Czech Airlines (CSA) asked DOT for exemption from slot restrictions at Chicago O'Hare to reintroduce twice-weekly Chicago-Prague nonstops, which it operated from May 1992 to January 1996, when it terminated the service because of equipment shortages. CSA applied Jan. 5 for two slots, for Monday and Friday service beginning June 14 using A310-300 aircraft, but FAA said the request was not timely and it has no slots to allocate. CSA's foreign carrier permit specifically authorizes service on the route, which has no nonstop service.
Delta is offering frequent flyers bonus miles with the purchase or lease of any new car or truck from participating dealers. SkyMiles members can earn up to 15,000 bonus miles. A new vehicle costing up to $20,000 is worth 5,000 bonus miles, and $20,001-$40,000 earns 10,000 miles. A new vehicle costing more than $40,000 is good for 15,000 miles, and a used vehicle earns 10,000 miles.
Delta, asking DOT to excuse a tardy response in DOT's U.S.-Brazil combination service proceeding, said it tried to file electronically within the deadline but had software problems. The carrier seeks seven frequencies.
AeroMexico posted a 2.3% rise in December traffic on 5.25% more capacity. For the full year, revenue passenger kilometers grew 6.8% to 10.7 billion on 16.5 billion available seat kilometers, up 6.3%. The carrier flew 7.8 million passengers in 1998, up 3.9%. Freight volume increased 3.9% to 93.8 million freight ton kilometers.
Heico Corp. said Lufthansa Technik invested an additional $3 million in its Aerospace Holdings Corp. flight support group. The investment brings Lufthansa's cash commitment to $38 million in the Hollywood, Fla.-based company.
DOT granted Continental a two-year exemption to provide scheduled combination service between points in the U.S. and Budapest, which the carrier requested for an indefinite period. Under the U.S.-Hungary bilateral, Continental needs the authority to sell services in Hungary and remit revenues collected there. It intends to conduct the service by linking its existing flights to Europe with those of its European partners serving Hungary (DAILY, Dec. 21, 1998). (Docket OST-98-4929)
China Airlines has received investment interest from U.S. insurance giant American International Group, owner of International Lease Finance Corp. and a major investor in Asia and Taiwan. AIG is considering acquiring 8% of CAL, according to Taipei-based Economic Daily News.
Southwest said it will add nonstop flights from Nashville to Fort Lauderdale and Seattle on April 4 and nonstop service from Chicago Midway to Houston and Phoenix on May 5.
American's employees like working for the company, but few think senior management is doing a good job communicating or interacting with them. In an internal survey, employees said they believe management focuses too much on costs and numbers and not enough on employee skills. They also cited competition and lack of cooperation between departments. Management is setting up meetings to find solutions.
American and American Eagle are promoting discount fares for Miami and Fort Lauderdale residents who want to get out of the area during Super Bowl weekend. Roundtrip fares range from $88 to $298. Tickets must be purchased on line at www.AA.com. Outbound travel must occur Jan. 28-30 with return Jan. 31-Feb. 1.
AirTran has introduced AirTran Vacations, a new leisure product offering packaged vacations, including air and ground transportation, hotel accommodations and sightseeing tours. AirTran Vacations is operated by Adventure Vacations, a wholesale travel company in Hunt Valley, Md. Travel currently is available from all cities AirTran serves to 11 destinations within its route system. Two-night packages range from $178 to $429, while three-, four- and seven-night packages range from $247 to $1,267.
Although a Johns Hopkins assessment indicates that GPS and its augmentations might provide a sole source of navigation (DAILY, Jan. 15), FAA recommends that if a redundant system is required, "consideration should be given to Loran-C to fulfill all or part of this role.The cost avoidance could be several hundred million dollars during a 20-year life cycle compared to sustaining hundreds of VOR/DMEs."
Sponsors of the Florida Overland Express (FOX) high-speed rail project think one of its largest sources of riders will be air transfer - travelers who fly for one portion of their trip and shift to rail through a code-share deal with FOX, according to the General Accounting Office. Some 1.2 million riders would be diverted from the local air market in the Tampa-Orlando-Miami corridor. "At least 11 other corridors in the U.S. are in various stages of developing high-speed rail projects," GAO says.
DOT - Approved an initial one-year exemption for AeroMexico to conduct scheduled combination services between Monterrey, Mexico, and Laredo, Texas...Approved a two-year exemption renewal for Delta to operate scheduled foreign combination services between Atlanta and Lima, Peru, to be combined with its existing certificate and exemption authority, and renewed for an indefinite duration the carrier's allocation of seven weekly U.S.-Peru combination frequencies...Approved a one-year exemption renewal for TACA to conduct scheduled combination services between Belize City, Beli
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic December, 12 Months 1998 (000) December December % 1998 1997 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles 970,000 909,000 6.7 Available Seat Miles 1,418,000 1,328,000 6.8 Load Factor (%) 68.4 68.4
Nationwide survey by Opinion Dynamics found that 80% of respondents believe air traffic controllers do a good or excellent job, 85% believe controllers' work is more stressful than the average occupation, and 81% would be willing to pay an extra dollar on airline tickets if the money went to upgrade ATC equipment. The survey was commissioned by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
Avidyne Corp. said it has received FAA Technical Standard Order approval of its flight situation display radar. Its four fully certified products now include the radar, navigator, charters and lighting. The radar starts at $12,000.
Austrian Airlines yesterday matched other international airlines and lowered its travel agent commission rate to 8% for tickets purchased in the U.S. and imposed a $100 maximum fee for roundtrips and $50 for one-way tickets. Tickets purchased in Canada also will earn an 8% commission and C$140 maximum, C$70 one-way fee. The changes are effective Feb. 1.
A new airline that hopes to offer first-class service from the low-yield Florida market has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for an initial public offering of 2 million shares. Cardinal Airlines aims to begin service from Melbourne, Florida, to the New York and Washington markets in mid-1999 using two MD-80 aircraft. The company intends to offer eight flights a day, offer first-class seating throughout, and sell seats at one price. At $11 per share, the offering could fetch $22 million.
KLM Engineering&Maintenance, a division of KLM Airlines, and United Technologies' Hamilton Standard unit executed a letter of intent to form a joint-venture company serving European, Middle Eastern and African repair and overhaul markets for all large commercial aircraft pneumatic components. Hamilton Standard, based in Windsor Locks, Conn., said it will own 51% of the company, and KLM will hold the remainder. The company, which will employ about 50 people, will be based near Amsterdam Schiphol Airport in The Netherlands and is expected to open in early 2000.
Statutory and regulatory requirements do not guarantee that airports obtain written declarations that proposed noise mitigation projects are consistent with local plans, according to the General Accounting Office (GAO). It recommended that FAA require written declarations that a project has local support as called for under the Airport Improvement Program. "If the agency chooses not to require written declarations, we recommend that this requirement be removed from the grant assurances," the GAO report said.
