged DOT "to find that the...alliance is anti- competitive and violative of our nation's antitrust laws," Kourpias said.
Delta, Swissair, Sabena and Austrian Airways will boost their North Atlantic network operation Oct. 27 with 30 new code-share destinations. The U.S. carrier plans to add as many as 10 cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia via each of its European partners, for a total of 12 cities it does not currently serve. The three European carriers will add 10 cities beyond Delta's gateways, mainly Atlanta, New York and Cincinnati, for a total of 18 new North American destinations.
Delta Air Cargo said it began booking all shipments on Sept. 1 using a new cargo booking and management system jointly developed with Unisys Corp. The system will permit sales and service representatives to "maximize use of cargo bin space by identifying available capacity on Delta flights," the carrier said. The decision to book shipments was made to support a new time-definite cargo product line, which includes Dash, Priority First Freight, Priority Second Day and Priority Third Day (DAILY, Sept. 3).
Association of Flight Attendants asked DOT Inspector General Joyce Fleischman yesterday to investigate DOT's conduct in the ValuJet fitness case, saying the department has acted improperly and was influenced unduly by Congress to return ValuJet to service. The AFA, which represents flight attendants at ValuJet, said it believes DOT engaged in "prohibited communications" with members of Congress, did not submit correspondence into the docket and refused AFA's requests to read the correspondence.
C-S Aviation Services and Romaero signed an agreement yesterday at the Farnborough Air Show to form a joint-venture company to provide scheduled airframe maintenance for airlines in Europe. The new company, C-S Romaero, based in Bucharest, Romania, will perform heavy maintenance checks on Airbus, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas narrowbody aircraft. Construction of a widebody hangar and an avionics repair station is set to begin next year.
The Senate majority and minority leaders have designated Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) and aviation subcommittee ranking Democrat Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) as Senate liaisons to the Aviation Safety and Security Commission. Two House members, one from each party, also will be designated to the commission headed by Vice President Gore. In a statement yesterday, Pressler reiterated his commitment to watching the impact of the commission's work on airports and airlines that serve rural areas.
Shareholders of Pan American World Airways and Frost Hanna Mergers Group, the key funding source for the airline's re-launch, agreed yesterday to merge into a single entity - Pan Am Corporation. The combined company is expected to be listed on the American Stock Exchange.
House Transportation aviation subcommittee plans to hold a hearing this month on the so-called Big Seven proposal for airline user fees to replace the passenger ticket tax, but no further action is anticipated this year. The Republican congressional leadership is pushing to adjourn by monthend, increasing the chances that Congress will leave for the year without extending the excise taxes, due to expire Dec. 31.
Continental Connection carrier GP Express ceased flying and closed its doors last week after struggling for nearly two years to stay afloat. The carrier was beset by bad luck and slow traffic since it began as a Continental partner in 1994. GP Express, named after founder George Poullos, fed Continental at the two carriers' Denver hub until the major partner pulled out of the market in late 1994. GP Express later moved to Greensboro, N.C., and code shared there until Continental left the city this year.
Tower Air has hired Raymond Vecci, former chairman, president and chief executive of Alaska Air Group and Alaska Airlines, as its executive VP and chief operating officer.
Jet fuel prices have increased about 13 cents per gallon since Aug. 1 due to Middle East tensions, and some energy experts believe global energy costs may remain high throughout the fall and winter no matter how long Iraq-U.S. fighting is front-page news. And jet fuel prices may increase further in the next few days, energy experts tell The DAILY, if military action in Iraq intensifies. "Jet fuel prices are screaming; they've increased incredibly," a jet fuel trader at a top European bank said yesterday.
Airbus continues to refine its A3XX jumbo-jet design as it works to press the advantages of two, all-new models over Boeing derivative aircraft. "Over the last few months the mood has changed," one Airbus official said. "Airlines have accepted that it's in their best interest to wait and conduct a proper evaluation." First Boeing 747X deliveries, if the program is launched, likely will slip from the current target of late 2000, he added. Airbus is aiming to launch either of two versions of the four- engine A3XX in 1998 and make first deliveries in 2003.
British Airways' August revenue passenger kilometers rose 5.7% over August 1995, but capacity, measured in available seat kilometers, increased 8.5%, pushing the load factor down 2.1 percentage points to 78.4%. The airline's premium passenger traffic rose, however, gaining 9.8% during August, compared with a main cabin passenger growth of 5.2%. Cargo tonne kilometers increased 14%, producing a flat load factor of 73.8%. BA carried 3.3 million passengers in August, up 2.4%.
Delta, the airline that first capped travel agents' domestic commissions, will pay $20 million if a settlement of the lawsuit brought by the American Society of Travel Agents is approved (DAILY, Sept. 4). The settlements with all seven airlines originally sued give travel agents $86 million of the $725 million they claimed, and allows airlines to continue capping commissions without admitting to any wrongdoing.
