Four former military airfields have been selected to participate in the FAA Military Airport Program (MAP). Designed to help convert the facilities to civilian commercial use, MAP will give $5.7 million to former Air Force pilot training base Williams Gateway Airport, Phoenix; $5 million to the former Bergstrom Air Force Base, now Austin Bergstrom Airport, Austin, Texas; and $1 million to the former naval station Millington Municipal Airport, Memphis, Tenn.
With U.K. and Japan negotiations at a standstill, U.S. hopes for European Union talks took a hit this week as both sides took steps to scuttle any potential for progress. Planned discussions about aviation talks with the U.S. were dropped from the EU's Council of Transportation agenda for their meeting in Luxembourg beginning today. "I don't think that the issue can be properly addressed until after the U.S. presidential elections," said a top EU official, adding that "the atmosphere has become pretty tense" in the wake of the recent breakdown of U.S.-U.K. talks.
The world's airports reported passenger traffic gains of 6.6% for the first six months of 1996, compared with the same period in 1995, according to the Airports Council International. Cargo volume rose 4.8%, while aircraft movements were up slightly at 1.7%. ACI said passenger traffic in June increased 5%, cargo 9% and aircraft movements 1%, based on traffic reports from 458 airports worldwide.
Rio Air Express, operating as Skyjet Brasil, applied for renewal of its exemption to operate charter passenger service between a point or points in Brazil and a points or points in the U.S. (Docket OST-96-1578)
Federal Express Corp.'s board yesterday announced a stock split that will double the number of shares. The split, a dividend of one share for each share outstanding, "should result in improved trading liquidity and a broader investor base over time," Chairman Fred Smith said.
The National Transportation Safety Board yesterday began consideration of a new round of recommendations that would upgrade the safety of older model Boeing 737s. Boeing is uncomfortable with several of the measures, and details provided at yesterday's NTSB public hearing reveal sweeping moves that could affect the operation of all 737s and should influence Boeing's current and future designs of the aircraft. The board delayed voting because 10 of the 19 proposed recommendations were altered during the hearing. The vote is expected during the board's Oct.
USAir applied to DOT for an exemption to continue operating scheduled service between Charlotte and Montego Bay, Jamaica. With exemption authority for this service, which expired Aug. 3, USAir wants permission to operate daily service in the market for two years, using 737-400 aircraft. (Docket OST-96-1775)
Northwest said it will host a meeting of customer service representatives from 60 airlines Oct. 1-4 in connection with the 50th anniversary conference of the Worldwide Airlines Customer Relations Association (WACRA). The conference, in Bloomington, Minn., will include speakers from several government agencies, and topics will include customer expectations, legal issues, corporate culture and the role of the Internet in customer service.
Alaska Airlines is offering state residents a permanent fund dividend Special - four roundtrip tickets from Alaska to any domestic destination it serves, except Prudhoe Bay, for the amount of a resident's permanent fund dividend check, issued annually by the state. The offer, beginning Oct. 9 and continuing through Nov. 15, and is good for travel Jan. 1 through Dec. 15, 1997.
DOT once again extended the deadline - now through Oct. 31 - for taking action on the complaint of Northwest against the government of Japan. In July, Northwest filed its complaint, asserting that Japan has refused to authorize its proposed Seattle-Osaka-Jakarta service in violation of the U.S.-Japan Air Transport Agreement (DAILY, July 8).
World Airways, which retrenched from scheduled passenger service during the summer, said yesterday it expects its third quarter earnings to exceed analysts' expectations. The carrier expects net earnings of $2.8-$3 million, or $0.23-$0.25 per share, for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30. Analysts expected per-share earnings $0-$0.20, World said. World President and Chief Executive Chuck Pollard said the airline's wet- leasing operation "continues to perform well."
Reynolds Metals Co. said it has increased aluminum-lithium capacity by 100% with the startup of a $5 million, state-of-the-art casting complex at its McCook, Ill., sheet and plate plant.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Advertising Expenses Second Quarter 1996 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues Alaska $ 3,784,000 1.29 Domestic 3,529,000 1.29 Latin 255,000 1.30 America West 10,375,694 2.38
Ogden Corp. Chairman Richard Ablon said yesterday that weaker-than-expected performance by its yet-to-be-sold Atlantic Design unit will cause third quarter earnings to be below expectations. He said Ogden's core businesses, Entertainment, Aviation and Projects, continue to show "meaningful earnings growth versus last year but will not compensate for the Atlantic Design earnings shortfall, prior earnings from construction activities and earnings from previously disposed operations."
Aircraft production and new deliveries should peak in 1999, "just in time for another major recession and massive declines in traffic," according to Avmark Inc. "This repetition of under-and-over capacity in the industry has existed for 30 years, and the cycles never seem to vary by much time," the aviation marketing and management company said. It said that while the Farnborough Air Show was "awash with order announce-ments...unfortunately, these orders will not translate into deliveries until the late 1990s."
The U.S. National Tourism Organization bill, establishing a private/public national tourism office, passed Congress during the weekend and is expected to be signed into law by President Clinton. The bill does not provide any federal funding mechanism for USNTO, but after it is signed, "we will be on a fast track to organize, make appointees to the board, [and] find a funding source with which Congress will agree," said Roger Ballou, chairman of the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley yesterday named Mary Rose Loney Commissioner of Aviation. Since 1993, she was director of aviation for Philadelphia and before that, deputy executive director at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell said he will appoint a search committee to seek her replacement and made first deputy director of aviation Charles Isdell the acting director of aviation. Loney's last day in Philadelphia is Oct. 11.
National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association will focus on the increasing use of business aircraft and other issues at its annual Aviation Safety Law Seminar and Reception Oct. 29 in Washington. Attendees also will be briefed on potential changes in the emergency revocation provisions of the current law. For more information, contact Mark McDermott at 202- 331-1955.
In what was either a very successful strategy or an unnecessary one, American Chairman Robert Crandall last week urged AMR Corp. employees who live or work in the Dallas area to lobby against a proposal to open Dallas Love Field to more jet competition. American told employees Rep.
ValuJet said it has sold a record number of seats since the introductory fares for its resumption of service went on sale, and its first flight in 104 days landed at Washington Dulles Airport yesterday from Atlanta with every seat filled. The carrier said it sold more than 1,400 seats in the first three hours its reservations center was open last Thursday. From Thursday until Sunday, it sold 30,000 seats. Although ValuJet is back in business, the Association of Flight Attendants kept up its attempt to keep the carrier from flying. A U.S.
Ad Opt Technologies said it will provide the pilot schedule bidding system for Delta Express, the new low-cost operation established by Delta. Ad Opt said it was awarded the job after "several benchmark tests against competitors." Ad Opt said its "Preferential Bidding Systems differ from traditional bidding systems by allowing a pilot to construct his own schedule based on seniority on a trip-by-trip basis, rather than the monthly line-of-time construction." It said this scheduling method is more flexible for the pilot and more efficient for the company.
The House Saturday passed the 1997 omnibus spending bill, which funds President Clinton's request for more than $1.1 billion to fight terrorism and improve aviation security and safety. The measure does not address the 10% ticket tax, slated to expire at the end of the year. The bill, which was set for a Senate vote late yesterday or today, provides funds to implement the recommendations of Vice President Gore's Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and FAA's recent 90-day safety review.
Burning eight million gallons of fuel a day and paying $6 million a day for it, United is alerting employees about what they can do to help reduce fuel costs. With fuel inventories at an all-time low, United says employees can reduce use of auxiliary power units, slow aircraft to optimally efficient speeds if a flight is arriving earlier than scheduled, plan the most efficient routes and eliminate any extra weight on the aircraft.
