Proposed new computer reservations system regulations have drawn little industry reaction, generally negative. Recommended by Alaska Airlines, the proposal would prohibit CRS contract clauses that bar a non-vendor carrier from choosing a level of participation in a vendor's system that would be lower than the carrier's level of participation in any other system.
FAA yesterday issued an emergency airworthiness directive lifting its prohibition against flying ATR aircraft in icing conditions, provided that new training and flight procedures are followed. Although FAA said ATR aircraft still are restricted from flying in freezing rain or drizzle, the AD essentially returns the aircraft to their previous flight envelope, since no aircraft are dispatched into such conditions. The Regional Airline Association and the Air Line Pilots Association agreed with the revised procedures, but ATR Marketing Inc.
Status of Airline Labor Contracts As of January 4, 1995 Flight Airlines Pilots Engineers Attendants ABX IBT-7/31/95 ---- ---- Alaska ALPA 12/1/97 ---- AFA 3/14/99 Aloha ALPA (4/30/94) ---- AFA (8/31/93) In negotiation In negotiation
China Yunnan Airlines ordered three 767-300s and took options on three more, Boeing said. The air- craft manufacturer put the total value of the deal at $600 million, including options and spares. The three aircraft will be delivered in May 1996, June 1996 and January 1997. The option aircraft are set for delivery in 1998 and 1999. The 767s will be powered by Rolls-Royce RB211-524H engines. China Yunnan currently operates 737- 300s.
Air France plans to end service to Mexico City beyond Houston in its Paris- Houston operation, creating a quick turnaround in Houston and eliminating a financial weakness. The cutback is part of an overall plan to improve fleet utilization in this year's summer season. Reuter reported that the carrier intends to increase daily use of its fleet by 10% while adding no aircraft. The plan calls for elimination of 10 of Air France's financially weakest routes, and for fine-tuning other operations.
American is beginning the new year much the same way it ended 1994 - at odds with its pilots and flight attendants unions. As it prepares to resume interest arbitration hearings with the flight attendants Jan. 23, that group, represented by the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, said the latest "bombshell" from the company was an announcement that it will close its San Diego base May 1 because of reduced flying there. The roughly 267 flight attendants at San Diego will be reassigned to other bases.
Southwest will offer ticketless service by the end of January at all 45 airports it serves. The carrier began testing the system in four markets, expanding it later to California routes, and it indicated recently it would go ticketless systemwide in the first quarter of 1995. The Shuttle by United may operate ticketless systemwide by this spring (DAILY, Jan. 11).
Southwest's December traffic increased 11% from the previous year but failed to keep pace with the airline's growth in capacity, which rose 15.8%. As a result, its load factor declined 2.7 percentage points for the month to 62.1%. The load factor fell three points to 63.5% in the fourth quarter and 1.1 points to 67.3% for the year. Southwest's full-year traffic increased 14.8% on 16.8% more capacity. Dec 94 Dec 93 12 Mths 94 12 Mths 93
The City of Houston has withdrawn its opposition to renewal of Aviateca's authority for operations into the U.S. The city had urged DOT to curtail the Guatemalan airline's operations until the carrier paid the city $83,598 in back debts (DAILY, Nov. 23).
Northwest has begun interviewing to fill as many as 450 flight attendant positions this year to cover attrition and retirement. Chris Clouser, senior VP-communications, advertising and employee relations, said Northwest has worked for several years to restructure its route system, eliminating unprofitable routes and redeploying resources to profitable markets. With a strong presence in Japan and Asia, Northwest particularly seeks flight attendants fluent in English and Japanese.
SAS will announce "in the very near future" its long-awaited purchase of about 45 medium-haul jets, Ulf Abrahamsson, the Scandinavian airline's planning director, said in a recent interview with Svenska Dagbladet, the Swedish daily. Replacing 19 Fokker F28s and 26 DC-9s, the Scandinavian carrier "seeks to reduce as much as possible the number of different aircraft types" it operates, Abrahamsson said. Of a total of 169 aircraft, SAS's fleet includes 58 MD-80s, 10 737s and 14 767s, but no Airbus aircraft.
Alitalia pilots are threatening to hit their struggling airline with a four-hour strike on Jan. 18 to protest the company's continuing restructuring efforts and a decision by management to wet-lease two 767s from Ansett. Alitalia said yesterday that one of its unions, representing 350 pilots, has decided not to strike, but as many as 950 other pilots still may walk out. The pilots have been working without a contract for a year.
Northwest's creditors and unions expressed supreme confidence in the carrier's financial health yesterday by waiving the so-called "capital event" requirement obligating the airline to secure by 1966 at least $500 million in new capital - at least $250 million in equity and the balance in equity or subordinated debt. Northwest accepted the obligation as part of its August 1993 financial restructuring, including concessions from unions and cooperation from banks and other creditors.
Sen. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) will be chairman of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee in the 104th Congress. Hatfield, a senator since 1967, also is chairman of the full Appropriations Committee.
Virgin Atlantic Airways has renewed its contact with EDS for advanced airline reservations and inventory control through EDS's Shared Airline Reservations System (SHARES). More than 2,000 of Virgin's reservations and airport service employees will continue to access SHARES through EDS's telecommunications network. EDS will customize and enhance SHARES to enable Virgin to improve its operating efficiency further. The renewal will extend for five years a contract signed in 1984, the year Virgin began flying.
In a strongly worded letter to the Unofficial Committee of TWA 10% noteholders, the airline's management all but accused the committee yesterday of spreading misinformation last week when it trashed the carrier's financial restructuring proposal (DAILY, Jan. 10). "While we fully anticipated the possibility of public posturing from you with respect to the plan's approval, you should be aware that we believe your press release conveys seriously flawed thinking to the marketplace," TWA Chief Executive Jeffrey Erickson said in a letter to committee members.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson pledged yesterday that the government will act on 70 key recommendations produced by nearly 1,000 safety experts and aviation executives at the two-day Aviation Safety Conference in Washington. "We must quickly turn words into action," Pena said, and the government will set priorities among the recommendations within 30 days. He asked airlines to schedule internal safety audits, giving FAA a timetable for them within 30 days, and to set up flight operations quality assurance programs as well.
Tower Air's scheduled passenger service rose 47.7% in 1994 on 58.5% more capacity. The result was a load factor decline of 5.4 percentage points to 74.1%. The number of passengers carried increased 55.6%. Total block hours flown for the year rose 11.3% to 34,221 from 30,736 in 1993. In December, Tower's scheduled passenger traffic increased 69.3% on 81.3% more capacity, and its load factor fell 4.9 points to 68.4%. The number of passengers carried increased 67.4%. Total block hours flown were up 34.1% to 3,130 from 2,334 in December 1993.
America West will eliminate or outsource unprofitable functions to save $31 million in operating costs this year, and $40 million annually thereafter, resulting in an expected loss of about 1,100 jobs. The carrier also will institute a "total pay program" to increase non-executive pay by $25 million on a company-wide basis, with bonus pay based on performance.
United will make ticketless travel available to U.S. travel agencies in mid-March following successful tests of the concept on its shuttle operation since Nov. 1. United's Apollo computer reservations system will be able to support ticketless service, United said, making it the first partnership between an airline and a CRS for ticketless travel. United said the reservation and ticketing process is essentially the same for agents, the only difference being that paper flight coupons will not be issued.
Three U.S. cargo airlines are battling to become the fifth designated U.S. all-cargo carrier for Mexico service. Emery Worldwide Airlines began the bidding war when it applied for authority to operate five weekly DC-8-75 flights between Dayton and Mexico City, beginning Feb. 1. The carrier argued that it should displace as a designated carrier Aerial Transit, which has not flown its Miami-Merida, Mexico, service since October 1992 (DAILY, Dec. 8). The U.S-Mexico bilateral allows for five designated U.S. all-cargo carriers. In a Dec.
Continental made what it termed further "fine-tuning" adjustments of its Continental Lite product yesterday, eliminating some underperforming markets. The carrier has been scaling back the low-fare service gradually in markets that are proving unprofitable, a spokeswoman said, and yesterday's schedule changes were not dramatic. Markets that have been dropped include Greensboro-Dayton, St. Louis-Dayton and Cleveland- Providence.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Labor Expenses Third Quarter 1994 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 76,437,531 23.52 American 1,166,033,000 34.10 Continental 296,477,000 24.38 Delta 1,016,740,000 33.42
DOT has clarified some application procedures in response to questions prompted by the new U.S.-Canada framework agreement in a notice issued Jan. 9. One key change introduced by the framework involves service allocation for co-terminal routes, such as Miami/Tampa-Toronto. Under the present U.S.-Canada agreement, the U.S. can designate only one carrier for these routes. The framework permits the U.S. to split the routes and designate a carrier to serve each of the segments.
Closure of Newark Airport Monday after 5 p.m. due to a construction mishap and power failure left the airport's largest hub carrier, Continental, able to operate only 62 of 217 scheduled departures and 37 of 335 arrivals. Flights from Europe were diverted to Bangor, Maine. SAS said passengers from Scandinavia remained aboard for up to three and one-half hours because Customs clearance facilities could not operate normally.
