Continental plans to issue $200 million of 6 3/4% convertible subordinated notes due April 15, 2006, in a private placement, the carrier said this week. The notes will be convertible into Class B common stock of Continental at an initial conversion price of $60.39 per share. The carrier will use proceeds from the offering to reduce debt and for general corporate purposes. The notes are expected to be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange, with the closing late in March.
Lack of clarity and precision in FAA policy is one of the largest impediments to airport privatization, proponents of privatization told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee yesterday. Wilbur Ross, senior managing director of Rothschild Inc., told the panel that FAA's proposed airport revenue policy seemed to open the door slightly to airport privatization (DAILY, Feb. 26), but "we do forecast considerable investor confusion over the many ambiguities contained in the FAA's proposed policy." Rothschild Inc.
TWA has opened a World Wide Web site on the Internet offering flight schedules, airport maps, frequent flyer information and weather news. The page can be viewed at http://www.twa.com.
Citing "current market conditions," Saab Aircraft AB said Thursday it will lay off 540 workers at its aircraft manufacturing facility in Linkuping, Sweden, about 9% of its roughly 6,000 employees. Included are 440 shop-floor workers and 100 office staff. Saab President Hans Kruger said the company maintains its policy to be market-oriented and adjust its resources to market demand. "The present market conditions and the company's order bookings require us to adapt our resources to lower volumes," he said.
Cathay Pacific Airways said it will use the four Boeing 777-200 aircraft due for delivery in May on routes connecting Hong Kong with Taipei, Tokyo Osaka, Bangkok, Bahrain and Dubai.
Aviation Industries of China emerged yesterday as an unexpected potential buyer of Fokker. The state-owned Chinese aircraft company will send officials to Amsterdam next week for talks with the court-appointed administrators of Fokker, sources close to the Dutch aircraft manufacturer said.
Pilots at United Express Great Lakes this week voted be represented by Teamsters Union, the union reported. Of 344 eligible voters, 276 voted for Teamsters representation and 15 for the Air Line Pilots Association; five ballots were declared invalid. The Great Lakes pilots had been represented by the independent Great Lakes Pilot Association. Ray Benning, director of the union's Airline Division, said, "Pilots found they were trying to do a full-time job on a part-time basis. So they sought out Teamster representation."
DOT has made final its order finding Sun Pacific International fit to operate domestic and international combination charter service. The Tucson-based carrier plans to offer sub-service to other certificated supplemental charter air carriers, providing aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance and using a 727-200 (DAILY, Sept. 14, 1995). (Dockets OST-95-585&OST-95-586)
Mesa Air Group has posed two scenarios under which it could return its two Fokker 70s to the manufacturer, at a $3 million penalty. In a recent 10-Q filing with the SEC, the carrier says that although the jet operation has become "marginally profitable," the F70s have not met expectations. Unless results improve or its agreement with Fokker can be amended, Mesa said it may exercise its option to return the aircraft.
The Boeing 777 powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 turbofan engine received its type certificate from FAA and Europe's Joint Aviation Authorities. The 90,000-pound-thrust engine won certification early last year, three months ahead of schedule, and the 777 flight test program, including tests at 90,000 pounds thrust, was "flawless," said Project Director Phil Hopton. The flight test program accumulated 550 hours during 180 certification flights. Rolls said the engine has captured more than 35% of the market for 777 engines.
Operating margins for seven publicly held regional airlines increased an average of 2.3 percentage points during the December quarter. Delta Connection Comair surpassed fellow Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast with a 6.3-point increase year-over-year to 18.8%, the highest margin in the group. ASA saw its operating margin decline by 5.2 point to 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Scoring the biggest gain was United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines. It went from a negative 5.8% to a positive 8.3% - a differential of 14 points.
Anchorage, Alaska-based Peninsula Airways was selected by DOT to provide essential service at 11 Kodiak Island, Alaska, bush communities, eight of which will receive subsidized EAS. The term of the award is until Jan. 31, 1998. At the same time, DOT reduced the EAS service determination for Parks/Uyak to zero, thereby allowing service to lapse altogether. Peninsula had competed with Island Air for the Kodiak Island EAS award. MarkAir Express, the previous operator, entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy hearings Nov. 17, and its parent, MarkAir, is being liquidated.
TWA applied yesterday for authority to begin operating as soon as possible daily nonstop St. Louis-Tokyo service and three weekly flights between St. Louis and Osaka one year later. (Docket OST-96-1121)
Omega World Travel, sued by TWA on charges that it sold discount tickets improperly, has filed its own suit accusing TWA of damaging its reputation. TWA recently sued Omega in a St. Louis Court for selling tickets obtained from Global Discount Travel, the firm set up by former TWA Chairman Carl Icahn to sell tickets he received as compensation when he left the carrier. In that suit, TWA claims Omega violated its agreement with Global to sell the tickets only to groups and not to the general public, and broke the Airlines Reporting Corp.
Mesa Air Group will continue is stock buyback program annnounced late last year, its board of directors decided. ""The decision by the Board allows management to use free cash flow of the business and proceeds from the sale of Mesa's America West Airlines, Inc. stock for the repurchase of additional Mesa common stock," Mesa said in a statement. Mesa has "more than $25 million" available for the buyback program, the company said. It had purchased more than $30 million of its own stock during the program's initial phase.
SkyWest Airlines was tentatively selected by DOT to continue serving Vernal and Cedar City Utah, until Dec. 27, 1997. Under the proposal, SkyWest will operate two daily roundtrips on weekdays from each point to Salt Lake City with 30-seat Embraer Brasilia aircraft, at an annual subsidy rate of $194,466 for Vernal and $292,882 for Cedar City. The aircraft represents an upgrade - SkyWest, which had been using 18-passenger Metro III aircraft, is phasing out the aircraft to the point where it operates nothing smaller than 30-seaters into its Salt Lake City hub.
Officials at NASA's Lewis Research Center hope to issue a request for proposals soon for a two-year program aimed at developing a "low-cost and safe One Engine Inoperative (OEI) contingency power propulsion system for a Short-Haul Civil Tiltrotor" aircraft, DAILY affiliate Aerospace Propulsion reported. NASA Lewis wants cost-sharing partners and expects to issue two contracts for what it also calls the Short-Haul Civil Tiltrotor - Contingency Power Element initiative.
Five airlines suing to stop American's Super A expansion at Miami Airport remain optimistic they will prevail despite the U.S. District Court ruling Wednesday that dismissed three of the six counts in their suit (DAILY, Feb. 29). "The judge basically left the suit intact to move forward," spokesman Rick Weintraub of plaintiff USAir told The DAILY. "He has also clearly left the door open for financial relief and specifically rejected efforts to get the suit thrown out," he said.
Air Liberte plans to enter the Paris stock market in 1997 to seek financing for its expansion. This year, the private French airline intends to launch 23 new routes and transfer some of its activities from Paris Orly Airport to Roissy. Air Liberte launched routes from Nice to Lille and Strasbourg Feb. 16 and intends to serve Biarritz, Toulon, Pau, Perpignan, Mulhouse, Nimes, Lyon, Brest, Nantes, Lorient, Clermont-Ferrand, Grenoble, Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi, Figari and Marseille by the end of the year.
Delta during fiscal 1996 has raised the fees the Delta Connection carriers pay related to the code-sharing program, which played a role in a 20% increase in a key category of operating expenses for Comair's most recent fiscal quarter, the regional said. In its Form 10-Q filed recently with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Comair reported that its overall cost per available seat mile for the quarter ended Dec.
..."Commuter Rule" compliance will cost Mesa $75,000 in fiscal 1996 and $2.1 million in fiscal 1997, the carrier reports. With 114 Beech 1900s, 21 BAe Jetstream 31s and 36 Embraer Brasilias, Mesa is by far the largest operator of aircraft affected by the rule, which brings all 10- to 30-passenger regional aircraft up to Part 25 transport-category standards and all Part 135 scheduled operations up to Part 121 standards. In addition, the carrier anticipates it will cost $800,000 annually after 1997 to comply with the rules.
The 46- to 50-passenger-seat ATR 42-400 this week won certification from the French Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile (DGAC), Aero International (Regional) (AIR) said. The aircraft, powered by PW121A engines with six-blade Hamilton Standard Ratier 568 F propellers, offers what AIR called "jet-like comfort" and lower operating costs. Launch customer CSA (Czech Airlines) will take delivery of the first of its two -400s on order this month, AIR said.
