September 19 Airline News
A Daily Look at the Airline Industry and the Nation’s Top Seven U.S. Airlines
Prepared by Chip Munn – Courtesy of www.chipsplace.com
Delays rippled throughout the nation's airline system because of flight interruptions in the Mid-Atlantic area
WASHINGTON (Times) - Hurricane Isabel grounded more than 2,000 flights yesterday, but caused only minor disruptions because of advance planning by airlines and their passengers.
Complete Story: http://www.washtimes.com/business/20030918-103503-7434r.htm
Travel conditions should be close to normal by Saturday
Airlines that moved planes and equipment away from airports in Isabel's path were moving them back on Friday
WASHINGTON (AP)- Plane and train schedules should be close to normal Saturday after the mess left by Hurricane Isabel, but some travelers will still be trying to finish what had turned out to be marathon trips.
Complete Story: http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/4108149.html
UAL gets extra time on recovery plan
Judge granted the company's request to push back the deadline to March 6, 2004
CHICAGO (UPI) - Troubled United Airlines got some extra time Friday from a Chicago bankruptcy judge to get its financial house in order.
Complete Story: http://www.washtimes.com/upi-breaking/20030919-014120-8562r.htm
Bankruptcy court OKs United's request for more time
Airline needs to sort out several issues before it files a restructuring plan
CHICAGO (AP) - A federal judge on Friday granted United Airlines another five months to submit a plan to get out of bankruptcy.
Complete Story: http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/6813302.htm
United Needs Issues Solved Before Filing
Company has no specific timetable to file the updated plan with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board
CHICAGO (Reuters) - United Airlines needs to resolve four major issues before filing an updated business plan to the federal government seeking loan guarantees, an executive said on Friday.
Complete Story: http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3477269
Mesa Air/United Jet Ops: Initially Serves 7 Cities
The agreement calls for the launch of 20 CRJ-700 planes by 2005
PHOENIX (Dow Jones) - Mesa Air Group Inc. began its regional carrier partnership with UAL Corp.'s United Airlines with the flight of the 64-passenger CRJ-700 jet.
Complete Story: http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030919/1540000675_1.html
Continental Airlines to cut seating capacity
CEO: "We haven't seen any change in the business component and that's why we deferred deliveries of airplanes"
HOUSTON (Bloomberg News) - Continental Airlines Inc., the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, said yesterday that it expects to cut seating capacity this year by 2.5 percent.
Complete Story: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/140313_continental19.html
Southwest will probably add another city to its route system in 2004
NEW YORK (Dow Jones) - Southwest Airlines Co. Chief Financial Officer Gary Kelly said the low-cost airline has seen "pretty decent" bookings in September, but no material improvement in the percentage of business fares it sells compared with discounted rates.
Complete Story:
http://biz.yahoo.com/djus/030919/1410000630_1.htmlUS Airways warns hub demise will hurt region
US Airways paid for the study completed by the Campbell-Hill Aviation Group Inc., an Alexandria, Va.-based private consulting firm
WASHINGTON (USA Today) - Western Pennsylvania could lose 16,800 jobs and $1.8 billion annually if US Airways pulls its hub from the Pittsburgh International Airport, an economic impact study released by the airline said, and it's unlikely that the region could lure another air carrier to fill the void.
Complete Story: http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003/09/19-usair.htm
Airline won't pledge jobs
Roddey has called for the airline to offer at least 150 big-jet flights a day and about 350 daily MidAtlantic flights
PITTSBURGH (Tribune-Review) - US Airways enticed state and local negotiators by telling them how many daily flights and jobs it will offer at Pittsburgh International Airport if its cost to do business there is lowered.
Complete Story: http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/news/s_155796.html
The meeting ended with no statement, and, presumably, with no agreement
PITTSBURGH (Post-Gazette) - US Airways did finally get back to Pennsylvania Wednesday on the state's June 11 offer to put $263.9 million toward trying to keep Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as hubs. At the same time, the airline is asking for $600 million above the state's offer, and Pittsburgh, at least, is trolling more and more actively for a successor to the money-losing airline.
Complete Story:
http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20030919edusairwaysforum3p3.asp
US Airways seeking tax increases
Airline's plan to cut debt won't fly, lawmaker says
The long-awaited us Airways proposal for maintaining its hub at Pittsburgh International Airport calls for increasing hotel, sales and car rental taxes to cut $500 million in debt.
Complete Story: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/03263/224100.stm
Airport: US Airways' exit is not as traumatic as past departures
US Airways may return to Lansing once it has acquired passenger jets for regional service
LANSING (State Journal) - US Airways Express' decision to end service to Capital City Airport is one of the less painful airline departures in recent years.
Complete Story: http://www.lsj.com/opinions/editorials/030919_eds1_(airport)_10a.html
US Airways Operational Update Following Hurricane Isable
Flexible Travel Policy in Place to Help Ease Customer Concerns
ARLINGTON (PRNewswire-FirstCall) - US Airways, US Airways Express and US Airways Shuttle have cancelled approximately 200 flights today in the wake of Hurricane Isabel. Operations at three airports in Virginia have been suspended for part of the day.
Complete Story: http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/030919/dcf004_1.html
US Airways resumes operations at all airports following hurricane Isabel
Flexible Travel Policy Extended Through Weekend
ARLINGTON (USAirways.com) - US Airways has restored operations at all airports it serves, following the effects of Hurricane Isabel. US Airways also has extended its flexible travel policy for customers booked to travel through Sept. 21, 2003.
Complete Story: http://usairways.com/about/press/nw_03_0919b.htm
Shuttle America working on plan
FORT WAYNE (The News-Sentinel) - Shuttle America was still working on a debt restructuring plan Wednesday that could prevent the Fort Wayne-based commuter airline from folding.
Complete Story:
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/business/6803799.htmAir France and KLM deal delayed
Both airlines would be jointly owned by a single holding company, with each airline retaining its own brand and logo, if Air France's plan for combining the carriers works out
PARIS (International Herald Tribune) - Air France and KLM dashed hopes of what appeared to be an imminent partnership Wednesday, saying "critical points" remained to be resolved before the Dutch carrier could be brought into the broader SkyTeam alliance.
Complete Story: http://www.iht.com/articles/110300.html
Air France-KLM deal set
Many analysts expect Air France to ultimately swallow up its two smaller rivals if the partnership goes ahead
ROME (Gulf Daily News) - Air France and KLM are set to strike an alliance deal within two weeks, a source close to Italy's Alitalia said yesterday, reigniting hopes of a merger to create Europe's biggest airline.
Complete Story: http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/Articles.asp?Article=61987&Sn=BUSI
US Airways Tidbits
Shuttle America News
ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - Fort Wayne-based US Airways Express marketing partner Shuttle America and its pilots union have reached a tentative agreement to replace a contract proposal earlier rejected by the airline’s pilots. Ballots for the new proposal were sent to pilots late Wednesday afternoon and the results are expected by next Tuesday. Shuttle America operates as a regional carrier for US Airways with more than 350 employees, including approximately 100 pilots. The pilot agreement is the last piece of the airline’s restructuring plan following a Chapter 11 filing in April 2001. Shuttle America emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2002 when it was sold for $1.4 million to Shuttle Acquisition Corp., a unit of Greenwich, Conn.-based Wexford Capital LLC, as part of the reorganization plan. Shuttle America had reached agreements with Saab, US Airways, Wexford and several other creditors on a reduction of its obligations and a restructuring of its debts, but those agreements were conditioned upon a positive vote on the pilot wage concessions.
Isabel's Wake
ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - US Airways, US Airways Express and US Airways Shuttle have cancelled approximately 200 flights today in the wake of Hurricane Isabel. Operations resumed today at Reagan National and Richmond. Norfolk service is expected to resume at 2 p.m., Eastern time. US Airways, US Airways Express and US Airways Shuttle cancelled nearly 640 flights yesterday. Work continues to reposition aircraft and operations are expected to return to normal by tomorrow morning. US Airways’ Crystal City headquarters is up and running today, although most of the businesses and schools, as well as state and federal government offices in northern Virginia, the District of Columbia and Maryland, remain closed and many homes are still without power, water and phone service. No employee injuries or aircraft damage was reported as a result of the storm, which has greatly dissipated and is winding its way up through Pennsylvania and New York and is expected to reach Canada by tomorrow. Other airline schedules impacted by yesterday and today’s cancellations span the continent, stretching from Montreal to Seattle and Mexico City. Amtrak also has cancelled or restricted much of its East Coast service due to the effects of the hurricane.
US Airways’ flexible travel policy, which allows customers to make changes to their itineraries without incurring standard change fees and advance reservation and ticketing requirements, is still in effect through today, for customers scheduled to travel to the following cities:
In South Carolina: Myrtle Beach;
In North Carolina: Fayetteville, Greenville, Jacksonville, New Bern, Raleigh/Durham and Wilmington;
In Maryland: Baltimore (BWI), Hagerstown, and Salisbury;
In Virginia: Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Shenandoah Valley, Washington’s Dulles and Reagan National airports;
In West Virginia: Greenbrier/Lewisburg.
United Wins Extension
ARLINGTON (theHub.com) - United Airlines won a five-month deadline extension for submitting its recovery plan to the bankruptcy court. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Eugene R. Wedoff in Chicago agreed to give United a second extension, which means the carrier has until March 6 the exclusive right to file a reorganization plan. This precludes creditors and others from submitting competing proposals. United said in its filing that it must resolve "numerous complex factors" to decide how best to exit bankruptcy, according to a Bloomberg News report. United plans to exit bankruptcy protection by mid-2004.
Separately, United will begin Saturday-only service to Cancun, Mexico, from its Washington Dulles hub on Feb. 14, 2004, pending U.S. and Mexican government approval. The move expands United's Latin American service from the Washington area, which currently includes daily flights to Mexico City, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The addition of Cancun service also complements United's other flights to Aruba; St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands; and San Juan, Puerto Rico. United will make flights available for purchase upon receiving the necessary authorizations from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Mexican government.
In other news, United Express partner Air Wisconsin will launch daily regional jet service this fall between Washington Dulles and St. Louis Lambert International Airport, and between Dulles and Kansas City International Airport. Beginning Oct. 4, these new United Express flights will facilitate convenient connections for travelers from St. Louis and Kansas City to the many U.S. domestic and international destinations served by United and United Express from Washington Dulles. The service will consist of three daily, round-trip flights from both St. Louis and Kansas City to Dulles using regional jets seating up to 50 customers.