The good news is that Air France is meeting its restructuring goals and expects to break even in fiscal 1997, says Chairman Christian Blanc. The bad news is that losses in fiscal 1996, through March 31, will amount to 1.2 billion francs (US$ 242.3 million).
Hawaiian Airlines reported a 28.4% increase in November traffic, to 316.8 million revenue passenger miles. Available seat miles rose 18% to 402.9 million, and the load factor increased from 68% to 78%. Load factor for the first 11 months was 77%, up from 72%. November 1995 November 1994 11 Months 1995 11 Months 1994 RPMs 316,827,222 226,639,621 3,273,696,044 2,624,370,729 ASMs 402,927,881 330,239,643 ,240,405,355 3,618,305,718
Delta's 165 dispatchers, represented by the Professional Airline Flight Control Association, have ratified a collective bargaining agreement that cuts their pay 5% but provides some scope protection and allows them to participate in profit sharing. PAFCA is the only union at the airline other than the Air Line Pilots Association, now mired in its own mediated talks.
Travel Industry Association's board of directors has agreed to provide financial support for the work of the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism Transition Team - renamed the Implementation Team - if the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration runs out of funding. National Chair Sandra Fulton said TIA could pay expenses and provide meeting space in its headquarters and some of its staff. The 39-member team, formed to implement the new national tourism strategy, met last week to set objectives.
Avatar Alliance named Frederick Sine executive VP and a director; Tara Wallace director of information technology and Bruce Odum manager of information technology.
FAA will eliminate early next year at least one and possibly two of the three avenues of protest available to companies dissatisfied with the agency's decisions on contract awards. The change will be part of the FAA acquisition management plan developed in response to procurement and personnel reform requirements in the fiscal 1996 transportation appropriations act.
As investors and analysts in Europe expressed growing doubt about the prospects of Fokker, the Dutch aircraft manufacturer said Friday it will enter new business commitments in 1996 "on the basis and within the scope of authorizations granted by DASA" - Daimler-Benz Aerospace, its German parent.
TWA and former owner Carl Icahn will try to settle their differences through negotiations rather than legal action, the carrier said Friday. TWA dropped its lawsuit against Icahn's travel agency, Global Discount Travel Services LLC, while Icahn agreed to withdraw a default notice claiming TWA was behind on repaying a $190 million loan. TWA claims Icahn was reselling TWA tickets to the general public, violating an agreement between the airline and Icahn that sales would be limited to groups or corporations.
Kiwi named Tad Hutcheson VP-marketing and sales development. He has been in marketing development at Delta and prior to that managed strategic planning at Kiwi. He replaces Armand Arel, who now heads the international division of the Florida Department of Tourism.
Lufthansa and SAA signed a cooperative agreement Friday, firming up a memorandum of understanding they reached late in May, to code share starting April 1. Initially the carriers hoped to have the joint service in place by January, but working out the details led to a delay, a spokesman said. In addition to code sharing, the carriers will re-time their schedules, link their frequent flyer programs and handle cargo jointly. Plans to work together on ground handling and offer joint use of each others' flight lounges will be developed later.
Preliminary findings of Economic Strategy Institute study of Asian aviation, to be published in January, confirm that the market is constrained, particularly in Japan, and that "beyond services are much preferred to code-sharing flights," said Don Hilty, ESI senior fellow.
American Trans Air's traffic increased 17.7% to 594.5 million revenue passenger miles in November over the same month last year on 9.7% more capacity. Its load factor increased 4.6 percentage points to 67.6%. For the first 11 months of the year, the carrier's traffic gained 25.5% on 21% more capacity.
Qantas is cosponsoring - and will be the official international and domestic carrier for - the International Media Center, a new facility for accredited foreign correspondents in Sydney. The airline will supply first- and business-class tableware for meals at the center.
Avio-Diepen management agreed this week to acquire the company from parent Fokker and operate as an independent entity. Details of the transaction were not disclosed. Avio-Diepen, a distributor of spare parts to airlines and maintenance centers, sees the transaction as a strategic move to better position itself in the worldwide market.
Representatives of a number of general aviation groups, aircraft manufacturers and small and low-cost airlines met yesterday in Washington to form an alliance for developing alternatives to the user fees in the Senate FAA reform bill (S.1239). Alliance members agree that FAA should continue to be funded through the current system of excise taxes and general fund contributions, perhaps in concert with other financing options, sources said.
FAA's proposed pilot flight and duty time rule drew sharp criticism yesterday from the Air Transport Association. President Carol Hallett said an initial reading of the proposal "only underscores the industry's long- held position. This rule is unnecessary and tries to regulate pilot union economic demands by turning them into alleged safety issues that simply are not supported by scientific data and research."
Taiwan's Committee for Aviation and Space Industry Development and the China External Trade Development Council will head a Taiwan delegation participating in the 1996 Singapore Air Show. At least eight companies plan to exhibit aerospace products, from onboard personal information systems to a prototype of the S-30 aircraft. Asian Aerospace '96 is scheduled in February.
Citing community opposition, DOT reversed an earlier decision and is maintaining full essential air service at established subsidy rates to four Alaskan communities. Under the decision, the four - Cordova, Petersburg, Wrangell and Yakutat - would escape the program-wide EAS reductions announced last month. Alaska Airlines will continue to receive about $1.4 million annually to operate seven round trips per week between each of the communities and its designated hub, either Anchorage, Juneau or Ketchikan, using Boeing 737 or similar aircraft.
