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Monday, June 7, 2004

Briefs

  • SkyWest Airlines [SKYW] will establish a maintenance base and crew domicile at Colorado Springs. The new facility will open on Aug. 1 and be fully operational by December. SkyWest mechanics will provide the overnight maintenance needed on the Bombardier [BBD] CRJ 200 and CRJ 700 jets it flies for both United Airlines [UALAQ] and Delta Air Lines [DAL]. SkyWest is leasing a hangar until its own space can be built. The carrier anticipates employing 135 maintenance personnel at the new site and basing up to 150 crew members there.
  • American Eagle and American Airlines [AMR] have agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine to settle a complaint lodged against the airlines by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The government alleged that the carriers violated rules concerning maintenance, flight operations, training, safety and record- keeping. In agreeing to the settlement, the carriers admitted no wrongdoing but settled to put the matter behind it. The allegations date back to the late 1990s and do not reflect the company's current behavior.
  • Air Midwest, a unit of Mesa Air Group [MESA], recently won an essential air service contract to provide three daily flights from Pittsburgh International Airport to Lancaster, Pa. Flying as a US Airways Express carrier, Air Midwest will use a 19-passenger Beech 1900D for the route. The federal government will provide a $1.6 million annual subsidy. The service is to begin Sept. 5 and the contract is for at least two years. Air Midwest will replace Colgan Air, which pulled out of Lancaster more than a year ago.
  • Shuttle America is dropping its US Airways Express service out of Pittsburgh International Airport. Over the summer, it will gradually stop flying its Saab 340s to 12 different destinations. The final service is expected to be discontinued by Oct. 2. Other US Airways carriers will pick up some of the routes, but not all. US Airways [UAIR] will be downsizing its Pittsburgh operations from a hub to a "focus city" by the fall. At the same time, Shuttle America will shift 10 of its 19 planes into service as a United Express carrier as previously announced (CRAN, March 15). The Fort Wayne, Ind.-based carrier will fly out of Washington Dulles International Airport to 12 airports in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York.
  • Boeing Capital Corp., a unit of Boeing [BA],is selling its commercial financial services business to GE Commercial Finance. After the transaction, the Boeing unit will have a $10 billion portfolio of mostly Boeing aircraft. The deal will generate about $1.7 billion in cash for Boeing.
  • The U.S. Department of Transportation late last month issued the Air Travel Price Index for the fourth quarter of 2003. Airline fares rose 1.5 percent during that quarter compared to the same period of 2003. This marks the second straight quarterly increase in the index.
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