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.
DOT has granted American Trans Air's application for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between New York and Belfast, Northern Ireland. The carrier plans to begin weekly roundtrip service on or about May 18, using Boeing 757s, and weekly direct service to Belfast June 12 with continuing service to Shannon, using L-1011s (DAILY, Jan. 2). American Trans Air has provided seasonal charter service to Belfast since it stopped operating to the city as part of its scheduled service between New York and Riga, Latvia, on Oct. 2, 1994.
American says that although it will have more gates on its "Super A" concourse at Miami Airport, it will have to pay higher concourse use fees than other airlines because of its "intensive use" of the gates, one airline official said (DAILY, Jan. 16). The fees are based on the number of seats on the aircraft using the gate, rather than the number of enplaned passengers, said American's Miami Corporate Real Estate planner, Frank Erickson.
After months of delay, the supervisory board of the Berlin Brandenburg Flughafen Holding GmbH (BBF) is expected in February to recommend a site for a new Berlin-area international airport. BBF is jointly owned by Berlin, Brandenburg and the German federal government. BBF's shortlist remains Schonefeld Airport, south of Berlin, and Sperenberg, a former Soviet air base located in Brandenburg, about 30 kilometers south of Berlin.
General aviation groups plan renewed efforts on safety after an increase in accidents last year in the GA category following several years of improvement. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the Aircraft Owners and Operators Air Safety Foundation have expressed concern about National Transportaion Safety Board figures showing that GA fatal accidents rose to 408 in 1995 from 402 the year before. ASF Executive Director Bruce Landsberg said this means that "progress has reached a plateau."
Joe Dorfler, who resigned recently from the FAA's Global Positioning System program, will join the Air Transport Association in mid-February as program manger, air traffic technology applications. While Dorfler was at FAA, he established the Satellite Program Office and helped design the Wide Area Augmentation System and the Local Area Augmentation System to augment GPS for civilian applications.
Continental may be throwing cash, pizza parties and other incentives at employees in its attempt to become the most on-time airline of 1996, but United is not shooting so high. The airline recently told employees its aim is to hold on to fourth place this year in DOT's on-time performance rankings.
Virgin Atlantic Airways has scheduled London-Johannesburg service to start Oct. 2. The carrier will operate flights three times a week initially, using an A340-300. Johannesburg is Virgin's first destination in Africa and will be its third new destination of 1996, after Orlando in May and Washington in June.
DHL Aero Expreso has applied for authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Panama and Miami. If approved, the carrier wants to begin on or about March 1 operating five nonstop flights per week on the route, using Boeing 727-200 freighters. The Panama-based airline will carry express - documents and small packages - and general air freight cargoes tendered as part of the "DHL Worldwide Express" service.
United has been named the official airline for the display of the AIDS memorial quilt in Washington, D.C., Oct. 11-13. The quilt is composed of 45,000 fabric panels decorated in memory of people who have died from AIDS- related causes. It will cover the National Mall from the Capitol to the Washington Monument. United will provide travel for staff of the NAMES Project Foundation and discounted rates to display volunteers.
Continental and China Airlines have agreed on a code-share program that will provide connecting service between U.S. and Latin American cities and Asia destinations over San Francisco and Taipei. Subject to approval by the U.S. and Taiwan governments, the carriers plan to implement the service June 1. Under the arrangement, Continental will fly passengers from the U.S. and Latin America to San Francisco, where they will connect with China Airlines to Taipei and beyond.
Gulf and Caribbean Cargo is seeking a certificate to operate scheduled combination service between Indianapolis and Fort Lauderdale, with continuing service to Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The carrier, which plans to operate Fokker F28-4000 aircraft on the route, has made lease arrangements for one F28 and plans to add a second in its 10th month of operation.
U.S. Major Carriers Unit Revenue and Expenses, By Region Third Quarter 1995 Operating Operating Revenues Expenses per ASM per ASM Carrier (cents) (cents) America West 8.24 7.13 Domestic 8.24 7.13 American 10.15 8.97 Domestic 9.83 8.87 Atlantic 10.64 9.06
Brymon Airways, a U.K.-based regional, acquired five previously owned de Havilland Dash 8 Series 300 aircraft. Bombardier's aircraft trading unit arranged the transaction. The aircraft will replace three de Havilland Dash 7s and two Dash 8 Series 100s.
