American Society of Travel Agents elected Joseph Galloway, owner of Trans-Continental Travel, president and chief executive. The International Air Cargo Association selected Richard Jones as membership director.
AirLiance Materials named Jeff Green chief financial officer. Michael Baker Corp. named William Copeland manager of the Birmingham, Ala., office of subsidiary Michael Baker Jr. Inc. Bombardier Aerospace appointed Jim Ziegler general manager-Learjet operations in addition to his position of VP and general manager-Aviation Services, Business Aircraft.
Cargo processing at the new Hong Kong International Airport took another step forward Friday as the main cargo handler said it now can handle all customer demand. Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited still is transferring some inbound cargo to Kai Tak for processing, but it appears to be on track to shut down Kai Tak and process all cargo in both directions at Chek Lap Kok by the end of August, nearly two months after the new airport opened.
Icelandair, which shed its "Hippie Airline" image years ago when it replaced backpacking college kids with business travelers, is reviving the theme for its 50th anniversary. Dubbing itself the "Hippie Airline That Grew Up," the carrier is giving away $50 gift certificates to all passengers who book during its anniversary, Aug. 26-28.
Sabena suspended its four weekly flights from Brussels to Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, due to rising political instability in the African country, the carrier said Friday. Sabena said it "can no longer guarantee the safety of its operations" at N'Djili, Kinshasa's airport. The carrier put its Kinshasa work force of 169 people, including nine Belgians, on standby alert.
On the eve of renewed negotiations today to break through a two-year pilots contract stalemate, all six of Northwest's unions sent a letter urging President Clinton to resist getting involved in the dispute even if there is a strike. "We feel strongly that the parties should continue to negotiate, even in the context of a work stoppage," said leaders from the six unions, representing 42,000 employees.
The American Association of Airport Executives and the International Association of Airport Executives will hold meetings this fall in Prague, Czech Republic, and Vienna, Austria. The Prague meeting, scheduled Oct. 18-20, is the U.S./European Airport Information Management Systems Workshop and Trade Show, with presentations on automating information system management and modernizing air traffic control systems. The Vienna meeting, co-sponsored by FAA and the U.S. Commerce Department and scheduled Nov. 8-11, is the Central European/U.S.
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Delta filed a 30-day notice telling DOT it intends to list its code on Korean Air flights from Seoul to Kwangju, Pusan and Taegu, Korea, and Fukuoka, Nagoya, Osaka and Tokyo, Japan, starting Sept. 15. The U.S. carrier will code share on Sabena's twice-weekly service between Brussels and Lome, Togo, starting Sept. 6. The new flight, using Sabena's Airbus A330s, follows Delta's Africa expansion to Uganda, The Gambia, Guinea and Zimbabwe via its code-share partners.
TWA said Friday it will adopt a 4.814% pay increase Sept. 1 for most employees, prompting a statement by pilot union leadership that management may be trying to influence Air Line Pilots Association balloting on a pending contract. The hike applies to all U.S.-based union and non-contract employees and management below the VP level. It does not apply to the pilots, who are scheduled to get a 7% raise under the contract.
DOT Inspector General Kenneth Mead told FAA last week it needs to come up with a "more realistic schedule" for the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and "should formally acknowledge that its current schedule for the operation of the final phase of WAAS, December 2001, will not be met." FAA also should delay commitments for additional communications satellites until it gains operating experience with the initial phase of WAAS, Mead said.
AlliedSignal said it has received an order to equip 473 aircraft with its forward-looking windshear radar, the RDR-4B. The Doppler radar can detect dangerous horizontal winds created when a strong downdraft from a thunderstorm approaches the ground, AlliedSignal said. The system displays windshear and sounds an alert up to 90 seconds before the aircraft enters the condition, permitting pilots to evade dangerous situations. NASA studies show that even 10 seconds' advance notice of windshear provides a significant improvement in aircraft safety, the company said.
Olympic Airlines blamed "excessive traffic" in Greek airspace for increased delays this week that affected its flights as well as those of other carriers that use Athens airport's East Terminal. Olympic said its financial and administrative restructuring had nothing to do with the delays.
TWA and Trans States' Trans World Express operation at St. Louis are taking steps to improve TWE's service, including writing a new service contract. Although the commuter's on-time performance is not reflected in DOT reports, TWA said in an internal communication, its delays and cancellations affect TWA's reputation in the eyes of travelers. Trans States Director of Marketing William Mishkin told The DAILY the carrier faces the same challenges as many regionals in a tight labor market, such as recruiting and maintaining depth in management.
American filed Friday for exemption to operate Chicago-Moscow nonstops beginning June 1, 1999. It noted that over half of the 54 allocated weekly Russia frequencies are dormant and only nine are operated by two U.S. carriers, leaving four of the six U.S. carrier designations dormant. (Docket OST-98-4328)
Lufthansa Cargo AG (LCAG) reduced fuel consumption 2.3%, amounting to about 1.5 million liters, during the first half of 1998 compared with January-June 1997. The company attributed the improvement to renewing its fleet and optimizing its flight routes and procedures through cooperation with other airlines and forwarders. The company put two new MD-11 freighters in service in June and will receive three more in October. It said it expects further fuel savings in the second half of 1998.
Vietnam Airlines has suspended Hanoi-Seoul service and will stop Ho Chi Minh City-Seoul in mid-September, the Saigon Times reported last week. Revenues have plummeted on the routes, according to Dao Manh Nhuong, director general of Vietnam Airlines. The carrier decided to reopen Ho Chi Minh City-Manila service on Aug. 31 after Philippine Airlines stopped serving the route. Vietnam Airlines expects Vietnam-Japan passenger volume, down 14% in the first half of 1998, to fall more than 20% in the second half.
Delta said Friday it will begin daily nonstop service from Portland to Fukuoka, Japan, on Oct. 29. The MD-11 flight will be the only nonstop service from the U.S. to Fukuoka and will be the third Japanese city served daily from Portland, after Tokyo and Nagoya. In addition, Delta will postpone daily Portland-Osaka service until June 1999, citing "weakness in the U.S.-Osaka market."
In a controversial decision that led to the ouster of a top government official, the New Zealand government agreed last week to sell its 66% share in Wellington International Airport to New Zealand Airports Ltd. (NZAL) for NZ$96.36 million (US$48.6 million). The largest shareholder in NZAL is Wellington-based Infratil. Under the agreement, NZAL is legally required to ensure that at least 17% of the company remains under New Zealand citizenship unless the Wellington City Council sells its 34% stake in the airport.
The judge who rejected American Trans Air's bid to avoid paying for computer reservations system bookings under false names (DAILY, Aug. 14) did so partly because he found the carrier and Sabre equally able to check them. But he added that Sabre "provided an interesting bit of evidence - telephone and address listings for quite a few real people with the names Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse and Fred Flintstone."
After all the Pacific retrenching, Delta is the only U.S. carrier to offer nonstop service from the U.S. to Korea - a daily flight from Portland to Seoul. Its code-share partner, Korean Air, serves 11 U.S. cities on its own.
Nav Canada reported a third quarter surplus of $1 million after interest and depreciation, primarily from higher traffic volumes and lower-than-expected financing costs. Revenue was $222 million, comprising $92 million in transition payments from the government and net user charges of $130 million. Operating expenses totaled $180 million. Revenue was $20 million, 8% higher than last year, while operating expenses were $2 million, down 1.2%.
