Pan Am Unveils Discount Night Flights
In an effort to achieve greater use of its giant A300 Airbus fleet, part of which sits on the ground for many hours at night, Pan American World Airways plans to launch an overnight cargo service that also will carry passengers at greatly reduced prices, C. Edward Acker, chairman and chief executive of the airline’s parent company, said Tuesday.
The new service, which will allow passengers to fly during the night for 80% less than the regular coach fare, will begin this summer, Acker told shareholders at Pan Am Corp.’s annual meeting at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
Acker said that fares and routes had not been decided but that “substantial” cities would be served, including Los Angeles and Miami. He predicted that revenue would be substantial.
Eastern Airlines began what it calls “Moonlight Special” night flights between four Western cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, and four Eastern cities April 1. The flights all stop in Houston, and the transcontinental fare is about $98. The service has been highly successful, with the planes flying about 90% full.
A Pan Am spokesman explained after the annual meeting that the airline’s A300s, which have a very large cargo belly, often sit for as much as 14 hours unused at airports, often in the Midwest. With the new service, the planes could be used “at no great incremental cost,” he said.
Pan Am leases 11 of the twin-engine, fuel-efficient, 251-passenger aircraft from Airbus Industrie, the British-French consortium, with another to be delivered today. The airline also intends to buy 28 of the A320 and A310 Airbuses. Acker revealed for the first time that Pan Am pays “in the neighborhood of $250,000 a month” per plane for the leases.
At the meeting, Acker also defended the company’s recent decision to sell its Pacific division, including profitable Far Eastern routes, to United Airlines for about $750 million. He said it would allow Pan Am to greatly improve its balance sheet.
Employee-backed resolutions to place more union nominees on the board were defeated. However, under an existing agreement with management, John J. Kerrigan, a vice president of the Transport Workers Union, was elected to the board.
