DOT has apologized to United Express/Atlantic Coast Airlines for issuing a statement saying the carrier had been cited for misleading advertising, said Mark Bisnow, ACA's general counsel. The airline was named as one of three using deceptive advertising during the recent holiday season. In a letter to Bisnow, DOT said it had not characterized the ads - which said $3 passenger facility changes "may" instead of "will" apply to certain fares - as misleading.
U.S. carriers squared off over the value of DOT's code share study, issued late in December. Conducted by Gellman Research Associates for DOT, the study drew critical responses from American, TWA and USAir and praise from the rest of the majors. "It would be a serious mistake to allow the flawed Gellman study to end the debate on code sharing," said American.
Carnival Air Lines has opened a city ticket office in the Little Haiti area of Miami, to be staffed by agents fluent in English and Creole. It launched daily nonstop service recently between Miami and Port-au-Prince.
Southwest frequent flyer program members can now earn miles by making long- distance telephone calls using MCI. For every $150 spent on calls, Company Club members earn one bonus segment, and new MCI customers will receive four bonus segments for enrolling in the program. MCI offers similar programs with Northwest, American and Continental.
USAir yesterday received a proposal from its Air Line Pilots Association, Machinists and Transport Workers units for wage and benefit concessions. The offer came one week after the carrier announced massive 1994 losses and a plan to become a company with "fewer planes and people." The proposal, which will be discussed this week with management, includes a concessions package, together with projected returns and changes to corporate governance.
Regional Airline Association, not waiting for likely FAA regulation, has scheduled a crew resource management (CRM) conference and workshop Feb. 28- March 2 at the American Airlines Training Center, Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. The objective is to help carriers expand CRM training and make more effective use of it. FAA recently proposed such training for airline flight crews and dispatchers.
Alaska Airlines' January passenger traffic increased 20.2% over the same month last year on 25.9% more capacity, producing a load factor decline of 2.5 percentage points. The number of passengers boarded rose 19.7%. January 1995 January 1994 Rev. Passenger Miles 588,000,000 489,000,000 Available Seat Miles 1,089,000,000 865,000,000 Load Factor (%) 54.0 56.5 Passengers 682,800 570,600
Leisure Air, 12 days after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, has suspended all operations. The carrier, based in McLean, Va., initially said it had no plans to cut back its schedule. On Jan. 29, two days before shutting down, a company spokesman told The DAILY the airline would operate on a reduced schedule (DAILY, Jan. 30). Leisure Air could not be reached yesterday for comment.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena unveiled the department's fiscal 1996 budget proposal yesterday, calling for a cut of about 5% in outlays and a sweeping restructuring of the way DOT funds programs. DOT is proposing $36.9 billion overall, about $2 billion less than the $38.9 billion enacted by Congress for the current fiscal year. The proposal reflects a continued reduction in employees, program cutbacks and the elimination of programs, such as the Essential Air Service.
Sabreliner Corp. will sell its general aviation fueling facility at St. Louis Lambert Airport to comply with a Justice Department determination that the company cannot operate monopoly fueling services by owning both Sabreliner and Midcoast Aviation. Sabreliner, which bought Midcoast last November, said it does not believe the facts justify the Justice decision, because market forces in an area beyond Lambert Airport affect fuel prices.
American's summer schedule, announced last week as part of an effort to concentrate on more profitable markets, includes new flights to Europe and Latin America from six U.S. gateways (DAILY, Feb. 3). The carrier is planning a second Boston-London Heathrow flight, beginning May 1, and is reinstating a sixth daily flight between New York Kennedy and Heathrow April 2, which will increase to seven May 25. New York Kennedy-Manchester service will start June 1.
TWA's systemwide passenger traffic rose 7.3% last month over January a year ago on 1.4% more capacity, resulting in a load factor increase of 3.3 percentage points. The number of passengers boarded was up 10.1%. Its domestic traffic rose 12.7% on 7.5% more capacity, and its international traffic fell 7.1% on 14.6% less capacity. January 1995 January 1994 Rev. Passenger Miles 1,797,200,000 1,674,200,000 Available Seat Miles 2,979,700,000 2,938,300,000
Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) yesterday reported record net earnings of $52.7 million on record revenues of $312.09 million for the year 1994. The airline also set a traffic record with 780.2 million revenue passenger miles. ASA's operating profit was $84.3 million, up 8.6% from a year ago. The company's fourth quarter results, however, came in lower than expected - net income of $11.2 million, down nearly 19% from the same period last year, when the company had earnings of $13.8 million.
British Airways yesterday reported a December quarter 1994 pre-tax profit of 102 million (US$162.2 million), an increase of 56.9% over the same quarter the previous year, and an after-tax profit of 76 million, (US$120.8 million), up more than 36%. "The results for the third quarter reflect continued strong demand on modest capacity increases, combined with benefits from low fuel prices and continued progress toward the airline's cost-reduction target of 150 million for the current financial year," said BA Chairman Colin Marshall. The financial year ends March 31.
President Clinton named Robert Francis vice chair of the National Transportation Safety Board. Francis was sworn in as a member of NTSB Jan. 3. Before that, he was with FAA since 1977, most recently as senior representative in western Europe and South America. The NTSB said he has been involved with accident investigations on four continents.
Bombardier said yesterday it has selected the General Electric CF34-8C engine to be the powerplant of the proposed Canadair CRJ-X airliner, a follow-on to the 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jet that will hold up to 76 passengers. A decision whether to launch the aircraft is awaiting completion of market and engineering studies. The new engine, a derivative launched by GE for the regional market, will provide 13,000 pounds takeoff thrust, about 50% more than the CF34-3A1 used in the Regional Jet program.
Cincinnati-based Comair will begin offering two daily flights between Manchester, N.H., and Cincinnati May 1. The new jet flights are part of changes the Delta Connection carrier is making to its summer schedule in line with Delta's restructuring of its domestic route system (DAILY, Feb. 3).
Airbus Industrie's A330 has won extended range twin-engine operations (ETOPS) authority from the European Joint Aviation Authorities for all three engine types that power it. The approvals are for 180 minutes for the General Electric CF6-80E1s, 120 minutes for the Pratt&Whitney PW4164 and PW4168 engines and 90 minutes for the Rolls-Royce Trent 700. JAA approval for 180 minutes follows experience totaling more than 20,000 engine hours on airline routes.
For the second month in a row, Northwest and United led the majors in on- time arrivals in December, posting rates of 84.7% and 83.8%, respectively. Delta finished third for the month at 80.9%. Southwest slid from third in November to seventh in December at 74.7%, according to DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report. Overall, the on-time arrival record for the nation's 10 largest airlines was 79.3%, down from 80.8% in November but better than the 78.6% of December 1993. For the year, the airlines were on time 81.5% of the time, down slightly from 81.6% in 1993.
Spending On Major FAA Programs Fiscal Year 1992-1996 (In thousands of dollars) FAA Operations Est. Direct program: 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996* Operation of traf control sys 1,981,880 2,092,647 2,147,724 2,200,319 2,228,634
Air South, Columbia, S.C., is searching for additional financing, such as an initial public offering, to increase its loan guarantees from South Carolina by $2 million. The state will boost its loan backing if Air South makes a "best-faith effort" to secure additional funding from the private sector, the carrier said. Air South was financed initially by $1 million in private placements and $10 million in state-guaranteed loans. It took delivery of its fifth 737 last month and announced plans to inaugurate service to Myrtle Beach.
Norway's Civil Aviation Administration accepted delivery yesterday of a de Havilland Dash 8 Series 100 aircraft for use in airways calibration at airports throughout the country, Bombardier Regional Aircraft Div. said. The aircraft will be fitted out with electronic calibration equipment developed by the Norwegian CAA and Normarc A/S, and A/S Fred Olsens Flyselskap will operate and maintain it.
Air traffic increased a surprising 9% in January year-over-year, but industry officials are unsure how much of the advance reflects bad weather conditions in much of the nation at the start of 1994.If traffic continues to increase and prompts airlines to increase capacity, officials are worried about FAA's ability to keep up with demand this summer and fall.
U.S. Majors Systemwide Share of Service Third Quarter 1994 Total Revenue Departures America West 46,960 American 223,941 Continental 143,788 Delta 245,952 Northwest 141,341 Southwest 152,047
After gaining an agreement with Ukraine, the U.S. is pushing ahead with efforts to draw up new aviation pacts with other former Soviet states and Eastern bloc countries. Noting that the key annexes in the U.S.-Russia agreement will expire in May, DOT hopes to open talks with Russia in March, said Paul Gretch, director of DOT's Office of International Aviation. The department has conducted preliminary talks with Poland.
