GATX Corp. reported yesterday that earnings for the first quarter slid to $24.7 million from $25.7 million in the 1995 first quarter, while revenues rose to $303.6 million from $290.8 million. However, the company said four of its five operations are "on their way to record years."
Gains in transatlantic and domestic operations spurred U.S. major airlines to their best fourth quarter results since 1988, excluding the 1993 quarter when TWA took a favorable $1 billion non-operating accounting adjustment, according to DOT's Airline Quarterly Financial Review, released Tuesday. Domestic operating results were up $664.5 million to a positive $418 million, and net results grew $1.12 billion to a positive $79.1 million, propelling systemwide operating results into the black.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pairs Markets Over 750 Miles O&D Passengers The Year 1995 Long 1995 Average Haul Markets Non-Stop Passengers Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day 1 3 Los Angeles - New York 2,467 7,401 2 6 Miami - New York 1,097 5,736
American Automobile Association will hold its 93rd annual meeting April 30- May 1 in San Francisco. The agenda includes a discussion on the condition of America's transportation network. Martin Shugrue, president of the new Pan Am, is among the speakers.
Expenditures generated by the group tour industry in North America rose 11.4% in 1995 over the previous year to $10 billion, according to the National Tour Association (NTA). The revenue impact in the U.S. alone was $8.6 billion, up 8.8%, and in Canada $1.5 billion, a 29.1% increase from 1994. The figures are from the 1995 Economic Impact Study of Leisure Travelers and Group Tour Takers, a joint study by the NTA and the International Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus. Tour companies in the U.S.
Air Travel Card topped $9.5 billion in billings in 1995, up from $8.5 billion in 1994. The company said the numbers show it has "solidified" its ranking as the second highest corporate card worldwide for air travel billings, and is one of the preferred travel payment systems in Europe and the Far East. Billings for foreign airlines that issue the card through the brand names AirPlus in Europe and Passage in the Far East were up 25% in 1995.
Continental and World Airways are planning to begin code-share services this summer from Newark after receiving DOT approval for the flights. The two will begin services to Dublin-Shannon June 6, Tel Aviv June 8, and Johannesburg, via Dakar, Senegal, June 23. The code-share agreement still is subject to approval from the governments of Israel and South Africa.
MCI Telecommunications and Midwest Express will offer five frequent flyer miles on the carrier for every dollar spent on long-distance telephone calls, effective May 1. Eligible MCI services include calls, the MCI card, MCI Paging, 1-800-COLLECT calls and personal 800 number calls. It is offering 500 bonus miles for enrollment.
International Association of Convention&Visitor Bureaus is offering an online CVB job opportunities site on the Internet, at http://www.iacvb.org. Cost to list a job opening is $75 a month for IACVB members and $175 for non-members; hotels and convention centers are subject to other rates. To list a job, call Josh Gold, 202-196-7888.
Shangri-La Hotels&Resorts is offering Internet users a chance to win a trip to its hotels in Hong Kong and Singapore on Cathay Pacific Airways. Contestants must complete a puzzle on the Internet site, and correct entries automatically are collected for a drawing in late August. The web site can be found at http://www.shangri-la.com.
Carnival Air Lines will locate its new international reservations center in Cape Coral, Fla. With financial incentives from the Lee County Office of Economic Development and the Cape Coral Economic Development Office, Carnival intends to open the center in July and employ more than 100 people by winter. The center will handle calls from around the world 24 hours a day. Carnival's Fort Lauderdale center will not be affected by the opening.
FAA officials, analyzing Wilcox's response to the agency's cure letter on problems in the $500 million Wide Area Augmentation System program, may decide this week whether the company has satisfied its concerns about the contract.Under FAA's new procurement rules, the decision will be made at the program management level, sources said.
FAA's response to a National Transportation Safety Board recommendation following the uncontained failure of a General Electric engine on an A300 is not satisfactory, the safety board said. The board recommended that FAA require repeated inspections of the engines with maximum intervals between inspections of fewer than 4,000 cycles.
KLM said Airlines Deputy President Kees den Hartog will retire at the end of this year for personal reasons. He will be replaced on KLM's board of directors by Cees van Woudenberg, executive VP-personnel and organization.
Low-fare new entrant carriers spurred passenger growth and more than $6 billion in customer savings last year, especially in California and the southwestern U.S., according to DOT's newly published study of startups. "Last year, an incredible 47 million new passengers flew because of low- fare carriers.
Amadeus and Utell have renewed their marketing agreement for hotel bookings on the computer reservations system. The contract covers properties not bookable under Utell's corporate code, including Utell Private Labels, such as Golden Tulip Worldwide, Thistle Mount Charlotte and Summit International Hotels. Markets in Italy, Argentina and Brazil have been added to the main European markets. Amadeus said Utell will establish global distribution help desks for agents and provide better customer service through other improvements.
UPS said its daily volume increased 11.7% in the first quarter to 1.6 million express packages and documents. Domestic volume grew 11.2% and international business 16.3%.
Midwest Express Holdings has appointed Carol Skornicka VP, general counsel and secretary, effective June 1. She currently is secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor and Human Relations. Skornicka also will be the company's corporate secretary.
Unanticipated maintenance costs, advertising its Florida service and higher fuel prices and taxes all drove up Southwest's first quarter costs, leaving it with a $33 million net profit, well over first quarter 1995 levels but lower than first quarter 1994. The carrier earned 22 cents per share for the quarter, up from 8 cents last year. Costs increased 19.7% to $715.14 million while revenue jumped 24.4% to $772.53 million.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Under 750 Miles O&D Passengers Fourth Quarter 1995 Short Total Average Haul Markets Non-Stop Passengers Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day 1 1 Chicago - New York 723 8,025 2 3 Honolulu - Kahului 100 7,181
Allied Pilots Association at American, after studying the history of startup carriers since deregulation and their success rate, has concluded that they have little impact on major carriers. Faced with accepting lower wages in contract talks from management that says it must become more cost- competitive, APA says startups' track records are "dismal" - only one, ValuJet, has reported quarterly profits - and their impact on major carriers is minimal. APA included only airlines that started and intended meaningful levels of primarily scheduled jet service.
Strong international growth, coupled with healthy domestic fares and good traffic volume in the U.S., led United to a $76 million first quarter profit, a 28.8% increase from first quarter 1995 levels. On a per-share basis, the carrier had earnings of $1.99, up 32.7%. Earnings include a $29 million charge taken to pay down debt. Operating revenues jumped 12%, or $401 million, to $3.74 billion. Yield climbed 5.7% to 12.22 cents, and revenue per available seat mile was 9.57 cents, which President John Edwardson said was one of the highest in the industry.
Carriers serving Atlanta Hartsfield are firming up service enhancement plans for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games - mostly modest equipment upgrades or increased service from major hubs. The exception is Delta, the official airline of the Olympics, which said it will offer more capacity per day than any airline ever offered to and from Olympic events - 200,000 seats.
DOT is calling for interested U.S. carriers to apply for new third-country code-share opportunities for service between the U.S. and Poland. Initialed last month, amendments to the U.S.-Poland air services agreement open the market to such services on a phased basis through 1998 with some limitations (DAILY, March 26). Between Nov. 1, 1996, and March 31, 1997, two carriers may operate the flights, providing up to 14 frequencies per week, no more than seven of which may be flown by either airline; from April 1, 1997, though Oct.
