Alaska Air Group subsidiary Horizon Air logged operating income of $5.9 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, an 11.9% decline from the comparable 1995 quarter's $6.7 million. At least two of the culprits were fuel and maintenance costs, which increased 23.6% and 20.2%, respec-tively, driving operating expenses up 9.7% to $78 million from $71.1 million. Operating revenues, on the other hand, rose just 7.8% to $83.9 million from $77.8 million.
...TPI was pushed into bankruptcy after it was shut down by the FAA on Aug. 29, 1990 for alleged paperwork violations the carrier and some FAA officials claimed had already been cleared. Coincidentally, one day later the Air Force canceled TPI's cargo contract for lack of performance. TPI claimed that its aircraft were being sabotaged at Tinker AFB, Okla., and that the Air Force ignored its requests for an investigation and more security. TPI employed 244 (related story below).
Delegates attending next week's Air Line Pilots Association board meeting in Bal Harbour, Fla., will discuss one of the greatest challenges facing pilots - code-sharing partners and affiliates - according to President Randy Babbitt.The board also will receive a proposal on merging ALPA with its Canadian counterpart, CALPA. Babbitt and other ALPA officials toured four Canadian cities in the past two weeks to tout a merger.
Coincidence? The federal bankruptcy court in Brunswick, Ga., placed small cargo carrier TPI International Airways into Chapter 7 liquidation and the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA) in Falls Church, Va., refused to reconsider its earlier denial of TPI's long-running $28 million breach-of-contract claim against the Air Force. Both documents were postmarked at noon Friday. Since it is liquidated, the company cannot appeal the ASBCA decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia.
Ireland's Ryanair is being accused of bad taste by the Irish Airline Pilots' Association, the Advertising Standards Authority for Ireland and other groups because of its latest advertising campaign. In an effort to build traffic between Ireland and London Stansted, Ryanair featured a photograph of a Sudan Airways jet hijacked at Stansted last year. The caption read, "It's amazing what lengths people will go to fly cheaper than Ryanair."
St. George, Utah-based Delta Connection affiliate SkyWest earned a net profit of nearly $5 million, or 50 cents per share, for the three months ending Sept. 30, the regional reported. The net profit figure represents a 21.4% increase from the $4.1 million SkyWest earned in the comparable 1995 quarter. The profit per share figure is a 25% increase from the 1995 period. Operating revenues rose 12.4% to $77.7 million from $69.2 million in the 1995 period. Quarterly operating expenses increased 11.4% to $69.7 million from $62.6 million.
If they work in automobiles, why not airplanes? British Aerospace unit Jetstream Aircraft proposed to FAA that airbags be used on the forward passenger bulkhead to comply with the "Head Injury Criterion (HIC)" of FAR Part 25.562. FAA bought the notion and, in turn, has proposed it to the public (DAILY, Oct. 21). The J41 is a 30-passenger derivative of the 19- passenger Jetstream 31 that was certificated under the sometimes less- stringent Part 23 of the FARs and not subject to the Part 25 HIC provisions.
A federal district judge in Brunswick, Ga., Wednesday gave DOT 10 days to turn over the unedited version of an internal memo the department has fought to suppress for more than three years. The infamous "Dutch Memorandum" is considered the cornerstone of TPI International Airways' case that it was improperly shut down by the FAA in August 1990. The order, by U.S.
Delta posted its best third quarter in company history yesterday, reporting $238 million in net profits, up 18.4%, and an operating margin of 13%, second only to Southwest among major carriers. Delta's operating earnings set a record for the sixth consecutive quarter, with the September quarter's results up 13.5% to $438 million. Revenues jumped 8% to $3.4 billion and operating expenses rose 7% to $3 billion. Operating revenue per available seat mile gained 4.6% to 9.98 cents.
Air Jamaica applied to DOT for authority to operate scheduled combination service from New York Kennedy and Atlanta to St. Lucia, Antigua and Barbados, beginning Feb. 6., under a wet least with Target Airways d/b/a Great American Airways for two MD-80s configured for 12 first-class and 132 economy-class seats. The carrier noted that it is not seeking authority in this case to serve Jamaica on the new Caribbean routes. Air Jamaica's status as a Caribbean Community (CARICOM) carrier should entitle it to perform the service, it said.
British Airways and Paris-based Groupe Rivaud yesterday submitted a joint bid of 630 million French francs (US$123 million) to acquire ailing Air Liberte. BA would provide two-thirds of the bid and get a 70% stake. Groupe Rivaud would take 30%.
Alaska Airlines' earnings through nine months have been strong enough to trigger employee profit sharing for the year, Chief Financial Officer Harry Lehr said in an interview with in-house publication Alaska's World. Profit sharing kicks in after Alaska reaches a pretax profit margin of 5%, and the carrier made its last payout six years ago. Lehr said he could not guarantee the payment until he sees fourth quarter results.
AlliedSignal Aerospace's Russian joint venture to design aircraft wheels, brakes and brake control systems for Russian-certified aircraft has been approved by Russian regulators, the company said. Moscow-based Rubix is jointly owned by AlliedSignal Aircraft Landing Systems and Rubin Aerospace Corp. in Moscow. Rubix already has contracted to supply wheels and carbon brakes for the Il-96T, Il-96M and Tu 204-120 commercial transport aircraft.
National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public hearing Nov. 18 in Miami on the May 11 crash of a ValuJet DC-9 into the Florida Everglades. Member John Goglia will preside over what is estimated to be a five-day hearing covering hazardous materials carriage, employee training and oversight of handling hazardous materials, outsourcing of maintenance and the rapid growth of startup airlines.
UNC Inc. said it has acquired Stearns Co., the Seattle-based aircraft components producer, and will integrate it into UNC Aerostructures operations in Seattle to meet Boeing production schedules. Both UNC and Stearns recently won long-term contracts to build hardware for the 777 and the new-generation 737. Stearns will add $30 million to UNC's $250 million backlog.
European airlines, chiefly British Airways, KLM and Air France, are leading a trend toward passing on increased fuel costs to consumers. The three carriers instituted fees this week in response to fuel prices that have reached five-year highs in recent weeks. All of the fuel surcharges and related fare hikes are for tickets purchased and travel originating in Europe. No North American or European carrier contacted yesterday by The DAILY is extending the fees to tickets purchased in North America.
Continental yesterday filed with the Department of Transportation to serve London Heathrow from its hubs in Newark, Houston and Cleveland "as soon as Heathrow access is opened up," the airline said. Continental wants 10 slots into Heathrow, for six flights from Newark, three from Houston and one from Cleveland. The carrier would maintain service to Gatwick from Newark and Houston. Responding to a motion filed by United, Continental said DOT should not "waste time investigating" the proposed British Airways-American alliance until the U.K.
Four large U.S. airlines that use the information superhighway to deliver cheap fares to consumers are beginning to realize incremental revenues that, in the case of American, have reached seven figures in just eight months. American, which was the pioneer in March with NetSAAver fares that are e-mailed to subscribers, has made more than $1 million and attracted 250,000 subscribers. Yesterday, TWA became the fifth airline to offer greatly reduced fares on the Internet to selected cities.
Midwest Express yesterday posted its best quarter in its history, with net income of $8.4 million, up 33% from the 1995 quarter, and revenues of $83.1 million, up 23%. The carrier's yield rose 6%, even though jet fuel prices were 14 cents per gallon higher than in the same period in 1995. Traffic climbed 13% but capacity increased more, 17%. The results, which include Midwest's Skyway Airlines regional operation, included a 3.8% jump in cost per available seat mile, caused entirely by increasing fuel prices, which reduced profits by $2.3 million.
The long-term funding picture for FAA has become so critical that it is "forcing us to make decisions between modernization and sustainment," according to FAA research and acquisition chief George Donohue. Speaking at the Air Traffic Control Association convention last week in Nashville, Donohue said FAA is "losing $1 billion a year in capital buying power." He said FAA welcomes the one-year commission to conduct an audit of FAA funding to see if there is really a funding problem.
United Technologies Corp. third quarter earnings increased to $254 million from $210 million during the same quarter last year. Revenues rose to $5.9 billion from $5.6 billion. Revenues grew across all UTC segments except Flight Systems, in which they were flat, but gains in operating profit were led by Flight Systems and the Pratt&Whitney engine business. Pratt's improvement reflected higher aftermarket sales, continued cost reductions and productivity improvements.
Carnival Air Lines has created an Executive Class, 15% to 30% cheaper than its First Class, and will market it mainly to business travelers. All flights between Florida and California and all widebody flights between Florida and Puerto Rico and the Northeast will have the new class of service, which replaces first class on those flights. The change affects all Carnival's A300s and one 737-400. Executive Class will offer a dedicated airport check-in, pre-boarding, larger seats than in coach, more leg room, gourmet meals and complimentary cocktails and headsets.
India and Australia will expand their aviation links under a new bilateral trade agreement signed this week in Canberra by the two countries. Weekly capacity for airlines that serve both countries will double during the next three years, and the number of flights Australian carriers can operate each week will rise from three to nine. Air India, which was allowed to fly only 850 passengers each week to Australia, will be permitted 1,450. Both countries can increase capacity entitlements to 1,650 seats per week in each direction beginning Nov.
U.S. Major Carriers Pacific Share of Service Second Quarter 1996 Total Revenue Departures American 512 Delta 700 Northwest 5,902 United 5,695 Total 12,809 Average Number of Seats Per Departures American 230
Hawaiian Airlines will expand mainland-Hawaii service in January, beefing up Las Vegas-Honolulu charters and introducing Maui-Seattle flights. On Jan. 1, the carrier will add two weekly flights to its Honolulu-Las Vegas charter operation, for a total of eight. Four will be operated through a partnership with Vacations Hawaii and four with Jackie's Travel. Hawaiian operates scheduled service in the market with a stop in Los Angeles.
