Coincidence? Just at the time that Continental is negotiating the acquisition of up to 125 regional jets for its Express subsidiary, the Houston-based carrier is seeking new overseas markets, notably in Brazil. Chairman Gordon Bethune used his trip to Brazil this month to visit the Embraer factory - and also to talk with government aviation officials about service from Newark. Although the Canadair Regional Jet is said to be still in the hunt, an order for 125 Embraer EMB-145s valued at about $1.8 billion would provide a huge boost to that program.
All four channels on the cockpit voice recorder of the TWA 747 that crashed last Wednesday caught a "brief, fraction-of-a-second sound just prior to the end of the tape," Robert Francis, vice chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, said yesterday.
Rebounding from first quarter losses, Western Pacific Airlines reported a net profit of $521,000, or 4 cents per share, on revenues of $39.3 million for the second quarter. Both figures represent dramatic improvements from the last quarter, when the low-fare carrier, based in Colorado Springs, Colo., recorded a $2.44 million loss on revenues of $33.71 million. WestPac started flying on April 28, 1995, so no year-over- year comparison can be made, but the carrier lost $3.011 million in the fourth quarter of 1995.
Scheduled passenger traffic of the world's airlines will grow at a 6% pace this year, 7% in 1997 and 6.5% in 1998, according to a forecast by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Total international and domestic revenue passenger kilometers will increase from 2.2 trillion in 1995 to 2.4 trillion this year, 2.5 trillion in 1997 and 2.7 trillion in 1998. "Passenger traffic of airlines of each of the Africa, Middle East and Latin America/Caribbean regions is expected to grow above the world average throughout the forecast period," ICAO said.
Shuttle by United will begin next March to operate 45 reconfigured aircraft that are solely dedicated to the Shuttle service. A galley will be removed from each of the 23 737-300s and 22 737-500s to make room for eight more coach seats, and the aircraft will be painted in Shuttle livery. Seat width and pitch will be the same as in 737s operated by United. The Shuttle 737s will have eight first class seats.
Seattle Air Group affiliate Horizon Air is adding another flight to its Seattle-Boise jet service effective Sept. 8 and lowering business fares in the market. With the new flight, Horizon's daily complement will comprise nine flights each way, all of which will be operated with Fokker F28 1000s or 4000s, seating 62 and 69.
British Airways is moving to bolster TAT European Airways' bottom line as its prepares to take control of the French regional carrier. BA said Tuesday it will acquire the remaining 50.1% of TAT for about $32.6 million, giving it 100% ownership. "We intend now to take further steps to improve TAT's profitability and prepare the airline for changes that are taking place in the French aviation market," said Bob Ayling, BA chief executive. One of BA's first steps has been to appoint Marc Rochet, former chairman of AOM and AeroMaritime, to be chairman of TAT.
Cape Air has received an Award in Excellence from the Greater Boston Business Council for its efforts to serve the gay community through its donations to AIDS support groups, fund-raising efforts and transportation of people in need. Cape Air serves Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Island.
Aero International (Regional) has changed the configuration of its proposed 70- to 84- passenger regional jet and is now telling potential airline customers that it will go to a DC-9-type design rather than the under-wing nacelles/conventional-tail design originally conceived, using the same basic cross-section as the ATR series. The new aircraft would have a new cross-section, retaining the two-by-two seating. Some U.S. operators also may be interested in a 58-passenger version due to scope-clause limitations. Launch could be at next year's Paris Air Show.
Export-Import Bank said it approved financing to support the $37 million lease by Boeing of a 737-400 to LOT Polish Airlines. The bank said it now supports 12 of 24 U.S. and Western European aircraft in LOT's fleet.
Boeing attained second quarter sales of $6.3 billion and net earnings of $468 million this year, compared with sales of $5.6 billion and a net loss of $231 million during the same quarter in 1995, President Phil Condit reported. For the first six months, sales were flat at $10.57 billion and net earnings were $587 million, compared with sales of $10.6 billion and a net loss of $50 million.
American Eagle's Simmons Airlines unit was the only one of the four Eagle subsidiaries to log an increase in capacity last month as Eagle system capacity dropped 5.3% (DAILY, July 19). Following is a breakdown of Eagle's June 1996 and June 1995 traffic (includes charter): % Change (Except for June 1996 June 1995 load factor)
American Eagle operator Wings West Airlines has informed DOT of its plans to terminate service at Inyokern, Calif., Nov. 1. Wings West operates six daily nonstop roundtrips between Inyokern and Los Angeles, using 19-seat Jetstream aircraft. Supporting its decision, the carrier noted that Mesa Airlines, operating as United Express, operates six daily nonstop roundtrips between Inyokern and Los Angeles, using 19-seat Beech aircraft.
Tourisme Quebec is allocating financial resources and providing technical assistance to popular tourist regions in Quebec affected by flooding this month. It has set up a telephone line providing up-to-date information on the accessibility of tourist sites. For calls from outside Montreal, from Quebec, Canada and the U.S., the number is 800-363-7777, and from France, 05-90-7777. The Greater Quebec Area Tourism and Convention Bureau said Quebec City was not affected.
Senate Aviation Subcommittee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said yesterday he will propose legislation next week to strengthen security measures at airports and increase airline safety. He will offer the measure, including a provision to make airline safety information public, as an amendment to the DOT appropriations bill. "We must do as much as possible to reassure the public that the U.S. has the safest skies in the world," McCain said.
British Air Tour Operators Report 1995 Losses Great Britain's top 30 tour operators suffered an aggregate loss in 1995, according to the U.K. Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Results of the top companies holding air travel organizers' licenses included profits of #86 million, but these were offset by a loss of #96 million for a net overall loss of `A210 million. The results of the top 30 operators tend to reflect the performance of the entire industry.
Consolidated Freightways said its net income declined to $11.5 million in the second quarter on revenues of $1.4 billion, compared with net income of $20.1 million on revenues of $1.3 billion during the same quarter a year ago. For six months, net income was $9.6 million, down sharply from $39.9 million. Revenues were $2.7 billion, up from $2.6 billion. Second quarter operating income of subsidiary Emery Worldwide was $18.7 million on revenues of $476.3 million, compared with net income of $17.7 million on revenues of $433.4 million.
McDonnell Douglas is trying to recover money it paid into a fund to settle claims arising from the crash of a GE-powered United DC-10 jetliner in Sioux City, Iowa, filing a lawsuit in a St. Louis federal court reviving allegations that the crash stemmed from a poor engine design by GE and bad maintenance by United. "The agreement was, and still is, the most appropriate method for handling these claims," GE said yesterday, adding that the company "strongly denies" Douglas's allegations.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena and TWA President Jeffrey Erickson held discussions yesterday in Washington on the carrier's response to the crash of Flight 800. Pena asked Erickson what he has done to address reports of poor treatment of the relatives after the crash. Last week, Pena called Erickson to express his concern about the reports (DAILY, July 22).
Six U.S. carriers are pressing the U.S. to defer talks with the U.K. until the proposed American-British Airways alliance gets greater scrutiny from the Justice Department. "While we are all anxious for the United Kingdom to be added to the list of 'open skies' regimes, the pace and circumstances of negotiations cause us great concern," said the CEOs of Continental, Northwest, TWA, Delta, Tower and United in a letter to President Clinton. They said they were "concerned that ratification of open skies by the U.K. would be linked to a U.S.
The House overwhelmingly approved late Monday bills to require the sharing of airline pilot records, reauthorize the National Transportation Safety Board and require any person attempting to set a flying record to hold a pilot's license. The vote on the pilot records transfer bill (H.R.3536) was 401 to zero, and the vote on the NTSB reauthorization bill (H.R.3159) was 400 to zero. The House approved the bill related to flying records, known as the child pilot safety bill (H.R.3267) by a 395 to five vote.
Emirates Group of Dubai reported net income of $39 million for the fiscal year that ended March 31, down from $39.7 million in 1994-95. The group comprises Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates, which accounted for $22 million of the 1995-96 profit, and DNATA, the ground- handling and travel-management agent, which turned in $17 million. Emirates' income was down $3.9 million for the year while DNATA's rose $3.2 million.
The Interoceanic Regional Authority in Panama is searching for international firms to develop a tourism complex in Fort Amador, a U.S. military facility outside Panama City that will revert to Panamanian ownership in September. Fort Amador, a peninsula that extends into the Pacific entrance to the Panama Canal, is expected to be turned into a port of call for cruise lines. Plans include developing an 18-hole professional golf course, a cruise ship dock, hotels, villas and a yacht club.
