Midwest Express has dropped plans for now to add 30-seat turboprop aircraft to its Astral Aviation unit. The carrier planned to acquire the aircraft in 1996 for Astral, which operates as Midwest Express Connection carrier Skyway Airlines. Astral operates 15 Beech 1900Ds. "We remain convinced of the potential of a large turboprop program and will pursue our plans when the timing is right," said Timothy Hoeksema, chairman and chief executive of the Milwaukee-based company. Midwest Express has acquired another DC-9- 30 aircraft, bringing its jet fleet to 22 aircraft.
ValuJet Airlines has agreed to purchase 11 used McDonnell Douglas aircraft, nine DC-9-30s and two MD-83s, for delivery by the end of the first quarter of 1997. The carrier will use the airplanes to build up service at its newest focus cities, Boston and Orlando, with more nonstops, and to serve new cities that it will announce in mid-March. A ValuJet spokeswoman said yesterday that some of the aircraft also may be used to add frequencies on existing routes.
Association of Flight Attendants has filed an amended lawsuit in Georgia against ValuJet that adds four plaintiffs to the complaint alleging that the carrier has disciplined or fired flight attendants who were union supporters, and that it continues to mistreat outspoken union members. The suit also alleges that ValuJet President Lewis Jordan, among other managers, is one of the offenders. The AFA says Jordan threatened one of the plaintiffs if she continued to wear a T-shirt displaying her support for AFA.
Air Transportation Holding posted net earnings of $353,000, or 12 cents per share, for its fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31. Year-to-date net earnings were $1.2 million for the overnight air service provider.
During the second half of 1995, the standard industry fare level (SIFL) was up 2.1% over the same period in 1994, said DOT. Although fares were deregulated Jan. 1, 1983, the department has continued to calculate the SIFL to evaluate the reasonableness of fares in essential air service market and carrier pricing in the free market system.
China Airlines has applied for exemption authority to operate scheduled combination service between Taipei, Taiwan, and Houston. Granting the authority "would allow CAL the flexibility to provide Taipei-Houston service that is able to adapt to the demands of the market," said the carrier, adding that it is negotiating with Continental to operate Taipei- San Francisco-Houston service on a code-sharing basis. Under the plan, CAL would operate the Taipei-San Francisco and Continental the San Francisco- Houston segments.
Traffic of Canadian Airlines International increased 5.3% last month from that of January 1995 on 3.4% more capacity. The carrier flew 1.2 billion revenue passenger miles for the month on 1.9 billion available seat miles, gaining 11% in domestic and 4% in international RPMs. As of January, its traffic data include frequent flyer redemption travel. The load factor grew 1.1 percentage points for the month, to 63.2%.
U.S. Major Carriers Pacific Share of Service Third Quarter 1995 Total Revenue Departures American 525 Delta 1,040 Northwest 5,926 United 5,584 Total 13,075 Average Number of Seats Per Departure American 244 Delta 253
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp., a United Express operator, experienced a drop of 7.2 percentage points in its load factor in January, to 44.6% from 51.8% in January 1995. Revenue passenger miles for the month increased 19%, to 36.3 million, on 81.4 million available seat miles, up 38.4%. The number of passengers carried in January was 135,638, down 6.7% from 145,322.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries, October 1995 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Canada 1 767-300ER PWC4060 0 Air Inter 1 A321-100 CFM56-5B 2 Air Littoral 1 Fokker 70 Tay620-15 3 All Nippon 1 777-200A PW4084A 0 American Trans Air 1 757-200 RB211-535E4 2
Despite a $1 billion U.S. loan guarantee to Aeroflot for 10 Ilyushin 96M/T aircraft powered by Pratt&Whitney engines, certification of the aircraft by the U.S. is unlikely in the near future, Anthony Broderick, FAA associate administrator for regulation and certification, said yesterday in Washington. Absence of U.S. certification would not prevent Aeroflot from using the aircraft to serve the U.S., but it would mean the aircraft could not be sold to U.S. carriers and probably would limit its sale to other Western nations. Two weeks ago, the U.S.
Kiwi International Air Lines will launch nonstop service to Las Vegas from Atlanta and Chicago Midway Thursday. To kick off the event, a fake casino will open at Hartsfield Airport at 5 p.m., and an Elvis impersonator will entertain at Midway. One-way fares start at $90 from Chicago and $108 from Atlanta.
Finnair will offer deeply discounted fares to students and travelers who are under 25 years old on domestic routes across Finland Feb. 19-23. The special 70% discount, which coincides with Finnish schools' winter vacation, is the equivalent of a youth fare.
DOT has approved Carnival Air Line's request for authority to operate scheduled combination service between Fort Lauderdale and San Jose, Costa Rica. The carrier plans daily nonstop service on the route, using 737-200 and -400 aircraft (DAILY, Jan. 24). (Docket OST-96-1003)
Hyundai Group will replace another Korean company, Halla Engineering, as McDonnell Douglas's wing-building partner in the MD-95 program, a Douglas Aircraft spokesman said yesterday. Halla Engineering was named last Nov. 8 as the wing contractor, and because of the change, Douglas's traditional wing supplier, McDonnell Douglas Canada, will build the "first few wing sets" to keep the MD-95 program on schedule, the spokesman said. ValuJet, the launch customer and so far the only buyer, is scheduled to receive the first of 50 MD-95s on firm order in June 1999.
Carnival Air Lines' January traffic for its systemwide scheduled operations rose 32% to 199.5 million revenue passenger miles from 151.4 million RPMs. Its available seat miles outpaced traffic growth, increasing 33.2% during the month to 332.7 million ASMs from 249.9 million, resulting in a load factor drop to 59.9% from 60.6%. Carnival carried 168,761 passengers in January, compared with 123,868 in January 1995.
Airlines objecting to use of new Denver Airport funds to maintain facilities at the former Stapleton Airport "implicitly ignore Denver's obligation to dispose of Stapleton in a prudent and environmentally responsible manner," the City and County of Denver said this week. In response to a Part 13 complaint filed at FAA by nine airlines (DAILY, Jan. 4), Denver argued that federal law governing airport revenue diversion permits it to user airport system revenues to pay for the transitional costs of disposing of Stapleton.
Delta's plans to code share with Aer Lingus between New York and Dublin and Shannon may be delayed by protests from United and American. United applied yesterday for its own code share - London Heathrow-Dublin, with British Midland - and American opposes Delta because it cannot expand its own code-sharing deal with British Midland to cover London-Dublin. United and American are up against the Shannon provision of the bilateral, which bars U.S.-Dublin code sharing via London unless the U.S. carrier serves Shannon.
American will discontinue some service to Venezuela because of problems in getting its earnings out of the country. As of March 2, the airline will discontinue daily flights between Caracas and San Juan, and also between Maracaibo and Miami. It will keep in place its three daily flights between Miami and Caracas and its single daily flight between Caracas and New York.
Los Angeles's city controller this week urged Mayor Richard Riordan and the City Council to expedite an agreement to repay funds the Los Angeles County Grand Jury says the Department of Airports owes the city's general fund. The grand jury last year said the department owed the city fund $157.7 million - $5.4 million in principal and $152.3 million in interest - for loans dating back to 1928 (DAILY, April 10). Auditors for the city reviewed the grand jury recommendation and said the figure was closer to $142 million.
Phoenix Media Group signed a joint venture marketing agreement with DCI Telecommunications Inc. giving Phoenix exclusive rights to market DCI's Privilege Card to Asian-based airlines. The companies said many upscale merchants and restaurants in major U.S. cities have contracted with DCI to honor the card and grant discounts to cardholders. The cards will feature the logos of participating airlines. DCI has a contract with United, is negotiating with several European airlines and believes it will secure an agreement with a major Asian airline in the near term.
A coalition of five suing airlines argue that American is getting its new Super A concourse at Miami Airport at "less than half price." American has stated it will pay for the state-of-the-art facility and additional gates, while other tenant airlines' rent will rise only 10% above increases called for in the airport's overall $3.6 billion capital improvement program (CIP) (DAILY, Feb. 7). "We are pleased that American has said it is willing to pay for its fair share, and that goes a long way on a resolution to this.
Kiwi has chosen Long Haymes Carr, Winston-Salem, N.C., as its new advertising agency. The firm takes over the $8 million account, which previously was handled by Gianettino&Meredith, Short Hills, N.J. Kiwi said it chose Long Haymes Carr not only for its creative capabilities, but also for its aggressive compensation arrangements. "We have a new business plan, called Beyond Tomorrow, that aims to push our revenues up about 20%. Long Haymes Carr is a critical part of the formula to achieve this goal," the carrier said.
Used Jet Aircraft Deliveries October 1995 Carrier # Type Engines Previous Operator AF&T 1 Fokker 100 Tay650-15 Taba Ages A/C Intl 1 727-200 ADV JT8D-17R Mexicana Air Europa 2 737-300 CFM56-3B1 GPA Group Air Jamaica 1 A310-300 PW4152 Delta Air Liberte 1 MD-83 JT8D-219 Air Liberte Tunis
