Continental said yesterday it is adding destinations and increasing existing service from its Newark hub to cities in the western U.S. It plans to launch service to Salt Lake City and Portland in the first half of 1997, increase nonstop service to San Diego and Los Angeles, and improve its Newark-Seattle service schedule.
McDonnell Douglas reported yesterday third quarter net earnings of $195 million and operating earnings of $339 million, up from net earnings of $192 million and operating earnings of $295 million in the same period last year. For the first nine months, net earnings were a record $581 million and operating earnings were $1 billion, up from net results of $520 million and operating results of $888 million.
Mexican air taxi operator Jet Rent applied at DOT for authority to operate charter flights between the U.S. and Mexico, with stopover privileges and relief from the requirement that it obtain approval in advance for each flight. It expects to operate 38 roundtrips each year with an average load of three passengers. It operates two Learjets, one with eight seats and one with seven. (Docket OST-96-1869)
America West announced yesterday an "agreement in principle" to order as many as 34 new Airbus aircraft, restructuring a 24-aircraft order it placed in 1990. To accommodate the new aircraft order and cancellation of the previous one, and to reflect current asset values for some of its inventories and facilities and other adjustments, the airline said it will take a non-cash, non-recurring pretax charge of $65 million in the third quarter of 1996, which ended Sept. 30. It expects to publish third quarter results Oct. 25.
Malaysian Systems, a division of Malaysian Airlines, has signed an agreement with the southwestern Indian state of Karnataka to establish a maintenance unit for Boeing 737 aircraft near Mysore city. Budgeted at 2.5 billion rupees ($70 million), the facility is being equipped initially for C-checks and will be upgraded later for D-checks. Most of the budget has been earmarked for infrastructure investment involving building of runways and hangars, using equipment and jigs from the airline's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
After experiencing a series of major outages, some of them caused by the Display Channel Complex (DCC), FAA is on track with its short-lived replacement, called the Display Channel Complex Rehost (DCCR), the General Accounting Office reported to Congress yesterday. The DCC is a mainframe computer system that processes radar and other data into images on controllers' screens. GAO said it had been concerned that FAA was not allocating the resources necessary for certain test activities and was not managing certain elements as formal program risks.
Airports should have to follow the same regulations as other major polluters, such as smokestack industries, the Natural Resources Defense Council said yesterday. "While air pollution from automobiles and many major industries have stabilized or decreased, aircraft continue to emit more smog-forming gases - volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides - with each passing year," NRDC said.
New Regional Aircraft Deliveries July 1996 Last 12 Months Carrier No. Type Engines Delivery AMR Eagle 1 Saab 340B Plus CT7-9A 22 Comair Inc 2 Canadair RJ CF34-3A1 12 Continental Express 1 AA ATR 42-500 PW127E 2
Peninsula Airways d/b/a Penair has filed at DOT to terminate its Metro service at St. George, Alaska, on an emergency basis, effective Nov. 1. The carrier cited its inability to operate at the point under Part 121 rules, now mandated by the government for operators of aircraft with more than nine passenger seats (Metros have 19 passenger seats). "There is no approved instrument approach, no weather reporting or forecasting service, and no ability to maintain radio contact with dispatchers" at St. George, Penair said.
The U.S. government is waiting to hear from Chile whether flights between the two countries can increase and whether bilateral talks are needed. The notes governing scheduled combination service expire at the end of November, and DOT has a proposal before Chile to increase service. Separately, Carnival Air Lines has asked DOT to defer action on a request by National Airlines Chile (NAC) for renewal of its code-sharing authority with United until the Chilean government assures the U.S.
American Eagle has named Robert Hamilton VP-field services and marketing for Executive Airlines, Eagle's operator based at San Juan, Puerto Rico. Previously, Hamiltonn was American manager on duty in Dallas/Fort Worth. He is a 30-year airline veteran.
Northwest, publishing third quarter financial data yesterday, set all-time records for load factor, revenue, operating income and net income in a single quarter. The carrier's net profit rose 9.9% to $253.9 million and its operating margin improved to 17.2% from 16.6% in the same quarter in 1995. Fuel and related fuel taxes jumped 31.9% year-over-year. In the first nine months of 1996, Northwest's net profit increased 50.7% to $510 million. "The underlying demand for our product is strong," said John Dasburg, president and chief executive.
Air Maldives has signed a purchase agreement for one 37-passenger de Havilland Dash 8 Series 200 and an option for another Series 200. The firm-ordered aircraft will be delivered next month and the option aircraft in mid-1998. The value of the transaction was placed at approximately $13.5 million. The order brings the Dash 8 orderbook to 514 aircraft delivered and on firm order.
FAA will host a Global Analysis And Information Network workshop Oct. 22-24 at the Volpe National Transportation System Center, Cambridge, Mass., at which international aviation safety leaders will try to create a worldwide information and analysis network. Chris Hart, assistant administrator for system safety, will open the sessions and Administrator David Hinson will be the keynote speaker.
First JT8D engine maintenance contract for Pratt&Whitney's new overhaul center in Columbus, Ga., came from Aerocar Aviation Corp. of Miami, which will send 15 powerplants for overhaul during the next year. Aerocar is one of the largest independent JT8D engine leasing operations in North America.
TriStar Airlines of Las Vegas - in the midst of a bitter legal battle between founder Tulsie Issurdutt and the other investors - has pulled down all scheduled service except Las Vegas-Los Angeles and Las Vegas-San Francisco and is looking "to change the mission of the airline and keep on going," said President Don Martin. The new-start's fleet of four BAe 146s is not well suited "for this type of system," he added, noting that "we are reinventing TriStar and looking for a better application." Martin said the carrier may or may not remain in Las Vegas.
Aero Taxi del Centro de Mexico (Aero Taxi) is seeking authority from DOT to operate small-aircraft charters between Mexico and the U.S., with stopover privileges and an exemption from the requirement that it obtain advance approval for each flight. The company was established to provide air taxi service to executives of a Mexican company, and its future operations likely will be the same type of transportation, it said. Aero Taxi estimated that it will operate eight roundtrips a month between the two countries, with an average of four passengers.
FedEx will offer its second-business-day delivery service at a lower cost beginning Nov. 1, when rates will start at $7.45 for packages dropped off at one of the company's 43,000 locations. For pickups, rates will begin at $9.95 on shipments as heavy as two pounds.
Gulfstream Aerospace, under an agreement worked out with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC), will pay $120 million over five years into three underfunded pension programs covering 5,600 workers and retirees. Gulfstream agreed to contribute the funds at the time of its initial public offering. The agreement was part of a larger $1 billion pool that PBGC negotiated with several companies during the past 12 months as part of its Early Warning Program.
Supporting last week's motion by United, TWA called yesterday for a DOT investigation into the proposed American/British Airways alliance. TWA wants DOT to require the prospective partners to submit their agreement so the department can weigh its impact on U.S. and European aviation markets. It argues that the alliance must be viewed as "part of a broader global pattern of attempts not only to monopolize major hubs, but also to secure regional domination." TWA President Jeffrey Erickson said, "Clearly, we are at a turning point in international aviation.
The travel and tourism industry created 236,500 new jobs in 1995, 3.7% more than in the previous year, according to the Tourism Works for America Council. Traveler spending directly supported more than 6.6 million jobs - 2 million in food service, 1.076 million in lodging; 970,400 internationally generated; 931,000 in public transportation; 894,800 in entertainment and recreation; 312,300 in general retail sales, 229,300 in auto transportation and 210,600 in travel planning. Domestic and international travelers spent $421.5 billion in the U.S.
Traffic outgained capacity by nearly three percentage points among 15 of the nation's largest regional airlines during September. Revenue passenger miles generated by the group increased 8.3% to 874 million, compared with a 5.6% increase in available seat miles to 1.7 billion. Nine carriers posted positive spreads, with RPMs rising at a faster pace than ASMs and six were negative. Northwest Airlink had the biggest positive spread, with traffic growing by 33%, 16.6 percentage points greater than the 16.4% increase in capacity.
British Airways and Airbus Industrie signed an agreement under which Airbus will provide its customers with software to record and share information on incidents related to human factors. The software is based on the British Airways Safety Information System (BASIS), which was described as the "only global system for operators to inform each other about aircraft incidents and the remedial action that was taken." Developed by BA six years ago, BASIS is used by more than 100 airlines and helicopter operators.
KLM will serve three new cities, according to its winter schedule, including new MD-11 service twice a week from Amsterdam to San Juan, Puerto Rico. It also will add service to Bologna and Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan. The Baku service will start in September, earlier than the others, operated with 767s three times per week. Bologna, KLM's fifth destination in Italy, will receive two Fokker 70 flights a day.
