Air South's December traffic climbed 107% over December 1994, to 30.1 million revenue passenger miles from 14.5 million. Available seat miles rose 22% to 54.1 million from 44.3 million, resulting in a load factor gain of 23 percentage points, to 56% from 33%. Air South boarded 80,370 passengers during the month, slightly more than double the total for December 1994.
American's cargo traffic dipped 2.6% in December from the same period a year earlier. The carrier flew 172.1 million cargo ton miles last month, down from 176.7 million. "Our traffic was very strong in the first half of the month across the board, both domestic and international," said Dallas Sherman, VP of marketing and customer support. "Then winter weather struck hard in the Upper Midwest and the Northeast.
Contract negotiations between Federal Express and its pilots union are under way in Washington with the aid of a federal mediator. Both sides have agreed to honor a news blackout on the status of the talks, which entered a 30-day cooling-off period called by the National Mediation Board in October that expired Nov. 25 (DAILY, Nov. 22). The Air Line Pilots Association at FedEx is hampered by lack of pilot unity at the carrier, and a new union, the FedEx Pilots Association (FPA), still is trying to represent the pilots.
Air Line Pilots Association's Executive Council gave the Independent Association of Continental Pilots the nod to go forward with plans to merge the unions. The next step is for Continental's pilots to vote on the proposal.
United has stepped up efforts to curtail Japan Airlines service requests, urging DOT to deny JAL's bid to operate service between Tokyo and Kona, Hawaii, until the government of Japan allows United to operate beyond-Osaka service to Seoul. "Common sense dictates that it would be unjustified and inappropriate for the U.S. to approve JAL's exemption while United is being denied its bilateral rights," said Stuart Oran, executive VP and general counsel for United.
The trial of former South Korean President Chun To Hwan is looking into the possibility that Chun was bribed by Korean Airlines after a KAL 747 was shot down over Sakhalin Island on Sept. 1, 1983, according to a report from Seoul. An indictment submitted by the prosecutor's office states that Cho Choung Hoo, KAL chairman, paid a 3 million won (about US$4 million) bribe to Chun, requesting that the government not take punitive steps against the carrier and the conglomerate Hanjin group, a parent corporation of KAL.
Northwest has applied for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled service between the U.S. and Conakry, Guinea; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Kilimanjaro and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Tunis, Tunisia; Lilongwe, Malawi, and Harare, Zimbabwe. The carrier proposes to serve these markets via Amsterdam under its code-share arrangement with KLM, with KLM operating aircraft on the segment beyond Amsterdam. (Docket OST-96-990)
World Airways flew 2,711 block hours in December, up 21% from 2,235 hours in December 1994. The airlines said average daily utilization of its fleet was 8 block hours, down from 9.2 last December. For the year, World flew 37,342 block hours, up 41% from 1994's 26,457 hours. Utilization for the year was up to 9.9 block hours per day from 8.8.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses Second Quarter 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % assenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues Alaska 298,588,000 9.41 245,426,000 Aloha 53,706,670 (6.31) 43,610,090
Don Hetterman, aviation pioneer and retired Delta executive, died of cancer Jan. 4 at age 71. Hettermann retired from Delta after 43 years of service in 1989, the year he received FAA's Distinguished Service Award. He was designated an Elder Statesman of Aviation by the National Aeronautic Association.
The U.K. will increase inspections of foreign-registered aircraft and clarify safety responsibilities in wet-lease deals as part of a program to improve its oversight of safety standards applied to foreign aircraft operating in the U.K.
SkyWest posted a 29.5% increase in revenue passenger miles in December from the same month in 1994. The carrier flew 49.8 million RPMs on 27.8% more capacity, for a total of 101.5 million available seat miles. The load factor increased 0.7 percentage point to 49.1%. It was "our highest December load factor ever" with RPM growth outpacing ASM increases for the first time in 11 months, said Ron Reber, SkyWest's chief operating officer and executive VP. Dec 95 Dec 94 12 Mths 95 12 Mths 94
SAS will add a new weekly nonstop flight between Stockholm and Edinburgh in April. The carrier also detailed plans for new flights to Bologna and Newcastle. Service from Copenhagen to Bologna will start March 11 and will be operated daily with a 75-passenger DC-9-20. Bologna is the carrier's fifth destination in Italy. Service to Newcastle starts March 31, consisting of twice-daily flights from Copenhagen with 46-passenger Fokker 50s. The new service is part of a plan announced earlier by the airline to boost flying 9% this year (DAILY, Jan. 3).
Air Travel Card named Sandra Reynolds director-marketing/ industry relations. DeCrane Aircraft Holdings appointed Roger Keller president of its member company, Hollingsead International. Diamond Aircraft promoted Gary Gaudreau to VP-North American sales and customer support and appointed Jeff Owen North American sales manager and Michael Payne regional sales manager for Canada. FFV/Aerotech named John Sweet manager-business development. SimuFlite promoted Thomas Stelter to senior manager-engineering and technical operations.
Air Midwest is being required by DOT to continue providing essential air service at Topeka, Kan., through Jan. 16 while it negotiates a new subsidy rate for the service with the carrier. Under congressionally mandated EAS program cuts, Air Midwest's revised subsidy rate for two nonstop roundtrips between Topeka and Kansas City is $25,487 per year. The carrier, operating as USAir Express, originally filed its intent to suspend its Beech 1900 service at Topeka on July 11, 1995, but DOT has required it repeatedly to continue the service.
- Granted orally an exemption to Western Express to conduct charter all-cargo service between any point or points in Canada and any point or points in the U.S....Granted orally an exemption to Aeromexico to engage in scheduled combination service between Hermosillo, Mexico, and Los Angeles...Granted orally an exemption to Pacific International Airlines to continue to wet-lease Boeing 727 equipment to Air Caribbean for all-cargo operations between Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, and Miami.
Orlando-based AirTran Airways carried more passengers in December than in any other month in its history. It transported 69,844 passengers, a 421% increase from December 1994. Traffic for the month jumped 398% to 60.4 million revenue passenger miles from 12.1 million in December 1994 on a 176% increase in capacity to 95.8 million available seat miles. The load factor was 63.1%, up 28.2 percentage points from December 1994's 34.9%. AirTran operates seven 737s and will take delivery of three more this month.
Icelandair is boosting Air Belgium International's application for authority to operate charter combination service between Belgium and the U.S. and beyond the U.S. to a point or point in neither Belgium nor the U.S. Air Belgium's application was prompted in part by its desire to perform short-term wet-lease operation for Icelandair. Air Belgium has been contracted to operate scheduled service between Reykjavik, Iceland, and Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, between Jan. 11 and Feb. 29.
Atlanta tour operator World Technology Systems plans to introduce public charter service March 1 from Mobile, Ala., to New York, Chicago and Atlanta, fashioned after its successful startup of Myrtle Beach Jet Express. The new carrier will be called Mobile Jet Express, and its flights will be operated under a contract with Nations Air Express using 122-seat 737-200s. Fares start at $49 one way to Atlanta and $79 to Chicago Midway and Newark. All flights are daily except on Tuesdays. The city of Mobile is paying for eight weeks of Jet Express advertising.
- In Federal Register dated Jan. 8...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Saab 340A/B series aircraft requiring verification that the auto- ignition system is operational.
Danger of ingesting birds in aircraft engines is growing due to exploding populations of wild fowl, NTSB member John Goglia said following a meeting in Washington on the subject (DAILY, Jan. 11). Authorities plan a campaign to make aviators more aware of the bird strike problem, he said. Canada geese are being blamed for last year's crash of a $170 million E-3 AWACS aircraft that killed all 24 people aboard.
Canadian Airlines will refurbish its fleet of 737s, adding a forward business-class cabin with new, larger business-class seats. The upgrade is Canadian's latest effort to improve its domestic service and draw passengers away from rival Air Canada, particularly in the eastern part of the country, where Air Canada has provided better service. "This is traditionally a market where our friends at Air Canada have been dominant," a spokesman for Canadian told The DAILY. "Now we're more actively going after it."
American is seeking certificate authority to operate Chicago-Birmingham, England. Offering nonstop service under exemption authority since May 1995, the carrier currently operates one daily roundtrip on the route, using 215-seat 767-200ER aircraft. Noting that under the U.S.-U.K. agreement signed June 5, 1995, U.K. regional airports, such as Birmingham, became open-entry markets, the carrier maintained that its application should be granted for an indefinite duration. (Docket OST-96-989)
