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Monday, November 3, 2003

Briefs

  • Big Sky Airlines said its customers now are able to book tickets electronically. Travel agents on the Worldspan computer system should now be able to sell e- tickets on Big Sky, the airline said. "E-tickets have been the number one request by our customers," said Craig Denney, Big Sky's executive vice president. "We have been working hard to meet this need and are pleased the new system is in place."
  • A 50-seat Bombardier [Toronto: BBDb] regional jet operated by Air Canada [OTC: ACNAQ] made an emergency landing at Albany International Airport in New York on Oct. 12, airport officials said. The pilot reported problems with a pump in the jet's hydraulic system and decided to divert to Albany instead of its original destination, Newark, N.J., Air Canada spokeswoman Laura Cooke said. The plane carrying 27 passengers landed without incident, she said. While the plane taxied to the gate, one of the engines was shut down as a routine procedure. The aircraft was en route from Montreal. Air Canada sent another plane to carry the passengers to Newark, Cooke said. Airline personnel planned to examine the jet that made the emergency landing.
  • Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines (ASA) will open a new line maintenance operation in Columbia, S.C., this month. ASA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines [NYSE: DAL], initially will employ 13 mechanics for the new operation. Columbia Metropolitan Airport is an "ideal location" for ASA's maintenance operation because of the carrier's travel through Columbia from its Atlanta and Dallas/Ft. Worth hubs, said Anthony DiNota, ASA's vice president of maintenance and engineering. The new operation will accommodate four Bombardier [Toronto: BBDb] regional jets daily at a 2,800-square-foot facility that ASA will lease. ASA line mechanics working at Columbia will perform overnight aircraft inspections and repair other aircraft maintenance items. ASA employs more than 600 maintenance personnel at seven maintenance facilities in five states -- a 60,000-square-foot headquarters maintenance base in Macon, Ga.; a 39,000-square-foot base in Baton Rouge, La.; and line maintenance centers in Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Shreveport, La.; Montgomery, Ala.; and Ft. Walton Beach, Fla.
  • The legacy of Trans World Airlines dimmed Nov. 1 when American Airlines [NYSE: AMR] sharply cut its operations at TWA's old base in St. Louis. But the move could boost opportunities for regional carriers operating out of St. Louis. American's parent company said it would cut the number of daily St. Louis departures to 209 from 417 and fly to 68 destinations instead of 95. The cuts were initially announced in July (CRAN, July 21). Three-fourths of those flights will be on AmericanConnections, which will use 44-seat and 50-seat regional jets and turboprop planes, some seating 19 passengers. Three daily flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport will be flown by American Eagle on 37-passenger regional jets, and 53 daily flights will be on American's larger planes. American is trying to cut annual costs by $4 billion. American's parent company bought TWA out of bankruptcy in 2001. Following the flight reduction, St. Louis will be American's fourth-largest hub as measured by daily network departures, airline officials said.
  • ATR said it received ISO 9001-2000 and EN/AS/JISQ 9100 quality certifications for all of its activities relating to the ATR 42 and ATR 72 regional aircraft, including design, manufacturing, sales and service.
  • Ireland-based regional carrier Jetmagic will acquire a new ERJ-135 regional jet from Embraer [NYSE: ERJ]. The aircraft will bring the number of RJs operated by the carrier to three. In addition, Jetmagic took an option to purchase another ERJ-135 with the possibility of conversion to an ERJ-140 or ERJ-145.
  • Horizon Air, the eighth largest U.S. regional airline, has reached a tentative contract agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants, the union representing its flight attendants. Terms were not disclosed. The agreement is subject to ratification by the flight attendants but a vote had not been scheduled at press time.
  • Colgan Air, a code-share partner of US Airways [Nasdaq: UAIR], is adding two Saab 340s to its fleet. The aircraft, painted in US Airways Express colors, were scheduled to be delivered in October.
  • ExpressJet, a Continental Airlines [NYSE: CAL] code-share partner, reported net income of $27.8 million for the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up 29 percent compared to net income of $21.6 million in the year-ago period. It was the carrier's tenth consecutive quarter of improved earnings.
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