Aeromexico's passenger traffic was down 19% in May to 693.8 million revenue passenger kilometers, and it fell 18.7% in the first five months of this year to 3.41 billion RPKs. The number of passengers boarded declined 19% in May to 560,168, and 17.8% for five months to 2.7 million. Cargo traffic jumped sharply in both periods, however. It increased 21.6% in May to 8.1 million freight ton kilometers and was up 26.4% for the five-month period to nearly 38.2 million FTKs.
America West's June traffic rose 7.5% on 8% more capacity, resulting in a load factor decline of 0.4 percentage points to 74.9%. The number of passengers boarded rose 5.6%. Through the first six months of this year, America West's traffic increased 5.2% on 7.8% more capacity, causing its load factor to slip 1.7 points to 68%. The number of passengers boarded increased 4.7%. "Our passenger load factor continues to be among the highest in the industry," said Maurice Myers, president.
FAA issued approval for the first commercial, passenger-carrying airship operations to the Lightship Group, which plans to offer service to the public in the "near future," Southern Region Administrator Carolyn Blum said yesterday. The company plans to conduct worldwide operations with eight A60+ airships built by American Blimp Corp., Hillsboro, Ore.
Kiwi International Air Lines yesterday named former Braniff and Pan Am executive Russell Thayer as its new chairman, and Thayer and the board that unanimously elected him declared that the airline's "crisis phase" has drawn to a close. John Anderson, acting chairman, will resume his operational duties as VP-support services.
Members of the International Association of Convention&Visitor Bureaus tomorrow will formulate a "cohesive message" for the national White House Conference on Travel and Tourism, to be held Oct. 30-31. Tomorrow's meeting kicks off IACVB's Oasis for Industry Evolution conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. The association represents 414 CVBs in 30 countries.
American's domestic passenger traffic rose 4.3% on 0.7% less capacity last month, causing its domestic load factor to increase 3.3 points. American's international traffic increased 11.7% on 11.5% more capacity. Atlantic traffic rose 7%, Pacific traffic 5% and Latin American traffic 19.4%. June 95 June 94 6 Mths 95 6 Mths 94 RPMs 9,125,287,000 8,568,988,000 49,844,251,000 46,822,383,000 ASMs 13,149,464,000 12,794,368,000 76,144,622,000 74,667,660,000
The Asia/Pacific region must liberalize industries directly related to travel and tourism to cope with the tremendous growth expected, Geoffrey Lipman, president of the World Travel&Tourism Council (WTTC), told the Singapore Pacific Economic Cooperation Council this week. "Aviation is the infrastructure of travel and tourism, and restrictive aviation schemes have no place in the `new age of travel.'" Asia must ensure that airlines are released from government control and that air traffic control is liberalized, he said.
The City of St. Louis, Mo., and the St. Louis Airport (St. Louis Parties) are boosting TWA's bid to operate scheduled combination service between St. Louis, on the one hand, and Mexico points Cancun, Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta, as well as Montego Bay, Jamaica, on the other. Noting they were leaders in the effort to liberalize the U.S.- Mexico bilateral, which opened St.
The Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), which represents as many as 20,000 of British Airways' 53,000 employees, is threatening to strike during the peak of the summer travel season to protest BA's proposal to replace national union negotiations with localized bargaining (DAILY, May 30). An undetermined number of TGWU-represented employees - estimates range from 100 to 1,000 - picketed outside BA's Annual General Meeting yesterday, and union officials said later they will begin polling the membership soon on whether to strike during the U.K.
Continental Express will offer van service six times a day between Trenton- Mercer Airport and Newark, beginning Aug. 15. The service is free of charge for passengers connecting to a Continental flight at Newark. Passengers park free at the Trenton airport, where their bags are checked. OnePass frequent flyer members receive 500 miles each way for the van ride. Continental Express operates similar ground service from Lehigh Valley Airport to Newark.
Tower Air's systemwide scheduled passenger traffic rose 28.5% last month from June 1994 on 30.7% more available seat miles, depressing the passenger load factor 1.3 percentage points to 74.9%. The number of passengers increased 27.2%. For six months, traffic rose 42.6% on 43.6% more capacity, and the number of passengers boarded was up 39.3%. June 95 June 94 6 Mths 95 6 Mths 94 RPMs 329,000,000 256,000,000 1,439,000,000 1,009,000,000
Apollo Travel Services has begun taking orders for LeisureApollo, a new software product that brings Leisure-Shopper to cruise-only travel agencies. LeisureApollo is designed to give non-CRS-automated agencies the ability to book vacation products in a fully integrated, real-time, global database of major vendors, including Carnival Cruise Lines, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Princess Cruises.
As the U.S. prepares for another round of talks with Japan, U.S. legislators urged DOT officials yesterday to take a firm approach to the negotiations. Speaking at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on global aviation challenges Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) said, "The aviation dispute the government of Japan created by recently denying `beyond rights' for Federal Express and United Airlines must not be tolerated....The United States must stand firm." Calling the issue "a clear-cut case of a nation...abrogating its treaty obligations," Sen.
Airbus Industrie and China Aviation Supplies Corp. (CASC) are building a $50 million training and service center near Beijing Capital Airport in a move to improve accessibility to Chinese airlines that operate Airbus aircraft. Chinese Civil Aviation Minister Chen Guang Yi, Vice Minister Shen Yuan Kang and Airbus Managing Director Jean Pierson presided last week at ground-breaking ceremonies, and the center is to open for business in 1996. Airbus Industrie forecasts that Chinese airlines will need 1,275 new aircraft by 2014, and its goal is to win half that market.
Moody's Investors Service, as part of its ongoing program to assess the creditworthiness of companies engaging in financial and commodity derivatives transactions, has assigned a counterparty rating of B3 to USAir Inc. Because the contracting of derivatives is done at the airline level, no counterparty rating was assigned to parent company USAir Group. Because of the volatile nature of currency and fuel prices, USAir and other airlines use various derivative instruments in risk-management activities.
Paradise Island Airlines, based in Fort Lauderdale, will become the 11th USAir affiliate operating as USAir Express Sept. 6. Paradise will offer four daily roundtrips to Paradise Island, in the Bahamas, from Fort Lauderdale, five daily from Miami and two daily from Palm Beach, using four de Havilland Dash 7s.
The U.S. expects a productive round of aviation talks with Germany this week, followed by a ministerial meeting between the two countries later this month.
Western Pacific Airlines says it is exceeding its traffic goals after two months of service, carrying 68,058 passengers in June. Tom DeNardin, VP- sales and marketing, said the airline expanded service by 69%, yet maintained 60.7% load factors for the month. It carried 110,073 passengers for two months. In June, it offered 82,720 available seat miles and generated 50,238 revenue passenger miles. Western Pacific operates five 737-300s.
Korean Air Lines' bid for scheduled service between Seoul, Korea, and Washington Dulles Airport via New York has picked up local U.S. support. "As you know from our discussions before, during and since the tenure of the National Airline Commission, I am a strong supporter of our air carriers as they seek to expand service in international markets," former Virginia Gov. Gerald Baliles said in a letter to DOT Secretary Federico Pena. "However, as it is in this case, the service our communities seek will sometimes be provided by a non-U.S.
U.S. airlines seeking access to Vietnam are not likely to benefit soon from President Clinton's decision, announced yesterday, to restore diplomatic relations with the Southeast Asian country. The decision might motivate government officials to move along with establishing commercial air service, but that has been permissible since DOT lifted the Vietnam travel ban in February 1994 following Clinton's removal of the trade embargo, pending the completion of FAA security assessments and safety evaluations. The U.S.
FAA estimates that the seven-year budget resolution conference agreement approved last month by Congress could mean agency funding in fiscal 2002 about 19% lower than the fiscal 1995 level.
Piper Aircraft has emerged from bankruptcy protection after four years when a U.S. bankruptcy judge Monday in Miami approved its sale for $95 million to creditors and the Philadelphia investment firm Dimeling, Schreiber and Park. The investment firm will own 50% of New Piper Aircraft Inc., and Teledyne, Piper's largest creditor, and the remaining Piper creditors will own the rest. Piper filed for bankruptcy in July 1991. A new board will be appointed. Piper President Charles Suma will continue in that role.
Lufthansa Technik has developed a new method of repairing parts of Airbus A300 and A310 engine cowlings damaged by moisture and hot air. Claiming a reduction in cost and time, the Hamburg engineers use a highly resistant bonding system and install a drainage system that allows water to run off instead of collecting in the interior of the cowling, avoiding damage on parts of the cowlings caused by moisture and hot air from anti-ice ducts.
