CBS Evening News open - 1993-04-07

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] America's

[0:02] airline business is in a meltdown. The

[0:05] president takes action to get the

[0:06] industry back on course. In Russia, an

[0:09] explosion at a secret nuclear complex

[0:11] causes concern and contamination. We'll

[0:14] have a full report. An eye on America.

[0:17] Tonight, the story of a killer weapon

[0:19] that cost this man his job and his

[0:22] marriage and landed him in prison.

[0:24] >> I didn't give my character away. It was

[0:26] stolen from me by the government. by the

[0:29] government.

[0:32] >> This is the CBS Evening News.

[0:38] >> Good evening, I'm Connie Chung singing

[0:40] for Dan Rather. When it comes to trouble

[0:43] spots in the economy, the airline

[0:45] industry is right up there on the radar

[0:46] screen. It has lost billions of dollars,

[0:49] laid off thousands of people, and spread

[0:51] misery to the flying public.

[0:53] Correspondent Scott P reports on a new

[0:55] effort to end all this turbulence.

[0:59] We're not ready to board. It'll be about

[1:01] another 5 or 10 minutes. What was the

[1:03] reason for the delay? We do an aircraft.

[1:06] They'll be here shortly.

[1:08] >> US airlines are in a financial tail

[1:10] spin.

[1:11] >> The condition of the domestic aviation

[1:13] industry has been spiraling downward for

[1:15] some time.

[1:16] >> In such trouble that today, the

[1:18] president created a commission to find

[1:20] ways to help the industry pull out of

[1:22] its crisis. This is probably the most

[1:24] serious and dangerous u condition we

[1:28] have seen the airline industry in many

[1:29] years.

[1:30] >> Last year, the big three, American,

[1:32] Delta, and United, lost about $500

[1:34] million each. Since 1989, US carriers

[1:38] altogether lost $8 billion.

[1:41] >> Some companies got too greedy and wanted

[1:43] their planes and wanted to every time

[1:44] they looked in the sky, they only wanted

[1:46] to see their company's plane.

[1:49] >> Too many planes. The big carriers

[1:51] overexpanded during the recession.

[1:53] Everyone can fly for one half off all

[1:55] then to fill all the empty seats. They

[1:57] slashed fairs last summer.

[1:59] >> That sounds good.

[2:00] >> It was disaster. In Delta's case, I

[2:03] think it cost us some $800 million in

[2:05] revenue. Uh that doesn't make a lot of

[2:08] sense.

[2:09] >> Now, the rough landing. Major airlines

[2:11] are parking planes, laying off

[2:13] employees, trying to sell terminals.

[2:16] It's a major restructuring that will

[2:18] change the way we fly. Some big jets

[2:21] will be replaced with cheaper commuter

[2:23] planes. Some routes will be cancelled.

[2:25] And I said, but on the upside, look for

[2:28] new small airlines taking advantage of

[2:30] surplus planes and crews. Last fall,

[2:33] Kiwi International was launched by

[2:35] laidoff pilots. Its operating costs are

[2:38] far lower than the majors.

[2:40] >> It's going to work because we're going

[2:42] to make it work.

[2:45] So, what does all of this mean to the

[2:47] bottom line? Ticket prices? Well, it's

[2:49] good news and bad news. On those short

[2:51] hall flights serviced by these new

[2:52] airlines, prices are already down

[2:54] dramatically. But on the long flights,

[2:56] dominated by the majors, prices will

[2:58] soon be taking off.

[3:00] >> We want to stay in business and we must

[3:02] charge fairs that that cover our cost.

[3:04] >> The president's new commission will

[3:06] study options, including airline tax

[3:08] breaks and pressure on foreign

[3:10] governments to open their skies. There

[3:13] are projections that indicate by the

[3:15] year 2000 uh traffic around the world

[3:18] will double.

[3:19] >> But there is little time to change

[3:21] course. Even now, three carriers are

[3:24] flying in bankruptcy as a dramatically

[3:27] different airline industry is struggling

[3:29] to emerge. Scott P, CBS News, New York.

[3:34] >> President Clinton's $16 billion job

[3:37] creation program still can't get off the

[3:39] ground in the Senate. Opponents are

[3:40] stalling a final vote. They say the job

[3:43] plan is filled with pork. Mr. Clinton

[3:45] says it's all beef, no fat. Given all

[3:48] the debate, we asked White House

[3:49] correspondent Bill Plant for this

[3:51] evening's reality check.

[3:55] >> Both sides in the fight over the

[3:57] president's economic stimulus package

[3:59] were in full cry, taking no prisoners.

[4:01] Mr. Clinton turned a routine bill

[4:03] signing into a 20-minute pitch for the

[4:05] right to work.

[4:06] >> I think it is a shame to rob anybody of

[4:09] the right to have a job. Republicans

[4:11] back home challenged the package as

[4:13] wasteful spending. The opposite of what

[4:15] Americans really want.

[4:16] >> They want us first of all to cut

[4:18] spending. That's the first message. And

[4:20] then after we cut spending, they want us

[4:22] to pay for anything else. And I think

[4:24] that comes pretty much across the board.

[4:26] >> Projects the administration sees as good

[4:29] for jobs and people, Republicans see as

[4:31] frivolous. Manchester, Connecticut, for

[4:33] example, proposes to build a warming hut

[4:36] with funds from