1982: Another Downer
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VOLUME 46 NUMBER 4 FEBRUARY 14, 1983 TWAers. at Work for OAL. 1982: Another Downer 1982 1981 Operating revenues $3,319.5 $3,509.5 Operating expenses 3,420.8 3,495.9 Operating income/(loss) (101.3) 13.6 Non-operating income/(expense) 56.8 (41.8) . Pre-tax profit/ (loss) (44.5) (28.3) Last year was TWA's fourth loser in a row. · TWA flew domestically last year and that This time, the pre-tax loss was $44.5 mil alone would have made a difference of lion - $16.2 million worse than 1981's some $156 million in revenues. (Of course, loss of$28.3 million. with a higher.yield, there might well have Bad enough, certainly, but even that been even less traffic.) · figure had been greatly improved by sev In the final quarter of the year, TWA's eral items of non-operating iilcome. Apart revenues were $761.0 million, down 2%, from their. help, TWA's operating loss was while expenses of $825.5 were up 2.2%, $101.3 million. That was despite the fact for an operating 'toss of $64.4 million - or that, thanks largely to the worldwide oil about double 1981's fourth-quarter operat glut, the fuel portion of TWA's 1982 oper ing loss of .$33.2 million. What would ating expenses was down by almost $109 otherwise have been a negative non million. operating result became positive by $39.8 The non-operating income items in million_with the help ·of non-recurring cluded $38.5 million in interest income, gains of $49.5 million, from the sale of plus $127.6 million in the pro~eeds from ground facilities and of the tax benefits the sale of aircraft, gate space and tax rel~ted to new 767s delivered during that' benefits and in gains on foreign exchange period. - for a total of $166.1 million. That amount, however, was partially offset by Corporate Results the whopping $109.3 million TWA had to Meanwhile, TWA's corporate parent~ pay in gross interest ~barges and other non Trans World Corporation, also felt the ef operating expenses, lowering _the non fects of recession, although they were operating income figure to just $56.8 cushioned by the profitability of its non million. airline subsidiaries. Canteen Corporation, That nearly $109-million drop in fuel Hilton International, Spartan Food Sys costs kept TWA's operating expenses for tems and Century 21 Real Estate Corpora the year from being higher than 1981 's; as it tion had combined pre-tax earnings of ORD mechanic Rod Bertley.is one of many ·TWAers who handle Western Aklines . was_, they were down 2.1%, or $75.1 mil $123.6 million for the year - down $11 , 5 flights at Chicago. The WA work is one of. nine major field contracts TWA has lion. Unfortunately, though, revenues million from their record contribution of obtained since last summer. See page ten. were down even more sharply - by 5.4%, the year before, but still ample enough to or $190 million. Part of that decline was keep the parent organization in the black. cember, the airline lost $5.6 miliion in the because of lower traffic - a systemwide After providing, on the airline's behalf, Business month as the result of price wars. drop of nearly 1%, ineludmg a decline of nearly $1 million ·in dividends on there more than. 2% in domestic traffic. The cently issued series of TWA Preferred as Usual? Notable quotes. Concerning the outlook major c;:ulprit, though, was the fact that Stock, Trans World Corporation had a net for Pan ~eticarr, an article in the finan three~qiiarters of TWA's passengers in (topage4) cial section of theNew York Times on Jaim 1982 flew on some form of discount fare ---: (Cont'd) including those of 50% or more. ary 30 singled o~t a 28-year veteran pilot, President's View Ricnard Wiese. "I've got a good job and a Some indication of the damage done by ' Pan Am lost $272.9 million in the foul}:h good way of life. I would like to keep it," ~ the raging fare wars in the domestic market For President Ed Meyer's com ·quarter and reported a loss of $485.3 mil he said. "I'd rather at this point make the was the erosion of 1 . 04 cents per revenue ments and insights on TWA's 1.982 · lion for the year, far greater than its-1981 error of giving up too much, rather than passenger mile in TWA's 1982 domestic results and outlook for 1983, see loss of$18.9 million. (Butthat 1981 figure giving up too little." The concessions he yield (average revenue per rpm). Add even pages 6 and 7. would have been $405.5 million without (to pr~ge 4) a penny to each of the 15.6 billion rpms Pan Am's sale of its Intercontinental Hotels Corporation). The losses were no surprise Capt. Harry·Ward Reti~es; No. 1 in Pilot Seniority to Wall Street analysts, although higher than expected. Analyst~ are predicting an other large loss for PAA in the current quarter, tra~itional l y the most difficult per iod of the year. Frontier, which has made money every year for 10 years, suddenly has hit a down draft, Business Week reported. Frontier once was known as "Baby Delta" because its position in Denver was as secure as Delta's in Atlanta. But lately "Fron tierland" has been invaded by United, Continen~, and Western. In a fourth quarter tailspin, Frontier lost $_14 million, so that its 1982 operating profit dropped to $9 million from nearly $51 million in 1981. Frontier aims to cut labor costs by 10%, but the flight attendants' union, for one, says things will have to get a lot worse before it will consider any concessions. Delta nose-dived from a $19.6 million profit in 1981 to a $17 million loss in 1982. Captain Harry H. Ward was photographed with the crew of his last trip out of JFK, FS06, December 17, 1982. From left are: · It was the first calendar-year loss in Delta's ·Barbara Weinacht, Nancy Logo, F/0 E. J. Westvig, Mary McKay, ·Roland Leukauf, Linda Ragonese, Theresa Jewell, Capt. .history. Despite a 15% traffic gain in De- · Ward, Mary Parsons, Charles Matheron, June Haesler, and Donald ~er • : :. ~ ..... ... l ... ' , " ' "" .. ..•• •," I I Thousands Spen Whi e Christmas at Denver Airport ·Box605 lt=lliiiiiii:t-···· -r=~· Unseasonable Scheduling TWA advertises quite heavily intra Q vel industry and other publications our Getaway Ski Tours. The brochure Is printed and distributed in bulk to 20,000 travel agents and mailed to individuals at their request, all at considerable expense to TWA. Our sales/CTO's/reservations of fices do their best to sell these tours to bring in revenue derived frorri the air travel on TWA associated with the tours. The latest timetable. - which inciden Parked 1011 at Denver dwarfs a car (right) that bas been nearly completely buried in snow. Spending a white Christmas at the tally is valid Dec. 15-Jan. 31, but does not airport were (from left):_ ramp servicemen Charlie Phillips and Chris Vissers, lead RSM Larry Refosco, RSM Lars Svenson, Heinz give any details of the major ·schedule Immel and Roger Tomes, lead mechanic Steve Fatovic, lead RSM AI Wutscher, and mechanic AI Vormittag. change eliminating many flights effective -Dreams of a white Christmas came true for ger-airport services. · "Heavy snowfalls aren't common in Jan. 10 - features on the front page ''SKI ' thousands in Denver a few weeks ago, but TWA opened up a 707 and a 1011 Christ Denver, much ·to the surprise of non WITH TWA" with specific mention .of not in quite the way they had hop¢. Snow mas eve and bedded down about 300 peo {esidents," he points out, "and the city's Getaway Ski Vacations to the Rockies. · started falling about midnight on Thurs ple, mainly children and the elderly. "We snow removal equipment just couldn't Denver is the air destination city for day, December 23 and continued through were the only airline to do that," Frank handle the accumulation.'' eight of 11 Ski t_!J.e Rockies tours and yet the next day - Christmas eve. The pre says. "Some of our people, who had al Sky liner wasn't able to get the names of TWA's service to DEN was reduced to dicted four to six inches turned into 24 ready been on duty all day, volunteered to all the TWAers who pitched in, but some of four flights effective Jan. 10 (1 JFK and 3 inches and strong winds blew the snow into supervise operations on the two aircraft those who helped out were: Art Anderson, STL). A fourth STL flight is now planned .drifts up to eight feet high. during the night." Diane Anderson, Phyllis Brown, Susan effective Feb. 15. With an expected record Stapleton Airport was closed at 9 a.m. Others helped overworked restaurant English-Fagan, Steve Fatovic, Janice Glo- . ski season well under way, but a considera:. Christmas eve day and didn't open for 33 and kitchen staffs· at nearby hotels and wacki, Cheryl Graham, Paula Herr, Heinz ble reduction of service to DEN, I see hours. Some 2,000 flights were canceled, motels, volunteered their assistance to a Immel, Ed Johnson, Roxanne Landry, Ka: advertising$$$$ needlessly spent. leaving thousands of holiday travelers local hospital, and even rounded up crews ren Nelson, George Odernheimer, Charlie Denver is not the only city affected.