Moody's Investors Service said yesterday it has placed the Aa3 senior debt rating of Airbus Industrie under review for possible downgrade. The ratings service expressed "concerns about possible changes in Airbus's legal structure and in the way benefits of Airbus are allocated to its members, and about the weakening credit quality of certain key partners of Airbus." An Airbus Industrie spokesman said Moody's announcement "results from a number of fiscal issues that have developed independently but in a fairly common time frame.
United's third quarter financial results will top last year's September quarter earnings of $6.86 as well as Wall Street's consensus of $8.39 per fully distributed share, the airline said yesterday. "We are extremely pleased with both the current domestic fare environment and the continuing strong traffic observed throughout United's system," said John Edwardson, president of United. S.G. Warburg&Co.
USAir Chairman and Chief Executive Seth Schofield has agreed to delay his retirement until the carrier concludes discussions with American and United on potential strategic relationships or, depending on the results of the talks, his successor has been elected and takes over officially. The USAir board asked Schofield to remain, Mathias DeVito, chairman of the search committee seeking his successor, said yesterday, and the committee is suspending its work pending the outcome of the discussions with American and United.
All Nippon Airways took delivery of its first 777 yesterday. A launch customer for the 777-200, ANA will use the aircraft on domestic routes, beginning Dec. 23 with a flight between Tokyo and Osaka, Boeing said. ANA has ordered 18 777s powered by Pratt&Whitney engines.
Delta's San Jose station found a way to turn lost luggage into savings in September. It offered passengers a $25 travel voucher if they picked up the lost bags themselves, saving 17% on delivery costs.
American Society of Travel Agents and Value Rent-A-Car have launched their third annual Value of ASTA campaign to recruit new ASTA members. The first 500 non-ASTA agencies accredited by the Airlines Reporting Corp. that join the travel agent association will receive $197.50 off the $395 first-year membership dues. Value splits the membership dues with the new agents. Dan McNamara, chief operating officer of Value, said, "If we can help them tap into the many resources of ASTA, they will be more successful, and if they succeed, we succeed." The campaign ends Dec.
Air France Chairman Christian Blanc today is expected to convey to subsidiary Air Inter's board his plans to create a new European airline with Air Inter at its core. The new airline, to be launched Jan. 1, will be based on Air Inter but will have a new name, conduct no-frills, low-cost operations, and fly on European routes. Air France will continue to operate its own European services. The plan is expected to draw more protests from angry Air Inter employees.
1994 A Banner Year For Travel In The U.S., TIA Reports Americans traveled in record numbers last year, according to the Travel Industry Association of America. In its annual report on the travel habits of Americans, TIA traced the increase to a rise in the consumer confidence index riding on overall positive economic developments. The 1994 Travel Market Report found U.S. residents took 1.13 billion person trips, up 7% from 1993. (A person-trip is defined as one person traveling 100 miles or more one way.)
Seventeen airlines, plus Airbus Industrie and Boeing, are participating in FAA's Advanced Qualification Program, which the agency extended this week for five more years, through Oct. 2, 2000. Two training centers, FlightSafety International and NATCO, also are taking part in AQP, which FAA says has "become an important means for meeting the requirements for air carrier training programs." AQP is being offered under a special federal aviation regulation, SFAR 58, which FAA will rescind if it issues a final rule adopting the program.
Startup Western Pacific's September load factor was 55.1% and the airline boarded 84,287 passengers during the month. The Colorado Springs-based carrier flew 63.5 million revenue passenger miles on 115.3 million available seat miles during the month. "We are very pleased with the September load factor," said Tom DeNardin, VP-sales and marketing.
Air cargo increased 2.7% and domestic air freight grew 4.2% in August after declining the previous month, according to an Air Transport Association report. Carol Hallett, president of the association, said ATA hopes for "a steady increase in growth for the remainder of the year. With recent projections anticipating continued air cargo growth for the industry, we need improving results to live up to those expectations."
KLM said yesterday it plans to launch service to Ethiopia this winter, increase overall capacity from last winter and introduce non-smoking service on a number of routes. KLM's winter schedule, effective Oct. 29- March 31, includes 28,500 roundtrips, an increase of 691 from the 1994/95 winter season on a route network serving 148 cities in 81 countries. Effective Oct. 29, all KLM European flights and services between Amsterdam and the U.S., Canada and Australia will be smoke-free.
American's inflight magazine, American Way, can now be found on the Internet. It was the only non-technical magazine to rate in the top 10 for readers who subscribe to an online service. Publisher Rick Morrison said, "Because the majority of our readers are affluent business travelers, the probability that they are computer users and familiar with the Internet is very high."
An international aviation art contest for children ages six to 17 years is being conducted by the Minnesota DOT in cooperation with the FAA, National Association of State Aviation Officials, National Aeronautic Association and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The idea is to encourage young people around the world to share their impressions of their local airport, or to draw one if they do not live near an airport. Entries are due by Feb. 16. For information, call Pamela Krueger, 612-296-3582.
Trenton-based Eastwind Airlines is taking off for Florida Oct. 18, injecting more low-fare flights into the West Palm Beach and Jacksonville markets. The young airline currently flies from Trenton to Boston and Piedmont Triad Airport in Greensboro, N.C.
Prospect of strong third quarter operating results and the likely continuation of the airline fuel tax exemption bode well for the trading environment for bonds of all the major airlines, at least until the end of the year, according to Citicorp analyst Reno Bianchi.
Alliance Airport in Fort Worth will have its first lodging facility next year when a Wyndham Garden Hotel opens a 120-room facility catering to the business traveler. The increasing number of corporate residents at the Alliance development and the planned Texas Motor Speedway, to be located 2.5 miles north of Alliance, will create demand for a luxury hotel, says Alliance Development Company, which will build and own the hotel that will be managed by Wyndham Hotels. The hotel also will provide conference rooms and professional services.
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) will begin service between Rochester and New York Kennedy Oct. 31, operating five roundtrips a day on business days, plus weekend service, with British Aerospace J41s. United Express and United will coordinate the Rochester schedule to offer passengers easy connections via New York Kennedy to international destinations such as London Heathrow, Tokyo Narita, Sao Paulo, Buenos Aires and Caracas.
Singapore-based SilkAir will launch nonstop twice-a-week service between Singapore and Vientiane, Laos, on Nov. 3 using Fokker 70 jets. According to SilkAir, the Laotian government plans to encourage foreign investment and attract advanced technology, especially in agriculture, forestry, processing industries, hydroelectric power, communications and tourism. Trade between Laos and Singapore was valued at $46.7 million last year, double the level of 1993.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic March 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) America West 1,469 5.51 790 1,160,019 American 5,731 (2.37) 1,065 6,105,373 Continental 2,924 (8.38) 907 2,652,165
The Air Transport Association is raising questions about a DOT proposal to simplify and speed up the rulemaking process by using new, "direct final" rulemaking for processing non-controversial changes to its regulations. "The airline industry supports initiatives that improve the regulatory process," said ATA.
The State of Hawaii weighed in at DOT on the side of Japan Airlines's bid for a one-year renewal of its service between Sendai and Honolulu. Saying that promoting Japanese tourism to Hawaii "is of critical importance to the state's and nation's economy," the state pointed out that "according to the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, Japan was the single largest contributor to the U.S. travel surplus in 1994," accounting for $12.5 billion of the $21.6 billion surplus in travel-related goods and services. "Hawaii continues to be the largest U.S.
Northrop Grumman said it received long-term production contracts for nacelle systems and components for Fokker (Rolls Royce Tay engines), Gulfstream (Tays) and Lockheed Martin (General Electric CF6-80C2), valued at more than $600 million through 2005.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic March 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 777 13.82 853 662,995 Aloha 427 (9.42) 136 58,232
Continental is awarding 25,000 OnePass bonus miles to roundtrip BusinessFirst passengers leaving the U.S. through Newark for London or Manchester. The one-time-only bonus is good until Dec. 31.
