ValuJet's October load factor increased 2.6 percentage points from the same month last year, to 64.2%, as its traffic gained 154% on 144% more capacity. "We are pleased to report such a strong load factor during a traditionally slow month in the airline industry," said Chairman Robert Priddy. Through the first 10 months of this year, ValuJet's traffic rose 189% on 164% more capacity, increasing the load factor 6.2 points to 70%. Oct 95 Oct 94 10 Mths 95 10 Mths 94
British Airways' first half net earnings increased 24.2% to 323 million pounds (US$510 million) on the strength of strong demand for both passenger and cargo services driven by the "buoyant" worldwide economic climate. BA's first half operating profit was 523 million pounds (US$826.3 million) and its pre-tax profit was 430 million pounds (US$679.4 million) on revenue of 4.03 billion pounds (US$6.37 billion).
El Al will become the only carrier offering nonstop weekly flights to Tel Aviv from Miami, Chicago and Los Angeles next year. The carrier will inaugurate flights from Los Angeles in the spring and from Miami and Chicago in the summer. It will add a second weekly nonstop from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv because of extremely high bookings, said Leon Hasdai, VP and general manager-North America. It also will launch direct service from San Francisco to Tel Aviv via New York Kennedy.
DOT has denied Aeroflot's application for expanded U.S. operating rights. The carrier had applied for authority to operate between Russia, via intermediate points, to Miami and beyond to Lima, Peru, as well as Russia- Honolulu-Oakland, Calif., service (DAILY, Sept. 26). The State of Hawaii and the Port of Oakland, arguing that the flights would yield new price and service options in the U.S.-Russia market, backed Aeroflot's requests.
Hawaiian Airlines yesterday reported net earnings of $4.8 million, or 48 cents per share, and an operating profit of $5.9 million for the third quarter. The airline said the results amount to its best September quarter in nine years, and Chairman Bruce Nobles said they reflect its continued efforts to improve its financial position. He added, however, that "the biggest challenge facing the company remains our need for working capital."
TWA has introduced weekend fares that offer up to 70% for nonstop domestic flights in the contiguous 48 states to and from St. Louis. The special fares, based on miles flown, are available to domestic cities served by TWA and Trans World Express. Fares are non-refundable and require a one-day advance purchase. Travel from St. Louis must be on Saturdays and flights to St. Louis must be on Mondays or Tuesdays. There is a two-day minimum stay requirement and a maximum stay of three days. The last day to purchase tickets is Nov.
Boeing said about 120 people were treated Friday for exposure to nitric hydrofluoric acid, which led to the weekend closing of the Fabrication Division at its Auburn, Wash., facility. The striking Machinists Union said the "incident raises the most serious concerns about the safety and quality of work being performed by Boeing during the strike." An investigation was under way to determine the cause of the atmospheric release of the corrosive acid. Boeing said it worked with all appropriate agencies to prevent a repetition of this type of accident.
Only 16% of the Northwest Employee Stock Ownership Plan's 47,000 participants elected to participate in the company's secondary offering of Class A common shares. As a result, about 1.55 million shares of stock controlled by the ESOP will be sold in the offering, an amount slightly less than 26% of the 6.03 million ESOP shares eligible to be sold. The offering represents the first opportunity for ESOP participants to sell shares of stock issued under the August 1993 labor agreements that saved Northwest from bankruptcy.
Air Canada plans to launch nonstop jet service between Toronto and Philadelphia Jan. 8, operating four daily flights with Canadair CL-65 jets. To promote the route, Air Canada will offer triple Aeroplan, United Mileage Plus and Continental OnePass miles Jan. 8-March 22.
Greenwich Air Services was awarded a two-year contract by Sun Country Airlines to provide engine maintenance and field service for the charter carrier's Pratt&Whitney JT8D-217C engines. The contract is valued at more than $5 million.
The current system of bilateral negotiations, which treats international aviation as a transportation issue instead of a trade issue, will slow the growth of the industry, according to Tom Weidemeyer, UPS president. Speaking last week at the McGraw-Hill Chicago '95 aviation conference, Weidemeyer said that "when you put regulators from two different countries into a room, you are guaranteed that at the end of the day, you will have regulations, and regulations are not conducive to the notion of free trade.
EVA Air plans to start Taipei-Los Angeles-Panama service Dec. 13 with three flights a week. EVA will have traffic rights between Los Angeles and Panama. The service will be operated with 268-passenger 747-400 Combis configured for four classes of service. EVA's international route system comprises 25 destinations in Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the U.S.
Economic forces and the pull of technology will make international aviation "ripe for broadscale liberalization" in the 21st century, John Zeeman of the World Travel&Tourism Council said last week at McGraw-Hill's Chicago '95 aviation conference. "Increasingly, states will focus on the fact that bilateral air transport market restrictions have no place in today's globalizing economy," Zeeman said.
DOT is requiring Flagship Airlines, operating as American Eagle, to continue essential air service at Tuscaloosa, Ala., through Dec. 4 or until replacement service begins. The carrier announced plans on June 2 to halt operations at Tuscaloosa on Sept. 5, but DOT extended the carrier's obligation twice, each time by 30 days. Dropping the operation would leave Tuscaloosa without any air service, and Flagship's plan prompted stiff community opposition.
Fokker 60 Utility flew for the first time last week as part of a testing and certification program that will concentrate on the civil version ahead of military qualification. A type certificate is expected next May, following 400 hours of flight testing. Royal Netherlands Air Force is the launch customer.
Unisys Corp. said it has acquired the marketing rights to Computer Resources International's software solutions for "emerging areas of aircraft maintenance and engineering." The Denmark-based CRI product suite combines document management software that manages digitized information supplied by aircraft manufacturing with work flow planning tools and other "progress planning enhancements."
Kenneth Brody said he will resign as president and chairman of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, effective Dec. 31. Martin Kamarck, vice chairman and chief operating officer, will be acting president and chairman.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena will arrive in Bangkok, Thailand, today as the first stop on a 17-day trip to eight Asian countries. Pena is scheduled to leave for Hanoi, Vietnam, on Wednesday, and travel to Hong Kong and Macau on Thursday. On Sunday Nov. 12, he will leave for Jakarta, Indonesia, before moving on to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Nov. 14 and Osaka, Japan, on Nov. 15. He will depart for his final destination, the Philippines, Nov. 19.
Continental is considering ways to expand at Houston Airport late in 1996 or early in 1997 to meet growth in departures projected at 8% per year. So far, plans call for more gates but no new construction. "We are still talking with Houston to find out what our options are and see what will be ready when we need the space," Continental spokeswoman Peggy Mahoney said.
Bilateral relationships, passenger facility charges and the isolation of regional carriers without code-share agreements topped concerns raised during Friday's Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearings for Charles Hunnicutt as DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs and Nancy McFadden as DOT general counsel. Hunnicutt sidestepped questions on the aviation impasse between the U.S. and the U.K., but he acknowledged that a U.S.-Germany open skies accord would pressure the U.K.
AFL-CIO has passed a resolution calling on the Clinton administration to "quickly implement the necessary hiring of experienced former controllers for placement at hard-to-staff FAA facilities." The resolution says FAA has hired only 37 controllers and says Clinton should "order the FAA to move beyond the symbolic hiring of former controllers."
Continental has paid out nearly $14 million this year in employee bonuses for its much-improved ontime performance. In September, when it ranked second to Southwest, it would have finished first if eight flights a day had arrived one minute sooner and two flights a day had arrived two minutes sooner. At Newark, where Continental mishandled baggage 22.05 times per 1,000 passengers a year ago, the rate is down to 6.16.
