DOT Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson went to Montreal yesterday to testify before the International Civil Aviation Organization on the Feb. 24 shootdown of U.S.-registered aircraft by Cuban military aircraft.
Worldwide airport passenger traffic rose 4.7% and cargo volume increased 6.1% during 1995, compared with the same period in 1994, according to the Airports Council International, Geneva. Aircraft movements grew 1.8%. The preliminary 1995 ACI traffic report includes data from 411 airports worldwide. Chicago O'Hare remained the busiest airport worldwide in passengers and operations with 67.25 million passengers and 900,278 movements. Memphis Airport led the world in cargo volume with 1.71 million metric tons.
Domenico Cempella has set the tone for his tenure as chief executive of Alitalia by reducing the carrier's executive committee from 14 members to five. Cempella, the former chief executive of Aeroporti di Roma who took control of the loss-plagued carrier on Monday, should have a free hand at reform since Chairman Renato Riverso has come under increasing pressure to resign. Cempella's predessor, Roberto Schisano, agreed to leave the board late last week after Alitalia said it would drop a lawsuit against him claiming he failed to stem the carrier's losses.
DOT is finishing up a report on new entry that will "document its impact on fares" and "identify those cities in which competitive conditions may favor new entry, but where it has not yet occurred," according to Mark Gerchick, DOT deputy assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs. "Despite their small size, these carriers are having a profound competitive impact," he told the International Aviation Club yesterday, and DOT "now estimates that the direct savings in lower fares to travelers resulting from low-cost, low-fare carriers in the U.S.
USAir has reduced fares to Denver from almost 70 cities in the Southeast, Florida and western Pennsylvania by more than 30% for travel April 16 through June 6. Tickets require a 21-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. Fares are as low as $408 roundtrip to Pittsburgh, Orlando, Greensboro, Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte.
Edmonton Airports, operator of the Edmonton, Alberta, airports, last week proposed a flat C$10 (about US$7.30) improvement fee on users to finance construction for a change of air traffic venue. Effective June 1, the municipal airport will be used exclusively for cargo, charter and military flights, and flying schools. All scheduled airline flights will use Edmonton International Airport; they had been using both airports. The fee would become effective this fall, if the authority decides to proceed with it.
Hawaiian Airlines was the recipient of four international and one domestic award in 1995 for its inflight service. Its Mea Ho'okipa Service on interisland flights most recently won the Diamond Inflight Service Award for innovative and excellent onboard service from Onboard Services magazine. The service consists of educating passengers about the islands, serving Island juice and Kona coffee inflight and giving out postcards featuring the work of local artists.
Neither Galileo International nor Worldspan Travel Services is commenting on whether the two computer reservations system companies could be merged, a possibility raised yesterday in a Wall Street Journal report that United, which owns 38% of Galileo, is in the early stages of merger talks with Worldspan, which is owned by Delta, TWA, Northwest and Abacus. A Galileo spokeswoman said, "From our point of view, it is speculation, and we just don't respond to speculation." United declined to comment.
Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Third Quarter 1995 Dollars Per Block Hour A320-100/200 America West Northwest United Average Crew Cost $348 $652 $602 $579 Fuel&Oil 445 423 449 435 Rentals 791 388 629 537 Insurance 21 17 12 16
USAir's traffic slipped 1.6% last month, compared with February 1995, on 8.2% less capacity, boosting the load factor 4.4 percentage points to 63.4%. The carrier's average stage length grew to 666.3 miles, a 1.7% increase. For the first two months of this year, USAir's traffic was off 5.5% on a 12.2% drop in capacity, causing the load factor to rise 4.5 points to 61.2%. The average stage length increased 2.2% to 672.7 miles. Feb 96 Feb 95 2 Mths 96 2 Mths 95
DOT Secretary Federico Pena, speaking yesterday at FAA's 21st Annual Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference, said U.S. domestic service is expected to grow 4% per year over the next 12 years. "That is very solid growth....But the growth rate for international routes will be even higher - 5.3%," with U.S.-Asia and U.S.-Latin American markets predicted to be up 6.2% and 6.3%, respectively.
American will discount spring fares in the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and most markets in Europe, Mexico and Central and South America. Domestic prices are as much as 47% off, and international fares average 20%-30% off the lowest published fares. The tariffs are on sale through March 15. U.S. and Caribbean tickets require a 14-day advance purchase, and the other international points seven days. U.S. and Canadian travel may begin 14 days after the purchase date, and international travel may begin April 9. Final travel dates are June 30 for U.S.
ValuJet's traffic grew 72% last month, compared with February 1995, on 88% more capacity. The number of passengers carried jumped 64%. The load factor was off 5.4 percentage points to 58.6%. ValuJet Chairman Robert Priddy blamed the steep decline in load factor on poor weather and the large increase in capacity. For the first two months of the year, revenue passenger miles were up 73% on 86% more available seat miles. The number of passengers carried was up 64%, while the load factor fell four points to 53.6%.
David Tait, executive VP and director of Virgin Atlantic Airways, took a few shots at U.S. policy yesterday at FAA's forecast conference, especially regarding the Fly America Act that requires U.S. government personnel to fly U.S. airlines. Calling Bermuda II the U.S.-U.K. aviation disagreement, Tait asked if Virgin can "buy American" to the tune of $1 billion worth of Boeing aircraft, "why can't we fly America?" Tait said he does not know of a more fought-over patch of land "without a declaration of war" than Heathrow Airport.
Commercial aircraft manufacturers are on the "threshold of a long, sustained period of increasing sales," and "even the long-dormant general aviation sector" is "showing signs of growth," FAA Administrator David Hinson said yesterday. Aircraft deliveries are expected to double by 2002 or 2003, "then double again within 20 years," Hinson told FAA's 21st Annual Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference.
Taiwan's military-run Aero Industry Development Center has been awarded a contract to manufacture tail fins for the MD-95 regional jet. An AIDC official said the contract, signed by AIDC Deputy Director Wang Shih-sheng Feb. 29, could create as many as 500 new jobs and be worth as much as US$73 million. AIDC, which is to be restructured into a state-run corporation this year, previously was selected to build parts for the F-16 fighter and for Dassault's Falcon passenger aircraft.
Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Third Quarter 1995 A320-100/200 America West Northwest Number of Aircraft Operated 18 50 Total Fleet Operations Departures 92 204 Block Hours 207 551 Flight Hours 178 471
Delta's traffic grew 10.2% last month, compared with January 1995, on a 3.3% increase in capacity. A 7.5% decline in international traffic dampened a 15.1% jump in domestic traffic. The number of passengers boarded by the airline grew 3.3%, and the load factor was 65.5%, up 4.1 percentage points. For the first two months of the year, traffic grew 5.7%, compared with the same period in 1995. The increase came on a 0.2% rise in capacity. The load factor for the period was 63.7%, up 3.4 points. The number of passengers carried by Delta rose 7%.
Sabre Interactive and Worldview Systems Corp. will launch their Internet travel site, Travelocity, March 12. The new site has 200,000 pages of travel destination information from Worldview, combined with reservation information and instant bookings on the Sabre computer reservations system. The two companies said their joint venture provides the largest collection of travel information on the Internet. The address is http://www.travelocity.com.
Alaska Airlines' traffic rose 21.2% last month, compared with February 1995, on 13% more capacity. The load factor was 59.2%, a 3.7-percentage- point gain. The number of passengers flown increased 27.1%. For the first two months of the year, traffic was up 14.1% from the same period in 1995. Capacity gained 10.4%, which lifted load factor 1.8 points to 56.5%. The number of passengers carried rose 19.4%. Feb 96 Feb 95 2 Mths 96 2 Mths 95
Northwest said yesterday it will offer spring fare savings in the U.S. and Canada of an average of 40% off the 21-day advance-purchase price in the U.S. and the 14-day advance price in Canada. A few destinations are reduced by as much as 50%. Fares, which must be purchased by Friday, are good for travel between March 20 and April 30. The Boston-Calgary sale fare, for example, is $275, compared with the regular $549 fare, and Colorado Springs-Detroit is $238, down from $498. TWA said it will match the fares in competing markets.
World Airways yesterday gave President Charles Pollard the added title of chief executive officer. Pollard takes the title from T. Coleman Andrews III, who will continue as chairman of World's board. Pollard joined World in 1987 as general counsel and was named president in 1992.
Influx of low-cost carriers in domestic aviation continues to force established airlines to evolve to meet the challenges of this new, permanent market, according to Delta Chairman Ron Allen. Low-cost airlines are growing aggressively and now hold about 15% of the U.S. domestic market share, he said, and "it is only a matter of time before low-cost carriers begin to influence European markets to a much greater extent as well." Allen, speaking yesterday at FAA's Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference, predicted that some new entrants in the U.S.
BWIA International Airways extended its winter promotion for travel from New York and Miami to the Eastern Caribbean and Guyana. The discounts, which had been scheduled to expire Feb. 29, are available through March 14. Fares start at $199 each way from New York and $174 each way from Miami to Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago.
KLM named Jan Meurer senior VP and area manager-North America and Mexico. He has been VP-operations for KLM's cargo division, and succeeds Toon Woltman, who resigned.
