Aerovias de Mexico, parent company of Aeromexico, logged a net profit and broke even on an operating basis in the second quarter, the company reported. After suffering an operating loss of nearly 28.3 million new pesos (Np$) in the second quarter last year, Aeromexico trimmed that loss to Np$252,000 (US$40,419) in the June quarter of 1995 by cutting its payroll by 60 employees and reaching concession agreements with the remaining workers, and by reducing the size of its fleet to 51 aircraft from last year's 58.
China Airlines (CAL) has revised its projected 1995 pre-tax earnings upward to US$37.6 million. Previously, CAL projected that pre-tax earnings for the year would reach US$21.05 million. A CAL official said stronger-than- expected demand on the company's European routes will boost earnings. In addition, he said, CAL will report a large non-operating profit from the sale of shares in Far Eastern Air Transport Corp.
DOT has issued a consent order concerning violations of advertising requirements by TWA and directing the carrier to cease and desist from future violations and pay compromise civil penalties. DOT said Friday it found that the carrier failed "to prominently and proximately disclose each-way fares" in separate ads appearing in The Washington Post and The New York Times.
Air Express International has acquired the U.K. air and ocean freight forwarder Brantford International from its parent FW Terminals, a division of Hong Kong-based OOCL.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Revenues and Expenses The Year 1994 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues America West 1,404,502,743 6.16 1,303,814,627 American 10,630,584,000 (1.82) 9,178,009,000
Northwest's profits during the past year mean 1995-96 revenue of about 100 million guilders for KLM as the Dutch carrier revalues its 25% stake in its U.S. partner. KLM wrote down its investment to zero back when Northwest was losing money.
Airbus Industrie and at least five companies are fleshing out their stakes in the new Airbus Military Company being set up to manage Europe's Future Large Airlifter program. BAe is finalizing its arrangements for about 15% of the new company, and Airbus is expected to hold roughly 30%. Italy's Alenia, not an Airbus member but one of the original EuroFLAG companies, gets 20%, and Spain's CASA probably will hold about 18%.
Singapore has exempted airlines from its Retirement Age Act, which otherwise would bar early retirement of cabin crewmembers. "It is common among airlines, particularly those in the Asia Pacific region, to adopt a business strategy which projects a youthful and dynamic image to maintain and enhance their competitiveness," says the Ministry of Labor.
Air Afrique is seeking authority to serve Bamako, Mali, as an intermediate point on its Abidjan-Dakar-New York service. The carrier currently operates Airbus A310 service five times a week on the route. (OST-95-350)
Japan was the biggest single contributor to the United States' 1994 travel surplus, accounting for $12.5 billion - up 15% over 1993 - of the $21.6 billion total, the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration said. Reporting on revised final data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis for 1994, the agency said higher spending by U.S. residents in Europe accounted for a 37% decline in the travel surplus with Europe. The surplus was $1.8 billion with Germany, down 17%, and $1.4 billion with the U.K., down 32%.
Burlington Air Express's second quarter operating profit fell 30.6% to $14.4 million from last year's record $20.8 million but still qualified as the second largest quarterly profit in the company's history. The carrier's total revenue for the quarter increased 13.1% to nearly $342 million. The cargo express and global logistics company attributed the quarter's profits to volume growth, primarily international, combined with efficient utilization of domestic fleet capacity.
Not much escapes or is beneath the notice of Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett, who responded recently to a Chicago Tribune column by Joan Beck complaining about airline reservation and in-flight service, cramped seats, high fares - basically, everything between reservation and debarkation. Hallett described the column as "one long whine" and a disservice to thousands of industry employees, ending the letter with the advice, "Joan, get a life!"
Taiwan's TransAsia Airlines will inaugurate regularly scheduled service between Taipei and Surabaya on Oct. 5. A company spokesman said A320 aircraft will serve the new route. TransAsia currently operates two A320s, and an A321 is scheduled to be delivered before the end of this year.
Westinghouse Electric Corp. received a $5.4 million contract from Airborne Express for an air traffic control surveillance radar system at Wilmington, Ohio, in what the manufacturer said is the first sale of an ATC radar to a non-government customer. The purchase includes an ASR-9 airport surveillance radar and monopulse secondary surveillance radar, which will be installed by November. Wilmington is Airborne Express's headquarters and the hub of its overnight package delivery operations.
American has asked DOT to renew its authority to serve Miami-Cancun. The carrier currently operates three times daily roundtrip service on the route, using Boeing 727 aircraft. (Docket OST-95-357)
Sabre Travel Information Network has launched "Business Travel Solutions," a fully integrated suite of three PC-based modules for travel planning, travel expense reporting and pre-travel decision-making. Scheduled for field testing this year, the modules also may run stand-alone and are being developed to work in conjunction with other industry products. Sabre said it will partner with travel agencies, consulting and integration firms to market and operate Business Travel Solutions.
Amerijet International has asked DOT for authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Miami and Guadalajara, Mexico, independently and in combination with its Miami-Mexico City/Merida/Cancun services. If approved, the carrier said it plans to begin the service as soon as possible with at least one flight per week, extending its Miami service beyond one of its Mexican terminals to Guadalajara, using Boeing 727-100 or -200 aircraft. The carrier said it "will expand the service as market conditions dictate." (Docket OST-95-352)
A detailed agenda for cooperative efforts in aviation between the U.S. and Russian governments was signed by Vice President Al Gore during a recent trip to Moscow. The memorandum of understanding, which falls short of being a bilateral airworthiness pact, is designed to make a future bilateral pact easier to reach. The June 30 MOU is a follow-on to a December agreement intended to "expedite efforts toward a bilateral airworthiness agreement (BAA) for the reciprocal acceptance of airworthiness certifications."
George Howard, president of the Airports Council International-North America, will be leaving the post Dec. 31. "I came to ACI-NA for two years and I've stayed for six," Howard said. "I'm very pleased to have been part of the coalition that achieved the PFC and Stage 2 phaseout and now to be a part of the coalition for FAA reform, including adequate funding for airports and airways. I hope to continue to play an active role in the aviation industry."
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses Fourth Quarter 1994 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American 1,063,430,000 19.83 907,041,000 Atlantic 442,810,000 24.17 362,160,000 Latin 539,251,000 20.61 479,546,000
FAA yesterday approved $325 million in passenger facility charges for an on-airport automated guideway transit (AGT) project at New York Kennedy Airport and $300 million for monorail and landside access projects at Newark Airport. The agency rejected, however, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's plan to collect PFCs to finance part of an on-airport AGT system at New York LaGuardia.
Airlines of Britain Holdings, the parent company of British Midland, Manx Airlines and Loganair, has appointed Stewart John as non-executive director of the group. John, who worked from 1980 until 1994 in Hong Kong as engineering director of Cathay Pacific Airways, currently is VP of the Royal Aeronautical Society and president of the International Federation of Airworthiness. He also is non-executive director of Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace subsidiaries Newall Aerospace and Lucas Asia Pacific.
USAir's unilateral decision to break off concession discussions with its unions, begun more than a year ago in an attempt to obtain billions in labor cost savings, is "a serious error," according to the airline's pilots union. The carrier said Friday it will return to conventional collective bargaining instead of negotiating for savings in exchange for 20% ownership by employees (DAILY, July 31).
FAA has issued a final environmental impact statement on the Expanded East Coast Plan's (EECP) effect on New Jersey and has tentatively decided to continue the current routes and procedures, which were implemented as part of the EECP beginning in 1987 but modified as called for in the Solberg Mitigation Proposal (DAILY, Dec. 15, Oct. 4).
Swissair said its traffic for the first six months of 1995 was 9.3% higher than that of the same period last year, on a 10.7% increase in intercontinental routes. The carrier transported 4,144,000 passengers in the first half of 1995, a 4.8% increase. Available ton kilometers were up 6.5%. The overall load factor was 68% and the seat load factor was 61.6%.
