British Airways' systemwide passenger traffic increased 9.8% last month to 5.33 billion revenue passenger miles on the strength of a strong performance in long-haul operations. The carrier's capacity was up 5.5% to nearly 6.99 billion available seat miles, and the load factor gained by three percentage points to 76.2%. The number of passengers increased 4.8%. BA's U.K./Europe traffic rose only 2.8%, but its intercontinental traffic gained 11.6%.
An RTCA task force recommended this week that FAA prepare and carry out a plan for phased introduction and development of free flight navigation. In a report requested by Administrator David Hinson, the task force made 45 recommendations that cover the near term through 1997, the medium term through 2000 and the far term, 2001 and beyond. The panel found that significant benefits are achievable from near- and mid-term actions.
DOT granted United's request to be exempted from the condition that it begin operating new Brazil service on Nov. 1. The carrier was granted seven new frequencies recently, but the Nov. 1 startup was specified. Citing delays in the delivery of new aircraft for the service, the carrier asked DOT to defer the launch date 60 days. (Docket OST-95-247)
American Airlines veteran official Peter Pappas has been named senior VP-planning for AMR Eagle, Eagle announced this week. In the newly created position, Pappas will be responsible for strategic planning, fleet planning, and scheduling for the four American Eagle carriers - Executive Airlines, Flagship Airlines, Simmons Airlines and Wings West Airlines. He reports to AMR Eagle President Daniel Garton.
Air cargo continued its "unfortunate trend of flat to modest growth" in September, rising 1.8%, Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett said yesterday. "The same nominal growth rate can also be seen in passenger traffic as well," she said. The U.S. airline industry is "thoroughly disappointed that its growth rate last quarter did not mirror that of the U.S. economy, which had outperformed most economists' expectations."
Air Canada reported yesterday a third quarter operating profit of C$190 million and net earnings of C$179 million, boosted by a C$58 million gain from the sale several weeks ago of Continental warrants. In the third quarter last year, Air Canada had an operating profit of C$166 million and net earnings of C$130 million. "This is a good-news quarter for Air Canada," said Hollis Harris, chairman. "Our traffic is strong, and our revenues, particularly from new and expanded services, are robust," he said.
Air Transport Association predicts that 11.6 million passengers will fly during Thanksgiving week, Nov. 19-27. ATA estimates that 1,570,000 people will travel Nov. 26, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, for an average load factor of 76.9%.
Midway Airlines has applied for authority to operate combination service between Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and Bermuda. Asking for two-year authority for the route, the carrier plans to begin daily roundtrip service on or about June 1, 1996, using Airbus A320 aircraft, but it asked for the right to use other aircraft, depending on market conditions, at any given time. It also operates Fokker 100 aircraft. Midway also requested the right to integrate and combine Raleigh/Durham-Bermuda with other authorized service - currently, it can serve Cancun, Mexico, and St.
United Chairman Gerald Greenwald has told his airline's unionized employees that the company will not participate in any transaction with USAir that drops employee ownership of the airline below 55%, according to United's Air Line Pilots Association unit. ALPA said a United-USAir deal also would have to satisfy three other criteria - it must return a worthwhile value of "substantial size" to United shareholders, it must not impede United's efforts to return to an investment grade rating for its debt, and it must be acceptable to all employee groups.
Delta set a monthly boarding record in October at Cincinnati - 524,327 passengers, eclipsing last August's 517,748. Delta operates nearly 71% of Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport's flights.
Air Dolomiti of Italy took delivery of its first ATR 42-500 aircraft this week. The carrier, European launch customer for the regional transport, will receive the second aircraft in its order by the end of the year. Air Dolomiti is replacing its fleet of de Havilland Dash 8 aircraft with five ATR 42-320s and the two ATR 42-500s.
FAA yesterday invited public and industry comments on its Challenge 2000 program, intended to "position the agency to continue providing effective safety oversight in the face of technological advances and other changes in the aviation operating environment." Under the program, FAA is reviewing its current regulation, certification and enforcement capabilities and plans to make "appropriate" changes. Details are published in the Nov. 2 Federal Register.
Fokker Aircraft has named Eelco Wagner president of its Virginia-based Fokker Aircraft U.S.A. subsidiary, effective immediately. Wagner succeeds Maarten van Eeghen.
Egyptian new airline Orca Air has reached an agreement to purchase up to six new Fairchild Metro 23 aircraft, Fairchild announced. The carrier's hub airport is in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt. The first two deliveries are scheduled for the 1996 first quarter.
Nine regional airline stocks advanced slightly during October with the average price per share increasing by one and one-half percentage point from $11.22 at the close of September trading to $11.38 at the Tuesday close. Losers outnumbered gainers by five to four, led by Delta Connection SkyWest, which was down $1.88 to $17.13. United Express Great Lakes was off $1.13 to $4.75 per share on the month. Other losers were Mesa, down 69 cents to $9.50; Air L.A. and USAir Express were both down a quarter to 38 cents and $2.19, respectively.
FAA's Chicago Center suffered its seventh computer outage in the past year Wednesday when interface problems between its aged 9020E IBM display channel complex and the Host computer forced controllers to rely on a backup system on two separate occasions. There was no automated data transfer or flight data processing for about 90 minutes, according to the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS), which said the outages caused nearly 700 lengthy delays in the Chicago area.
BWIA International Airways launched service between New York Kennedy and Tobago, and between Miami and Tobago, both operating twice weekly. The Tobago initiative is part of BWIA's expanded winter schedule to the Eastern Caribbean. The airline also will offer service from New York, Miami and Toronto nonstop to Barbados, Antigua, St. Lucia, Trinidad and St. Kitts, and one-stop to Grenada and Georgetown, Guyana.
SAS's flight attendants went on strike yesterday after mediation talks between the company and its Norwegian and Swedish union groups broke down Wednesday night. As many as 2,300 flight attendants were to be on strike through today, affecting SAS's European and intra-Scandinavian routes. The airline said its domestic and intercontinental traffic will not be affected. It said it expects to resume normal operations tomorrow morning, but operations may be disrupted again next week - the flight attendant unions have scheduled another strike for Nov. 9 and 10.
FAA proposed actions yesterday to avoid damage caused by "blue ice" formed from leaking lavatory drain systems on Boeing 737 and Douglas DC-10 and MD- 11F aircraft. In the Boeing case, FAA is proposing to supersede a previous airworthiness directive to include all 737 series aircraft. FAA said since it issued the previous AD, it has continued to receive reports of engine damage caused by blue ice ingested by the engines, and of other damage.
Air 21, the Fresno-based startup carrier, has taken delivery of its first two freshly painted Fokker F28-4000s from USAir and hopes to start scheduled operations in various West Coast markets by mid-month. President Mark Morro said Air 21 fares will be about 60% below prevailing rates.
KLM and Northwest plan to upgrade their four-times-weekly joint Memphis- Amsterdam flight, begun last June, to daily service by June 23, 1996. Memphis-Amsterdam will be increased to five flights a week for the April 1- 27 period, and a sixth weekly flight will be added on April 29.
All Nippon Airways will increase nonstop service from Tokyo to Washington Dulles from three per week to four on Nov. 26. It will operate the additional flight with a Boeing 747-400, the aircraft it uses for all flights from Tokyo to New York Kennedy, Los Angeles and Washington. With the additional flight, ANA will have 18 flights per week to the U.S. from Tokyo. It flies daily to New York and Los Angeles.
PSA Airlines Inc. pilots have ratified a new collective bargaining agreement with the company, the airline announced. The contract, effective Nov. 1 through Feb. 29, 2000, is the second between the wholly owned subsidiary of USAir Group and the Air Line Pilots Association.
Despite strong revenue growth in the first half of its fiscal year, Japan Airlines has increased its full-year forecast only six tenths of one percent. It now expects to generate revenue of 1.092 trillion yen (US$11.28 billion) in the year ending March 31, 1996, up from 1.085 trillion yen.
