Tower Air's block hours fell 13.8% in September due to reductions in military and cargo charters and the carrier's withdrawal from the India market. Cargo charters dropped because one of the company's two cargo aircraft was grounded to comply with what Tower called "newly restrictive" airworthiness directives. Scheduled passenger available seat miles decreased 1.9% in September to 403 million from 411 million. Revenue passenger miles fell much more than capacity, however, decreasing 12.6%. The load factor thus plunged 7.9 percentage points to 65.3%.
U.S. regional airlines' collective traffic increased 14.2% in the second quarter to almost 3.7 billion revenue passenger miles and the combined load factor jumped 9.7 percentage points to 55.6% from the same quarter a year earlier, said Walter Coleman, president of the Regional Airline Association. The number of passengers rose 7.6% to 16.1 million, while the average trip length rose 6.1% to 229 miles.
USAir and its pilots union will discuss in contract talks "competitive strategy alternatives" that could include a low-fare, low-pilot-wage operation in the East to counter competitive attacks by Southwest, Delta Express and ValuJet, the Air Line Pilots Association said yesterday. ALPA Master Executive Council Vice Chairman David Morrow said, "I would not characterize it as an airline-within-an-airline." He said it could be, "God forbid," like Delta's contract, which cut wages for 100-seat flying, or "more original."
The Air Line Pilots Association said the interest-based, problem-solving process being used in contract talks at American Eagle and advocated by the National Mediation Board is having positive results. After six days of meetings, ALPA said the union and Eagle management are "considering creative options to address their various interests" and are working toward a partnership-style relationship. The NMB has begun to help negotiating committees use an interest-based solution, and said it is putting more resources into the process (DAILY, Sept. 3).
Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 71.2 million revenue passenger miles in September, up 12.5% from September 1995. Capacity increased 4.7% to 146.4 million available seat miles from 139.8 million, and the load factor rose to 48.7% from 45.3%. ASA carried 297,690 passengers during the month, a 17% increase. For the first nine months of the year, RPMs rose 16.4% to 662.3 million, ASMs grew 5.9% to 1.340 billion and the load factor gained 4.4 percentage points to 49.4%.
U.S. Supreme Court, beginning its 1996-97 term yesterday, refused to block a 1995 federal court order, upheld in an appeals court, requiring USAir to make public its internal safety documents involved in the July 1994 crash of a USAir DC-9 in Charlotte, N.C. USAir argued, and FAA agreed, that the information should be kept private because airlines would fear being candid in disclosures to FAA if they though the information might eventually be made public.
FAA issued a stop-work order last week on one software development task for the National Satellite Test Bed program. The Stanford Telecommunication Organization was told to stand down while FAA restructures and reduces the scope of the project. FAA said it will tell STO to restart the program, but in a new direction, once the restructuring is complete.
TriStar Airlines has brought back its $29 one-way "Fast Fares" between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, and $54 fares between Las Vegas and San Francisco. The non-refundable tickets must be purchased by Oct. 31. TriStar operates 86- to 100-seat BAe 146 aircraft.
Amtrak received $22 million in fiscal 1997 federal funding to continue operating four long-distance routes it had intended to discontinue Nov. 10 to cut costs, as well as $60 million for the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project. The endangered operations, reprieved until May 10, are the Texas Eagle, which serves Chicago, St. Louis and San Antonio; the Pioneer, serving Chicago, Denver and Portland/Seattle; the Desert Wind, serving Chicago and Los Angeles, and the Boston-Albany section of the Lake Shore Limited.
A six-month window opens this week for USAir to purchase the USAir Shuttle from Citibank and other banks that have owned the property since it was the Trump Shuttle. USAir's agreement to operate the Shuttle includes an exclusive six-month purchase option that begins Oct. 10 and ends April 11. USAir is mum on its plans.
Delta and United are urging DOT to reject a bid from American and the TACA Group for reconsideration of their proposed code-share alliance. The department deferred action on the proposed code share, saying it needed more information to evaluate the arrangement, and Delta and United counseled caution. "The department not only has the legal right, indeed it has the obligation, to evaluate fully the adverse public interest and competitive consequences of the highly unique American-TACA proposed arrangement," said Delta.
Israel's Civil Aviation Authority is threatening legal action against British Airways unless the carrier stops a fare promotion between Israel and non-European destinations. The fare sale includes half-price or free companion tickets for flights from Israel via London to North America, Asia and other destinations, greatly reducing long-haul fares from Israel.
Granted orally to Aerovallarta an exemption to conduct passenger charter operations between Mexico and the U.S., and other approved passenger charter operations, using small equipment...Granted orally to Aeroejecutivo Nieto to conduct passenger charter operations between Mexico and the U.S., and other passenger charter operations, using small equipment...Granted orally to Societe Nouvelle Air Martinique renewal of its exemption to conduct scheduled combination service between Fort de France, Martinique, and San Juan, P.R., and authorized charters...Granted orally to Gul
DOT Friday tentatively approved an agreement drawn up by airlines that waives the Warsaw Convention's liability limit for passengers and their families in case of death or injury on international flights. Don Horn, assistant to the DOT general counsel, said the department hopes to have final approval by yearend following a comment period. The action caps more than 30 years of effort by the International Air Transport Association and the Air Transport Association (DAILY, July 31).
House Ways and Means Committee has asked the Internal Revenue Service to reverse its position on taxing routine airline safety inspections. In letters to IRS Commissioner Margaret Richardson and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, committee members cited an IRS technical advice memorandum issued earlier this year that changed the longstanding policy on taxing the inspections. According to the memo, the cost of the regular, FAA-mandated inspections no longer can be deducted as business expenses and instead must be capitalized.
DOT has extended TWA Express affiliate Trans States' obligation to provide its current level of service at Forney Air Field, which serves Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., through Nov. 4 or until replacement service is secured. The department will resolicit proposals to serve the point. In its original request for service subsidy or non-subsidy proposals from interested carriers, issued in June, DOT received a subsidy proposal from and held negotiations with Lone Star Airlines.
Burlington Air Freight and Qantas teamed up on a new direct service between the U.S., Australia and New Zealand using BAX's Toledo hub as the main gateway. The "BAX Downunder Direct" provides weekly 747 freighter flights to Sydney and Melbourne with connections to major cities in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Flights will originate every Saturday at Kennedy and stop in Toledo, where Australia-bound cargo will be loaded.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries July 1996 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Inter Euro 2 A319 CFM56-5A1 1 American 2 757-200 RB211-535E4B 2 Asiana Airlines 1 737-400 CFM56-3C1 1
TWA improved its ontime performance greatly in September, when it had 17 aircraft in heavy maintenance and cut back on its schedule. September's ontime rate was 78.4%, well above the two-thirds attained in June, July and August, said President Jeffrey Erickson. The carrier's new policy in St. Louis - it will not hold flights waiting for late connecting flights - dropped the number of delayed departures from 1,410 in August to 443 in September.
American believes it is a good thing that the European Commission may sanction buying and selling takeoff and landing slots in Europe. The U.S. carrier's proposed alliance with British Airways would benefit from "an increased availability of slots at Heathrow that everyone is clamoring for," said AMR spokesman Chris Chiames. Smaller carriers, regionals, charters and airlines with one flight per day into Heathrow could be candidates to sell slots. The EC expects to put forward recommendations by yearend.
Canadian startup WestJet Airlines resumed flight operations on Friday after a 17-day suspension (DAILY, Sept. 18), offering service to all seven cities in its network with three aircraft. A fourth aircraft will come on line Oct. 27. The carrier said load factors for the first day of flying were expected to be greater than 70%. Part of the load could be from WestJet executives, who were expected to be on board many flights on its first day.
