Southwest's traffic grew 4.1% last month, compared with January 1994, on an 11.9% increase in capacity. The jump in available seat miles pushed its load factor down 4.1 points to 53.7%. Southwest attributed the drop to severe winter weather and noted that "yield and overall revenue growth were strong and in line with expectations." The number of passengers carried was up 6.9% and the number of flights rose 8.1% to 59,896. January 1996 January 1995 Rev. Passenger Miles 1,731,955,000 1,663,424,000
A seminar on business on the Internet will be sponsored by the American Society of Travel Agents in St. Louis April 27. The seminar is free, ASTA said, because "every travel agent must ultimately be active participants online in order to succeed, and ASTA wants to forcefully meet that need."
Air Travel Card has published the Business Travel Airport Directory, which guides travelers to airport business centers and airport clubs. The directory lists business services available at the 50 busiest airports in the U.S. It includes the size of conference rooms, facsimile services, computer and secretarial services, photocopy services, currency exchange, overnight delivery services and notary public services. Copies of the directory are free while supplies last. To receive a copy, call 1-800-222- 4688. Additional copies can be obtained for a fee.
American's authority to operate scheduled service between Dallas/Fort Worth and Paris was renewed by DOT. The carrier currently offers one roundtrip a day, using 215-seat Boeing 767 aircraft. American also gained renewal of its authority to operate DFW-Sao Paulo, Brazil service. (Dockets OST-95- 928&OST-95-849)
Delta is beginning to look a little like its lowest-cost competitor - from some cities, at least. When it begins daily nonstops from Las Vegas to Kansas City, New Orleans and Calgary this spring, it will offer fares of $69 each way. Flights to New York, Boston and Orlando from Las Vegas will cost $79. The fares are introductory and require no advance purchase. Delta also announced new weekend flights between Boston and Fort Myers for $89 each way.
Continental Micronesia received authority from DOT to integrate its Guam- Indonesia and Guam-Palau authorities, enabling the carrier to operate flights on a routing of Guam-Palau-Denpasar, Indonesia. The carrier requested the integration because it wants to carry passengers and cargo in the Guam-Palau market on its Guam-Denpasar flights. (Docket OST-95-808)
DOT approved application of Evergreen International Airlines and Federal Express, renewing for six months Evergreen's authority to operate all-cargo service between the U.S. and China. Since FedEx acquired Evergreen's China route authority last year, Evergreen has operated the service pending Chinese government approval of FedEx operations and FedEx's readiness to begin service. FedEx said last month it plans to begin serving China in March after getting authority to operate the service last month from the Civil Aviation Administration of China.
United and the Association of Flight Attendants quietly and quickly reached tentative agreement on a new labor contract governing 20,000 flight attendants. The pact is said to leave the flight attendants outside United's employee ownership structure - the AFA unit dropped out of the employee coalition that helped craft the July 1994 employee buyout.
British Aerospace Aviation Services received a contract from U.K.-based Channel Express to carry out a cargo door conversion on an Airbus A300B4. The contract, valued at $5.5 million for conversion of the first aircraft, includes options on as many as three more. The company also will carry out heavy maintenance and servicing checks and increase the aircraft's maximum zero fuel weight. BAe developed the cargo door, which was designed in association with Flight Structures Inc. of Seattle.
A summary of CIC Research's Net Travel Survey shows customer satisfaction is higher at United than expected. The survey asked Internet users to state their primary reason for choosing an airline. American, Continental and Northwest were picked most often for their frequent flyer programs, Alaska for service, Delta for service and past experience, United for past experience, and Continental, Southwest, TWA and USAir for price.
Strong German domestic travel in 1995, as well as steady increases in Europeans traveling within Europe, helped set a new passenger record last year at Munich Airport when 14.9 million travelers passed through the facility, up 10% from 1994. The fast-paced growth, combined with near-term expansion plans by carriers such as Lufthansa have led airport officials to conclude that Munich is poised to become Germany's second key gateway for international traffic.
The Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce will hold Trade&Investment Expo '96 Feb. 14-16 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York. The event also is sponsored by the Brazilian Government Trade Bureau and the Ministry of Commerce and Tourism-EMBRATUR. Speakers include Jose Botafogo Goncalves, under secretary for integration, cooperation and foreign trade, and Cicero Lucena, secretary of economic development. The trade show offers insights on how to do business in Brazil, including tourism.
Reno Air's revenue passenger miles increased 38% in January over the same month in 1995, to 181.7 million. Available seat miles rose 16.7% to 302.3 million, for a load factor of 60.1%, up 9.2 points. Robert Reding, president and chief executive, noting Reno's sixth consecutive month of year-over-year load factor increases, was pleased with the gain because major winter storms hindered travel during the month. Advance bookings are at record levels, he added. Reno carried 320,471 passengers in January, up from 273,078 in January 1995.
U.S. Major Carriers Productivity, In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee Third Quarter 1995, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total Airline (000) (000) Employees America West 411,926 357,766 10,698 American 4,095,758 3,616,867 86,244
Startup Canadian carrier WestJet Airlines, a Southwest-style clone, began taking reservations this week for service scheduled to begin Feb. 29. The carrier plans to fly to Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna at fares that it says are 50%-70% less than those of established airlines. The carrier has purchased two 737s and will take a third jet March 7. The carrier has completed two private placements.
U.S. officials are studying comments about the stalled U.S.-U.K. air talks made yesterday in London by British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind. Addressing international trade issues, Rifkind lauded the effects of a 1993 agreement opening up European markets. "Business travelers and tourists alike have gained. And the airlines themselves, more competitive as a result, are better placed to win new business on other routes," he said. "That is why the U.K. also wants to liberalize air services over the Atlantic.
Architects' drawings for Sino Swearingen Aircraft Co.'s new plant at Martinsburg, W.Va., for production of the SJ30 twin-engine business jet, were completed Jan. 29, according to Joe Benko, VP-manufacturing. O'Brien- Kreitzberg has been selected to manage construction, and eight construction packages are to be let and the first contractors named within 60 days. The first aircraft built at Martinsburg will be delivered following FAA certification, scheduled in March 1998.
The alliance between American and the Dade County Board of Commissioners - to defend the planned $900 million expansion at Miami Airport, benefiting the carrier - is straining as the team prepares to go to trial Feb. 20 to defend the project against five airlines suing to block it. In yesterday's Miami Herald, American accused several commissioners of using pressure to secure frequent flyer upgrades during negotiations on the deal. "One thing has no bearing on the other," an airport spokeswoman told The DAILY.
Honeywell said Philippine aviation officials selected it to install the Honeywell/Pelorus satellite-based landing system at three national airports, the first one this fall. Executives of the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communications/Air Transport Office said the Philippines intends to lead the Asia-Pacific region in deploying Global Positioning System-based capabilities, Honeywell said.
Tower Air's revenue passenger miles rose 15% to 283 million in January on 16.1% more capacity. Available seat miles totaled 412 million. The gain reflects increased traffic to Tel Aviv, Los Angeles, San Juan and San Francisco. Load factor remained at 68.7%. It transported 99,000 passengers, up from 80,000 in January 1995.
DOT is aiming to decide this week how it will allocate vacant U.S.-South Africa frequencies, formerly USAfrica's, a department official said. DOT will either go forward with its show cause order allocating the frequencies to World Airways and Southern Air Transport or re-open the proceeding, allowing additional parties to apply for them.
Prime Hospitality Corp. began construction of five new AmeriSuites Hotels in January as part of its plan to double its AmeriSuites chain from 20 to 40 properties by the end of 1996. Two are in the Atlanta area, and the others in Dallas, Memphis and San Antonio. Prime plans to build up to 100 new hotels by the year 2000. A hotel at Miami Airport is scheduled to open soon.
DOT has renewed Fast Air's authority to operate scheduled cargo service between Santiago and Los Angeles. The carrier serves the route with DC-8- 71s (DAILY, Feb. 5). (Docket OST-96-1033)
DOT has renewed for two years United's exemption authority to operate code- share service with partner Lufthansa between the U.S. and Almaty, Kazakhstan; Minsk, Belarus; Tashkent, Uzbekistan; Tallinn, Estonia; Vilnius, Lithuania; Asmara, Eritrea; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Malta; Tunis, Tunisia, and Thessaloniki, Greece. All service is operated via Frankfurt. The department dismissed United's request for renewal of its exemption authority to serve Kiev, Ukraine, noting that the carrier holds certificate authority for the route. (Docket 50398)
American Society of Travel Agents says Sabre's decision to abolish a toll- free help desk for travel agents is a "nickel and dime action" that comes at the wrong time. The toll-free line will shut down March 9. ASTA President Jeanne Epping said, "I would like to thank Worldspan, Apollo and System One for not following Sabre in this short-sighted decision to cut corners at the expense of their customers."
