What's going on with the airlines....

[Kristie]

in a one day scoop of newclippings...

check this out!

JC's Updates on ALL the airlines....

interesting huh?!

[roz]

More news--some good, some bad, some scary, some ugly:

Plane lacked cockpit safety device By Alan Levin, USA TODAY

A commuter plane that crashed Tuesday in foggy, dark conditions in Missouri and killed 13 people was not equipped with a cockpit safety device that could have warned the pilots they were flying dangerously low, an airline official said Thursday.Federal Aviation Administration officials required in 2001 that "terrain avoidance warning systems" be installed by March of next year on all airline planes with six or more seats. Corporate Airlines, the operator of the Jetstream 32 plane in the Missouri crash, had not completed installing the warning devices on its fleet, said spokesman Brannan Atkinson. (Related story: Survivor recalls screams)The warning system has a computerized map of the world's terrain that lists every hill, radio tower and skyscraper. If pilots stray too low, a computerized voice automatically calls out: "Terrain! Terrain!" If pilots don't respond, it orders: "Pull up! Pull up!"Officials with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have not yet said why the Corporate Airlines plane crashed into a wooded area about 2 miles from Kirksville Regional Airport.But information released by investigators Thursday night is consistent with dozens of other crashes around the world in which pilots flying in poor visibility accidentally sink too low as they approach an airport and hit the ground.A crash of that type has never occurred on a plane equipped with the terrain warning system, which costs $25,000-$35,000 on small aircraft."It is one of the true breakthroughs in aviation safety," said Capt. John Cox, safety chairman for the Air Line Pilots Association. "If you're carrying passengers, it should be in the airplane."Corporate Airlines leased 17 of the 19-seat Jetstream 32 planes and flew under contract with American Airlines. The airline planned to install the devices on all its planes before the March 29 deadline set by the FAA, Atkinson said.Preliminary information from the plane's black box recorders indicates that nothing was wrong with the plane, said NTSB member Carol Carmody. The pilots descended as if they had no idea how close they were to crashing, according to the NTSB. Flying a plane into the ground during low-visibility conditions is the single biggest killer in aviation, according to accident statistics.An older version of the terrain warning system, which was installed on the Corporate plane, switches off when a pilot readies the plane for landing. Carmody said the pilots in the accident received no warning.Thirteen seconds before impact, Capt. Kim Sasse, who was flying the plane, said "field in sight" to indicate he could see the runway, Carmody said. Then the cockpit recorder captured the sounds of the plane hitting treetops. The tape stopped three seconds later.Sasse, 48, of Ramsey, N.J., and co-pilot Jonathan Palmer, 29, of Cincinnati had been on duty for 14 hours and 41 minutes, Carmody said. The investigation will examine whether fatigue contributed to the accident.Low clouds hovering 300 feet above the airport would have made it difficult to land the plane. The pilots were required to stay at least 356 feet above the ground until they could see the runway.


American to furlough up to 1,100 workers, pilots DALLAS (AP) ó

American Airlines, struggling with rising fuel costs and competition from low-fare carriers, will furlough up to 650 maintenance workers in Kansas City and St. Louis and up to 450 pilots, the company said in a memo given to employees Friday.The news came two days after Fort Worth-based AMR Corp., parent of American, reported that it lost $214 million from July through September and expected an even bigger loss in the fourth quarter.Jeff Brundage, the company's senior vice president of human resources, wrote in the memo obtained by The Associated Press that American has worked for months to "operate more efficiently and return to profitability.""Despite our success in lowering costs, some circumstances that greatly impact us, most notably fuel, are out of our control," Brundage said in the memo. "Unless things change significantly, we know we are in for a difficult winter."Tim Wagner, a spokesman for American, confirmed a memo went out to employees, but said Friday night he could not comment because the company has promised to tell employees about cost-cutting measures before discussing them publicly.Before Friday's memo, American had furloughed nearly 2,600 of its 11,000 pilots and more than 4,500 flight attendants, although it was recalling 610 attendants for international routes. The latest cuts would push the number of furloughed pilots above 3,000."We're not happy to lose pilots off the payroll or to put their careers in jeopardy," Capt. Denis Breslin, a spokesman for the Allied Pilots Association, said Friday night. "At the same time, we're also having a hard time overcoming the effects of high fees, historically low fares and historically high fuel prices that are out of control."A message left at the office of Jim Little, director of the air transport division of the Transport Workers Union of America, was not immediately returned Friday night.Along with employee cuts, American will shrink its domestic flight schedule by 5% in the first quarter of 2005, the memo said. Also, the company will implement a "simplification that ran this summer in Chicago" and "showed the potential to save millions."The airline plans to cut 300 to 400 maintenance positions in Kansas City, Mo., and 200 to 250 in St. Louis, along with an undetermined number of maintenance positions throughout the system, the memo said. Flight attendant levels will be adjusted through voluntary leaves starting in January.The company has cut 400 management and support staff positions this year and is evaluating further staffing reductions, the memo said.AMR on Wednesday reported a net loss of $214 million, or $1.33 a share, on $3.84 billion in revenues for the three-month period ending Sept. 30.American said it spent $342 million more on fuel last quarter than in the same three months of 2003 ó turning a potential profit into a loss. The price of jet fuel on spot markets along the Gulf Coast has jumped from 88.9 cents per gallon at the beginning of the year to $1.56 per gallon last week, according to the Department of Energy.The airline expects high fuel prices to continue in the fourth quarter, which is typically a slow travel period, leading to a "significantly larger" loss than that of the third quarter.Some carriers have partly insulated themselves from high fuel prices by taking options to buy fuel in advance at fixed prices. American could not do that because of its weak financial position, so it hedged only 9% of its fuel in the third quarter, compared to 80% by profitable Dallas-based Southwest Airlines.In trading Friday, AMR shares closed down 12 cents, or 1.81%, at $6.52 on the New York Stock Exchange. Copyright 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


US Airways Pilots Approve 18% Pay Cut
5-Year Deal Trims Days Off, Retiree Benefits
By Keith L. Alexander
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, October 22, 2004; Page E01
US Airways pilots yesterday approved a five-year, cost-cutting contract that will reduce their pay about 18 percent and save the airline about $1.8 billion over five years, the union said.
The union's ratification means the pilots are exempt from the 21 percent, across-the-board employee pay cut that a bankruptcy court judge last week imposed through February.
Of 2,926 pilots who cast ballots, 1,690, or 58 percent, voted to ratify the contract and 1,236 voted against it, the union said. The US Airways chapter of the Air Line Pilots Association has 3,291 members.
The biggest opponents of the contract were members based in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, two of the airline's largest hub operations. Of pilots based at Reagan National Airport, 73 percent voted in favor of the agreement.
"This agreement provides us with the means to survive, emerge from bankruptcy as a formidable competitor, and ultimately prosper in even the most challenging of economic environments," said Bill Pollock, head of the US Airways pilots union.
The agreement reduces retirement benefits, increases work hours largely by trimming vacation and sick days, and eliminates retiree medical coverage. The contract saves the airline at least $300 million a year through Dec. 31, 2009. The union projects that the annual savings will escalate over the term of the contract because of the longer work hours and other improvements in productivity.
The contract is a major boost to US Airways Group Inc., which is trying to cut its long-term labor costs by $950 million a year to transform itself into a profitable low-cost, low-fare airline.
The Arlington-based airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month for the second time in two years after failing to reach agreement on labor contracts up for renewal.
"Our pilots have demonstrated their leadership in working with us as we transform US Airways into a successful and competitive airline. We appreciate their thoughtful and careful consideration of the very difficult issues that will soon confront virtually every one of our legacy competitors as well," US Airways said in a statement.
Rising fuel prices and the growth of lower-fare carriers such as JetBlue Airways Corp., AirTran Holdings Inc. and Southwest Airlines Co. have forced many of the traditional hub-and-spoke carriers such as US Airways to dramatically reduce their own costs to survive.
US Airways held negotiations with its flight attendants union earlier this week. The airline is scheduled to meet with its mechanics next week, said US Airways spokesman David Castelveter.

US Air Pilots Vote to Take 18% Pay Cuts
By MICHELINE MAYNARD


Pilots at US Airways have voted in favor of giving $300 million in annual wage and benefit concessions to the struggling airline, becoming the first major labor group to accept permanent cuts, the union representing pilots said yesterday.
US Airways made its second bankruptcy protection filing in two years on Sept. 12. Last week, a Federal Bankruptcy Court in Alexandria, Va., granted the airline's bid for emergency pay cuts of 21 percent, and other benefit reductions, for its union workers. Without the cuts, US Airways said, it could cease operating by mid-February.
Pilots at other airlines are facing similar efforts to reduce pay and benefits. Delta Air Lines, which is trying to avoid joining US Airways in reorganization, is pushing its pilots for $1 billion in wage and benefit cuts.
United Airlines, which has been in bankruptcy protection since December 2002, said last week that it would soon outline plans to nullify its labor contracts and replace them with less-expensive pacts. Last year, United's parent, the UAL Corporation, obtained concessions worth $2.5 billion a year from its unions.
US Airways pilots voted 58 percent in favor of the contract, a wider margin than some analysts had expected. The vote means members of the Air Line Pilots Association, which represents 3,200 active and laid-off US Airways pilots, are exempt from the emergency cuts.
Instead, their pay will be cut 18 percent a year, a total of $1.8 billion in savings for the airline through 2010. The new contract will also sharply reduce US Airways' contribution to the pilots' retirement plan, eliminate health care benefits for pilots after they retire, and increase the number of hours that pilots must fly each month.
Approval came despite the rejection of the contract by pilots in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, two of US Airways' three hubs, the other being Charlotte, N.C.
In both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, 52 percent of the pilots voted against the contract. Leaders of those pilots had blocked an effort in September to send an earlier proposal to a vote.
They were especially angered by the reduction in retirement benefits, which had already been cut sharply in the airline's first bankruptcy filing.
In recent days, the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia pilot leaders stepped up efforts against the tentative contract, arguing that pilots could get a better deal if negotiations resumed.
But other officials of the union disagreed. They pointed out that US Airways had held back on starting the emergency pay cuts while the pilots voted.
Had the contract been rejected, the emergency cuts would have been applied immediately, retroactive to Oct. 15. And, these leaders maintained, it was likely that any subsequent contract would be worse than the one presented to pilots for a vote.
Pilots based in New York, Boston, Washington and Charlotte favored the contract, the union said, enough to win its approval.
"While the burden that the US Airways pilots have agreed to shoulder is immense, this vote signifies that our pilots acknowledge the pain and sacrifice that is required to address the reality of our situation," said Bill Pollock, a US Airways captain who is chairman of the union's master executive council.
In a statement, the airline said: "Our pilots have demonstrated their leadership in working with us as we transform US Airways into a successful and competitive airline. We appreciate their thoughtful and careful consideration of the very difficult issues that will soon confront virtually every one of our legacy competitors as well."
US Airways executives have repeatedly said they hope to reach agreements with other unions representing flight attendants, mechanics and reservations agents. Analysts said the approval by the pilots could lead to movement in contract negotiations.
But the urgency of getting new contracts was diminished by the judge's decision to impose emergency cuts for the next four months, said Robert W. Mann Jr., an industry consultant in Port Washington, N.Y.
"What's the company's incentive to deal?" Mr. Mann said. If the airline faced the prospect of getting less from unions than the emergency cuts generated, "what might be better for employees would be worse for the company."


Alaska Air Group's 3Q Profit Rises on Lower Unit Operating Costs
SEATTLE (AP) -- Alaska Air Group Inc., operator of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air, on Thursday said lower unit operating costs helped drive a sharp boost in third-quarter profit despite the industrywide impact of soaring fuel prices.
Quarterly income rose to $79.2 million, or $2.94 per share, from $40.7 million, or $1.52, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the airline said its earnings would have been $55.9 million, or $2.08 per share, beating estimates of $1.55 from analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
Results for the latest quarter include a restructuring charge of $15.8 million, or 59 cents per share, charges for refunded navigation fees of $6.3 million, or 23 cents, and gains from hedging its fuel costs of $32.8 million, or $1.22 per share.
Total operating revenue was $773.8 million, up 2 percent from $702.2 million last year on a 9 percent increase in passenger revenue to $706 million and freight and mail revenue growth of 13 percent to $25.5 million.
The company said Alaska Airlines' passenger traffic rose 10.8 percent with 5.6 percent more capacity, while load factor, or overall plane occupancy, gained 3.5 percentage points to 76 percent last quarter. Operating revenue per available seat mile rose 3.7 percent.
Meanwhile, Horizon Air saw a 29 percent increase in traffic on 18.4 percent greater capacity. Plane occupancy advanced 5.9 percentage points to 72.4 percent, while operating revenue per available seat mile dropped 11.4 percent.
Jet fuel expenses surged 53 percent to $148.4 million during the quarter, Alaska Air said.
Alaska Air ended the period with cash and short-term investments of about $879 million, up from $812 million at the end of 2003.


SkyWest sees a slight climb in earnings

By Glen Warchol The Salt Lake TribuneSalt Lake Tribune

SkyWest Airlines on Thursday reported $21.3 million in third-quarter income, slightly higher than the $21.1 million earned in the same period a year ago. The St. George-based airline's third quarter operating revenues were $308.3 million, a 34 percent increase over the same period a year ago. But a significant part of that came from increased fuel-cost reimbursements from its major airline partners. During a conference call with market analysts, most discussion centered on the future of SkyWest's partnership with financially teetering Delta Air Lines. SkyWest provides aircraft and crews for regional Delta Connection flights and has a similar partnership with bankrupt United Airlines. Delta's recently announced turnaround plan, which will dismantle Delta's Dallas/Ft. Worth hub, will have little impact on SkyWest, Chief Financial Officer Brad Rich said. "We really only had seven planes in Dallas. Those seven will be redeployed to Salt Lake City and put into service," he said. "We don't see that as a significant event to SkyWest." During the most recent quarter, SkyWest negotiated its 2004 rates for Delta flights. Analysts feared those rates could be jeopardized with Delta fighting off bankruptcy, but Rich said Delta's potential reorganization likely will have minimal impact on SkyWest. "Delta has already come to us and asked us what we can to do help. We are working cooperatively with them to make the system more efficient and more productive," he said. Delta's "requests are not catastrophic to SkyWest. But we are digging pretty deep to accommodate what they are asking." When asked if Delta approached SkyWest to sell one of its regional airlines to raise cash, Rich said only that "we continue to look at opportunities in the industry's growth." SkyWest sees opportunity in these "challenging times" facing the major airlines, he added. "We are evaluating the opportunity. . . . We are the best prepared and positioned [company] in the industry to grab these opportunities when they present themselves." glenwarchol@sltrib.com


Discount Airline ATA Eliminating 220 Jobs in Face of Cash Crunch

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Discount airline ATA on Thursday eliminated 220 positions in a cost-cutting move a day after it said a pay cut accepted by flight attendants would not save enough money to ease its cash flow problems.
Indianapolis-based ATA Holdings Corp. did not specify what jobs would be cut, but said the reductions would not include pilots, flight attendants, ramp agents or reservations agents.
ATA, which flies to six Florida cities, said its business was hurt by the hurricanes that struck that state in August and September.
"Excess capacity, record high fuel prices and declining fares have necessitated that all airlines, including ATA, re-examine their business," the company said.
Three of the nation's largest airlines, AMR Corp.'s American, Delta Air Lines Inc., and Northwest Airlines Corp., have reported a collective loss of $906 million for the third quarter.
The ATA job cuts represent about 3 percent of the company's work force.
The new job cuts follow an announcement last week that that ATA would lay off 156 employees -- including 150 flight attendants -- beginning Oct. 31. The airline, the nation's 10th largest, blamed those layoffs on a seasonal business slowdown.
The airline's 1,900 flight attendants last week voted to accept a 10 percent pay cut among contract concessions that the attendants union said would save ATA about $23 million over two years.
In a filing Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said its financial problems have worsened since Aug. 16, when ATA warned it likely would run out of cash in early 2005 and might sell some assets or restructure.
ATA Holdings shares closed unchanged at $1.71 Thursday on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock price had been dropping since it topped $12 in February.
The company reported in an Aug. 16 filing it had lost $90.7 million during the first half of 2004, despite a 2 percent growth in revenues to $778.1 million, due in part to higher costs for jet fuel and less business for its military charters. ATA also is saddled with millions of dollars in debt from buying new planes.
America West, AirTran in consolidation raceBy Caroline Daniel in LondonPublished: October 22 2004 03:00 | Last updated: October 22 2004 03:00 Efforts to be first to consolidate the US low-cost airline sector intensified on Thursday as America West and AirTran continued last-minute talks with ATA, as it prepared for an imminent bankruptcy filing.According to people involved with the discussions, ATA, the 10th-largest US airline, is trying to put together a pre-arranged bankruptcy filing, with one of the two airlines acting as its strategic partner in a new reorganisation plan.Boeing Capital, which has significant exposure to ATA because of the number of aircraft it leases to the airline, has also been involved in the talks. It has already written off some of its equity stake in the carrier.ATA is expected to file for bankruptcy in the next few days, although the timing is dependent on the talks. The two potential bidders have different interests in ATA's assets, and would proceed only after a bankruptcy filing. ATA, which is being advised by Citigroup, is also seeking about $75m in debtor-in-possession financing to fund a bankruptcy.America West is understood to be considering a merger with ATA, taking over its operations at Midway airport in Chicago, assuming most of the leases for ATA's Boeing 737 and 757 aircraft, and scaling back ATA's operations at Indianapolis. It could also take over ATA's employees.AirTran, which has headquarters in Orlando, is understood to be seeking to acquire just ATA's Midway gates, and the 737 assets rather than the 757 aircraft.One person said that AirTran was the frontrunner, but that America West could still file an alternative transformation plan once ATA was in bankruptcy.Considerable risks remain for both America West and AirTran. Both would be increasing their exposure to Southwest, which has a dominant position at Midway. In the first half, ATA lost $91m, on revenues of $778m.There are also concerns that all three airlines are losing money, which is further weakening balance sheets. America West has more than $300m in debt to the Airline Transportation Stabilisation Board, which oversees loan guarantees. Under conditions of the loan, it would need to seek ATSB permission to pursue a deal and would also need to show that a merger would not lead to a credit downgrade.On Wednesday, ATA warned that its cash problems had worsened since its filing on August 16. The 10 per cent wage concession approved by ATA's flight attendants would not be enough in cost-savings to satisfy these liquidity concerns, it said.


United Asks Bankruptcy Court to Approve Bridge Associates to Evaluate Business Plan

CHICAGO (AP) -- UAL Corp., the parent company of United Airlines, said Friday that it asked the bankruptcy court to approve Bridge Associates to conduct an independent analysis of the troubled carrier's business plan.
United said it chose Bridge Associates in consultation with its unions, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the Association of Flight Attendants. The company said all parties, including major shareholders and the creditors committee, agreed that an independent evaluation would be helpful.

United asked the court to consider the motion next week. If approved, Bridge Associates conduct a 30-day evaluation.

Shares closed earlier down 1 cent, or 1.1 percent, at 94 cents on the over-the-counter bulletin board.