AirTran Airways has begun service to Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport from Orlando, operating one roundtrip six days a week. Fares range from $59 to $119.
With Republicans maintaining their majorities in the House and Senate and President Clinton remaining in the White House, the most significant change for the aviation industry in Tuesday's election was the defeat of Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) by Rep. Tim Johnson (D). Pressler was the only incumbent to lose in the Senate, and only a handful of members lost in the House. A good portion of those losses came from the ranks of the House Transportation Committee, however.
State-owned oil companies in India have announced an increase of nearly 13% in the administered prices of jet fuel for Air India and international airlines, effective immediately, citing recent unrest in the Persian Gulf, which raised oil prices in global markets, oil company sources said yesterday. This is the second hike this year - Prime Minister Deve Gowda's 11-party coalition government increased prices in July. The latest increase pegs the price of jet fuel for international airlines at $261.50/kiloliter, up from $232/kiloliter.
Western Pacific has appointed George Leonard chief financial officer and board member. He has worked for the carrier for the past several months as a financial consultant. The airline said Martin Dugan, a director and financial officer, has resigned to pursue other business and personal interests.
FAA has not adequately informed consumers of new security procedures at airports, and travelers' ignorance is causing inconvenience and delays, according to the American Society of Travel Agents. In a letter to Bruce Butterworth, FAA director of civil aviation security operations, ASTA President Mike Spinelli asked FAA to give travel agencies better information on the revamped rules.
AlliedSignal Aerospace said China Northwest Airlines placed an order valued at $21 million for its 36-300-4 auxiliary power unit for 10 new A320s. The company said its APUs are operated by more than 40 Chinese airlines.
Sogerma Maintenance Center has signed a contract to provide interior layouts to the U.S. Air Force for seven new A340s and to Air Inter Europe for 10 A320s. The work involves modifying or manufacturing galleys and crew rest areas. Sogerma is headquartered at Aeroport International de Bordeaux.
AlliedSignal Aerospace said AirServices Australia accepted the first precision runway monitor (PRM) installed outside the U.S. at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. The PRM is a stand-alone air traffic control system using an electronically scanned, monopulse secondary surveillance radar system to permit parallel runway approaches. The PRM system installed at Sydney's newest airport is a "showcase of its capabilities for the rapidly increasing Asian air travel market," said Alan Dietrich, VP for AlliedSignal Communications Systems.
Shuttle by United is moving east - to Denver - as part of United's expansion there to 303 daily departures Feb. 11, when it adds new flights to Colorado Springs, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Oakland, Ontario, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, San Francisco and Seattle. The Shuttle will operate from Denver to Las Vegas, with 12 daily flights, and to Phoenix with 13. It will compete with low-cost carrier Western Pacific, which operates three daily flights from Colorado Springs to each city.
Mercury Air Group said net income for its first quarter, which ended Sept. 30, was a record $1.4 million, up 14% from the same quarter last year. Revenue reached a record $69.4 million, up 33.7%. Seymour Kahn, chairman, said cargo revenues rose 68.7%, and fixed-base operations revenues gained 52.4%.
TWA hopes its new upgrade program - which allows passengers to convert coach tickets to first class up to two hours before boarding, for $50-$250 - will bring in millions of dollars of additional revenue. If one passenger on every five flights pays $75 for an upgrade, TWA would take in $4 million, said Jeffrey Erickson, president and chief executive.
Reno Air's October traffic soared to 261.7 million revenue passenger miles in October, 52.7% more than in October 1995, on 39.2% more capacity. Available seat miles totaled 384.6 million, and the load factor rose 6 percentage points to 68%. Reno President and Chief Executive Robert Reding said, "Although we are very pleased with these record October traffic numbers, they are tempered somewhat by lower yields, resulting from recent fare sales on the West Coast." For the first 10 months, RPMs increased 45.1% to 2.525 billion and ASMs were up 35% to 3.741 billion.
United's Machinists union says the carrier continues to hire in record numbers in virtually all departments. The carrier has hired 50 new mechanics, exhausted all system transfers and brought in new employees "from the street" for the first time in 10 years. It also has hired 40 employees in cabin services with plans for more, and is interviewing to fill 75 ramp services jobs.
The effect of Southwest's $25 fare sale in late summer is readily apparent in the carrier's traffic numbers. Southwest reported yesterday a 31.5% gain in revenue passenger miles for October, on a 9.4% increase in capacity, which caused the load factor to skyrocket 12.2 percentage points, to 72.2% from 60%. Year-to-date traffic rose 16.2% on a capacity gain of 13.1%. Southwest's average passenger flew 567 miles in October, up 10.3% from last year's 514 miles. Oct 96 Oct 95 10 Mths 96 10 Mths 95
Northwest Airlines plans to start using its authority to serve points in India via Amsterdam Schiphol Airport but wants to use Newark as the U.S. gateway instead of Boston, which its current exemption now specifies (Docket OST-96-1927, formerly 50337). Northwest's Newark-Amsterdam-Delhi- Mumbai service, which would start June 1, 1997, will be an extension of daily flights operated with partner KLM between Newark and Amsterdam starting May 1.
Thermedics reported record revenues of $65.7 million for the September quarter, compared with $41.2 million last year. Net income was $5.8 million, up from $4 million. For the year to date, revenue was $188.6 million, compared with $128.4 million, while net income was $19.7 million, up from $10.9 million.
Canada and Germany signed an open skies agreement in Ottawa, permitting airlines of either country to serve any point in the other provided they have the requisite bilateral authority. The agreement also permits liberalized pricing for scheduled operations, according to Transport Canada.
TWA reported a 4.9% increase in October traffic to 2.217 billion revenue passenger miles, up from 2.114 billion in October 1995. Available seat miles rose 5.8% during the month to 3.495 billion from 3.420 billion. Load factor fell 0.6 percentage points to 63.4%. For the first 10 months of the year, RPMs rose 9.8% to 23.1 billion from 21.066 billion while ASMs rose 7.5% to 34.203 billion from 31.810 billion. Load factor during the period rose 1.4 points to 67.6% from 66.2%. Oct 96 Oct 95 10 Mths 96 10 Mths 95
American announced this week a planned $30 million renovation and expansion of its Los Angeles Airport terminal over three years. The project involves expansion of the ticketing lobby by 5,000 square feet, renovation and expansion of the passenger lounges, reconfiguration of security screening, renovation of the baggage claim area, expansion of concession space and improvements to signage and the public address system. Work is to begin next summer. American operates 67 daily departures at Los Angeles, and American Eagle has 70 daily departures.
ValuJet reported a 72.1% load factor in October, its first full month back in operation, up 7.9 percentage points from October 1995. Its traffic and capacity comparisons with October 1995 are skewed because it now operates with 15 aircraft, compared with 36 a year ago. Revenue passenger miles in October totaled 154.3 million, down 67.7% from the 478.4 million flown in 1995. Available seat miles dropped 74% to 97.7 million from 376.3 million. The number of passengers carried fell 67.7% to 154,292.
ICTS International of The Netherlands said it has acquired a 10% interest in Maman Cargo Terminal&Handling, which has long-term exclusive rights for all cargo handling at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport. ICTS said it plans to increase further its holdings in Maman. Maman is 26% owned by a subsidiary of El Al Airlines, 26% by Securitas, a publicly traded Israeli company, and 28% by the general public. It has revenues of about $70 million a year and net income of about $7 million.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), presumptive new chairman of the Commerce Committee, renewed pressure yesterday for DOT action on the transfer of Los Angeles Airport revenues to the city. Although the city shifted $31.1 million in September to evade provisions of the pending FAA reauthorization bill, the transfer nevertheless "violated existing revenue diversion requirements of Federal law, as there were no legitimate claims for repayment by the airport to the city," McCain said in a letter to DOT Secretary Federico Pea.
AccessAir is filing for operating authority as a startup airline with plans for 737-200A service from Des Moines, Quad Cities and Wichita to Los Angeles and New York, expanding in the first year to San Francisco and Washington. A number of AccessAir's officials are Eastern Airlines exiles. Roger Ferguson, founder, president and chief executive, was a 20-year Eastern veteran, whose last position was VP-maintenance and engineering. He also was president and chief operating officer of startup Independence Air, which failed to start operations last year.
