Abacus has begun operations in Pakistan and has formed a Club Abacus "recognition program" for travel agents with whom it does the most business. The Asia/Pacific computer reservations system started up in Pakistan with the cutover of eight travel agencies since midmonth, and Michael Lim, senior manager-market development, said the company will train more than 100 agents and install its system at more than 50 travel agencies there during the next few weeks. Lim leads the Abacus support group in Pakistan.
CCAIR, an independent US Airways regional, will be paying its large partner more and keeping less for itself this summer.Under a new agreement effective July 1, US Airways will capture an additional 4% of CCAIR's revenues and assess increased handling and service fees, the Charlotte- based regional said in a 10-Q securities filing. Mesa also faces a re- evaluation of its service agreement (DAILY, May 23).
Associated Air Center, Dallas, added Louis Churchville to the sales staff with responsibility for corporate/VIP/head-of-state aircraft completions and modifications. Banner Aerospace named Kristina Redline corporate controller. BMW Rolls Royce named former Fokker VP Gert Reitsma head of purchasing and Michael Corne head of marketing and sales. DeCrane Aircraft Holdings elected Mitchell Quain, executive VP of Furman Selz, to the board.
Walter Kidde Aerospace will retrofit Delta's 382 narrowbody aircraft with cargo bay protection systems, the company said. Currently, most narrowbody aircraft and many older widebodies have no protection systems, relying instead on fireproof cargo liners to contain a fire. FAA is preparing a notice of proposed rulemaking to require protection systems, which at a minimum will include smoke detectors in all cargo compartments.
American International Airways made its case for Ecuadorian cargo frequencies in a consolidated filing addressing applications by five other operators, including Challenge Air Cargo, the dominant carrier in the market.
International Civil Aviation Organization last week launched its first comprehensive organizational overhaul since its creation in 1944, aimed at increasing flight safety and security. At the same time, ICAO Council President Assad Kotaite renewed his proposal for increased powers to oversee the implementation of safety and security standards.
The Senate Friday passed 78-22 its version (S.Con.Res.27) of the five-year budget resolution, adopting a measure expressing the sense of the Senate that Congress should consider legislation to exclude the receipts and disbursements of the aviation trust fund from U.S. budget totals. The amendment is a watered-down version of a proposal by Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) that would have made off-budget status an assumption of the budget resolution. Earlier last week, the House cleared its version (H.Con.Res.84) of the budget resolution by a 333-99 vote.
With no Boeing 777-200X\300X launch customer in sight and ample high-margin CFM56 and CF6 engine business in hand, GE Aircraft Engines will postpone certification testing on its planned 102,000-lbst. GE90-120B turbofan. Verification tests for the growth engine will continue and development will be brisk through next February. Both a fan booster rig test and a core engine test are on tap for the fourth quarter, the fan at Snecma facilities in France and the core at GE's Evendale, Ohio, altitude facility.
Society of British Aerospace Companies President Michael Turner says allocating workshares "by passport" must end as Airbus Industrie restructures itself. "We have to have the best guy doing the job," he told reporters last week. "We are competing with Boeing, which is a bloody good company with the best people running it."
Visions of a Flying Machine: The Wright Brothers and the Process of Invention by Peter Jakab. Summarizes the development leading to the first flights of the Wright Brothers and their flying machines. Smithsonian Institution Press; $15.95 paper. To order, call 800-782-4612.
Civil Aviation Administration of China selected Raytheon Electronic Systems to provide a $4 million air traffic control radar system for the new airport at Guangzhou. Other bidders were Siemens-Plessey, Alenia and Northrop-Grumman.
Millon Air told DOT's Air Carrier Fitness Division last week that its flights are listed in the May 1997 Official Airline Guide because lead times for publication are very long. Airlines are not to list flights in the OAG unless they are authorized to operate, and Millon has been shut down since the crash of one of its aircraft last year.
Varig is making South America's first foray into self-ticketing. The Brazilian carrier is investing $2 million to develop self-ticketing machines and will test them on the Rio de Janeiro-Sao Paulo shuttle route. The "Varig Express" system, created with Unisys and Siemens, may be used in other national and international service soon.
Two-week trial run of TV commercials to get prospects for a "Stop Dreaming, Start Flying" campaign has netted more than 2,000 requests for a free, $35- value introductory flight coupon, according to General Aviation Team 2000. More than 1,100 flight schools have signed up for the campaign, supported by general aviation manufacturers, businesses and associations.
Great Lakes Aviation resumed limited service Friday to five cities in Iowa and Illinois, operating as United Express. The company suspended service May 16 under pressure from FAA.
British Airways will sell a large portion of its 14.65% stake in computer reservation system Galileo International. BA owns the shares through its subsidiary Distribution Systems Inc. The airline could sell up to 45% of its holding in Galileo. Another BA subsidiary, Travel Automation Services Ltd., which trades as Galileo UK, is not affected, even though it is the national Galileo distributor in the U.K.
National Transportation Safety Board asked FAA last week to require inspections of cockpit voice recorders on Beech 1900s and take corrective action to ensure that the "intelligibility of recorded communication, including radio transmissions to and from the airplane, is as high as practicable." The board said it had difficulty understanding some of the radio transmissions in the United Express Beech 1900 involved in a fatal runway collision last November with a KingAir in Quincy, Ill.
Orlando is the most popular domestic destination of U.S. residents this summer, the American Society of Travel Agents said, beating out last year's choice, Las Vegas. London still is the most-booked international destination. ASTA agents still see record bookings for domestic and international travel this year, with sales up by an average of more than 10% over last year, said ASTA President and Chief Executive Mike Spinelli. San Francisco, Seattle and Los Angeles follow Orlando and Las Vegas in the top five.
Aspen Mountain Air/Lone Star is negotiating with Fairchild Dornier for up to eight former Horizon Air Do 328 high-speed turboprops. The 30- passenger aircraft will be used to expand operations at Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver, including a new DFW-Santa Fe route to be initiated June 25. The carrier also is looking at several other business-oriented markets and plans to increase frequency in the DFW-Chihuahua, Mexico, market. Horizon is replacing its fleet of 12 328s with new de Havilland Dash 8-200 aircraft but still operates five.
Alaska Airlines executives told shareholders they forecast a profitable year for Alaska and improvements in the third quarter for regional airline subsidiary Horizon Air. The airline "is in its best competitive position in years," said Chairman John Kelly. "Ultimately, however, the level of our overall profitability will be affected by industry actions in the fourth quarter."
Indigo Aviation, which trades and leases commercial jet transports to airlines, opened a U.S. office in Fort Lauderdale. The company, based in Malmo, Sweden, said the Florida facility will give it better access to U.S. capital markets and commercial aviation markets in North America and Latin America. It said it currently owns 20 jet aircraft on lease to 13 airlines in 12 countries.
Professional Services Council (PSC), which represents information technology firms, yesterday criticized FAA's award last Friday of a major contract to the Agriculture Department. George Donohue, FAA associate administrator for research and acquisitions, suspended work on the contract Monday until the agency can address issues raised by industry about the award, a spokesman said. The Integrated Computing Environment-Mainframe and Networking (Iceman) contract could reach a value of $250 million.
National Transportation Safety Board wants FAA to require EMB-120 Brasilia operators to ensure that their operating manuals reflect FAA- approved minimum airspeeds for all flap settings and phases of flight, including in icing conditions. The recommendation is one of four NTSB issued this week as a result of its investigation of the Jan. 9 fatal Comair EMB-120 crash near Detroit, in which icing may have been a factor (DAILY, May 14). The board has not issued a probable cause determination in the accident.
DOT took the unusual step of denying El Al a route renewal for service from Israel to Baltimore/Washington, Dallas/Fort Worth and Orlando. North American Airlines has operated the service for El Al via wet-lease. DOT imposed the sanction because Israel has refused to permit Tower Air to fly New York-Athens-Tel Aviv. TWA served the route for years, and DOT designated Tower for it after TWA withdrew. United and Northwest opposed El Al, saying its request, which requires extrabilateral approval, was not justified by comity and reciprocity because Israel denied U.S.
