Cathay Pacific Airways has ordered three more A340-300s for delivery in 1998 and use on routes between Hong Kong and Europe, North America and selected Asian points. It now has firm orders for nine A340-300s.
Steve Brown has been named chairman of the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee and Robert Robeson will be vice chairman. Brown, senior VP- government affairs of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, succeeds Sarah Macleod, executive director of the Aeronautical Repair Association, in the one-year post. ARAC, comprising representatives of 64 organizations with aviation interests, advises FAA on aviation rulemaking issues.
American is looking at two long-range aircraft types, the Boeing 777 and the Airbus Industrie A340, confirms Robert Baker, executive VP-operations. American still does not want 747s, which are "too big for our purposes," Baker says. Orders still hinge on a new contract with pilots, expected in mid-December.
Terry Stinson, president of Textron Inc.'s Aerospace Systems and Components business unit, will become president and chief executive of Bell Helicopter Textron in January, the company said. He succeeds Lloyd Shoppa, who is retiring but will stay with Bell through August to help in Stinson's transition.
The Visit USA Committees of Germany, Costa Rica and Belgium have been granted recognition as official U.S. National Tourism Organization Visit USA Committees devoted to promoting travel to the U.S. Committees in nine others - Canada, Ecuador, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Peru and the U.K.- already were recognized. USA NTO Interim President Edward Book said the committees give U.S. suppliers a point of contact in the participating country.
Air Transport Association named Steven Ross director-international programs. American Society of Travel Agents appointed Eric Ardolino president of ASTA Marketing Services.
Boeing is putting a model of its proposed 747-500X derivative through 1,000 hours of wind tunnel testing in the U.S. and England to help engineers evaluate the performance of a new, larger wing, which it also is developing for the 747-600X. Low-speed tests are being conducted at the Defense Research Agency in Farnborough, England, and high-speed tests are under way at the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tullahoma, Tenn. Boeing has shut down its own wind tunnel to replace the main engine.
Passengers on United's domestic flights will have a broader selection of beverages based on customer surveys and suggestions by flight attendants. It has added Snapple lemon iced tea, Snapple kiwi-strawberry cocktail, skim milk, cranberry juice and grapefruit juice. The carrier serves 80 million cups of Starbuck's coffee per year, 40,000 cans of Coke and 26,000 cans of Diet Coke per day. It also serves 35,000 cans of 7-Up and Diet 7-Up per day.
DOT approved and conferred antitrust immunity on the alliance agreement between United and SAS, and on the coordination agreement of the full United-Lufthansa-SAS alliance (Docket OST-96-1411; 96-1646). Various conditions apply, including the alliance's need to obtain DOT approval before acting to operate under a common brand name. A host of issues surround the decision.
Delta Express carried 158,182 passengers in October, its first month of operation, with a 70% load factor and 90.5% on-time arrival rating. The volume is not far below Delta Shuttle's - 193,358 boardings in October, the best in its history. Delta also boarded more passengers than any previous October at its three largest hubs, Atlanta, Salt Lake City and Cincinnati. Volume at Atlanta was 2,066,454 passengers, the sixth time in eight months it baorded more than two million.
U.S. carriers that provide scheduled service to France were invited by DOT to apply for the five additional frequencies in the market made available recently under the U.S.-French deal that granted Air France five additional frequencies for its winter schedule (DAILY, Oct. 29).
Midwest Express has been hired by the Milwaukee Bucks to fly the team during the 1996-97 National Basketball Association season. The carrier will use a DC-9-10 configured for 52 seats instead of the usual 60, with extra legroom. The aircraft will be equipped with TVs, VCRs, special headrests and "a collection of the Bucks' favorite board games." The team logo will be on the bulkhead wall and flight attendants' sweater vests. The passengers will be served trainer-approved meals developed by the Midwest Express dining services unit.
Boeing telegraphed an alert service bulletin (SB) to 737 operators Friday, warning them that new tests show rudder jamming can occur and recommending a test they can conduct during the next overnight at a maintenance base or within 10 days. FAA was expected to issue a telegraphic airworthiness directive during the weekend making the SB mandatory. The SB is Boeing's first acknowledgement that something can go wrong in the 737 rudder system that could affect control of the aircraft, a National Transportation Safety Board source said Friday.
Northwest's Air Line Pilots Association unit says it is "disturbed" by Northwest's decision to purchase 12 Avro RJ85s for sublease to Mesaba Airlines instead of investing in its core fleet. The regional jets will replace Northwest's DC-9s in some Minneapolis and Detroit markets (DAILY, Oct. 29). The acquisition of $300 million worth of regional jets was called a predictable tactic during contract negotiations. The carrier's pilots have long complained that Northwest has a pilot shortage.
American's political action committee contributed about 45% of the money passenger airlines gave to federal candidates and other federal campaign committees during the 1995-96 election cycle. As of Oct. 16, American had doled out $419,309, more than United, Northwest and Delta combined, but dwarfed by the United Parcel Service and FedEx PAC contributions - $1.67 million and $1.05 million, respectively.
American Trans Air announced that it is accepting Diners Club Cards and has become a member of the Club Rewards program. Diners Club members can redeem their points for tickets on the carrier.
International Lease Finance Corp. said its pretax income rose 41.9% to $104.9 million in the third quarter, and revenues increased 16.2% to $423.3 million. Rental income was up 13.4% to $375.5 million. For the first nine months, pretax income climbed 25.1% to $298 million, revenues 16.9% to $1.2 billion and rental income 16.6% to $1.1 billion.
Orally renewed an exemption for Philippine Airlines to serve Saipan as an additional point on Route 2 of its foreign air carrier permit through Oct. 30, 1997...Orally renewed an exemption for Finnair to conduct scheduled service between Helsinki and San Francisco through Oct. 30, 1997...Orally renewed an exemption to Cargolux Airlines International to conduct scheduled air transportation on the upper deck of Cargolux freighters, from points behind Luxembourg, via Luxembourg, to points in the U.S. via intermediate points, and beyond...Extended through Nov.
Pan Am's two-class fleet is a "recipe for disaster" for a new entrant, according to Morten Beyer Associates. The carrier did not reconfigure its A300 aircraft from the current 24 first-class, 230 economy seats to all- economy class with 330 seats, which would have reduced its seat-mile costs 25%. "Continental was forced to retire these aircraft two years ago, primarily because of unreliability, although costs were low," MBA says.
Swissair, countering European media reports that it is considering retrenching from its investment in Sabena, said Friday its relationship with the Belgian carrier is solid and unchanged. "Our investment in and commitment to Sabena is part of our long-term strategic plan," said Swissair spokeswoman Linda Parseghian. "Nothing has happened to change that." Sabena President Paul Reutlinger, responding to a question at last week's press conference on a restructuring plan (DAILY, Nov.
Southwest is offering a "one-time extension" of its Friends Fly Free program, which was to have expired last week but instead will continue through Nov. 20 for ticket purchases. Fares are good for travel through April 4. The program allows a full-fare paying passenger to take along a friend at no charge.
TWA is offering customers an upgrade to first class, if space is available a few hours before the flight, for a small fee based on the length of the trip. Passengers in coach, known as Comfort Class, can upgrade at the airport two hours prior to departure. Fees are $50 for trips between St. Louis and cities in the Midwest, $100 for trips between St. Louis and the East Coast, $125 for flights between St. Louis and the West Coast, $150 for trips between New York and the West Coast, and $250 for flights between St. Louis and Honolulu.
Administrative Law Judge Burton Kolko has set March 11 as the hearing date for DOT's anti-bias enforcement action against American Airlines and the Sabre computer reservations system. The hearing will start at 10 a.m. in Room 5332 at DOT headquarters, 400 Seventh St. S.W., Washington, D.C. Kolko may be hoping for a reconciliation - his notice of hearing specifies that pretrial discovery must "culminate on Valentine's Day."
UNC Inc. said its net earnings for the third quarter jumped 178% to $2.3 million, operating income rose 98% to $12.5 million and revenues increased 80% to $247.9 million. The company said revenues from its Garrett Aviation Services Division were stronger than expected in the quarter. For the first three quarters, revenues were up to $570.7 million from $394.5 million, a 44% increase, while operating income gained 51% to $27.1 million and net earnings rose to $4.3 million from $1.8 million.
CityLink Airlines Inc., a new entrant planning MD-80 service out of the Chicago area, plans to begin operating next spring at Gary, Ind., Regional Airport, a suburban location between Gary and Chicago. In its DOT application, CityLink said it chose the airport on the basis of low congestion, low cost, an origin-and-destination pool of 2.5 million people in a 24-mile radius, and expressway access said to be much easier for a large part of the local population than at O'Hare and Midway.
