The chairmen of the Senate Commerce Committee and its aviation subcommittee objected Wednesday to legislative changes regarding aviation in the Senate DOT appropriations bill, arguing that a number of measures relating to national aviation policy "are clearly within the purview" of their own committee (DAILY, Aug. 3).
Delta's route realignment, which would enable regional feeder Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) to operate more short-haul flying with larger aircraft, is the main reason its Air Line Pilots Association filed for an injunction against the airline Wednesday, seeking to stop the shift. The pilots object because ASA would fly 88-seat BAe 146s on some routes from Atlanta.
WorldCorp's second quarter net income jumped to $54.7 million, or $2.44 per share, from $578,000 in the same 1994 quarter. The company attributed the improvement to the higher operating income of World Airways - $11.4 million versus $6.9 million - and a gain of $48.9 million from the sale of US Order stock. Worldcorp Chief Executive Coleman Andrews said, "Within World Airways, the interaction of increased block hours, improved utilization, somewhat higher rates and cost reduction yielded a substantial increase in operating income.
When it decides on the proposed Lufthansa/SAS cooperation agreement, the European Commission will have three options, said an European Union spokeswoman - throw it out altogether, which she said will not happen; approve it unconditionally, or approve it with conditions. If it chooses the last option, the alliance will not be worked out before yearend, she said. The Commission soon will publish a summary of the cooperation agreement in the Commission's official journal, she said.
Canadian Airlines International and Alitalia announced yesterday they have formed a comprehensive alliance. Under the agreement, the two carriers will team to offer, beginning Nov. 1, year-round service between Canada and Italy. During the fall and winter, Canadian will operate up to seven weekly nonstop flights between Toronto and Rome, using 767 aircraft. The remainder of the year, Alitalia will provide six weekly 747-200 flights on the route. Both carrier designator codes will be displayed on all service. Currently, the two offer separate service on the route.
Good example of why airlines believe code sharing with foreign airlines is better than going it alone: Delta's July load factors on code-share flights with Virgin Atlantic were 96% in the London Heathrow-Los Angeles market, 94% for Heathrow-San Francisco and 93% for Gatwick-Boston.
AirTran Corp. reported record earnings of $1.4 million in the first quarter and record operating revenues of $44.6 million. The earnings were reversed in The DAILY, Aug. 3. (See related story on Page RA3 of the hard copy of this issue).
Delta Connection carriers Atlantic Southeast, Comair and SkyWest pulled regional stocks into the minus column in July. Nine regional stocks lost an average 81 cents during the month, closing at $13.49. Leading the losers was Comair, down $4.63 to $33.25 per share, followed by ASA, down $2.63 to $27.50, and SkyWest, down $2.38 to $20.25. Analysts still believe Delta is going to lower pro-rates, raise fees, or both. Other decliners were United Express Atlantic Coast and USAir Express CCAIR, down 31 cents to $8.44 and $2.88, respectively.
Departure of Bob Martens from the helm of AMR Eagle is seen by insiders as the imprimatur of new AMR Airline Group President Donald Carty. Martens, like his mentor AMR Chairman Robert Crandall, was demanding and somewhat confrontational, they say. Dan Garton, who returns to AMR to head Eagle after a two-year stint as VP and treasurer at Continental reflects the more laid-back management approach of Carty.
Bombardier, in promotional materials developed for its in-development CRJ-X jet, is stressing the many areas of commonality the 70- to 76- passenger CRJ-X jet has with the 50-seat CRJ from which it is derived - a characteristic that translates to big cost savings for operators, the company said. The new jet is expected to enter service in 1999.
Crossair of Switzerland, at the behest of parent Swissair, has asked Saab Aircraft to study the feasibility of a Saab 2000 freighter. It seems that it is becoming "damn hard" to truck cargo into Eastern Europe, especially Russia and especially at night, because bandits hijack the trucks and make off with cargo and drivers, said Fritz Grotz, VP-technical and operations. Swissair wants an aircraft that can operate on thinner routes and into smaller airports than jets. Grotz said there also is a need for faster aircraft to replace F27s in FedEx operations.
AirTran Corp., parent of Mesaba Aviation and AirTran Airways, experienced record first quarter revenues and earnings for the period ended June 30. The company achieved operating revenues of $44.6 million, a 32% increase over the same 1994 quarter, and a net income of $1.4 million, or 14 cents per share. Chairman Robert Swenson said Mesaba Aviation had a strong quarter with increased passengers and load factors. Mesaba's load factor rose to 46.1% from 44%, and it carried about 4,000 more passengers during the quarter, for a total of 367,681.
Delta said it signed an engine repair and maintenance contract with Volvo Aero Engine Services of Sweden covering Pratt&Whitney PW4060 turbofans. The Volvo subsidiary operates one of the largest Pratt jet engine repair stations in Europe. Russ Heil, senior VP-technical operations, said the contract runs through June 1996 and has the potential to generate up to $15 million for work on up to 15 engines at Delta's Technical Operations Center in Atlanta. The engines, which power 767ER aircraft, weigh 12,000 pounds each.
UNC yesterday reported a second quarter net profit of $959,000 on sales of $131.3 million, compared with a net loss of $54.6 million on revenues of $122.3 million during the same quarter last year. For the first six months, net earnings were $1 million on revenues of $257 million, compared with a net loss of $52.2 million on revenues of $260.7 million in the 1994 period. Chairman Dan Colussy said the benefits of a 1994 restructuring are "now showing significant results," and UNC expects "continuing favorable comparisons with last year's results."
Swiss regional carrier Air Engiadina, the launch customer of the Dornier 328, has placed another order for the aircraft and its first option. Air Engiadina currently operates three of the aircraft.
Aerocommunicaciones, a joint venture between GTE Airfone and Telefonos de Mexico, has begun installing digital airborne communications equipment on 10 Mexicana A320s. Completion is scheduled by yearend.
Regional Airline Association has named the initial 12 members of the new Associate Member Council (AMC), approved by the board of directors at the annual spring meeting in San Antonio. Four will serve terms of one, two and three years each, to be decided by the council itself.
Sabre Travel Information Network has concluded a joint-venture agreement with Japan Airlines and its wholly owned computer reservations system subsidiary, Axess, to market a combined system to Japanese travel agencies. Sabre will acquire 25% of Axess shares and provide JAL with an exclusive license to market all Sabre CRS host functions. The terms were not disclosed. Users of Axess will be able to start using Sabre CRS functions in the second quarter of 1996.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Under 750 Miles O&D Passengers Fourth Quarter 1994 Short Total Average Haul Markets Non-Stop Passengers Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day 1 1 Chicago - New 723 8,226 2 2 Honolulu - Kahului 100 7,267
Delta will realign its route system again Dec. 1 by eliminating service from its Atlanta hub in five short-haul markets and adding long-haul flights in a move it believes will improve system operating results by $65 million -$85 million. The carrier will add a ninth bank of flights at its second-largest hub, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, and reduce operations at Dallas/Fort Worth, reshaping DFW into a connecting point for west-southeast traffic to complement east-west flow through other hubs.
U.S. and South African aviation officials adjourned their negotiations in Pretoria after four days without an agreement but pledged to meet in Washington in the fall. The two sides reported progress but are divided on the issue of third-country, code-share operations, said a DOT spokesman, with South Africa remaining opposed to it.
FAA yesterday announced, as expected, that Wilcox Electric has won the $475 million Wide Area Augmentation System contract. The contract calls for Wilcox and its partners Hughes, and TRW, to build an initial 24 WAAS reference stations at FAA air route traffic control centers and other FAA sites in the contiguous U.S., Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and eventually build a total of 36. FAA plans to have all the equipment in place by late 1997 for operational evaluations beginning early in 1998 followed in less than a year by full operational capability.
Startup Colorado Springs carrier Western Pacific Airlines achieved load factors of 72.4% in July, its third full month of service, and carried more passengers than projected - 84,093. It said it is achieving a 91% on-time performance. It was serving nine markets but expanded this week to Wichita, Indianapolis, San Diego and Houston. WestPAC is offering introductory one-way fares of $49 to Wichita and $69 to the other three cities until Aug. 14.
