India's Civil Aviation Ministry has imposed a blanket ban on the use of foreign airlines by federal and state officials for work-related trips abroad, ministry officials said last week. Travel on national carrier Air- India has been made mandatory for such trips, they said. The ministry also will urge privately owned and run Indian firms to encourage their executives to travel Air-India. An official notification to this effect is expected to be issued by the office of newly appointed Civil Aviation Minister C.M. Ibrahim.
Airbus Industrie supervisory board decided yesterday in Paris to restructure the consortium as a private company. The board wants to reach a binding agreement to make the transition from Airbus's current status as a groupement d'inter`90t economique (GIE) by the end of the year and to complete the transaction by 1999.
Western Pacific's June traffic rose 156.2% to 128.7 million revenue passenger miles from 50.2 million in June 1995. Its available seat miles increased 169.9% to 233 million from 82 million, for a dip in load factor to 57.7% from 60.7%. WestPac carried 150,168 passengers, a 120% increase from last June.
Litton Industries said yesterday that the U.S. court of appeals in Los Angeles upheld its appeal in patent-infringement litigation against Honeywell. Honeywell said it was "surprised and disappointed" by the reversal, and it will pursue "all appellate remedies," including the Supreme Court, if necessary. The reversal was a split decision by a three- judge panel.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses Fourth Quarter 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American 1,178,457,000 10.82 1,008,565,000 Atlantic 510,603,000 15.31 421,582,000 Latin 578,050,000 7.19 510,933,000
DOT issued a show cause order last Friday tentatively imposing sanctions against a Colombian carrier, either Avianca or ACES, prohibiting daily nonstop service by the airline between New York or Miami and Bogota. Slated to become effective July 15, the action comes after three days of talks between the U.S. and Colombia failed to resolve a dispute between the Colombian government and American (DAILY, June 24).
British Airways is welcoming scrutiny by the U.S. Justice Department of its alliance with American. "We want them [DOJ] to get into it so we can have them look at the deal and get the investigation over with," a BA spokesman said. DOJ acknowledged it is reviewing the proposal. "It is a standard review of the competitive implications" of the proposed arrangement, said Bill Brooks, a Justice Department spokesman. BA and American also will be offering testimony tomorrow before the U.K.
DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo announced her resignation in a letter to President Clinton dated July 3, effective yesterday. While she served as IG for nearly six years, "the Office of Inspector General has made findings of approximately $5 billion and has amassed approximately 1,000 criminal convictions," said Schiavo. "My mission has always been to protect the people of the United States." Quoting Schiavo's staff assistant, AP said Schiavo was looking to speak and write and probably work as a lawyer.
United's traffic grew 4.2% in June, compared with June 1995, on a 1.8% increase in capacity. The load factor for the month was 77.3%, up 1.8 percentage points, while the number of passengers rose 2.5%. For the first half of the year, traffic grew 5.3% on a capacity increase of 3.2%. The load factor for the period was 70.9%, up 1.4 points, while the number of passengers carried increased 4.2%. June 96 June 95 6 Mths 96 6 Mths 95 RPMs 10,546,340,000 10,122,012,000 56,138,888,000 53,294,646,000
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines said its preliminary traffic results for June show a 1% decrease in revenue passenger miles to 32.4 million. Available seat miles rose 4.9% to 64.1 million and the load factor dropped three points to 50.6%. Kerry Skeen, chief executive, said traffic in June was adversely affected by thunderstorms in the East. But second quarter traffic shows a 4.6% increase in RPMs and an 11.3% rise in ASMs, resulting in a 3.1-point load factor decline.
TWA's traffic grew 13.8% last month on an 8.2% increase in capacity. The load factor climbed 3.7 percentage points to 74.7%, while the number of passengers carried increased 11.5%. For the first half of the year, TWA's traffic grew 11.1% on a capacity boost of 7.1%. The load factor gained 2.4 points to 66.8%. The number of passengers increased 11.3%. June 96 June 95 6 Mths 96 6 Mths 95 RPMs 2,651,300,000 2,330,100,000 12,948,800,000 11,659,200,000
Northwest's traffic has been surging and June was no exception. Last month, the carrier's traffic shot up 12% on an 8.5% capacity increase. The load factor grew 2.5 percentage points to 79.5%, while the number of passengers carried increased 7.6%. For the first half of 1996, the carrier's traffic was up 11.7%, compared with the same period in 1995, on an 8% increase in capacity. Load factor for the period was up 2.4 points to 72.6%. The number of passengers boarded by the carrier grew 7.9%.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Revenues and Expenses The Year 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues America West 1,543,431,622 9.89 1,426,071,984 American 10,860,658,000 2.16 9,249,079,000 Continental 4,218,336,000 4.75 3,718,157,000
IATA plans to file at the U.S. DOT, the European Commission and other international governments in the next few weeks two agreements outlining changes in the implementation of the Warsaw Convention concerning airline liability. After gaining the signatures of about 50 international carriers on the 1995 IATA Intercarrier Agreement on major changes to implementation of the Warsaw Convention airline liability, IATA said the airlines have moved to the second stage - bringing into force the Measures of Implementation Agreement.
British Airways is holding talks with its pilots union today in an effort to head off a strike by the powerful union later this month. The pilots' union, the British Airline Pilots Association, has threatened to impose a strike at the carrier July 16 if BA does not agree to increase compensation for its members. The carrier plans to hold its annual shareholders meeting on that date. BA said it agreed to a request by the union to hold a new round of negotiations.
Pratt&Whitney yesterday described as "unique" the engine fracture on a Delta MD-88 Saturday that proved fatal to two passengers when uncontained engine parts penetrated the cabin. The National Transportation Safety Board is looking at the fan hub of the JT8D-219 engine. "According to the physical evidence thus far, the fracture seems to be up in the fan area," the Pratt spokesman said. "The fracture of the fan hub is unique, something we have never seen before," he said.
Kiwi executives met yesterday in New York with "high-level" FAA Eastern Region officials. The carrier wants to restore some of the flights it cut last month, following FAA's suggestion to reduce its schedule 25%.
Reno Air's traffic increased 42% in June to 269.4 million revenue passenger miles, while capacity gained 33% to 1.298 billion available seat miles. The load factor rose 4.2 points from June 1995 to 68%. For the second quarter, RPMs jumped 55% and ASMs 43%, while the load factor increased to 65.8%. President and Chief Executive Robert Reding said the carrier is pleased with the performance of its new service to Denver and Colorado Springs, as well as its expanded service to Alaska and Orange County, Calif.
Continental's load factor slipped slightly in June as capacity outpaced traffic growth. Capacity grew 2.6% for the month, compared with June 1995, while traffic increased 2.4%. Load factor for the month was 70.8%, down from 70.9%. For the first half of the year, Continental's traffic was up 2.3% on a 4.7% decline in capacity, lifting the load factor 4.7 percentage points to 68.2%, from 63.5%. June 96 June 95 6 Mths 96 6 Mths 95 RPMs 3,624,847,000 3,541,238,000 20,284,433,000 19,824,599,000
ValuJet said yesterday it has submitted part of its schedule for resuming service to FAA. Late last week, the carrier submitted Phase 1 of the plan and is now awaiting feedback from the agency. The carrier said that Jim Jensen has joined the company in the newly created position of senior VP- maintenance and engineering. Jensen, mostly recently VP-product support for Douglas Aircraft, will supervise daily maintenance and engineering operations and report directly to President Lewis Jordan.
American's traffic grew 2.4% in June on a 2.1% decline in capacity and the rest of the summer is looking good, an airline executive said (DAILY, July 8). "June was a strong traffic month for American. The outlook for the rest of the summer is equally encouraging," said Michael Gunn, senior VP- marketing. The load factor for the month was up 3.2 percentage points to 72.6% from 69.4%, and the number of passengers boarded grew 0.3%. For the first six months of the year, American's traffic was up 2.8%, compared with the same period in 1995.
TWA will begin recalling 153 furloughed mechanics to its Kansas City overhaul base. The carrier said it has been reviewing its staffing requirements at the city, an issue raised during meetings with employees at Kansas City last week.
- S.1671 - introduced April 15 by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) - a bill to provide for cockpit voice recorders and flight data recorders on non-combat aircraft of the Armed Forces. Referred to the Armed Services Committee. - H.R.3263 - introduced April 17 by Rep. Harry Johnston (D-Fla.) - to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Street Act of 1968 to establish a national clearinghouse to assist in background checks of law enforcement applicants. Judiciary.
Delta's traffic moved up 13.2% in June, giving the carrier its strongest month ever for load factor and traffic. With the Olympics coming to Atlanta this month, Delta expects traffic to soar even higher than in 1992, when airlines unleashed a traffic frenzy with a half-price sale. Capacity grew just 3.1%, while the load factor climbed 6.9 percentage points to 76.7%. The number of passengers grew 14.02%. For the first half of the year, the carrier's traffic grew 8.6% on a 1% jump in capacity. The load factor was up 4.8 percentage points to 69.3%.
