Arinc and Mitre have formed SkySource, a company that will provide a "single, integrated source of aeronautical information that will facilitate collaboration" between airspace users and FAA, the companies said yesterday at the Air Traffic Control Association annual meeting in Washington, D.C. They said the new company, welcomed by several industry leaders, will be instrumental in developing the Free Flight regime. Mitre is setting up a separate affiliate to participate in SkySource.
GTE Airfone is giving away bonus frequent flyer miles as part of its "Million Reasons to Call" Sweepstakes, from Oct. 1 through Dec. 15. To qualify, passengers must place billable calls while flying over North America on Continental, Delta, Delta Shuttle, Delta Express, Midwest Express, United, Shuttle by United, US Airways, US Airways Shuttle or Reno Air.
Western Pacific, whose nighttime discounts were a factor in the collapse of its merger with Frontier (DAILY, Oct. 1), is offering discount night fares through most of the winter. Fares start at $59 one way based on a roundtrip ticket purchased seven days in advance and within one day of booking. The sale will be in effect through Oct. 10 and travel must be completed by Feb. 11, 1998. Sample nighttime fares include $99 one way between Newark and Los Angeles and $59 one way between Denver and Phoenix. A Saturday night stay is required.
Lufthansa will offer for sale a portion of its LSG catering subsidiary and part of its 29.2% holding in Amadeus next year.LSG had a 33% share of global air catering in 1995 and a market value of DM500 million (US$300 million), according to Salomon Brothers. Lufthansa's stake in Amadeus is valued at DM1.5 billion ($900 million). The company recently sold its 24.5% interest in freight airline Cargolux.
The negotiating committee of the Air Line Pilots Association unit at Sun Country Airlines will respond Oct. 6, when contract negotiations resume in Washington, to a management proposal Chief Executive Officer John Skiba termed "fair and reasonable," especially in light of uncertain economic conditions facing the charter industry. The proposed two-year agreement offers a 5% wage increase, which ALPA said is not enough, and improved benefits and working conditions. A senior captain would earn more than senior captains at other charter airlines, Skiba said.
Air New Zealand has begun to promote in North America the benefits of its newly redesigned business class and its links with Ansett and United. ANZ began regional cooperation with Ansett this year and a code share with United in May. ANZ, in a mailing to business travelers, spotlighted its frequent flyer links with United and the ability to connect on Ansett to 90 destinations within Australia and 28 within New Zealand. ANZ's business- class seats are the most comfortable in the world, according to an independent study by Open Ergonomics Ltd.
U.S. Major Carriers Productivity, In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee Second Quarter 1997, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total (000) (000) Employees Alaska 368,023 325,868 7,647 America West 480,889 430,306 10,691
Carriers filing against American and British Airways petitions to withhold a number of documents requested by DOT expressed amazement that the alliance carriers claim certain materials on slots, frequent flyer programs and internal alliance studies are not relevant to the DOT proceeding. US Airways, Delta, United, TWA, Continental and Virgin Atlantic again pressed DOT for a full evidentiary hearing before a judge.
Air Iberia is borrowing 23 million pesetas ($185 million) from the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg to help finance the purchase of two A340-300 aircraft. The loan will be funneled through Iberbus Ltd, a joint venture set up by Iberia and Airbus to handle the acquisition as a lease in conjunction with a consortium of banks. The carrier will use the aircraft on overseas routes, mainly to Central and South America. It expects to reduce fuel consumption substantially.
Japan's future regional carrier, Hokkaido Air System (HAS), has signed an order for two Saab 340B Plus aircraft to use on its network throughout the northern island of Hokkaido. The carrier is a joint venture between Japan Air System and the regional authority, Hokkaido Prefectual Government. Based at Sapporo Chitose Airport, HAS will begin operations in March 1998 on Asahikawa-Kushiro-Kakodate and Hakodate-Sapporo routes. Further expansion will follow, depending on demand.
DOT issued an order making final its tentative revocation of Lineas Aereas del Caribe's foreign air carrier permit and exemption authority to operate scheduled and charter cargo service between the U.S. and Colombia. The department said the action is based on its conclusion that the Colombian carrier is no longer operationally fit (DAILY, Aug. 5). (Dockets OST-95- 8229, 47529, 34727)
Delta said grant of its request for waiver of the dormancy provision relating to its proposed U.S.-Russia service will not affect Baltia, which filed the "lone objection (DAILY, Sept. 26). Delta "has expressly agreed to relinquish the 1.5 frequencies" involved if Baltia is able to act on its stated plans to begin New York-St. Petersburg, Russia, flights by Feb. 7, 1998. Delta said Baltia, which has long planned nonstop U.S.-St. Petersburg service, "neglects the fact that Delta is the only U.S.
ILFC has placed two A320-200s with Caledonian Airways, West Sussex, England. The aircraft, powered by IAE V2500-A1 engines, are being leased for five years each and are scheduled for delivery in March and April.
Korean Air defended itself against World Airways, saying the latter was unreasonable in asking DOT to take no action on Korean's requests to amend authority until World's dispute over beyond flights from Seoul is resolved. Korean Air will answer objections from other carriers separately. The airline said it is asking only for minor changes. One exemption it wants to change was originally granted in 1996, permitting Korean to serve Denver-Seoul via Los Angeles. For operational reasons, it said, it wants to route the service through San Francisco instead, starting Oct.
Millon Air is asking DOT to issue a show cause order recertifying it after nearly a year of trying to restart operations, attesting that it has enough assets to meet the usual test of financial fitness and pledging that Millon family members will resign from their positions upon DOT approval. The Millons are committing to place their stock in a voting trust until it is sold, or until control of at least 51% of the company has passed to an entity not in family hands.
Air France and ACES of Colombia signed a letter of intent to proceed with a commercial agreement, Air France's first in South America. ACES initially will be Air France's commercial agent in certain Colombian regions. The alliance is part of the French carrier's strategy to develop a greater presence in foreign markets. ACES is the second largest Colombian airline, after Avianca. The agreement will permit passengers on both airlines to accumulate frequent flyer miles more quickly.
Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air yesterday said they will join the ranks of carriers that have cut travel agent commissions to 8% in the last two weeks. The airlines said they made the cut to stay competitive. They will not impose a cap on commissions, however, and will continue to pay a 10% commission on sales of Alaska Airlines Vacations and Horizon Air Holiday Travel packages.
The Indian government has announced a 100% hike in the foreign travel tax, called "airport tax" in India, from 300 rupees ($8.50) to 600 rupees ($17) effective immediately. The rate applies to all passengers flying out of the country except those traveling to neighboring countries, such as Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, who will pay 300 rupees, up from 150 rupees. The hike is expected to yield 1.8 billion rupees ($51.4 million) annually for the government's coffers.
FAA Administrator Jane Garvey said yesterday that she is putting together a small group of aviation professionals, including executives and union representatives within the agency as well as industry representatives, "to work with me to lay out a clear road map toward modernization" of the air traffic control system.
European Investment Bank in Luxembourg is lending 25 million European currency units to the Philippines to upgrade and extend the airports of Puerto Princesa and Cotabato, located on the islands of Palawan and Mindanao, respectively. The projects are being co-financed by the Asian Development Bank as part of the EU's broad cooperation agreement with ASEAN countries.
Top Hughes Aircraft Co. executives will tell Congress today that development of the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) is on time and under budget, the Air Traffic Control Association was told yesterday in Washington. John Britigan, WAAS program manager for Hughes, said the company hopes to clarify "misinformation" about the program when it testifies today before the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, which is looking into reports that WAAS is over budget (DAILY, Sept.30).
KLM expects a "positive resolution" by Friday of the current debate over government-proposed flight restrictions at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, according to Dries van Luyk, VP-passenger sales and services.The airline believes the government will adopt a short-term solution to bridge the five-year period in which a new runway is constructed.
Kellstrom Industries will acquire the jet aircraft and engine lease portfolio of Aerocar Aviation Corp. for $20.3 million in cash. The transaction is expected to close by Oct. 15.
US Airways and its Air Line Pilots Association unit reached agreement yesterday on key issues of the proposed contract, and ALPA's Master Executive Council was considering the agreement late yesterday. US Airways President Rakesh Gangwal said the carrier would ratify its 400-aircraft contract with Airbus Industrie if the MEC agreed to send the contract to pilots for ratification.
