Swissair, Sabena and the Belgian government signed an agreement yesterday that - if approved by the European Commission - will see Swissair spend 10.5 billion Belgian francs (US$371 million) for a 49.5% stake in Sabena and the option to take majority control of Belgium's flag carrier someday (DAILY, May 3). For now, majority control will remain with the government of Belgium and Belgian investors, and Sabena will retain its own identity and management.
Canadian Airlines International parent Canadian Airlines Corp., known until yesterday as PWA Corp., posted a net loss of C$108.6 million (US$79.9 million) and an operating loss of C$71.6 million (US$52.6 million) for the first quarter 1995. Despite the losses, both of which were substantially larger than in the first quarter last year, the company's management said it is still on track to earn roughly C$50 million this year.
Mesa Air Group, meanwhile, is shrinking WestAir. President Clark Stevens said the company has taken several steps with United to improve the situation, including the elimination of markets that are losing money and negotiating fixed contracts on service to markets United wants to keep. Such contracts are not unprecedented. Mesa operates in a number of Southern California markets on behalf of United, for which the senior partner guarantees a minimum level of revenue. Traffic, however, is increasing systemwide for Mesa, Stevens said, including WestAir.
Horizon Air is adding flights from Seattle, Portland and Spokane to its summer schedule, and switching to larger planes in some markets beginning June. On June 4, it will add Saturday and Sunday nonstops from Seattle to Kalispell, Bozeman and Sun Valley, in addition to daily one-stop connections. The flights will be operated with 30-seat Dornier 328s and 37-seat Dash 8s. A new daily Seattle-Boise flight will be added with 62- seat F28 jets, bringing the number of daily flights in the market to eight.
TWA will increase operations by three destinations and 19 flights from its St. Louis hub June 15, adding an 11th bank of flights. The carrier will launch service to Memphis, Knoxville and Madison and increase frequencies to 20 cities. At the same time, Trans World Express carrier Trans States Airlines will increase its daily departures to 176 from 162 by beefing up service to Milwaukee and Nashville.
Saab Aircraft reacted quickly to Saturday's massive hailstorm at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Softball-size hail pummeled 18 AMR Eagle Saab 340Bs and six ATR-72s as well as more than 50 American jets. The manufacturer dispatched to DFW two semi-trailer loads of aircraft skin, ailerons, flaps, elevators and related parts valued at $5 million, as well as four engineers from Sweden to help with repairs. Eagle canceled 124 flights Sunday and 117 Monday due to the damage and anticipated 66 to 76 cancellations daily until repairs are complete.
Northwest yesterday added several Canadian points to cities eligible for the industry-wide summer fare sale. Fares will be cut by as much as 30% from selected cities to Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal, Ottawa, Regina, Saskatoon, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Tickets must be purchased by May 10 for travel completed by Sept. 15 and require a 14-day advance purchase. Northwest began serving Calgary, Montreal, Regina and Vancouver from Minneapolis May 1 and will begin service to Saskatoon May 15.
DOT Administrative Law Judge Ronnie Yoder recommended yesterday that the Puerto Rico Ports Authority rates proceeding be dismissed because the parties have reached a settlement that renders moot all the legal issues identified by DOT. The ports authority and five airlines filed a notice April 24 that they have settled all outstanding issues, including rates and charges for 1995 and 1996 (DAILY, April 25).
Continental had good news on several fronts this week.The carrier continues to reduce customer complaints and expects the total for April to drop as much as two-thirds. Bookings jumped with the introduction of its summer fare sale, and the start of the major league baseball season has produced contracts with 14 teams for at least 118 charters.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications recommends that once air links with mainland China are established, direct flights be restricted initially to Taiwan's Chiang Kai-shek and Kaohsiung airports, according to its first completed draft proposal on opening air routes to China. Once direct flights have been operating for six years, a third airport can be opened, the document says. The most likely candidate is a proposed international airport to be located near Taichung in central Taiwan.
CCAir, the Charlotte, N.C.-based USAir Express affiliate, slashed its unit costs 22.2% in its third fiscal quarter ended March 31 - to 18.9 cents from 24.3 cents per available seat mile - one of the factors enabling it to post a net profit of $447,091, compared with a $1.85 million loss for the same 1994 quarter. Operating revenues rose 4% to nearly $15 million from $14.4 million in the comparable 1994 period, while operating expenses fell 11% to $14.27 million from $16.03 million in the 1994 period.
New Regional Aircraft Orders And Options February 1995 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier No. Type No. Type Engines Del Dates No. Type No.Type Air Atlantic 10 BAe Super 41 - TPE331-14GR-8073 95-97 - - Air Creebec 2 Beech 1900D - PT6A-69D Feb 95 - -
LAPSA Air Paraguay plans to launch new Airbus A310 service between North and South America on May 19. LAPSA's new schedule will feature three weekly nonstops from Miami to Asuncion, Paraguay, with connecting service to Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Santiago and Sao Paulo.
Chicago Express plans to be up and running July 1 at Raleigh/Durham in support of Midway Airlines, which is replacing much of American's service at the North Carolina hub. Negotiations with Midway on the feed agreement are expected to be completed next week, according to President Courtney Anderson. He said a decision on markets to be served also will be made next week, as will a decision on flight equipment. Chicago Express plans to operate 10 30-passenger aircraft at RDU during the first six months, serving 10 to 12 markets.
American Airlines Cargo Division has reorganized its operation. It is breaking up its former sales and marketing organization into four units - U.S. sales, international sales, customer marketing/support and pricing/yield management.
ValuJet's April load factor increased 11.9 percentage points from the same month last year to 74.6%. The number of passengers boarded rose to 406,904 from 120,614. "We are delighted to report such strong numbers for April," said Chairman Robert Priddy. "We carried record numbers of spring break and Easter holiday travelers." April 1995 April 1994 4 Mths 95 4 Mths 94 RPMs 203,506,000 52,041,000 653,534,000 186,608,000 ASMs 272,642,000 82,986,000 981,806,000 299,346,000
FAA's Critical Design Review of the Boeing 737 flight control, while failing to shed new light on two fatal 737 crashes, offers 27 recommendations or action points aimed at addressing design, maintenance, operations and crew training issues (DAILY, May 4). Sixteen of the items are 737-specific, while the balance concerns FAA's aircraft certification process. The recommendations are aimed at improving standards rather than correcting deficiencies, said Tom McSweeny, FAA director-aircraft certification service.
American is offering fare specials to Birmingham and London from Chicago that reduce prices 15%. The flights to Birmingham will begin May 25 with 767s, and tickets must be purchased by May 10. The London fares are limited to travel from specific cities through the New York Kennedy and Boston gateways. Passengers from Philadelphia, Washington, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco must travel through New York. The fares, which require a seven-day advance purchase, are valid for the high season, June 1-Aug. 31.
Following the failure to agree on a new air rights pact, Taiwan and Hong Kong have decided to extend for another six months the current accord, which was scheduled to expire April 29. Negotiations on a new five-year agreement, in progress since February, have hit an impasse over the number of carriers that will be permitted to serve the route. Taiwan demands that at least two airlines from each side be allowed, while Hong Kong insists that service be restricted to a single carrier from each country.
United Express affiliate Air Wisconsin flew nearly 33.6 million revenue passenger miles in April, a 51% increase from the same 1994 month. Capacity failed to keep pace, rising 46.8%, allowing the load factor to increase 1.4 percentage points to 49.5%. Passenger enplanements declined 0.2%, as 255 fewer people boarded Air Wisconsin flights. April 1995 April 1994 4 Mths 95 4 Mths 94 RPMs 33,597,364 22,244,502 131,871,657 108,171,377
British Midland this week reported 1994 pre-tax earnings of 4.4 million pounds (US$7 million), up from 1.1 million in 1993. Revenues increased to 404.5 million (US$647 million) from 371.1 million the previous year. British Midland said that passenger numbers on both international and domestic operations showed substantial growth.
