FlightSafety International posted record fourth quarter earnings of $24.1 million, up from $23.5 million, and revenues of $91.1 million, up from $83.6 million, a record for the company. For the year, FSI reported two more records - net income of $84.5 million, up from $74.5 million, and revenues of $325.8 million, up from $301.3 million.
DOT has issued an order canceling the operating certificate of Sunbird Airways. Sunbird surrendered its certificate authority Jan. 10, saying it was unable to begin operations and likely will not do so in the future, according to the department. The carrier planned to operate low-fare scheduled flights from Orlando to East Coast markets, including Atlanta, Detroit, Washington Dulles and Newark (DAILY, Nov. 23, 1993). Since being found fit to operate scheduled service in July 1994, however, the carrier underwent management changes and delays in aircraft acquisition.
DOT has renewed for two years Kiwi International Airlines' authority to operate scheduled combination service between Newark, N.J., and Bermuda. Kiwi plans to resume operations on the route on or about April 1 for the peak summer travel season after discontinuing service during the winter months last year (DAILY, Dec. 6). The carrier will offer seven weekly roundtrips on the route, using 162-seat Boeing 727-200 aircraft. (Docket OST-95-897)
Lufthansa saves about $69 million per year through its strategic alliance with United and believes much more can be had. Chairman Jurgen Weber estimated in a recent interview that only half of the partnership's potential has been explored.
U.S. National Carriers Operating and Net Profit Third Quarter 1995 Operating Net Profit/Loss Profit/Loss (000) (000) Third Quarter 1995 Alaska $ 55,840 $ 28,348 Aloha (476) (477) American Trans Air 7,930 3,367 Carnival 3,773 2,314
FAA officials will meet next week with the presidents of unions representing agency personnel to "talk about reform initiatives" the agency is developing to satisfy an April 1 congressional reorganization deadline, Monte Belger, associate administrator for air traffic services, said yesterday. Belger confirmed that FAA will not be able to come up with enough funds in its new budget to offer incentives for air traffic controllers to work at its busiest facilities.
Legislation (H.R.1907) to allow the sale of federally supported infrastructure, including airports, to the private sector "will drive up the costs of doing business on airports," Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett said. The bill, sponsored by Rep. David McIntosh (R-Ind.), would enable state and local governments to transfer federal-aid facilities without having to repay federal grants provided that, as a condition of transfer, the facility continues to be used for its original purpose. Sen.
British Airways has begun testing an in-house television network for its employees, broadcasting twice daily from the carrier's Business Fair, currently running at London Heathrow Airport. BA is beaming the show to eight locations in the U.K. and to New York, Paris, Sydney and Cairo. Programming includes news about the carrier and a question-and-answer session with BA Chief Executive Bob Ayling. The corporate arm of ITN is producing the trial broadcasts, which are being transmitted by BT (British Telecom).
Air Canada employees have begun wearing new uniforms, completing a corporate makeover launched in 1989. Flight attendants, ticket agents, baggage handlers and mechanics at Air Canada and regional partners AirBC, Air Ontario, Air Alliance and Air Nova were issued the new outfits.
The new Pan Am has signed a letter of intent with Frost Hanna Mergers Group of Boca Raton, Fla., to form Pan American World Airways Inc., a publicly traded company that will rely on international feed traffic in long-haul domestic markets. Frost Hanna will make $10 million available to the new airline, to be headed by Martin Shugrue, president and chief executive (DAILY, Jan. 26). "We designed Pan Am-The New Airline from the bottom up to make it a formidable domestic airline operation unrivaled in today's low-cost/low-fare competitive environment," Shugrue said.
U.S. Major Carriers Operating and Net Profit Third Quarter 1995 Operating Net Profit/Loss Profit/Loss (000) (000) Third Quarter 1995 America West $ 54,160 $ 21,715 American 478,891 212,208 Continental 96,999 110,681 Delta 384,920 200,399
Northwest's Air Line Pilots Association unit says the carrier canceled about 500 flights in January because it lacked crew members. Passengers have not been inconvenienced to a great degree because the airline planned around the cancellations, the union says. ALPA has complained for some time that Northwest did not start hiring pilots fast enough and at high enough numbers nearly two years ago, when the pilot shortage began. Northwest hired 408 in 1995 and is now hiring at a rate of about 42 a month.
Armed with an operating permit from the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Federal Express plans to launch service to China with its own aircraft in March. CAAC has given FedEx permission to fly to three destinations in China and will allow four flights per week on routings that include traffic stops in Asia. Initially, the carrier plans to operate Boeing 747-200 aircraft on service originating in New York, with stops in Chicago, Anchorage, Beijing and Shanghai before returning to New York via Anchorage (DAILY, Jan. 30).
A Samsung Aerospace spokesman said yesterday that his company has no plan to buy Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker (DAILY, Jan. 30). "Fokker has been an important player in the aerospace industry, and our company is keen to expand into the aerospace business. But we are not approaching Fokker with an intention to take it over."
As proposed last year, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has decided to reduce the user fee on international commercial aircraft arrivals to $53 from the current $61. The fee reduction takes effect March 1. In the Jan. 29 Federal Register, APHIS said the lower fee "is necessary to avoid collecting more revenue than needed to cover the costs of the services we provide." The fee applies to arrivals at a port within the customs territory of the U.S.
Sales on Moscow-based Transaero Airlines can be recorded with the Airlines Reporting Corp., beginning Feb. 19. The airline intends to launch nonstop service from Moscow to Orlando in June and Chicago in November, using DC- 10-30s. Transaero provides connecting service at Moscow to several Russian destinations and major cities in the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Less than a year after being set up as a purely marketing and sales organization, the Aero International (Regional), or AIR, joint venture of France's Aerospatiale, Italy's Alenia and British Aerospace is looking into plans to develop a regional jetliner, AIR chief Henri-Paul Puel said this week. AIR is studying an aircraft seating between 70 and 85 passengers as its entry into a market segment it believes will require 400-450 aircraft by the year 2010, Puel told reporters in Toulouse.
Kiwi International Air Lines' voting trust on the board of directors has opposed consideration of outside capital, again agitating some employee owners. Employee shareholders, who met last Friday, believe Kiwi seriously needs an outside investment, and the refusal of the voting trust to consider proposals from investors could lead to "an insurrection," an employee owner said. One potential investment is $25 million from Turn Key Aviation, a firm started by former Kiwi Chief Executive Robert Iverson.
Taino Air Lines is seeking authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on the one hand, and New York and Miami, on the other. The carrier also has applied to operate service between Santo Domingo and Santiago, Dominican Republic, and San Juan and Aguadilla, P.R. Taino plans to use three Convair 240 cargo aircraft wet- leased from Transflorida Airlines. (Docket OST-96-1025)
Delta has discovered that its customer service has suffered under Leadership 7.5 cost-cutting efforts, and it plans to make major changes through a total reorganization at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. As a result of a year-long review by customer service teams, Delta will recall or hire 485 full-time airport customer service personnel at Atlanta by summer - when it faces high-visibility demands to serve people traveling to and from the Olympic Games - and 180 more throughout 41 stations.
Comair said it accepted delivery of the 100th Canadair Regional Jet produced by Bombardier Regional Aircraft Division. Comair, which was the launch customer, now has 29 Canadair Jets, with firm orders for another 16 and options for 25. The order book for the RJ totals 139.
KLM reported a 23% rise in net profit in its third fiscal quarter to 102 million guilders, or US$61 million. But operating income between October and December fell to 56 million guilders, US$34 million, down from 193 million guilders, US$117 million, in the same quarter in the previous year. (US$1 equals 1.65 guilders at current exchange rates.) The results were in line with most analysts' expectations, although some were disappointed that almost half of the net profit was caused by an unexpected extra revaluation of the 19% share KLM holds in Northwest.
DOT has denied a request by the City of Los Angeles to stay its obligation to refund foreign airlines for Los Angeles Airport fees found to be unreasonable by DOT (Order 95-12-33). Los Angeles had filed a limited stay request at DOT arguing that foreign airlines are not entitled to seek refund of the fees under rates and charges procedures, as required by the 1994 FAA legislation. DOT found that foreign airlines are entitled to receive refunds under current U.S.
Mesa Air Group Inc. yesterday reported earnings of 12 cents per share in the December quarter, the first in its fiscal year, improving by 50% its performance in the 1994 quarter. Net earnings jumped 41.1% for the quarter, to $3.9 million from $2.7 million. Operating revenues increased 17.9% to $120 million, and operating income was up 31.5% to $7.6 million. Operating costs fell to 17.9 cents per available seat mile, compared with 18 cents per ASM a year earlier.
