Taiwan and St. Lucia signed a bilateral agreement Wednesday that permits each side to designate one or more airlines to conduct service on direct routes between them. Travel agents in Taipei say flights between the two areas are unlikely any time soon, however, since few Taiwanese currently view the Caribbean as a high priority for travel. The agents say the signing was carried out mainly for political reasons - the government in Taipei considers any government-to-government agreement to be a major success because of Beijing's efforts to isolate Taiwan politically.
Express Airlines I for the first time has published its monthly traffic figures on the PRNewswire, leading to speculation that the Atlanta-based company is seeking to embellish its image as negotiations with senior partner Northwest toward a new marketing agreement continue. The existing agreement - to feed both the Memphis and Minneapolis hubs - expires next spring. Express reported June traffic was up 17.5% to 40.3 million revenue passenger miles, while capacity was down 1% to 69.4 million available seat miles. Enplanements totaled 166,149, up 13.2%.
Alaska Air Group's Horizon Air subsidiary posted an operating income of $2.7 million for the quarter ended June 30, a 92.9% increase from the same quarter one year ago, Alaska Air Group reported. Operating revenues rose 9.3% to $76.7 million from 70.2 million in the 1995 period. The parent reported a net income of $18 million, or $1.24 per share, on operating revenues of $416.7 million and an operating income of $39.7 million (See related story below) 2nd Qtr 1996 2nd Qtr 1995 6 Mths 1996 6 Mths 1995
United asked DOT for an exemption to offer services between points in the U.S. and Baku, Azerbaijan, and Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan, and to integrate these services with its other route authorizations. The carrier proposes to offer the service via Frankfurt under its code-share pact with Lufthansa. Lufthansa requested authority to hold out United's code on Lufthansa's flights between points in Germany and Baku and Ashkhabad. The services will begin as soon as government approvals have been received, said United. (Docket OST 96-1560)
Cathay Pacific has purchased a cargo yield management system from Sabre Decision Technologies and expects to improve its revenues by 1% to 4% per year. The first phase of the new system is scheduled to be operational by September and the second by the end of 1998.
U.S. National Carriers Traffic June, 6 Months 1996 June June % 1996 1995 Change American Trans Air Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 770,338 718,942 7.1 Available Seat Miles (000) 1,178,586 1,007,834 16.9 Load Factor (%) 65.4 71.3
U.S. and Colombian negotiators were at loggerheads yesterday as the sides continued talks for a third day in Washington. U.S. officials were trying to end the talks without prompting Colombia to renounce its bilateral with the U.S.
Cincinnati- and Orlando-based Comair flew 134.7 million revenue passenger miles in June, a 24.5% increase from June 1995. Capacity increased more slowly - 15.3% to 221.3 million from 191.9 million - allowing the load factor to rise 4.5 percentage points to 60.9% from 56.4% in the prior period. The number of passengers boarded rose 20.4% to 413,389 from 343,286.
Objections to the proposed British Airways-American alliance is "predictable, meritless and shortsighted," according to American. "It is clear that the objections are based on an intense desire by other carriers to deny American and BA the benefits of the alliances almost all of our opponents already enjoy," said Arnold Grossman, American VP, international planning. Noting that the deal is contingent on a U.S.-U.K.
Aero Personal, a Mexican air taxi operator of executive aircraft, applied to DOT for an exemption to provide charter passenger service with small aircraft between Mexico and the U.S. Aero Personal also requested stopover privileges and relief from the requirement to obtain advance approval for each Mexico-U.S. flight. The carrier estimated that it will operate 35 roundtrips annually between Mexico and the U.S. with an average of two to three passengers per flight. Half of the transborder trips are expected to serve more than one destination in the U.S.
The Senate Appropriations Committee yesterday approved the fiscal 1997 DOT appropriations bill (H.R.3675), adding $60 million to the Airport Improvement Program funding level approved by the transportation subcommittee (DAILY, July 17). The additional money brings the proposed funding for FAA to $8.336 billion, although $75 million of that total is provided through offsetting user fees.
United's Air Line Pilots Association unit showed support this week for fellow pilots at American, who are represented by the Allied Pilots Association. United's pilot leaders passed a resolution at their week-long meeting in Chicago to stress to United senior management that the airline's flight center must not be used to train any pilot attempting to take a union pilot's job at American.
Air Line Pilots Association has issued its own accident report on the Oct. 31, 1994 crash of American Eagle (Simmons Airlines) flight 4184 near Roselawn, Ind., which claimed all 68 people aboard. The report - referred to as a "magazine" and dated May 1996 - covers the final 30 minutes of flight 4184, including the cockpit-voice-recorder transcript, and was distributed to some 1,800 ALPA-member pilots of ATR 42/72 series aircraft.
DOT has issued an order soliciting proposals for essential air service at Goodland, Kan., and Lamar, Colo. Mesa Air Group's Mountain West unit filed notice of its intent to suspend its subsidized service between the communities and Denver Aug. 9 (DAILY, July 12). Mountain West's cessation will leave the communities without any scheduled air service, although both remain eligible for service within the essential air service program. (Docket OST-95-934)
DOT issued a show cause order tentatively awarding United Parcel Service a certificate to operate charter passenger services. The carrier plans to modify five Boeing 727-100 freighter aircraft for conversions to operate the passenger charters for cruise lines and tour operators, beginning next year (DAILY, June 14). UPS will operate mostly weekend charters from East Coast and Midwest cities to points in Florida, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Mexico. (Dockets OST-96-1384&OST-96-1385)
Fairchild/Dornier Chairman Carl Albert is now talking about turbofan powerplants for the 30-passenger Dornier 328 and for the 50-passenger stretch that he has committed the company to develop. Such products would require some modifications to the unique Dornier wing design to accommodate the under-wing installation. But Jim Robinson, the former president of both Learjet and AlliedSignal Engines, is now president of Dornier Luftfahrt and has lavished praise on the German manufacturer's engineering capabilities. Innovation can be expected in the long term.
Five former employees of Mesa Air Group face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and lying to FAA inspectors in connection with the use of defective or substandard parts. The violations took place between 1990 and 1992 at Mesa's then-Skyway unit in Milwaukee. Mesa subsequently lost its contract to operate Skyway on behalf of Midwest Express, the regional's current parent. According to a statement issued Wednesday, Mesa immediately took 12 Beech 1900s out of service and replaced the suspect parts and fired all five of the now-indicted employees in 1993.
In response to growing demand, China Airlines has added a second weekly all-cargo flight between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The 747-200 flights provide the only scheduled all-cargo service between the island's northern and southern sectors.
Continental is urging DOT to turn down American's bid to operate code- share services with the TACA Group of carriers. American and the TACA Group - Aviateca, Compania Panamena de Aviacion, Lineas Aereas Costarricenses, Nicaraguense de Aviacion, TACA de Honduras S.A., and TACA International Airlines - signed an alliance agreement last month proposing to launch code-share services between the U.S. and Central America and other cooperative programs, beginning Nov. 1 (DAILY, June 28). "Not content with operating 68% of the U.S.
Continental Express revenue passenger miles increased 11.7% last month to 78.3 million, compared with 70.1 million in June 1995. Capacity rose 9.4% to 143.5 million available seat miles from 131.2 million. The load factor climbed 1.1 percentage points to 54.6% from 53.5%.
Emery Worldwide Airlines is seeking a one-year renewal of its authority to wet-lease DC-8-73 aircraft to Turkish Airlines for two weekly scheduled roundtrip flights between New York and Istanbul, with a technical stop at Shannon.
Cape Smythe Air Service, Barrow, Alaska, acquired its fourth Piper T- 1040, a used aircraft, from Meridian Jet Prop, Inc., Meridian said. The aircraft had previously been operated by Canadian airline Air Labrador of Goose Bay, Newfoundland. Meridian remarkets used turboprops, including de Havilland Dash 7s and Twin Otters, Embraer Brasilias and Bandeirantes and Fairchild Metro IIIs.
Alaska Air Group, Inc., generated $18 million in second quarter profits, or $0.88 per share on a fully diluted basis. The profit, a record for the carrier in the period, compares with $7 million, or $0.48 per share, in the same 1995 quarter. The company's operating income rose 15.05% to $416.7 million, while its operating income grew 62.04% to $39.7 million. By contrast, operating expenses rose only 11.6% to $377 million.
Kiwi's traffic jumped 34% in June to 120.9 million revenue passenger miles from 90 million in June of last year on 12% more capacity. The load factor rose 10 percentage points to 58%, with available seat miles totaling 208.1 million. Traffic for the second quarter rose 41% to 406.5 million RPMs on 21% more capacity, or 668.1 million ASMs. The load factor rose nine points to 61%. Kiwi carried 174,400 passengers in June and 581,400 in the second quarter.
American Eagle's four regional carriers logged an 0.2% increase in traffic last month, flying 228.6 million revenue passenger miles, compared with 228.3 million in June 1995. The traffic increase was recorded despite a 23.3% decline in Flagship Airlines' RPMs to 55.4 million. System capacity dropped 5.3% to 364.5 million available seat miles from 384.9 million. The load factor increased 3.4 percentage points to 62.7% from 59.3%, and enplanements were up 0.5% to nearly 1.09 million.
