Lufthansa announced a pre-tax profit of 100 million Deutschmarks for the first half of 1996, down 47% from DM189 million in the same period in 1995. "Our transport volumes and results fell well short of our expectations," said Chairman Jurgen Weber. Lufthansa blamed the losses on discounting by government-subsidized carriers, such as Air France, and the impact of an April fire at Dusseldorf. The carrier said it has cut prices to match competitors since June and imposed a ceiling on hiring.
After a five-year absence from the market, British Airways has resumed service between London and San Diego. The daily flights operate via Phoenix with a DC-10 aircraft to London Gatwick Airport, where BA has been adding flights in recent months.
Air France has signed a contract to charter the Concorde to Concorde Spirit Tours for a special flight on New Year's Eve in 1999. The group will offer a trip enabling passengers to celebrate the new millennium in four different spots on Earth.
Cincinnati-based Comair this week launched jet service between Roanoke and Cincinnati with Canadair Jets and upgraded a second Cincinnati-Cedar Rapids flight to jet service. Comair, which has served Roanoke since 1984, upgraded one of its four daily flights in the market to the CRJ aircraft, effective July 1. On the same date, it upgraded a second of three daily flights to the CRJ service in the Cedar Rapids market. The first jet upgrade was made June 1.
Mesa Air Group flew 115.8 million revenue passenger miles in June, a 5.4% increase from June 1995, as capacity declined 0.8% to 195.7 million available seat miles from 197.4 million. Passenger boardings rose 0.6% to 562,071 from 558,702 in the prior period. For the first six months of the year, RPMs climbed 20.2% to 679.9 million from 565.4 million; ASMs rose 6.9% to 1.21 billion from 1.13 billion, and load factor rose 6.2 points to 56.1%. Enplanements increased 7% to 3,196,657.
The Senate is scheduled to begin consideration Monday of the small- business tax relief bill (H.R.3448), which includes reinstatement of aviation excise taxes through Dec. 31 (DAILY, June 14). In its report (Senate 104-281) on the bill, the Senate Finance Committee said a short- term extension of the excise taxes will provide needed revenues "while allowing a more complete review of the bases on which the excise taxes are calculated" once FAA completes a cost allocation study. The bill would reinstate the taxes seven days after enactment.
Telecommunications Act of 1996 will promote the proliferation of hazardous tall towers, primarily transmission and relay towers for cellular telephone and direct broadcast TV systems, by making it difficult for state and local governments to control their construction and location, according to Frank Jensen, president of Helicopter Association International. "Towers hundreds of feet tall can appear by the thousands, unannounced, within the next few years," Jensen said.
Boeing President Phil Condit said yesterday the company will try to broaden its market base by offering a long-range business version of its new 737-700 in a joint venture with General Electric. GE Chairman John Welch said his company is the launch customer, with an order for two aircraft to be delivered in late 1998. While financial terms of joint venture were not disclosed, GE will be a minority participant. The Seattle-based joint venture will be led by Borge Boeskov, currently VP- product strategy for Boeing Commercial.
The European Tripartite Group (ETG) signed leases June 27 for the first two navigation transponders that will be used to broadcast European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service (EGNOS) signals to users. ETG, which comprises the European Space Agency, the European Commission and the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol), said the project will provide civil GPS or Glonass users on land, at sea or in the air with improved signal accuracy, integrity and availability.
America West has added Alamo Rent A Car to its Flight Fund frequent flyer program. Flight Fund members can earn 500 miles when they rent from Alamo in the U.S. or Europe.
British Airways this week began airing television ads that tout its new international first-class product. The 30-second TV spots, which run through July 7 during Wimbledon tennis coverage on NBC, highlight BA's unique sleeping modules that provide passengers with a private compartment and a seat that folds into a bed.
The 247 to 159 vote in the House last week to block funding for a study of the Age 60 rule (DAILY, July 1) is the final word "on what had evolved into a referendum on the mandatory retirement age for pilots," the Air Line Pilots Association said. "We view the House's overwhelming support as a tremendous victory and as closure on this issue," said ALPA President Randolph Babbitt. He commended Reps. Mac Collins (R-Ga.) and James Oberstar (D-Minn.) for shepherding the amendment through the House.
Western Pacific will begin service to Orlando, Fla., Sept. 6 from its Colorado Springs base, and to Ontario, Calif., Sept. 5. The introductory one-way fare to Orlando will be $99, to Ontario $59, and one-way coast-to- coast connecting fares will be $119. The tariffs are valid for travel Sept. 5-19. Orlando and Ontario bring to 22 the number of cities served by the low-fare carrier from Colorado Springs.
Sabreliner said it purchased, for $4 million, Turbotech Repairs, a components overhauler for Pratt&Whitney PT6 and PW100 engines and AlliedSignal auxiliary power units. Turbotech, the authorized maintenance center for the Allison 250 engine, reported sales of $4.8 million for last fiscal year.
Persisting social unrest is leading the Air France Group to consider giving up its plans to set up a European carrier, Air France Europe, based on the former Air Inter. The project "is strongly jeopardized by the persisting social crisis," said Alain Lamassoure, French minister of the budget and government spokesman. "We will have to consider, because it will be the only solution, the merger" of Air France and the former Air Inter, he said. At the same time, moves to axe 18 of Air France's European routes were met by strikes and heavy resistance from French workers.
America West is seeking an exemption to operate scheduled combination service between Phoenix and Acapulco, Mexico. The carrier proposes daily service beginning Nov. 22 on the route, using Boeing 737-300s. Noting that the air services agreement between the U.S. and Mexico permits single designation of U.S. carriers on the Phoenix-Acapulco route, America West points out that no U.S. carrier has been designated to serve it. (Docket OST-96-1491)
The Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) has asked DOT Secretary Federico Pena to ban smoking on all domestic flights and all service between the U.S. and foreign points. "The health hazards of environmental tobacco smoke, which are well documented, are even greater in the confines of an aircraft cabin," said AFA President Pat Friend. "Flight attendants, because of their position and duties, are particularly susceptible to these hazards," she said.
Kiwi International Air Lines said yesterday it has signed up Recovery Equity Investors (REI), San Mateo, Calif., to invest between $2 million and $10 million in Kiwi notes that are convertible into common stock. REI will retain a large stake in Kiwi and will be represented on its board. The amount of control it wields will depend on what stock options it exercises and how Kiwi performs financially, the carrier said.
DOT awarded new Ecuador service rights yesterday to Continental and American. The new service "will provide valuable new travel options in important South America markets, while adding momentum to the department's efforts to expand services to travelers and shippers in the U.S.-Ecuador market," said DOT Secretary Federico Pena. Continental was granted authority to operate daily Newark-Guayaquil service, via Panama City, beginning Dec. 12. The carrier plans to operate Boeing 757 aircraft on the service.
Gulfstream Vice Chairman Bryan Moss, in a cool reaction to Boeing's announcement of a new 737-700 business jet, noted yesterday that the Seattle giant has tried and failed before to find a business aircraft market for its commercial airliners. "We have seen it with various models, including the 707, the 727, the 757 and now with a version of the 737," Moss said. "Each time, when Boeing has gone to the market, companies have considered the size of those airliners and the infrastructure required to support them.
Wide Area Augmentation System requirements either stayed the same or were made more difficult when FAA's Satellite Program Office shifted the contract from Wilcox Electric to Hughes Aircraft Co., the program office said in a response to Wilcox's protest of the Hughes award. FAA terminated the Wilcox contract April 26 and awarded it to Hughes soon after, and Wilcox contends that the agency deleted or deferred many of the requirements when it did so.
Citing intensive price cutting, Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications has announced it will order a reduction in the number of flights operated between Taipei and Kaohsiung. The ministry has not yet said how extensive the reduction will be, but the plan already is meeting opposition from local travel agents, who say the intense competition among airlines serving the route has resulted in better service and sharply lower ticket prices. One-way tickets on the route, officially priced at US$51.25, currently are available for as little as US$18.20.
DOT has assessed civil penalties of $10,000 against Midway Airlines for violating the full disclosure requirements of regulations on fare advertisements. In a published ad, the carrier promoted new fares without disclosing that they were non-refundable and, in a television ad, listed certain fares without mentioning that passenger facility charges would be added, according to the DOT Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings. Saying that each ad appeared only once, Midway said it believes that no consumers were harmed.
