-T / T / +T | Comment(s)

Monday, June 14, 2004

Briefs

  • Maintenance technicians at ExpressJet Airlines [XJT] last week rejected a new contract with the airline. The carrier and the Teamsters had announced the tentative settlement on April 16. Their contract was due for amendment in February 2004. The group of 1,000 workers represents around 15 percent of the carrier's labor costs. ExpressJet will be negotiating a new payment rate with Continental Airlines to go into effect Jan. 1, 2005.
  • Mesa Air Group [MESA] has extended an open market stock repurchase program. First approved by the board in October 2002, the renewed authorization to buy up to 2 million shares does not have an expiration date. Since 2002, the company has purchased about 400,000 shares.
  • Atlantic Coast Airlines [ACA] and United Airlines [UALAQ] have been notified by the Federal Aviation Administration that both carriers may be fined for rule infractions. The FAA has proposed a $1.5 million fine for Atlantic Coast for not performing mandatory inspections of engines and airframes between May 1999 and February 2004. The carrier notified the FAA of the probable violations after its computerized maintenance tracking system was upgraded. United may be fined $1 million for flying a Boeing [BA] 777 without a working escape slide on 263 flights. Both carriers have 30 days to appeal the fines.
  • United Airlines'[UALAQ] code-share partners - Air Wisconsin, Chautauqua Airlines, Mesa Airlines [MESA], Republic Airlines, Shuttle America, SkyWest Airlines [SKYW] and Trans States Airlines - have jointly applied to the U.S. Department of Transportation to affix the codes of various Star Alliance members on their United Express flights. The regional carriers will be flying the United Express banner out of Washington Dulles and Chicago, replacing Atlantic Coast Airlines [ACA]. The application noted that many of the regional airlines did not have the rights to use foreign airline codes as Atlantic Coast has had.
  • A European regional airline, Blue 1, has joinedthe Star Alliance. The Finnish carrier is the first regional airline to join the international marketing group as a full member. The alliance includes United Airlines [UALAQ], Air Canada [ACNAQ] and Lufthansa [DLAKY]. A second regional, Adria Airways of Slovenia, last week applied for membership in this alliance. It anticipates becoming a member by November.
  • Continental Airlines [CAL] and Northwest Airlines [NWAC] have applied to join SkyTeam, an international marketing alliance lead by Delta Air Lines [DAL] and Air France. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, now part of Air France, has taken the lead in joining SkyTeam. Both Continental and Northwest had a previous alliance with KLM to market and code-share international flights. The three carriers would gain full membership in SkyTeam in September. At this point, none of Continental's or Northwest's regional code-share partners have applied to use the SkyTeam member codes on their flights.
blog comments powered by Disqus