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.
The value of U.S. airline company stocks was $21.84 billion on the last day of trading in January, an increase of 4.1% over December's $20.99 billion but down more than 20% from January a year ago, when the stocks were valued at $27.69 billion. The value of the eight major combination carrier stocks was $15.1 billion. Trading in the stock of the ninth carrier, TWA, was halted late in 1994 by the American Stock Exchange because of the airline's pending financial restructuring. (See chart and graphs on Pages 197-198.)
United reported a record January load factor, 66%, as its traffic for the month increased 11.4% over that of January 1993. Capacity was up 6.5%. The previous January record, set last year, was 63.1%.
AirTran named John Horn president of AirTran Airways. Gulfstream International named Peter Clements to head its Department of Safety. Qantas appointed Bernard Shirley group general manager-public affairs.
DOT and FAA retained, with one modification, language in its airports rates and charges policy to allow peak pricing at airports despite objections raised by airline and general aviation user groups (DAILY, Feb. 1). The agencies said that the concept stated in the policy is adopted from the Dec. 22, 1988, order and opinion on the Massachusetts Port Authority landing fee increase and represents no change in existing department policy.
American seeks renewal of its authority to serve Istanbul and Ankara, Turkey. The service is part of Segment 3 of its certificate for Route 602, issued in the American-TWA Route Transfer in 1991, which includes flights between points in the U.S., excluding St. Louis, New York and Newark, and Barcelona, Casablanca, Austria, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. The Istanbul/Ankara authority currently is unused. (Docket 50097)
Board of Philippine Airlines has elected Lucio Tan chairman and chief executive. Tan, who owns 50.1% of PR Holdings, the consortium that acquired a 67% stake in the airline when it was privatized nearly three years ago, replaces Carlos Dominguez. Jose Antonio Garcia remains president and chief operating officer.
Air New Zealand plans to ban smoking March 1 on its flights to and from the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. It operates 23 weekly departures from Los Angeles, including daily nonstops to Auckland and Sydney.
- In Federal Register dated Jan. 30...Adopted an airworthiness directive on Airbus A300, A300-600, A310, A330 and A340 series airplanes requiring inspection of the sliding side windows in the cockpit for possible overheating of the defogging system, and deactivation of the system or replacement of the window, if necessary...Adopted an AD on certain Boeing 757 series airplanes requiring replacement of the bolts, nuts and washers that attach the support bracket of the No. 4 and No. 5 transmissions to the wing flap structure...
British Airways' systemwide passenger traffic rose 6.6% last month from January a year ago to 6.78 billion revenue passenger kilometers on 2.3% more capacity, pushing the load factor up 2.7 percentage points to 68.1%. The number of passengers carried increased 6.7% to 2.2 million. BA's U.K./Europe traffic rose 10.2% on 1.2% more capacity, and its intercontinental traffic increased 5.8% on 2.6% more capacity.
Moody's Investors Service Friday placed under review for possible downgrade its provisional ratings on Continental's $1 billion Rule 415 shelf registration because of concerns about continuing operational difficulties with Continental Lite and uncertainties about reversing operating losses and achieving sustained profitability. S&P took similar action the previous week. The ratings under review are provisional ratings on Continental's $1 billion shelf registrations of (P)B1 senior secured, (P)B2 senior unsecured, and (P)Caa subordinated.
Granted orally an exemption to Brazilian carrier VASP for authority to conduct combination services between a point or points in Brazil and U.S. co-terminal points Los Angeles and San Francisco and beyond to Seoul, Korea.
