Mesa Air Group barely broke even in its second fiscal quarter ended March 31, earning a net income of $63,446, or zero cents per share, on operating revenues of $106.4 million and an operating income of $2.1 million. For the comparable quarter in the prior year, the carrier had a net income of nearly $6.3 million, or 17 cents per share, on operating revenues of $93.8 million and an operating income of $12.2 million.
FAA Administrator David Hinson and Noel Longuemare, deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and technology, will be among the featured speakers at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers International Radar Conference May 8-11 at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Alexandria, Va. The conference is held every five years. Hinson will speak on air traffic control radars in the 21st century, and Longuemare will address DOD acquisition reform and the role of technology in a shrinking defense environment.
ValuJet Airlines will begin three daily nonstop flights June 8 from Boston to its two "focus cities," Washington Dulles and Atlanta, with one-stop connections to 15 additional markets (DAILY, April 19). One-way fares are as low as $49 to Washington and $89 to Atlanta during off-peak hours, with a 21-day advance purchase. To introduce the service, ValuJet will waive the 21-day requirement for travel completed by June 28.
A draft Senate Budget Committee option paper for cutting transportation funding includes outlay savings of $14.7 billion through fiscal 2000 from privatizing air traffic control services and $5 billion from eliminating airport grants.
Two American Eagle carriers, Simmons and Flagship, will expand transborder service to three new Canadian cities in June and July with service to Halifax, Ottawa and Quebec City. Dallas-based Simmons Airlines will offer two daily roundtrips starting June 15 from New York Kennedy to Halifax using Super ATR aircraft, and Nashville-based Flagship Airlines will begin operating three daily roundtrips from Kennedy to Ottawa using Saab 340Bs. On July 1, Flagship will add three daily roundtrips between Kennedy and Quebec City with the Saab 340B.
Daimler-Benz Aerospace Chief Executive Jurgen Schrempp is advocating cooperation among European and Asian companies in developing a common plan for regional jets. Schrempp's remarks were included in a formal statement issued by Daimler-Benz Aerospace earlier this month that referred to "multiple capacities worldwide" and "ruinous price wars in the regional jet market." Schrempp boasted that his company's Fokker holding now supplies more than 50% of the world's regional jets.
The U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration's Office of Research Forecasts, issuing yearend totals for 1994, estimated that travelers to the U.S. numbered 45,688,000, down about 0.2% from 1993. Canada continued to be the source of the most arrivals, sending nearly 15 million visitors, but the total was down 13% from 1993. Mexican traffic to the U.S. continued to climb - the total of arrivals has not been tabulated but is expected to increase by 17% to 11,500,000. Next in line are Japan with 4,065,000 arrivals, up 15%; the U.K.
While laying out a vision of the changing global aviation market, DOT's new International Air Transportation Policy statement, issued Tuesday, also includes an action plan aimed at liberalizing the regime. The plan includes specific steps and strategies aimed at creating freer trade in aviation services. The U.S. already has acted on a number of the recommended steps - for example, extending invitations to a group of countries, such as the nine in Europe with which it already is negotiating, to enter into open aviation agreements.
The attempt to revise the U.S.-U.K. bilateral has ground to a halt again.The two sides have talked by phone since April 12, when the last round of negotiations ended unsuccessfully in Washington, but there has been no movement, a government official said. "We have reserved time on the calendar for talks" if there are positive developments, the official added.
Zolkol Airlines, registered in Ukraine, has launched a weekly freighter service between Luxembourg and Kiev, the carrier's U.K. handling agent, Morline Aviation Service, said. Much of the cargo it carries is expected to originate in the U.K., where Morline is responsible for sales, as it is in Ireland, Holland, Belgium, France and the U.S. Luxair has been appointed handling agent for the new service in Luxembourg. Goods delivered to London Heathrow Airport by 2 p.m.
Eurocontrol Director General Yves Lambert and International Civil Aviation Organization Secretary General Philippe Rochat will be luncheon speakers June 7-8 at the Air Traffic Control Association Technical Conference/Exhibits at the Brussels Sheraton Hotel. ATCA said international aviation experts will discuss implementation of the Future Air Navigation System and its early operational benefits, and how technology can increase system capacity, decrease delays and achieve more operational effectiveness. For more information, call Carol Newmaster at 703-522-5717.
FAA Administrator David Hinson has targeted Free Flight as the agency's next major initiative for shaping the national airspace system, tasking RTCA to come up with a draft operating concept by August and a final report by the end of October.
Continental yesterday reported improved financial results for its first quarter, and Chief Executive Gordon Bethune cited them as evidence that the carrier's restructuring program, launched in January, is working. The airline's net loss declined to $30.2 million, or $1.21 per share, from nearly $71.6 million, or $2.86 a share, in the 1994 quarter. The carrier attained a $27.5 million operating profit, up from a $55.2 million operating loss.
The long-awaited transaction to split the System One computer reservations system's assets and liabilities between Amadeus and a new company owned by System One, the Amadeus CRS and EDS, will be announced today in New York. Under the expected agreement, the 10-year systems management pact between System One and EDS signed in 1991 will be terminated.
American Trans Air founder and Chief Executive George Mikelsons has been elected chairman of Allison Engine Co.'s newly formed board of seven directors, Allison parent Rolls-Royce said yesterday. "George brings to Allison a wealth of knowledge of the airline industry, a clear understanding of today's customer requirements and proven leadership abilities in what for some time has been a tough economic environment for the airlines," said John Sandford, president of Rolls' U.S. subsidiary, Rolls-Royce Inc.
SAS will resume service to India Sept. 5 after a 10-year absence from the market. The Scandinavian carrier plans to operate three nonstop flights a week between Copenhagen and Delhi using Boeing 767s in cooperation with Air-India. SAS put the size of the market at about 30,000 passengers a year and said it expects a lot of business travelers, more than 50% of them originating in India. Air-India and SAS will cooperate in marketing and launching India as a tourist destination, and they will offer joint service and travel alternatives.
American and its flight attendants have reached a "major agreement" resolving a number of issues, including all that resulted from the five-day strike in November 1993 that cost the airline $190 million, according to a joint statement from American and the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA). The deal does not cover issues now in arbitration, however.
Honeywell and Pelorus Navigation Systems have contracted to provide five local area differential Global Positioning Systems for airports in Canada. Installation and certification of the first DGPS is to begin this fall at the Regina Airport. Work at four other airports in Saskatchewan Province will start later.
KLM and Touristik Union International (TUI), one of Europe's largest travel organizations, are likely to conclude agreements soon that will give each a piece of The Netherlands' two largest tour operators, Holland International Travel Group and Arke N.V. KLM currently holds a 9% share in Holland International, but its majority partner in the venture, Kaufhof Holding AG, a European department store chain and catalog interest, decided late last year to withdraw from the travel and tourism industry to concentrate on its core activities.
U.S. helicopter industry shipped 308 civil helicopters valued at $185 million in 1994, rebounding from 1993's record low of 258 helicopters valued at $113 million, according to the Aerospace Industries Association's Aerospace Research Center. U.S. manufacturers also shipped 338 civil and military helicopters sold commercially to foreign governments in 1994, up from 322 in 1993.
The European Commission approved yesterday a draft negotiating brief for air talks between the European Union and the U.S. Proposed by Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock, the document mandates that the EC represent all EU countries in talks with the U.S., and it outlines key EU demands in such talks. The proposal is aimed specifically at countering U.S. efforts to carve out open skies relations individually with EU member nations.
Dutch charter carrier Transavia said yesterday it is talking with Boeing and Airbus Industrie about acquiring between eight and 10 new airplanes valued at $645 million to replace leased aircraft. The carrier is considering the A320 and one of Boeing's next-generation 737s, the 737-800, and it could reach a decision within the next few months, according to a Reuter report from Amsterdam.
