Appleton, Wis.-based Air Wisconsin flew 45.4 million revenue passenger miles last month, a 63.3% increase from the same 1994 month. Capacity also increased a lot - 53.4% to 73.9 million available seat miles from 48.2 million, pushing the load factor up 3.8 percentage points to 61.5%. Enplanements rose 3.6% to 142,750 from 137,780. Air Wisconsin, which operates 14 BAe 146 jets as United Express at United's Chicago and Denver hubs, said its June load factor was a new monthly record.
House Appropriations Committee declined to adopt most of DOT's restructuring proposal as part of its FY96 appropriations bill, but it did accept one portion of the plan as it relates to FAA. The panel recommended $5.77 million for operations of the office of commercial space transportation within FAA.
Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Systemwide Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1994 A320-100/200 America West Northwest Number of Aircraft Operated 17 50 Total Fleet Operations Departures 88 202 Block Hours 201 536 Flight Hours 177 458
America West plans to hold a frequent flyer mileage auction for "dream" vacations. FlightFund members can bid on eight travel packages for two, all of them available between Sept. 15 and March 1996 and including air fare and ground transfers. While the auction gives members the opportunity to win a dream vacation, it also gives America West the chance to clear away thousands of frequent flyer miles. Vacations include a Super Bowl weekend Jan.
United will begin a new daily transcontinental service Oct. 4 when it links Baltimore/Washington and San Francisco with A320 aircraft. The carrier operates six flights a week from Washington Dulles to San Francisco.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) said it is "enthusiastically endorsing" new FAA reform legislation from House aviation subcommittee Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Jim Lightfoot (R-Iowa) (DAILY, June 30). AOPA President Phil Boyer said the bill retains most of the key elements of the FAA Reform Act previously introduced by Lightfoot, including FAA independence from DOT and relief from government procurement and personnel procedures.
KLM and Garuda Indonesia have begun joint cargo service between Amsterdam and Jakarta with a 747 leased from Atlas Air. The once-weekly flight leaves Amsterdam every Tuesday with intermediate stops in Bombay and Kuala Lumpur.
The City of Kansas City, Mo., and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Congress ("Kansas City Parties") are boosting Custom Air Transport's bid for a certificate to start up all-cargo operations.
U.S. and Japan began talks yesterday in Washington in an attempt to avert U.S.-threatened sanctions against Japanese cargo carriers. While the U.S. is hoping for an early resolution, three days have been set aside for the talks, said a State Department spokeswoman. Heading the talks for Japan are Masahide Ochi, special adviser to Japan Transport Ministry, and Naoki Hirano, vice minister of transportation, while Deputy Secretary Mortimer Downey and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic&Business Affairs Daniel Tarullo are representing the U.S.
American has applied for seven weekly U.S.-Peru combination frequencies to inaugurate daily Dallas/Fort Worth-Lima flights. If approved, the carrier plans to begin the service Oct. 1 using 757ER aircraft. The allocation would come from the 10.5 new frequencies made available by the recent U.S.- Peru aviation pact (DAILY, May 8). Applying for the service, American is challenging Continental's earlier bid for U.S.-Peru frequencies to operate Newark-Lima service via Bogota, Colombia (DAILY, June 28).
The House DOT appropriations bill for fiscal 1996 cuts $124.66 million from the Clinton administration's research, engineering and development budget to accommodate the development and near-term acquisition of equipment to enhance safety and capacity. While pushing increases in certain programs, the Appropriations Committee in its report on the bill also urges FAA and the Clinton administration "to pursue aggressively exemption from the existing procurement and personnel laws and strongly work for an independent FAA, rather than a government corporation" (DAILY, July 5).
The European Commission proposed yesterday a voluntary, short-term action plan intended to relieve air traffic delays and congestion that traditionally plague European air travel during the busy summer season. The EC, prompted by Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock, proposed initiatives on four fronts, entailing cooperation between Eurocontrol and European Union member states.
Sunbird Airways is asking DOT for additional time to start up low-fare scheduled flights from Orlando to East Coast markets. It said it has experienced management changes and delays in aircraft acquisition since July 1994, when it was found fit to operate scheduled service, but it is continuing to make progress toward a startup and believes it can complete the necessary steps to make its certificate effective within 180 days.
Lufthansa crossed the "profit threshold" in April and expects its pre-tax profits for the first half of this year to exceed 1994's first-half earnings despite the negative impact of the strong German currency on its results, Chairman Jurgen Weber said yesterday.
Airbus and Fokker Aircraft Operating Costs Fourth Quarter 1994 Dollars Per Block Hours A320-100/200 America West Northwest United Average Crew Cost $261 $487 $600 $463 Fuel&Oil 460 439 451 446 Rentals 753 392 652 526
American is challenging DOT's tentative selection of United for scheduled combination service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market. American said its own proposal promises earlier service startup and greater capacity than United's. United proposed three daily roundtrip flights using 737-300s, beginning Aug. 31 (DAILY, June 28), while American said it can start a single weekly roundtrip Aug. 1, increasing to three weekly flights Aug. 31.
British Airways' systemwide June passenger traffic rose 8.9% from the same month a year ago on 6% more capacity, pushing the airline's load factor up 2.1 percentage points to 77.8%. The number of passengers carried increased 4.9% to 2.9 million. The airline's intercontinental passenger traffic, which accounted for roughly 80% of BA's systemwide total of 5.3 billion revenue passenger miles, rose 10.3% on 7.4% more capacity, boosting the long-haul load factor two points to 78.5%.
Sabreliner Corp. said it has acquired DynCorp's airline and cargo aircraft maintenance and modification facilities, DynAir Tech of Arizona, DynAir Tech of Florida, DynAir Tech of Texas, DynAir Telecommunications and DynAir Avionics Division, for $12.5 million plus payments contingent on future performance. The subsidiaries have combined annual sales of about $60 million, bringing Sabreliner's annual sales to about $200 million.
Canadian Airlines International plans to lay off as many as 394 employees, close its Montreal pilot base, restructure its Northern Canada and Labrador operations and drop its one remaining flight from Montreal Mirabel in the initial steps of a new strategic plan unveiled Tuesday by the airline's management. These and other measures are to be implemented by the end of October, when its winter schedule takes effect, and they are expected to improve operating results by C$15 million annually, according to Canadian Chief Executive Kevin Jenkins.
Boeing said it delivered 60 aircraft during the quarter ended June 30 - 26 737s, 13 757s, eight 747s, eight 767s and five 777s. Deliveries during the first six months totaled 119 aircraft, with 55 737s, 27 757s, 16 747s, 16 767s and five 777s. The company projects 235 deliveries for the full year.
Lufthansa will drop its three weekly Frankfurt-Sydney flights this fall and replace the service with connections operated by marketing partners Lauda Air, Thai Airways International and United, the German carrier said. Lufthansa said it is suspending its Boeing 767 service to Australia with the implementation of its winter 1995-96 schedule on "economic grounds." Once the change is made, Sydney-bound Lufthansa passengers will connect on Lauda at Vienna, Thai Airways at Bangkok and United at Los Angeles and San Francisco.
South African Airways is having trouble finding a new long-range widebody transport that can handle Johannesburg's 6,000-foot altitude, according to sources.The Airbus A340 does not have enough payload without more powerful engines, and the Boeing 777 would need a "thrust bump" even with 90,000-pounds-thrust engines. This leaves the Douglas MD-11 as a strong competitor, the sources say.
Pilots at United Express carrier WestAir have conducted informational picketing at airports in Sacramento and Fresno to protest what the pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, call "deplorable working conditions." The pilots have been negotiating a contract with the company for nearly two years. Parent Mesa Air Group has replaced WestAir aircraft and crews with other Mesa division carriers, forcing WestAir pilots to relocate and accept reduced pay, ALPA said.
Australia's Civil Aviation Authority today will be replaced by two new boards - the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and the Airservices Australia. CASA, a government agency, will be responsible for aviation safety and compliance, aircraft registration, licensing, safety promotion and regulatory oversight of Airservices. Airservices, a government corporation, will be responsible for air traffic services, air navigation facilities, aeronautical information, firefighting, search and rescue, and environmental functions, such as aircraft noise monitoring.
