Former Braniff International Airlines owner and chairman, Jeffrey Chodorow, pleaded guilty yesterday to two felony counts for impeding DOT's airline continuing fitness program and obstructing enforcement of aviation statutes. Chodorow was accused of concealing the continued involvement of Scot Spencer in the management of the carrier after DOT banned him from the company.
Horizon Air is seeking authority to operate between any point in the U.S. and any point in Canada. Currently operating Seattle- Vancouver/Victoria/Calgary and Portland-Vancouver service, the carrier said it plans to startup in late 1995 between Seattle and Edmonton, Alberta. The carrier said it will use Fokker F28-1000, de Havilland Dash 8, Dornier 328 and/or Metro III aircraft to serve the markets. The broad request is subject to restrictions on service to Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver included in the U.S.-Canada bilateral. (Docket OST-95-634)
Regional-airline capacity increased slightly ahead of traffic during August, according to a DAILY sampling of 12 regional carriers. Available seat miles increased an average of 16.87%, compared with an average gain of 16.81% for revenue passenger miles. Traffic for five carriers actually declined during the month, led by United Express Atlantic Coast, which has substantially downsized and consolidated its Washington Dulles-based operations. ACA likewise led in capacity reduction, which exceeded that of traffic by about two percentage points - 17.38% to 15.23%.
Summary Of The Air Traffic Management System Performance Act Of 1995 (S.1239) Introduced Sept. 13 by Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Wendell Ford (D-Ky.) and Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) A. Governance: 1. FAA Administrator is appointed for a five-year term and confirmed by the Senate. 2. Personnel and procurement decisions are made by FAA
The overallotment option on Reno Air's offering of senior convertible notes was exercised and closed this week, the airline said. The overallotment provides about $3.6 million in additional proceeds. "We're pleased with the oversubscription for our offering," said Reno President Robert Reding. Reno announced the sale of $25 million principal amount of 9% senior convertible notes due 2002 on Aug. 15. The overallotment option represents an additional $3.75 million principal amount of notes sold this week to cover oversubsciptions.
Lawyers in the $2 -million TPI International Airways breach-of- contract suit against the U.S. Air Force have submitted their final briefs to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA). If the board decides the case on sheer weight - of the documents, rather than evidence - the Air Force will win hands down. Its brief weighed in at one pound, four ounces, compared with four ounces for the TPI document. The government brief left one reporter wondering if he had sat in on the same ASBCA hearings as the Air Force lawyers.
Atlantic Southeast's August passenger traffic slipped 0.2% from the same month last year on 1% less capacity, resulting in a load factor increase of 0.4 percentage points. The number of passengers boarded declined 0.1%. Through the first eight months of this year, ASA's traffic fell 1.6% on 2.8% more capacity, pushing the airline's load factor down two points to 44.9%. August 1995 August 1994 8 Mths 1995 8 Mths 1994 RPMs 67,383,622 67,505,532 505,415,823 513,430,145
Transavia Airlines, 80% owned by the KLM Group, will take over KLM's twice- weekly Amsterdam-Tunis roundtrip service on Nov. 1. KLM's last flight in the market will be Oct. 29. Transavia is focusing on expanding its scheduled service from northern Europe to sun destinations.
DOT told Nations Air Wednesday it has five days to appeal the department's decision to make public information the carrier supplied on the extent to which Frank Lorenzo is involved in controlling or owning the airline. DOT asked the carrier to submit more information on who its new president will be and the provisions for stockholder rights and voting trusts because it is concerned Lorenzo may be exercising control over the carrier's operations (DAILY, Sept. 8). Nations Air requested confidentiality for all information submitted.
Alitalia told the Italian Transport Ministry that it is prepared to suspend up to 74 flights to cope with a work-to-rule action by air traffic controllers. Alitalia's proposal, to which the Transport Ministry had not responded by yesterday afternoon, was at least in part the result of a near mid-air collision between two passenger jets near Milan Sunday. Alitalia, which operated a regular schedule yesterday, said it would suspend 56 domestic and 17 international flights. The service suspension would not affect flights to the U.S.
Canada 3000 airlines is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between any point or points in Canada and any point or points in the U.S. The carrier plans to begin Oct. 1 operating scheduled service on a number of routes - Calgary-Honolulu/Los Angeles/Maui/Orlando/Palm Springs/Phoenix, Montreal-Fort Lauderdale, Edmonton-Honolulu/Los Angeles/Maui/Palm Springs/Phoenix/Fort Lauderdale, Toronto-Fort Lauderdale/Fort Myers/Los Angeles/Orlando/St.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will brief its member states this month on a recently approved mechanism to assist states in improving their safety oversight capabilities. The briefing will be part of the 31st Session of the ICAO Assembly scheduled Sept. 19-Oct. 4 in Montreal. During the session, the assembly will vote on ICAO's work program and three-year budget for the 1996-1998 period.
Duff&Phelps Credit Rating (DCR) yesterday assigned an A rating to Southwest's senior secured securities, including equipment trust certificates and equipment pass through certificates, and an A- rating to its senior notes and debentures. DCR assigned an A rating to the proposed issuance of about $250 million in equipment pass through certificates.
Maverick Airways is seeking a certificate to operate scheduled service to Rocky Mountain resort and business destinations. In its operating plan, the carrier has targeted communities where regional service has been reduced or eliminated. If approved, Maverick said it plans to begin in the fall service from Denver, Colorado Springs and Salt Lake City to Aspen, Steam-boat Springs, Telluride and Grand Junction, Colo., as well as several Wyoming communities, including Rock Springs.
USAir Express affiliate CCAIR flew 12.3 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 6.3% drop from the same month in 1994. Capacity rose 10% to 27.5 million available seat miles from nearly 25 million, driving the load factor down 7.7 percentage points to 44.8% from 52.5%. Aug. 95 Aug. 94 8 Mths 95 8 Mths 94 RPMs 12,298,496 13,118,731 91,142,458 98,111,101 ASMs 27,477,508 24,971,155 209,199,686 189,797,964
As the U.S.-U.K. negotiations enter a critical stage this week, the U.K. transport chief stressed the need for the countries to face difficult issues. In a speech marking the inauguration of United's new Chicago- London service, Transport Secretary George Young said he was "a firm believer in liberalization," but added that "true liberalization...goes further than a simple removal of current restrictions on routes and capacity." Addressing the longer-term shape of a liberalized U.S.-U.K. agreement, "we will want to ensure that U.K.
Fleet shopping is intensifying with Northwest Airlink Mesaba calling for route analyses from all regional aircraft manufacturers in the 30-seat- plus class. The carrier says it wants to phase out its 26 19-seat Metro IIIs in favor of a "more cost-effective, customer-friendly aircraft." In addition, the five-year leases on its 25 de Havilland Dash 8s begin expiring next year, and it speaks of "fleet renewal." The competition looks to be an intense one, with de Havilland seeking to defend its turf against the Dornier 328/328EC, Saab 340/2000, ATR and Jetstream.
USAir is offering coach prices for first-class seats to passengers flying from Charleston, S.C., to the West. The "A4Coach" fares are for flights to Albuquerque, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle and San Francisco. Passengers who purchase unrestricted coach-class tickets can upgrade to the first-class cabin, subject to availability.
British Aerospace unit Avro International Aerospace this week launched a North American tour of the RJ85 jet. The tour, which began Sept. 11 in Washington, D.C., will end in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sept. 27.
DOT ruled Wednesday that the City of Los Angeles must file a letter of credit covering a disputed amount in a complaint filed by the Air Transport Association over rates and charges at Los Angeles Airport (DAILY, Aug. 29). The security amount, based on the new fee of $2.06 per thousand pounds landed weight, was calculated by the airlines to total $5,883,309. DOT did not agree with the City's estimate of $1.6 million.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) plans to launch service to Macau and Cairns, and increase service to Auckland, Christchurch, Johannesburg, Sydney and a number of destinations in Southeast Asia with the implementation of its northern winter schedule Oct. 29. Service to Cairns will be operated twice a week with Airbus A310s. One weekly outbound flight to Cairns, and one weekly inbound flight to Singapore will stop in Darwin. Nonstop Macau service will start Dec. 1 with twice-weekly A310 flights.
The six airlines being sued by travel agents alleging collusion in capping domestic commissions have filed a joint motion with the court for an interlocutory appeal. The airlines are appealing a determination by Federal Judge James Rosenbaum that there is sufficient evidence of possible collusion to proceed with a jury trial. At a news briefing yesterday on a wide range of issues, Paul Ruden, senior VP-legal and industry affairs for the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), said the motion indicates none of the airlines is thinking of settling at this time.
An unidentified caller phoned in a bomb threat Wednesday to the Indianapolis center, but FAA management officials outside the facility decided not to evacuate it or tell employees of the threat, Tom Demske, VP of the Professional Airways Systems Specialists (PASS) local at the center, said yesterday. Demske said the caller phoned the threat to an unlisted number at the guard house at 4:10 p.m. and again at 5:22 p.m., saying a bomb would detonate in one hour and 30 minutes.
Delta Connection carrier Comair's August traffic rose 23.9% on 14.5% more capacity, boosting the airline's load factor 4.2 percentage points to 55.4%. The number of passengers boarded increased 17.5%. Through the first eight months of 1995, Comair's traffic increased 26.8% on 22.2% more capacity. August 1995 August 1994 8 Mths 1995 8 Mths 1994 RPMs 110,608,000 89,268,000 764,611,000 603,184,000 ASMs 199,515,000 174,207,000 1,492,104,000 1,220,929,000
