DOT's fiscal 1996 funding may be headed for a delay in a congressional conference because of an anticipated House vote on a line-item veto amendment to the DOT appropriations bill (H.R.2002). The House moved a step closer to this scenario Friday when it approved a rule for the appropriations bill. One potential amendment affecting aviation, sponsored by Rep. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.), would cut about 0.2% of FAA's administrative budget.
USAir Group Inc. earned $112.9 million in the second quarter, traditionally its strongest of the year, in a substantial gain over the same period in 1994. The net profit was a $99 million improvement, and revenues hit a quarterly record high, $1.98 billion. Profit per common share, after preferred dividend requirements, was $1.47.
Robert Martens, president of AMR Eagle, will leave the company this week to "pursue other opportunities," an AMR spokesman said. Martens has headed AMR's regional subsidiary since June 1987, moving there from a stint as VP- pricing and budget planning for the parent company. Appointment of a successor is expected within a week.
Russell Meyer, chairman of Cessna Aircraft, will be the 1995 recipient of the Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy, the National Aeronautic Association said. The trophy will be presented Dec. 15 at a dinner sponsored by the Aero Club of Washington.
America West reported second quarter net income of $20.9 million and operating income of $53 million on revenues of $399.9 million. Both of the income totals are the highest in company history, up from net income of $20.1 million and operating income of $44.1 million on revenues of $363.4 million during the same period last year. Per-share data are not comparable because of the company's recapitalization upon emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this year.
Promising to target local Detroit residents for hiring, Spirit Airlines and the City of Detroit continue to press for approval of the airline's proposed Detroit City Airport-New York LaGuardia service.
House Appropriations Committee recommended this week in the Commerce- Justice-State funding bill (H.R.2076) $2 million for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration in fiscal 1996, providing only enough money to complete the agency's participation in this fall's White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. Funding would terminate Dec. 31, and the panel says future USTTA activities should be carried out by the International Trade Administration. The Clinton administration requested $16.3 million for USTTA in fiscal 1996.
GP Express is pulling all but its essential-air-service operations out of Colorado after July 31, citing the high operating costs at the new Denver International Airport and declining loads. Colorado markets losing GP service include Gunnison, Montrose, Telluride and Grand Junction, as well as Jackson Hole, Wyo. Sources say the high local fares and extra trip times to the new distant airport are forcing business travelers into their cars. United Express Mesa will have a monopoly in the markets with focus on feeding connecting passengers to United at Denver.
Senate Majority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) believes airlines are in a good position to win a continued exemption from the 4.3 cents-per-gallon transportation fuel tax, but considers a repeal unlikely. "The odds are not good that we're going to repeal the tax," Lott said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on Aviation News Today. "But the odds are good that we'll keep the exemption for the airlines." Lott is in favor of a complete repeal of the tax and is a co-sponsor of legislation (S.304) to do so.
Burlington Air Express expanded its company-owned operations in Mexico with the recent opening of offices in Chihuahua and Monterrey. It already had offices in Mexico City and Guadalajara.
Reno Air posted a net profit of $1.723 million, or 18 cents per share, for the second quarter 1995, up from a loss of $2.5 million during last year's quarter. The results include a $1.6 million credit negotiated with a lessor to eliminate an over-accrual in maintenance reserves related to two aircraft. Reno reported $61.4 million in operating revenues on $59.7 million in operating expenses. It carried a record 975,125 passengers for the three months ended June 30, but its load factor fell to 60.7%, down from 65.2%.
TWA will try to build up winter-oriented north-south travel from its St. Louis hub by launching service in December to five points in Mexico - Cancun, Ixtapa, Manzanillo, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta - and to Montego Bay, Jamaica. At the same time, it will increase flights from St. Louis to Honolulu, San Juan, Orlando and Sarasota. The carrier said that in the past, its network "has been geared toward east-west flying that peaks in the summer. These changes build upon TWA's profitable St.
FAA plans to allow properly trained pilots of aircraft certificated for nine or fewer passengers operating under Part 135 to perform certain maintenance functions on their own. The agency is acting after receiving more than 250 petitions, mainly from air taxi operators upset that their pilots are not authorized to reconfigure cabins or exchange medical oxygen bottles.
China Airlines inaugurated service on its Taipei-Dubai-Rome route July 17, offering two roundtrip flights per week using 747 aircraft owned by its subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines. The flight takes 14 hours and 30 minutes, and a CAL spokesman said it is the shortest flying time for any service connecting Taiwan and Europe.
Sociedad Aeronautica de Medellin Consolidada S.A. (SAM), an affiliate of Avianca, has placed another order for an RJ100 regional jet, British Aerospace's Avro International Aerospace unit reported. The order was valued at about $25 million, bringing the total value of aircraft recently ordered by SAM - including an earlier eight - to $255 million, Avro International said.
Regional airline traffic increased 18.9% in June, based on a survey of 13 carriers. Capacity was up 16.7%. Revenue passenger miles for the 13 carriers were 672.7 million versus 586.6 million in June 1994. Available seat miles were 1.254 billion compared to 1.105 billion in the same month a year ago. Gulfstream International, the small, expansion-minded Miami- based regional and a United code-sharing partner, again was tops in RPM growth at 90.7%. That was against an ASM growth of only 53.7%.
Northwest added a fourth weekly roundtrip service from Seattle/Tacoma to each of two Asian destinations, Osaka and Hong Kong. The extra Hong Kong flight will operate until Sept. 4, while the Osaka increase is year-round. Each of the new flights will leave the U.S. on Mondays. "The additional frequencies continue Northwest's development of Seattle/Tacoma as a trans- Pacific gateway," said Michael Levine, executive VP-marketing and international. "Both flights have performed well and have a good mix of originating and connecting traffic."
Continental inaugurated daily nonstop flights Wednesday from Newark to Manchester, England. The carrier is operating a 757 designed for the service, with a BusinessFirst cabin that offers 16 sleeper seats.
Northwest topped its record 1994 second quarter net income of $71.3 million by reporting yesterday a new best-ever net income of $104.8 million for the three months ended June 30. The company attributed its eighth consecutive profitable quarter to higher traffic and a "strong overall pricing environment." Higher fares in the first six months of 1995 improved revenue yield in the second quarter by 1.5%. During the quarter, Northwest also set another record - June's 77% load factor was the highest for the month in company history.
CCAIR flew 12.5 million revenue passenger miles in June, a 6% decline from June 1994's figure of 13.3 million RPMs. Enplanements also dropped - 9.2% to 69,398 from 76,402 - but capacity increased 8.6% to nearly 27 million available seat miles from 24.8 million. As a result, load factor dropped 7.2 percentage points to 46.2% from 53.4%.
FAA plans to revise emergency evacuation demonstration procedures for transport category aircraft. Acting on recommendations from the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, the agency said the proposed changes are needed to make evacuation demonstrations safer for participants and ensure that operators show the effectiveness of crew training by conducting at least a partial demonstration. The changes would impact both the manufacturers and operators of the aircraft.
Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., said it has been awarded a five-year FAA contract to provide expanded software engineering services to support National Airspace System Enroute programs. Including all options, the EnRoute Software Development and Support (ERSDS) contract is valued at up to $207.1 million.
Shipments of and billings for general aviation aircraft continued to improve in the first six months of 1995 compared with the same period last year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported yesterday. GAMA said 445 units valued at $1.3 billion were shipped, up from 406 units and $927.8 million a year earlier. Piston-engine aircraft shipments increased 10% to 243, turboprops 27.4% to 107 and jets 4% to 105.
DOT has tentatively found Smyrna, Tenn.-based air taxi operator Corporate Flight Management, Inc. (CFM) fit to conduct commuter operations. The carrier, if ultimately granted the authority, proposes to operate commuter flights - up to 24 weekly - between Bowling Green and Cincinnati, Ohio, using two Beech King Air 200s, each configured for up to 13 passengers.
Apollo will unveil a travel agency education program this summer, as well as a new Apollo Help system and computer-based training (CBT). The new Apollo Help will be on-line by August, when two courses of the new Apollo Electronic University CBT will be in beta testing. Apollo Help will provide quicker and easier access, and a new "About" page will give product overviews. Apollo said the new products will enhance customer learning and enable agents to improve their Apollo skills on the job.
