The Farnborough Air Show will change its dates from the traditional week in September to July, beginning in 2000. The Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC) said the change responds to requests from exhibitors who want to reduce the difference in the time between the Farnborough show, conducted in even-numbered years, and the Paris Air Show, which takes place in June of odd-numbered years. The change will give these companies more time to prepare for Paris. SBAC President Michael Turner said 91 U.K.
AirTran's application for an exemption from slot controls at New York LaGuardia calls on "exceptional circumstances" rules, an argument similar to Frontier Airlines' in the latter's bid for Denver-LaGuardia service. Orlando-based AirTran, which serves 23 cities, proposes to fly two daily 737 roundtrips from Toledo and Akron/Canton, Ohio; Bloomington/Normal and Moline/Quad Cities, Ill., and Knoxville, Tenn. (DAILY, May 27).
A travel agent association setting up its own computer reservations system - independent of current airline-controlled systems - wants DOT to ensure that IATA complies with pricing regulations. IATA says, however, it is playing by the rules while the travel agents are exploiting the issue to showcase their own plans. A New York-based group called the United States Travel Agent Registry (USTAR) is launching the Genesis Project, which by fall of 1998 aims to create a new, independent CRS funded by member travel agents as a business cooperative.
American Trans Air President and Chief Executive Stanley Pace has resigned, effective immediately, and the company is being managed by an executive committee. The board of Amtran, the parent company, will appoint a search committee to find a successor to Pace. Spokeswoman Mary Cochran said Pace decided to resign and was not asked to leave by the board. Pace has been with the carrier since August 1996, when he joined after working as a consultant with Bain&Co. Amtran could not speak to Pace's future plans.
Revised* - Boeing 747 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1996 B747-100 Northwest TWA Number of Aircraft Operated 23 10 Total Fleet Operations Departures 32 14 Block Hours 250 89 Flight Hours 235 81 Miles 122,664 42,143
The governments of India and Peru have signed an agreement aimed at encouraging private participation in setting up joint ventures for hotels and tourist resorts in their countries, Indian foreign ministry officials said this week. The tourism agreement also entails promotion of joint travel packages that would be sold through agencies in India, Peru and third countries, civil aviation and tourism ministry officials said. Currently, annual Indo-Peruvian tourist traffic barely reaches 500 travelers, they added.
EgyptAir took delivery yesterday of its first 777-200, an increased gross weight version of the aircraft. The 777 is the first of three Pratt&Whitney-powered aircraft EgyptAir will receive this year, all with 12 first-class, 21 business-class and 286 economy seats.
Air France expects to recover $3.5 million in the U.S. and $1.5 million in Canada from audits conducted by Profit Recovery Systems, a division of MTB Corp. Research by the New York-based company for Air France, Alitalia and Finnair showed that as much as 7.8% of tickets issued by travel agents are underpaid. Air France has signed with the New York-based firm, which recovers payments lost through underpayment and installs safeguards to protect against fraud, errors or abuse by travel agents, tour operators and consolidators.
Going into yesterday's public hearing, the National Civil Aviation Review Commission had not dealt substantively with the issue of whether the Defense Department should pay air traffic control user fees to FAA, sources close to the commission told The DAILY. It is expected to do so soon - its target to recommend FAA financing sources to Congress is mid-June.
KLM and its pilots union VNV reached a tentative agreement last week on a 15-month contract that gives the pilots a 0.75% raise July 1, another 1% Jan. 1, 1998, and a one-time bonus of 0.75% of a year's pay this October. The pilots will vote June 3 on contract ratification. In addition, management has acknowledged that the contract places some limits on code sharing and prevents operation of F100 aircraft by non-KLM pilots, according to the Air Line Pilots Association unit at alliance partner Northwest.
Government of Pakistan has named Shahid Khaqan Abbasi chairman of Pakistan International Airlines, succeeding Hasan Raza Pasha. Abbasi, 38, a pilot with 700 hours' flying time and a five-term member of the Pakistan's National Assembly, holds a master's degree in engineering from the University of California.
Qantas, adding seats throughout its fleet and upgrading flight attendant service, is launching a three-year offensive aimed at increasing its market share over the Pacific by 2000, when the Olympic Games come to Sydney. Qantas will spend A$550 million (US$424 million) during the next three years to refurbish the interiors of its 99 aircraft, including 30 747s, as part of a "Flying Towards 2000" campaign. The reconfiguration will reach the domestic fleet in October, and international aircraft will debut new interiors next April (DAILY, May 27).
Atlant-Soyuz Airlines wants an exemption to operate cargo services for a Japanese freight forwarder, Sanko Busan Co., through Guam and Saipan. The carrier would fly fish from non-U.S. points, including Palau, Jayapura, Mando, Mauro and Biak, to Guam as a primary point and Saipan as an alternate to transfer to U.S. and foreign carriers to Japan. Sanko Busan has specifically asked Atlant-Soyuz to use an An-12 turboprop aircraft for the work, and Atlant-Soyuz said the aircraft is required because it can operate efficiently at small-island airports.
Romania-based Tarom said a request by Romania for bilateral talks eliminates the need to take punitive action against the carrier, as suggested by Delta. Tarom, seeking to renew its U.S. authority, has said its own-aircraft service is not the equivalent of extensive code-share proposals (DAILY, May 2). Delta wants to operate third-country code shares to Bucharest with Austrian and Swissair, and in a May 16 filing it said efforts to secure Romanian approval had failed.
Great Lakes Aviation expanded its service during the holiday weekend in its return from a voluntary suspension of operations May 16 at the urging of FAA, which expressed concern about the safety of the carrier's fleet. Great Lakes said it was resuming service yesterday to Traverse City, Mich., after restoring service during the weekend to Lansing, Mich., and Decatur, Ill. Last week the carrier said that, operating as United Express, it was resuming service to five cities in Iowa and Illinois.
Colombian cargo carrier Transportes Aereos Mercantiles Panamericanos (Tampa) wants DOT to confirm that it can carry certain personnel on flights to the U.S. U.S. cargo carriers appear to have that authority, and Article 8 of the U.S.-Colombian bilateral dictates "fair and equal" opportunities for airlines of both countries, Tampa said. It also cites U.S. FARs, stating that U.S. cargo carriers can transport certain persons without complying with Part 121 passenger-carrying regulations.
Allison Engine Co. said its 250-C47M engine, which powers the McDonnell Douglas MD600N helicopter, has received its type certificate from FAA. The engine features a full-authority, digital electronic control for lower pilot workload and reduced operating cost.
Fortis Aviation said it has arranged the purchase by American International Airways of three 747-200 Combi aircraft now owned and operated by Middle East Airlines. AIA will take delivery of the first in June and the remaining two in August and September. The three aircraft will be converted to full freighter configuration and bring the number of 747s AIA operates to 11.
Air France's fiscal 1996/97 results, to be unveiled tomorrow, "contain an excellent surprise," said Deputy Managing Director Denis Olivennes in an interview with French newspaper Journal du Dimanche. "Air France is at break-even," he said. Earlier, airline Chairman Christian Blanc forecast a 200 million French franc (US$34 million) loss in the fiscal year that ended April 30 and a return to profit the following year.
Kapers, Swissair's cabin crew union, has protested the posting of attendants from Thailand, South Korea and India on Swissair flights. Last week, Swissair replaced about 120 Swiss cabin crew members with Asian recruits on services to Bangkok, Singapore, Taipei and Seoul. Kapers, accusing the airline of delocalizing jobs, said the move would badly affect imminent pay and conditions talks. The union also said it is unacceptable that Swissair is unwilling to limit the number of foreign-based cabin crew or to negotiate their conditions of service with the union.
Northwest applied for third-country code-sharing to South Africa with partner KLM. Northwest would market U.S.-originating passage on KLM flights from Amsterdam to Johannesburg and Capetown. The carrier said it has been waiting to offer service to Johannesburg for four years.
Horizon Air will inaugurate nonstop flights between Seattle and Medford, Ore., Aug. 3 and start a shuttle schedule to Vancouver, British Columbia, from Seattle. The carrier also will increase nonstops to Redmond/Bend, Ore., from Seattle to three a day. It will operate the Seattle-Medford service twice a day with 37-seat Dash 8 aircraft. It will operate 16 flights a day in the Seattle-Vancouver market, departing on the hour from Vancouver and the half-hour from Seattle.
