Fourteen regional airlines during December averaged a positive traffic balance - growth in revenue passenger miles outpaced growth in available seat miles - of 18.7% to 15.5%. Four members of the group, however, individually registered negative traffic balances - capacity grew faster than traffic. The largest imbalance was posted by United Express/Midway Connection Great Lakes Aviation, which recently opened Raleigh/Durham in support of Midway with additional Brasilias. Great Lakes RPMs were up 6.9% against an 18.3% gain in ASMs.
LARGEST PASSENGER-CARRYING U.S. REGIOANL AIRLINES THIRD QUARTER 1995 Revenue Passengers Percent Passenger Percent Rank Airline Carried of Total Miles (000s) of Total 1 Simmons Airlines 1,436,717 9.2 311,985 8.8 2 Mesa Airlines 1,088,119 6.9 245,328 7.0
U.S. Major and National Carriers Commission Expenses Third Quarter 1995 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues America West $ 32,785,439 8.60 American 320,567,000 9.13 Continental 97,756,000 8.67 Delta 277,622,000 9.34
Swissair has taken five of its Airbus A320/A321s out of service after discovering cracks in the turbine rear frames of the aircraft's CFM56-5B engines, a spokeswoman said yesterday. Flight operations were not seriously disrupted as a result of the grounding, she said. The problem was detected during routine checks to an A321. An inspection of the carrier's 13 A320/A321 jets revealed similar cracks in four A320 aircraft. Specialists from Swissair's Technical Services are working with engine manufacturers to repair or replace the engines.
Bombardier Aerospace Group named Jim Robinson president of Learjet. He succeeds Brian Barents, who resigned Jan. 31 but will stay on until the end of February to assist in the transition. Robinson was executive VP of Learjet.
Delta said yesterday it could take a pre-tax charge as great as $650 million in the March 1996 quarter to offset expenses related to its cost- cutting efforts. Thomas Roeck, the carrier's chief financial officer, told securities analysts late in the day that the charge is for recently announced layoffs and a writedown in the value of its 56 L-1011s, both initiatives in its effort to reduce unit costs to 7.5 cents per available seat mile. Delta took a $414 million charge in calendar 1994, also for cost-cutting.
USAir union representatives meeting this week with new Chairman Stephen Wolf were told that Lawrence Nagin, former general counsel at United, will join USAir. Wolf did not reveal major changes planned for the company, sources said, because he has been on the job only since Monday.
Rep. William Lipinski (D-Ill.), ranking Democrat on the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, said yesterday he is drafting legislation to require the U.S. to limit access to slot-controlled airports in the U.S. by national carriers of countries that limit access to their slot-controlled airports by U.S. carriers. In a speech to an American Bar Association forum on air and space law, Lipinski also suggested bringing the U.S.
FAA yesterday issued its proposed rules to prohibit the operation of turboprop passenger transport aircraft in freezing rain or drizzle as determined by certain visual conditions. The proposed new rule, on which comments must be received by March 7, was prompted by the October 1994 crash near Roselawn, Ind., of a ATR-72 operated by Simmons Airways that killed all aboard.
Great Lakes Aviation flew 20.2 million revenue passenger miles in December, a 6.9% increase from the same 1994 month. Available seat miles rose 18.3% to 48.5 million, however, driving load factor down 4.4 percentage points to 41.7%. For the year, capacity rose 18.6% to 566.3 million ASMs and traffic increased 16.7% to 248.6 million RPMs. The 1995 load factor dipped 0.7 percentage points to 43.9%, compared with 44.6% in 1994. Great Lakes operates 39 Beech 1900s and 12 Embraer Brasilias.
General aviation industry in 1995 delivered 1,077 units, up 16.1% from the previous year and the highest number since 1990, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported yesterday. Total dollar billings jumped 20.6% over 1994 to $2.8 billion. "The industry is entering 1996 in better shape than any other recent year," said GAMA President Edward Stimpson.
U.S. Regional Airline Industry Passenger Traffic Activity Third Quarter 1995 48 STATES/HAWAII/PUERTO Third Third Percent RICO/VIRGIN ISLANDS Quarter 1994 Quarter 1995 Change Revenue Passenger Miles 3,286,064,057 3,473,012,680 5.7 Available Seat Miles 6,212,652,221 6,684,186,201 7.6 Passengers Carried 15,383,931 15,281,815 (0.7)
Very strong fourth quarter performance led Southwest to record earnings in 1995. The carrier turned in net income for the quarter of $43.4 million, more than double the 1994 quarter's net of $20.3 million. For the year, net income was $182.6 million, eclipsing by less than 2% the previous high, $179.3 million in 1994. Net income per share for the year was $1.23, a penny more than the 1994 level. The growth came from a strong upturn in revenues - fourth quarter operating revenues increased 19.5% and yield was up 9.7%.
United said yesterday it plans to begin implementing the code-sharing provisions of its three-year-old marketing alliance with Thai Airways. The carriers plan to begin code-share service this summer in U.S., European and Asian markets.
Seasonal markets - particularly New England - are graveyards for regional airlines. Business Express, forced into Chapter 11 protection Monday by Saab Aircraft, is but the latest to feel winter's wrath. There was Executive Airlines, Cape&Islands, Air New England, Precision, Bar Harbor, Gull Air, the list goes on. "Low load factors supported by high yields...you can realize why nobody can make money up here," lamented BizEx President Gary Ellmer, saying that the carrier has been seeking a seasonal partner in Latin America or Europe for two years.
Sierra Expressway is offering a buy-one-get-one-free ticket sale starting today through Feb. 29. Passengers will be given a free roundtrip of equal or lesser value for each roundtrip ticket purchased. All are good for travel until March 31.
Pan Am-The New Airline will reveal next week its plans on when, where and how it intends to re-enter the business. Martin Shugrue, a chief operating officer of the original Pan Am and trustee of Eastern, is president and chief executive of the new company, which was formed with Charles Cobb, a former ambassador to Iceland. The new Pan Am will serve New York Kennedy, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and San Francisco and is targeting Orlando and Tampa for quick expansion. It says it will offer fares at about half the cost of incumbent airlines.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Food Expenses Third Quarter 1995 Cost Per Systemwide Passenger America West $ 9,715,772 $ 2.17 American 166,091,000 8.01 Continental 34,417,000 3.80 Delta 90,920,000 4.11 Northwest 67,993,000 5.04
DOT has granted IATA's request for a 90-day extension of antitrust immunity for continued discussions among carriers about the limits and conditions of passenger liability established by the Warsaw Convention. IATA asked for the extra time to enable airlines to determine whether a specific agreement is needed to implement an IATA Intercarrier Agreement that was endorsed unanimously last October at the IATA Annual General Meeting in Kuala Lumpur. That agreement requires signatory carriers to waive the convention's limitation on passenger liability by Nov.
Mesa Air Group plans to rationalize its fleet this year and grow modestly, with explosive growth slated for 1997. The carrier's capacity will increase about 5% this year but will jump by 16.8% in 1997, Steve Jackson, Mesa Air Group VP and chief financial officer, told a financial conference in San Francisco last week. The airline will phase out its 25 remaining Beech 1900C aircraft and replace them with 1900Ds. The D version of the aircraft has a stand-up cabin, making it more comfortable for passengers, and is slightly more efficient.
National Air Transportation Association President James Coyne said yesterday the group "will not rest" until FAA changes its proposed new rule on flight and duty time for pilots because it would "destroy on-demand operations." Coyne described the proposal as the "most onerous and threatening piece of rulemaking I have ever seen." He said FAA disregarded NATA's arguments and "embraced the pilot unions' recommendations instead." He said NATA will be the industry's voice for coordinating the massive effort needed to stop the proposal.
U.S. use of antitrust laws raises fundamental questions about its open skies agreements, said Kenneth Walder, legal director of British Airways. "I begin with an apparent paradox," he told an American Bar Association conference yesterday. "The U.S. signed what is called an open skies agreement with The Netherlands, supposedly leaving market forces to dictate prices and service. But it then granted immunity from the antitrust laws to key participants in the newly liberalized environment," he said.
United Technologies Corp. said yesterday fourth quarter net earnings increased 13% to $187 million from $165 million a year earlier. For the year, net income rose 28% to $750 million from $585 million. Revenues for Pratt&Whitney were flat at $1.7 billion for the quarter, rising to $6.2 billion for the year, up from $5.8 billion in 1994. Operating profit for Pratt for the year increased 39% to $530 million from $380 million. Operating profit for the quarter increased 11% to $147 million from $133 million the previous year.
British Airways Holidays will mail revised vacation planners, designed to help clients put together their own vacation packages, to 26,000 travel agents in the U.S. next week. The Summer 1996 Create Your Own Vacation, Britain&Europe planner includes lower rates at more than 200 hotels in Europe, starting at $39 per person per night, based on double occupancy. Rates for a Hertz rental car start at $18 a day with unlimited mileage. The brochure helps travelers plan other activities, such as theater, dining and sightseeing, as their budgets allow.
Italy's tourism industry continues to generate twice the income of its food and garment industries, while a favorable exchange rate is fueling increased travel to the country. A need for improved basic services accounts for the influx of hotel chains and travel companies and the rise in conventions. In the first half of 1995, Italy, for the first time, matched France in inbound tourist receipts totaling about $13 billion, according to the Italian Department of Tourism. The devaluation of the lira also is prompting more Italians to vacation within the country.
