DOT has issued a show cause order tentatively terminating the subsidy for essential air service at Anniston, Ala. The order would allow Gulfstream International Airlines to suspend its service there as of June 1. Gulfstream had filed a 90-day notice of intent to suspend the service at the community Nov. 27, 1995, saying it planned to halt service at the community Feb. 27. However, DOT held in Gulfstream and requested applications for replacement service.
Japan Airlines expects its first female pilot to be flying this year. The carrier says it will assign Tomoko Azuma to a 747 aircraft after she completes training in the fall.
Bad weather, higher fuel costs and instability in Israel combined to lift Tower Air Inc.'s first quarter operating loss 97.6% to $13.14 million, up from $6.65 million in the first quarter of 1995. The carrier suffered a net loss of $8.13 million for the quarter, or 53 cents per share (DAILY, April 2). Operating revenue rose 4.5% to $85.82 million, but total expenses climbed more, by 11.5% to $98.96 million. Operating cost per available seat mile jumped 15.4% to 5.53 cents.
Delta intends to hire 90 full-time and 75 part-time customer service employees at its Cincinnati hub by summer as it reorganizes airport operations and purchases new ground-handling equipment. The new hires will be in addition to the 650 airport customer service agents Delta announced it would hire, mostly in Atlanta but also throughout its system. The carrier will hire an additional 145 reservations sales agents at its Cincinnati reservations center.
Lufthansa and South African Airways, whose code-sharing agreement started up April 29, are operating flights among five destinations - Frankfurt, Munich, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Dusseldorf was to be included, but the recent fire at the airport postponed the service. The code-sharing flights were scheduled to start April 1 but were delayed four weeks so technology issues could be resolved, Lufthansa said. Additional code-share destinations in Europe and southern Africa are expected later. The carriers linked their frequent flyer programs April 1.
National Transportation Safety Board has added pilot screening to its "Most Wanted" improvements in transportation safety. The board said it addressed this issue four times in the last eight years and has recommended that FAA require airlines to conduct background checks on new pilots. The board found that the issue was involved in four fatal accidents - an American Eagle crash Dec. 13, 1994, landing at Raleigh/Durham, killing 20 persons; a Scenic Air Tours crash April 22, 1992, in mountainous terrain in Maui, Hawaii, with eight fatalities; an Aloha Islandair crash Oct.
The Michigan Bureau of Aeronautics is urging DOT to hold in Great Lakes Aviation's essential air service at Ironwood, Mich. The United Express carrier had announced its intention to halt July 1 its Beech 1900 service from the community to Minneapolis/St. Paul (DAILY, April 19).
The industry's first two MD-11ERs are performing better than expected, according to World Airways Chairman Charles Pollard.Fuel burn is 3% better than the carrier estimated it would be. World, which took the two jets in March, is operating one for the U.S. Air Force from Los Angeles to the Pacific and hopes to market the other to an Asia/Pacific carrier after its lease to Garuda Indonesia expires.
FAA is preparing to use air traffic controllers to take over duties from the National Weather Service on Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) without proper training, according to Barry Krasner, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association. FAA had no immediate reply.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Rental Expenses Fourth Quarter 1995 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 63,747,154 16.91 American 295,887,000 7.26 Continental 162,860,000 14.08
ValuJet Airlines initiated service this week to New York LaGuardia, Mobile, Ala., and Fort Walton Beach, Fla., from Atlanta. It is operating five daily flights to New York, three to Mobile and two to Fort Walton Beach. One-way fares to New York start at $89, and to the other two cities at $39. The 21-day advance purchase requirement for the lowest price will be waived for travel completed by May 22.
Mesaba Holdings' code-sharing agreement with senior partner Northwest - fixed rate per available seat mile - takes Mesaba out of the yield- management business and also means that the Airlink partner no longer has to compete with its senior partner, and 30% owner, for revenues. "They control the [passenger seat] inventory and that lets us do what we do best - fly airplanes," said a Mesaba spokesman. "And it takes the risk out of a fare sale." He said the contract amendment provides incentives that will produce additional revenues.
Harbor Air, the venerable Puget Sound commuter that has served Whidbey Island and the San Juan islands for 25 years, has been sold to Crossings Aviation of Tacoma, Wash. Crossings is an aviation holding company with a charter airline, an aircraft fractional ownership division and an FBO and maintenance division. Harbor Air, one of the few successful lower-48 commuter carriers operating piston twins, four Piper Navajos, is a code- sharing partner with Alaska Airlines. Crossings will retain Harbor management and continue serving the airline's traditional markets.
Delta estimates it will save roughly $460 million in the next four years from the collective bargaining agreement with its pilots that went into effect May 1. The savings could go up or down depending on growth from its low-cost initiative or an underestimation of how many pilots will take early retirement.
Only 30 legislative days remain in the current session of Congress to resolve issues on how to finance FAA's fiscal 1997 budget request, the chairman and ranking minority member of the Senate Appropriations transportation subcommittee warned yesterday. Mark Hatfield (R-Ore.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) told FAA Administrator David Hinson that the agency and industry groups had better get together on a budget, because money from the aviation trust fund, being spent at $500 million a month by FAA, will run out soon.
FAA yesterday issued regulations that require operators of more than 4,400 commuter turboprops to recognize and exit certain freezing rain or drizzle conditions, but did not prohibit dispatch into known icing conditions as feared by many commuter operators. RAA had hoped FAA would to drop its rulemaking effort, saying that the proposed restrictions were an operational rather than an airworthiness issue (DAILY, March 29).
With U.S. and Chinese officials on hand, Northwest launched its Detroit- Beijing service this week, operating three roundtrip flights per week using 747-400 aircraft. DOT Secretary Federico Pea, local Michigan officials and Huang Dongbi, the consul general of the People's Republic of China, attended the service inauguration. Also present were Northwest Co-Chairman Alfred Checchi and a delegation from Air China, led by Wang Jiwu, the carrier's executive VP.
Southern Air Transport, which recently received two all-cargo frequencies from DOT for new U.S.-South Africa service, was mistakenly identified as Southern Air Cargo April 29 in The DAILY.
Boeing plans to start a dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan for shareholders in the third quarter. Owners of at least 50 shares who enroll in the plan can have dividends automatically invested in additional shares. Boeing said all shareholders can enroll in the stock purchase part of the plan by sending in a minimum of $100 for each purchase, up to a maximum of $100,000 a year. Purchases can be made twice a month. Cost for each reinvestment or cash purchase is $1 plus a proportionate share of the broker commission, expected to be five cents a share.
Hurt by stiff competition in Florida, Amtran, parent of American Trans Air, reported a $2.35 million net profit for the first quarter, a 50.9% decrease from the $5.4 million generated in the like 1995 period. The late delivery of two 727s and weaker fares for leisure travel dampened revenue, while bad weather and higher fuel prices drove up costs. Amtran predicted that during the second quarter and for the rest of the year, the company will derive a smaller portion of its revenues from Florida markets because of intense competition in that part of the country.
Tokyo Narita Airport authorities accomplished a breakthrough this week, winning agreement from a farmer, Kakichi Ogawa, to sell his land to make room for a second runway. Ogawa and seven other farmers have rejected offers for their properties for 30 years, and five of the seven remaining holdouts have begun discussions on a sale.
Aer Lingus restarted scheduled passenger service between Chicago and Ireland yesterday with an A330. It said it is the first carrier to operate an A330 in scheduled service from Chicago O'Hare Airport. It will fly the year-round service twice weekly to Dublin and Shannon, adding a third weekly flight June 2.
British Airways told aircraft manufacturers it has put on hold plans to purchase $1 billion worth of new regional jets, but it hinted the process could be restarted quickly. In January, the carrier asked five jet makers - Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, Airbus, Fokker and Avro - to bid on an order for up to 60 new aircraft seating 80 to 120 passengers (DAILY, Jan. 16). "Funding such a large project is a major decision and has significant implications for how the business will perform and how we will operate in the coming years," BA said in an internal memo.
SatoTravel has won a multimillion dollar contract to manage corporate group air service for IBM, effective Oct. 1. The seven-year contract is for planning travel for groups of 10 or more headed to the same location.
