The new Pan Am has named its key management group, President Martin Shugrue said this week. "We have put together a group of experienced staff and operations executives who provide the right blend of airline knowledge and forward thinking to make Pan Am - The New Airline truly the best and most innovative flying experience available today," he said.
Continental Express could take up to 50 Canadair Regional Jets, Embraer 145 regional jets or Saab 2000 high-speed turboprops in its fleet- replacement program. The company recently acquired up to 20 ATR 42-500s (eight orders plus 12 options) on extremely favorable terms, but has 27 ATR 42s plus a large number of Embraer Brasilias to replace. Deliveries are expected to begin by the end of the year. Part of the deal, however, is that the contract winner will have to find a home for the 27 ATRs, with less than two years left on their leases.
Frontier Airlines made money in the first three months of this year, Sam Addoms, the airline's president, said in a statement. It is the carrier's first ever quarterly profit. By contrast, Frontier lost $1.8 million in same quarter in 1995. The improved performance was driven by Frontier's overhaul of its route system late last year, said Addoms, who declined to give a precise earnings amount. The carrier will issue actual figures in a 10-K filing at the Securities and Exchange Commission in late June, he said.
Fourteen regional airlines posted an average increase in traffic of 25.2% during March. That compared to only a 16.4% average increase in capacity for the period. Miami-based Gulfstream International again had the largest increase in revenue passenger miles at 89.6%, but that was more than offset by a 97.2% gain in available seat miles. Delta Connection SkyWest placed second in traffic growth in March with a 47.9% gain and 22.2-percentage-point spread over the increase in capacity.
World Airways yesterday promoted Ahmad Khatib to chief operating officer and made Vance Fort executive VP. Khatib has been with World for 23 years, most recently as executive VP-operations. Fort joined World in 1989 as senior VP-government affairs and currently is in charge of legal affairs, labor relations, human resources and information services.
Philippe Bruggisser, Swissair's new chief operating officer who will replace Otto Loepfe as president next January, said his first task is to cut costs 20%. "If we go on like this, we will not be here anymore in five more years," Bruggisser said yesterday at a news conference in Zurich. The Swissair Group posted a net loss of 147 million Swiss francs on revenues of 7 billion francs for 1995, its first deficit in many years. The loss is due to extraordinary provisions for restructuring, which cost the company 356 million francs.
The City of Houston and the Greater Houston Partnership is backing an Islena Airlines application for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between points in Honduras and Miami, New Orleans and Houston.
One of the great strengths of the LatinPass frequent flyer program has been its unifying effect on Latin American airlines, according to TACA Chairman Federico Bloch, who admits that Latins have trouble agreeing on anything. Bloch said he hopes LatinPass will be a platform for other joint ventures that could include a computer reservations system, possibly in conjunction with another CRS provider.
Great Lakes Aviation has announced its intention of terminating essential air service at Ironwood, Mich., July 1. The United Express carrier operates Beech 1900 service from the community to Minneapolis/St. Paul. It is the only carrier to offer service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Ironwood.
A group of investors led by Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson has signed a contract to acquire 90% of Brussels-based EuroBelgian Airlines (EBA). Closure on the $62 million deal is scheduled for April 30. Branson said he will hold a news conference in Brussels in the next three weeks to detail his plan for the low-cost airline. "The main thing Europe needs in short-haul markets is low fares," Branson said yesterday.
Airbus Industrie said it is increasing its 1997 delivery schedule by 37% to a record 185 aircraft, compared with 135 planned for delivery this year. The previous record of 163 deliveries was set in 1991. First quarter 1996 results and current negotiations led it to revise its p`B9lans, Airbus said. Since Jan +. 1, it received 129 firm orders, valued at more than $8 billion, from eight customers. The orders, which exclude options, comprise seven A319s, 70 A320s, 13 A321s, 22 A330s and 17 A340s.
LTU said it has transferred all its transatlantic operations to Cologne/Bonn Airport for the remainder of April and May due to a fire April 11 at Dusseldorf Airport. Cologne is about 30 minutes south of Dusseldorf. Bus transfers are available between the two points.
Swiss carrier Air Alpes will acquire an ATR 42-320 aircraft, the first ATR certified in Switzerland, Aero International (Regional) said. The carrier will place the aircraft in charter service in May. Air Alpes, founded in February, will use the ATR 42 in the summer to operate charters between Sion in the canton of Valais to various cities in the Mediterranean region, such as Tunis, Palermo and Ibiza. In the winter, the carrier will operate ski charters from various European cities to Sion and the several ski resorts in the Valais valley, AIR said.
USAir said yesterday it will disallow smoking on all international flights as of June 1. USAir's domestic flights already are non-smoking. The carrier is adding three new routes to its transatlantic network and will fly to Frankfurt, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Rome from the U.S. The airline still will allow smoking in designated areas of its USAir Clubs in airports.
National Air Transportation Association has published what it describes as a manual "designed to end all confusion in the industry regarding the expiration of the aviation excise taxes." The organization of Part 135 charter airlines and fixed-base operators produced the manual for participants at its annual convention and trade show, scheduled in Las Vegas next week, but is making the document "available to all aviation businesses immediately following the convention for $20," NATA said.
Kiwi International Air Lines reported a first quarter net profit of $1.3 million on operating revenues of $49.6 million. The favorable result compares with a first quarter 1995 net loss of $1.5 million on revenues of $37 million. "In all our markets, we have shown steady growth," said Jerry Murphy, president and chief executive, but added, "Kiwi still has to tighten up more." The carrier grew revenue passenger miles by 50% from 1995 levels while keeping only 15 aircraft in the fleet.
United Express and Midway Connection affiliate Great Lakes Aviation reported a net loss of nearly $2.7 million, or 35 cents per share, for 1995 and $470,000, or six cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1995. The yearend figure compares unfavorably with a 1994 yearend profit of $404,000; the quarterly figure was an improvement from the Dec. 31, 1994, quarterly net loss of $920,000.
Air Canada said yesterday it will issue 250 million Deutschmark Eurobonds to help pay down its debt. The five-year unsecured bonds will be sold in Euromarkets by a syndicate of banks led by Bayerische Landesbank and traded publicly on the Frankfurt and Munich exchanges.
Northwest Airlines Corp. carried its winning streak to 11 quarters of earnings with a record first quarter net profit of $53.4 million. The profit compares with net earnings of $2.6 million in the first quarter of 1995. While operating revenues jumped 10.9% to $2.26 billion, operating income fell 8.8% to $134.4 million from $147.3 million. The decline occurred because Northwest took a $120.1 million non-cash charge related to stock earned by the carrier's employees.
McDonnell Douglas reported yesterday record quarterly operating earnings of $347 million, compared with the $293 million record established in the first quarter of last year. Net earnings rose to $198 million from $159 million. Revenues dipped slightly to $3.2 billion from $3.3 billion. A decrease in revenue from commercial aircraft was mostly made up by increases in other segments. The results were led by increased earnings in the military aircraft segment.
Federal Communications Commission has dropped individual radio licensing requirements and associated fees for domestic aircraft radios and aviation ground radios. Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, called the action a victory in the organization's battle to reduce the cost of flying. Registration had cost as much as $10 a transmitter, Boyer said.
Delta is exploring use of a "wireless aircraft communicator" using data link for the high-speed transmission of data both from the gate and airborne aircraft. Collins and AT&T are working on a prototype system, according to Clay Jones, VP and general manager of Collins Air Transport Division. Much of the data would be for logistics purposes, such as controlling meal and bar inventories and other business related to passenger needs, although cockpit data also would be involved, he said.
FAA Deputy Administrator Linda Daschle left little doubt where the agency's costs are headed - up. According to FAA's in-house newsletter, Headquarters Intercom, "Daschle reinforced the agency's support of the McCain/Ford/Hollings FAA Reform Bill [S.1239], which comes the closest to providing the FAA with a predictable source of revenue that will grow along with its workload." The bill would impose "user fees" for FAA services, such as air traffic handling, and is strongly opposed by regional air carriers and other high-frequency, short-haul operators...
In a joint reply, United and Lufthansa answered critics of their bid for antitrust immunity for their strategic alliance. While American and Delta claim their applications should be acted on first because they were filed earlier (DAILY, April 5), "neither alleges any facts suggesting that the carriers' due process rights or any applicable statutory provision requires the department to delay acting on the application," United and Lufthansa said.
Legislation establishing a National Tourism Board and National Tourism Organization has the support of a majority of the House, according to the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Counsel (GAC), the lobbying arm of the Travel Industry Association. The Travel and Tourism Partnership Act, sponsored by Rep. Toby Roth (R-Wis.), has 221 co-sponsors. The new tourism board would advise the President, Congress and the travel industry on policy issues affecting travel and tourism.
