The Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association (SPEEA), representing 22,000 engineers and technical workers at Boeing, has reached a tentative agreement with the company on benefits in contract negotiations and expects to receive Boeing's counter proposal on wages and compensation Jan. 2. SPEEA said although it has been seeking a three-year contract, it has told management it would take a four-year package to the members for a vote.
Air Canada began operating scheduled service Thursday between Calgary and Frankfurt. The carrier will offer three flights in the market initially, using a Boeing 767-300ER configured for 203 passengers in two classes, and build up to daily service by mid-June 1996. With the new service, the carrier will operate as many as 19 flights per week between Calgary and Europe, serving London and Frankfurt year-round and Zurich and Glasgow in the summer. The Frankfurt launch is part of Air Canada's strategy to build service to Western Canada.
AirWays Corp. said its AirTran Airways subsidiary has exercised lease- purchase options with Shannonair on two 737-200 aircraft. AirTran also signed a letter of intent to lease its 11th 737-200 from Pacific Aviation Corp. The carrier provides low-fare service between Orlando and 17 cities with seven 737s, and in February it will take delivery of three more 737s and begin service to Akron-Canton, Ohio, Allentown, Pa., and Rochester, N.Y.
Continental Express traffic dropped 4.3% in November to just under 63.4 million revenue passenger miles from 6.63 million. Capacity, meanwhile, dropped more quickly - 6.8% to 124.8 million available seat miles from 133.9 million ASMs. November 1995 November 1994 Rev. Passenger Miles 63,399,562 66,304,201 Available Seat Miles 124,830,123 133,925,612 Load Factor % 50.7 49.5
UAL Corp. dashed Wall Street expectations of a blockbuster fourth quarter yesterday with news that United's results for the quarter will be below the expectations of most analysts. The announcement dimmed hopes that aviation earnings will exceed expectations again, and it led one airline analyst, Paul Karos of First Boston, to cut his UAL earnings estimate and downgrade the company from a buy to a hold. UAL's stock opened the day yesterday at 198, fell as low as 172 3/4 and closed at 180 1/8. U.S.
KLM will establish service to Bucharest, Romania, this spring, operating eight code-sharing flights a week with U.S. partner Northwest. The Dutch carrier will launch service from Amsterdam April 9 with a 737-300, and in July it will increase service to 10 roundtrips per week. "KLM has great expectations for this new Eastern European destination," the carrier said. With a population of 23 million, Romania "ranks as one of the fastest growing economies in Eastern Europe." Northwest has applied to DOT for authority to operate between the U.S. and Bucharest.
Estonia has formally put its flag carrier Estonian Air up for sale, asking interested investors to submit bids by Jan. 25. The government intends to sell 66% of the airline, but it will require the new majority owner to operate it under its current name. SAS, which owns 16% of Air Baltic of Latvia, is considered a likely candidate to buy Estonian. Finnair also has been mentioned as a potential partner, and Estonian Air sources reported interest earlier this year from parties in the U.K. and The Netherlands.
Sabre Travel Information Network's interactive electronic ticketing is enabling about 15,000 Sabre-equipped travel agencies in the U.S. to ticket travelers electronically on United and Shuttle by United. Sabre said it will introduce the electronic ticketing function for several other carriers - including America West, American, Continental, Northwest, Southwest, TWA and USAir - throughout the coming year. Electronic ticketing for interline travel, and for Canadian and British airlines, will be available sometime next year.
Lone Star Airlines inaugurated Aspen-Dallas/Fort Worth service last week under a cooperative effort by Lone Star, Daimler-Benz Aerospace and the Aspen community. The flights are the only nonstop scheduled service in the market.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic May 1995 Revenue Average Passengers Length of Enplaned % Travel Carriers (000) Change (Miles) America West 1,425 5.82 793 American 5,524 (2.99) 1,082 Continental 2,785 (9.38) 905 Delta 6,610 (5.20) 776
Employees of Sabena returned to work yesterday after a surprise strike by its trade unions shut down the carrier for two days and touched off clashes between workers and police at Brussels's airport. The return to work came as Sabena Chairman Pierre Godfroid indicated that he would soften his stance but said little more. Godfroid and the unions have been at a standstill since the company unilaterally imposed contract changes on its work force. The latest strike began Tuesday and escalated Wednesday.
Business Express flew 27.4 million revenue passenger miles last month, an 18.6% drop from the 33.6 million it logged in November 1994. Capacity dropped 13.5% to 68.9 million available seat miles. The November load factor was 39.7%, down 2.5 percentage points. November 1995 November 1994 Rev. Passenger Miles 27,357,000 33,588,000 Available Seat Miles 68,891,000 79,618,000 Load Factor (%) 39.7 42.2
American Society of Travel Agents praised Avis Rent-A-Car's plans to increase travel agency commissions Jan. 1 from 10% to 15% on weekly leisure rates at all worldwide locations. The commission increase is scheduled to last only until April 1, but Avis said it will consider making the rate permanent or introducing another means of compensating agents.
Northwest has asked DOT for permission to switch one of its two newly awarded second-year Minneapolis/St. Paul-Vancouver daily frequencies to Detroit. Amending its October 1995 application for new U.S.-Vancouver service, the carrier said it would retain the other new Minneapolis/St. Paul-Vancouver frequency in the 1996 award and continue to operate the two Minneapolis/St. Paul frequencies it received this year, the first year of the open skies transition period negotiated last winter in the new U.S.- Canada aviation agreement.
Arguments cited by the Securities and Exchange Commission regional staff in support of taking action against the city and county of Denver and Denver Airport contractors are "not legitimate," an attorney for Greiner Engineering told DAILY affiliate Airports in an interview. The attorney, Richard Brodsky, said SEC's regional staff questioned statements made by Denver to bond investors in 1991 and 1992 that the airport would open by the Oct. 31, 1993, target.
Malaysian Airline System is expected to reveal today its choice for a big jetliner order, and U.S. industry executives are betting on an all-Boeing buy of as many as 25 aircraft. Airbus Industrie, beaten badly so far this year in the market share battle with Boeing, is fighting harder than ever, executives with key suppliers told The DAILY this week. But Boeing is believed to have the edge, and one executive said to expect an announcement for 10 747-400s and 15 777 widebody twins. The engine race is wide open, however.
American has requested allocation of seven U.S.-Peru frequencies that will be available late in 1996, proposing to operate daily service from Dallas/Fort Worth beginning Nov. 1, 1996, using 188-seat Boeing 757ER aircraft. Under the new U.S.-Peru aviation agreement, signed May 5, the U.S. gained 14 additional frequencies to Peru - seven in 1995 and seven more in 1996 - from cities other than Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
Balkan Airlines is abandoning some routes and cutting back on others in an attempt to get back in the black by 1998. Bulgaria's flag carrier will try to reschedule its debts, which are expected to increase from about $13.4 million this year to $15 million in 1996. The cost-cutting program is aimed at reducing its losses from $24.5 million in 1995 to $18 million in 1996 and $3 million in 1997. By 1998, Balkan hopes to return to profit.
DOT has tentatively reselected GP Express Airlines, operating as Continental Connection, to operate essential air service at five Nebraska communities. Under program-wide EAS cuts in subsidies and service levels announced by the department in November (DAILY, Nov. 20), subsidy support has been eliminated for service from North Platte and Scottsbluff to the second hubs of Lincoln and Omaha, while subsidy rates will be lowered for the communities Alliance, Chadron, Kearney, Hastings and McCook.
U.S.-China talks, originally scheduled to end yesterday, have been extended through today amid signs that agreement may be near. "The two sides have narrowed differences considerably on all the outstanding issues," an industry official said. "We're cautiously optimistic that a deal will be put together before this delegation comes home."
Correction: The international departure tax is $6, not $16, and FAA expects a 35% growth in passenger traffic over seven years, not 30% (DAILY, Dec. 21).
SkyWest recorded a 31.7% increase in revenue passenger miles in November from the same month in 1994, flying 50.7 million RPMs on 32.8% more capacity, for a total of 102.9 million available seat miles. Load factor declined slightly to 49.2%. Ron Reber, chief operating officer and executive VP, said the ski markets and sun destinations did not perform as expected. "Other than needing more snow in the northern system and sun in the southern system, November met our expectations." Nov. 95 Nov. 94 11 Mths 95 11 Mths 94
SkyWest told DOT it hopes to terminate service at Page, Ariz., effective Feb. 1, although it is "prepared to stay longer if necessary" during the process of choosing a replacement carrier. SkyWest said both Great Lakes Aviation and Mesa Airlines have expressed interest in serving the community to Phoenix.
