The Senate Finance Committee late Thursday eliminated Chairman William Roth's (R-Del.) proposed 10% passenger ticket tax on the portion of international flights occurring within U.S.-controlled airspace, adopting instead a 10% tax on the domestic segment of international journeys and international departure and arrival taxes of $8. The committee left in place the 10% domestic passenger ticket tax, preserving the victory won by low-fare carriers in the Senate version.
American will "celebrate" Foreign Object Damage Day on Wednesday with food, music and prizes at locations in the U.S. and Canada. The carrier aims to rid the tarmac of FOD, such as nuts, bolts and tools, which damaged 274 aircraft last year and cost millions of dollars in delays and cancellations.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund - Balance Sheet As of April 30, 1997 ASSETS Undisbursed Balances: Available for Investment TOTAL UNDISBURSED BALANCE (Cash in Account) $ 805.78 Receivables: Interest Receivables TOTAL RECEIVABLES $ 117,053,549.71 Investments: U.S. Treasury Certificates of Indebtedness 6-5/8% matures 06/30/96
Servisair appointed Carol Andrewartha station manager at Bournemouth Airport, the ground-handler's newest operation. $end 505 NAMES IN AVIATION: Industry Siemens AG Siemens AG named Steve Rauch president of ADB Alnaco Inc., a U.S. operating company of Siemens.
Southwest Airlines' flight attendants, represented by the Transport Workers Union, last week voted 3,123 to 283 to reject a new contract offer, raising questions about the closeness of TWU leadership to its members.
National Association of State Aviation Officials will conduct its 66th annual meeting Sept. 5-10 at the Adams Mark Hotel, Tulsa, Okla. Topics at technical sessions will include changes at FAA, NASA's role in aviation and the use of the Global Positioning System in civil aviation.
Most carriers charge higher fares in markets they dominate, but not Southwest. In the top 1,000 city-pairs for which DOT compiled third- quarter-1996 fare data, Northwest is the dominant carrier in 88 but offers the lowest fare in only 15. United had the lowest fare in 20 of 138 markets it dominates, American in 21 of 108, Delta in 25 of 123, and Southwest in 153 of 191.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic April 1997 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) April April % 1997 1996 Change Domestic Freight 752,045 679,608 10.7 Mail 155,647 146,521 6.2 Total 907,692 826,129 9.9 International Freight 704,087 589,769 19.4
Scheduled Airlines Traffic Offices (SATO) is embroiled in a lawsuit with a small Boulder, Colo. computer company, Objective Inc., over a customized travel management software system. While SATO claims breach of contract and breach of warranty, Objective argues that SATO "duped" it into thinking it and SATO would market the software jointly to airlines for hundreds of millions of dollars, split 50-50. Instead, SATO terminated its agreement with Objective and reengineered the software, Objective claims.
Mountain Air Express, the regional subsidiary of Western Pacific, has posted new schedules from its new Denver hub, where it will move this summer from Colorado Springs. The carrier intends to compete with jet service in a number of markets. MAX will fly to Salt Lake City, a 381- statute-mile stage, against 15 daily United and Delta jet flights; Tulsa, 549 miles, against four daily jet flights; Oklahoma City, 500 miles, against five daily jet flights; Colorado Springs, 67 miles, against 10 United jet flights, and Albuquerque, 11 daily jet frequencies.
Aero International (Regional) has signed an agreement with Newcourt Credit Group that lays the groundwork for an aircraft leasing vehicle. The leasing vehicle is intended "to provide, when appropriate, preferred lease financing on ATR's family of aircraft," AI(R) said. AI(R) estimated the world market for turboprop commuter aircraft in the 40- to 70-seat range, both new and used, at approximately $1.5 billion in 1996, with ATR aircraft accounting for about half of that market.
First annual review of FAA's new system for acquiring goods and services shows it is saving time and money for the agency and bidders but could do more, George Donohue, associate administrator for research and acquisition, said yesterday. The internal review found the reforms cut by half the time needed to award contracts of $100,000 or more, and industry executives said they saved 30% to 40% over previous bid and proposal costs.
American and Aero California are fighting Continental's suggestion that DOT delay approval of their code-share application until the U.S. and Mexico negotiate code-share provisions into the bilateral. The agreement currently does not expressly permit code shares, which are approved as extrabilateral exemptions. Continental and other carriers are concerned about linking American and Mexico-based Aero California in transborder markets. Mexico is one of the most open of regulated Latin American markets but can limit the number of designated airlines on routes.
The European route network for the Dornier 328 high-speed turboprop has grown to more than 40 destinations in nine countries since the aircraft entered service in October 1993. Launch customer Air Engiadina of Switzerland now operates five of the 30- to 32-passenger aircraft under two code-sharing agreements. Since February, the carrier has served Amsterdam from Berne on behalf of KLM. Under an agreement with Swissair and subsidiary Crossair the carrier operates from Zurich to Genoa, Milan and London City Airport.
Rolls-Royce's experience in recovering from Trent 700 inflight shutdown problems offers lessons for engine manufacturers, Rolls-Royce Aerospace Managing Director Colin Green told McGraw-Hill Aviation Week Group's Show News. The shutdowns led Cathay Pacific and Dragonair to ground their Airbus A330 aircraft briefly, and Rolls's fix for it will lead to "a greater emphasis on condition monitoring of engines in service," said Green.
...Embraer is poised to join the 70-seat jet market if AI(R) backs out. Mauricio Botelho, chief executive of the Brazilian manufacturer, told The DAILY at the Paris Air Show this week that he believes there is a market for the aircraft, "but not for three manufacturers." Bombardier already has already entered the fray with the CRJ-700. Of higher priority for Embraer is the proposed 37-seat EMB-135 regional jet - a shortened EMB-145 - that it may launch by the end of the summer. There is strong interest in a 30-passenger-class jet.
Raytheon Aircraft delivered two Beech 1900Cs to Kenai, Alaska, carrier SouthCentral Air. SouthCentral, which holds options for four more 1900Cs, will operate the aircraft in scheduled service among Kenai, Homer and Anchorage. The aircraft will enter service this month.
American Eagle and Bombardier Regional Aircraft cannot agree why Eagle selected the EMB-145 over the CRJ in its order for 50-seat regional jets. Eagle ordered 42 firm -145s plus 25 options, while at the same time opting for 25 CRJ-700s plus 25 options for its 70-seater. "It was primarily pricing," said Canadair Aerospace President Bob Brown, during a somewhat contentious news conference. "We took a deep, hard look at commonality," said Eagle Senior-VP Planning Pete Pappas, who did not mention price.
The 88 chief executive members of the World Travel&Tourism Council have asked government leaders attending the Summit of the Eight, formerly known as the G7, in Denver today through Sunday consider travel and tourism when they discuss job creation.
U.S. Customs Service said one million users have visited its World Wide Web site, which is geared toward world travelers, importers, exporters, law enforcement officers and the international business community.
Bosnia and Herzegovina have chosen Northrop Grumman's Electronic Sensors and Systems Division to provide an advanced air traffic control system. The company will supply a stand-alone monopulse secondary surveillance radar, an ATC center for en route operations and associated VHF and microwave communications. The surveillance radar, upgradable to full Mode S capability, will be operated from a remote site. The VHF system will come from Park Air Electronics, Northrop Grumman's wholly owned British subsidiary.
United Express affiliate Atlantic Coast Airlines is pursuing a $50 million debt offering, plus up to $7.5 million to cover over-allotments. The proceeds of the offering will be used to support the introduction of ACA's regional jet fleet, for the repurchase of 1.46 million shares of company common stock from British Aerospace, the retirement of higher interest debt and general corporate purposes. ACA announced in January it will acquire 12 50-seat Canadair regional jets, with the first entering service in September. It placed an option for another 36 jets.
