The systemwide traffic of the nine U.S. major passenger airlines rose 0.6% last month to 41.16 billion revenue passenger miles on 0.5% more capacity, increasing the load factor 0.1 percentage points to 66.6%. September is not usually a booming traffic month, and this year there were fewer and less dramatic fare sales to stimulate traffic. Also, Continental, as a result of the demise of Continental Lite, and TWA and USAir have been cutting back capacity and withdrawing from markets in the struggle for profits.
DOT, which awarded 1996 Vancouver authority recently, invited U.S. carriers yesterday to apply for the new service to Montreal provided for in the second year of the U.S.-Canada bilateral agreement, signed Feb. 24. As in the first year, the U.S. may designate six carriers for 1996 Montreal services, each operating up to two daily roundtrip flights from one or two U.S. cities. Carriers that received approval for Montreal service in the first year can apply for the right to expand those operations in the second year. The authority becomes available Feb. 24, 1996.
Worldspan has issued its mainframe-based Hotel Source hotel and resort booking system to subscribers worldwide. Radisson Hotels Worldwide is the first hotel company to offer its products through the system, which went online Oct. 19. All information available through Radisson's 800 reservations number, including rates, rate rules, availability and services, is now accessible through Hotel Source.
America West appointed Scott Davis VP-planning. He joins the carrier from AMR Corp., where he worked for five years developing and implementing airline turnaround transactions.
Shuttle By United has cut fares to as low as $19 for travel in the Los Angeles and Bay areas, matching the promotion started by Southwest (DAILY, Oct. 23). Tickets must be purchased by Nov. 7 for travel Nov. 10 through April 5. The lowest fares require a 21-day advance purchase.
Singapore Airlines, which has one of the youngest jet aircraft fleets in the international airline industry, has leased a DC-8-73 freighter from Southern Air Transport.SIA said the aircraft will give it additional cargo capacity feed from emerging markets in India and China to support its longer-haul Europe and U.S. routes.
Transportes Aeromar has applied for renewal of its existing U.S.-Mexico service and an amendment adding scheduled Guadalajara/Puerta Vallarta, Mexico-San Antonio service to its operations. It proposes five daily roundtrips on the Guadalajara-San Antonio route and two weekly roundtrips between Puerta Vallarta and San Antonio.
Saudi Arabia's defense and aviation minister, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, may sign a long-awaited $7.5 billion jetliner deal with Boeing and McDonnell Douglas this week during an official visit to Washington, according to published reports in Riyadh. "It is his first official visit to Washington in 10 years, and I don't think he wants to be received only as defense minister," wire services quoted a Riyadh diplomat as saying on Monday.
Singapore Airlines parent SIA Group yesterday (Tuesday local time) reported an operating profit of S$527.8 million (US$371.7 million) and an after-tax profit of S$522.7 million (US$368.1 million) for the first half of its current fiscal year. Figures for the six-month period ended Sept. 30 were up 10.5% and 13.5%, respectively, from the same period last year. Singapore Airlines also posted improved first-half results, but its profits did not increase as much as its parent company's.
The Air Line Pilots Association at FedEx could reject arbitration with the company and send both sides into a 30-day cooling-off period, moving FedEx closer to a strike before the upcoming holiday season. The pilots union gave the company a deadline of 5 p.m. yesterday to accept arbitration and five working days to commit to completing the arbitration process (DAILY, Oct. 23). FedEx has responded, but not to ALPA.
USAir has expanded the number of cities it offers A4Coach - first-class service at coach prices on transcontinental flights - to include Albuquerque, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, San Francisco and Orange County. The fares in first class are available from those cities to more than 140 destinations in the East. A4Coach reduces the cost of flying in first class by as much as $150 each way.
Sierra Expressway Airlines plans to begin four daily roundtrips Monday through Friday, with additional weekend flights, to South Lake Tahoe from Oakland Dec. 15, offering $49 and $59 one-way fares. Dan Brumlik, chief marketing officer, said, "Crawling along on Highway 50 or the Interstate ruins your vacation before it begins. Our fares are low enough that we expect our Tahoe connection to become one of our most popular year-round destinations." All flights feature a ticketless system.
TWA and the Air Line Pilots Association have raised objections to the request by Delta, Swissair, Sabena and Austrian for confidential treatment concerning documents and data in their applications for antitrust immunity. Saying they are not opposed to the principle that confidential information be protected, TWA and ALPA urged DOT to reject the applicants' proposal to limit access to the information to outside counsel and experts.
SAS, which launched Boeing's 737-600 program early this year with a memorandum of understanding to acquire 35 of the twinjets, added six aircraft to its order and signed a contract to buy 41 firm and 35 option airplanes powered by CFM56-7 engines, engine manufacturer CFM International said yesterday (DAILY, March 15). CFMI estimated the total value of the engine portion of the contract, including spares, at nearly $600 million. In March, SAS valued the aircraft purchase at $1.17 billion.
CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT Chicago '95 is where you'll find the best safety minds in the business looking at tomorrow's airline safety challenges: Former NTSB member John Lauber of Delta Air Lines, on how airline safety can be improved; Christopher Hart, FAA assistant administrator for system safety, on FAA's regulatory role; Flight Safety Foundation President Stuart Mathews on initiatives he'd like to see; and John O'Brien of the Air Line Pilots Association with labor's views.
Comair Holdings posted net earnings of $14.09 million, or 48 cents per share, for the quarter ended Sept. 30, an increase of nearly 75% from its profit of $8.09 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier. The Delta Connection carrier's operating profit jumped more than 81%, to nearly $23 million from $12.7 million, as total revenues rose 23.7% and operating costs increased 14.2%. The September quarter is the second in Comair's fiscal year, and the carrier's six-month net earnings were $30.7 million, or $1.04 per share. The operating profit was $49.2 million.
Northwest is seeking renewal of its scheduled service between points in the U.S. and Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Accra, Ghana; Bahrain, and Sanaa, Yemen. The service is being operated via Amsterdam, under its code-sharing arrangement with KLM. (Docket OST-95-741)
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. yesterday reported a third quarter operating profit of $1.12 million, an increase of 11.1% from the previous year's September quarter profit of nearly $1.01 million. The United Express carrier's operating revenues and operating expenses both were up 20%. The airline did not report a net income figure. Through the first nine months of this year, the carrier had an operating profit of $2.83 million. 3rd Qtr 95 3rd Qtr 94 9 Mths 95 9 Mths 94
Aerosur has applied for renewal of its exemption to operate non-scheduled service between Montevideo, Uruguay, and Miami and to engage in charter cargo service. Because of commercial considerations, the carrier does not currently operate service to the U.S., but it wants to keep the authority if it decides to resume service. (Docket 46913&OST-95-740)
Baltia Air Lines, a would-be U.S. flag startup carrier that has not been able to get off the ground with its long-planned flight operations to points in the former Soviet Union, yesterday said it has signed a letter of intent with a Colorado brokerage firm to do Baltia's initial public offering. Baltia, which now says it "will provide the first-ever nonstop, direct passenger and cargo service, on an exclusive basis, starting in the spring of 1996" between New York Kennedy and St.
Moody's Investors Service yesterday assigned a below-investment-grade Ba3 rating to Coltec Industries' $415 million revolving credit facility. The rating reflects the fact that obligations under the facility are secured by substantially all of Coltec's assets "equally and ratably within the company's 11.25% secured debentures rated Ba3," Moody's said.
Northwest Airlines Corp. has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement for a secondary offering of about 8.4 million shares of the airline company's Class A common stock. All shares to be sold will be offered by either Bankers Trust or the Northwest Airlines Corp. Employee Stock Plan. Northwest itself will not be selling any of the shares. Northwest has about 110 million shares of Class A stock outstanding, about 20 million shares of which are publicly traded.
Air Cargo Express has begun scheduled all-cargo service between Fairbanks and Barrow, Alaska. The new carrier operates four weekly flights on the route, using former U.S. Air Force C-118 or DC-6 aircraft resurrected from the Arizona desert. "We'll be acquiring additional DC-6s, adding employees, and developing a statewide route system," said Robert Everts, president.
