A joint complaint to DOT from the United States Travel Agent Registry (USTAR) and the Association of Retail Travel Agents (ARTA) against the Worldspan/Microsoft online alliance is "grossly inaccurate," Worldspan VP, General Counsel and Secretary Douglas Abramson said in a rebuttal letter to Charles Hunnicutt, DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs.
FAA and industry officials met yesterday for discussions on an airworthiness bulletin the agency issued earlier in the week on maintenance work performed for air carriers by third parties. The discussions addressed how to audit repair station work and how to report such work to FAA. The bulletin is part of an FAA effort to update its maintenance regulations - and airlines' oversight of third-party maintenance work - following the ValuJet crash.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Tuesday night he will defer the package of aviation safety and security amendments he planned to offer on the fiscal 1997 DOT appropriations bill (DAILY, July 25) and instead will work with colleagues on the measures as part of the FAA reauthorization bill (S.1994). Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.) has scheduled action Sept. 19 on H.R.1994. The Senate resumed onsideration of the appropriations bill (H.R.3675) late yesterday after beginning work on it Tuesday.
The market for jet and turboprop corporate aircraft will show "modest growth through 1999 due in large part to expanding global commerce and increased recognition of the benefits of owning a corporate aircraft," according to a CIT Group forecast "Outlook for Corporate Aircraft 1997- 1999." While unit sales growth will average 1.2% on a compounded, annualized basis through 1999, dollar sales of new and used corporate aircraft should grow at a much healthier rate of 5.3% a year, reaching $6 billion, the forecast says.
Travel Industry Association of America has chosen Miami and Dallas as the 1999 and 2000 host cities, respectively, of the International Pow Wow conference, which promotes travel to the U.S. TIA said Pow Wow is the most important event for the U.S. travel industry, generating $3 billion in Visit USA sales in three days, of which the host city can expect to collect 10%. International tour operators from 70 countries will be on hand to buy travel products from 1,200 of the top airlines, hotels, cruise lines, entertainment facilities and car rental companies.
Fueled by disappointing results from expanded scheduled services, Amtran, parent of American Trans Air, reported a net loss of $2.3 million, or 20 cents a share, for the second quarter, reversing the $3.3 million in profit, or 29 cents per share, generated in the same 1995 period. "While much of the industry was enjoying record revenue, we saw ours decline 3.6% on a per-ASM [available seat mile] basis for the period," said George Mikelsons, Amtran's chairman and chief executive.
Northwest requested an exemption to provide scheduled combination code- share service between Los Angeles and Vancouver on flights operated by Alaska Airlines. Northwest also asked DOT to amend its Feb. 29 Vancouver service order, to shift Northwest's two second-year U.S.-Vancouver frequencies from the Minneapolis and Detroit markets to Los Angeles.
Bolstered by the profitable sale of Continental stock and increased international passenger revenues, Air Canada posted C$111 million (US$80.8 million) in consolidated net income, or 68 cents per share, for the second quarter. The gains represented a dramatic improvement over the same period a year ago, when the carrier lost C$20 million or 16 cents per share. Its operating income dropped from C$46 million last year to C$37 million, however.
Western Pacific Airlines President and Chief Executive Ed Beauvais and several private investors have formed a new airline, Mountain Air Express (MAX), that will operate as an affiliate of WestPac to Colorado ski destinations - Durango/Purgatory, Gunnison/Crested Butte, Aspen/Snowmass, Steamboat Springs/Hayden, Telluride/Montrose and Eagle/Vail, beginning Dec. 4 and offering 50 daily flights from WestPac's Colorado Springs base by Dec. 18. Beauvais will be chairman of MAX but said management of the two companies will be separate.
United States Air Tour Association, which opposes proposed limits on the air space above the Grand Canyon, warns that the limits actually could hurt safety. The Notice of Proposed Rule-making is the result of lobbying by groups against aircraft noise over the park. "Air tour experts firmly believe that if the NPRM takes effect, there will be a major air disaster over the Grand Canyon as a result," said USATA President Dan Anderson. USATA also argues that by reducing the areas in which tour operators are allowed to fly, noise will be increased in those areas.
Vice President Gore's Aviation Safety and Security Commission will take a fresh look at all aspects of airline and airport security and press for fast-track issuance of patents for inventions that would help deter or detect attempts at terrorism, Gore said yesterday at a meeting with Washington Dulles Airport employees. Commission members will be appointed during the next few weeks, Gore said, to conduct a short-term analysis of how to improve security technology and training procedures.
The U.S. tourism industry is expected to bounce back over the next four years when international visitors are projected to increase 3%-4%, following a 3% decline last year. The new Tourism Industries (TI) office in the Commerce Department is forecasting a record-breaking year for tourism in 1998 - more than 48 million international arrivals.
Correction: Delta operated an average 2,617 flights per day last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The DAILY erroneously reported the number as a total for the three days (DAILY, July 30).
CenStates Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference will be held Sept. 4-6 at the Frontenac Hilton Hotel in St. Louis. Its theme focuses on travel marketing challenges and solutions, and discussion topics cover marketing with online services, applying for research grants and understanding the new Travel Census. For more information, call Warren Wiethaupt, 314-225-6339.
Continental's improvement in operational performance during the past year is evidenced by its employee rewards. Starting with free slices of pizza for hard workers, the carrier gave $65 and then $100 monthly bonus checks when it performed well. Yesterday, it gave 1996 Eddie Bauer limited edition Ford Explorers with leather seats to seven employees whose names were drawn from several thousand with perfect attendance records for the first half of the year.
DOT has issued Panagra Airways a certificate authorizing it to engage in foreign charter air transportation. The action follows the department's earlier approval of the carrier's bid to start up interstate charter service. Planning to operate 727-200 aircraft initially within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean Basin, Panagra plans to seek charter opportunities in Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia as business conditions permit (DAILY, July 12). (Dockets OST-96-1019&OST-96-1020)
Standard&Poor's, citing the proposed alliance with British Airways, yesterday said it has revised its ratings outlook on AMR Corp. and American Airlines to positive from stable. About $6.7 billion of securities is affected. S&P said the revision reflects progress in restoring financial strength and the potential revenue and competitive advantages of a proposed alliance with British Airways.
USAir signed a confidentiality agreement allowing it to discuss commercial opportunities with American shortly after American Chairman Robert Crandall said in mid-June that American could not talk to the carrier until it did so (DAILY, June 13), American said yesterday. USAir has had separate conversations with BA. American said the discussions were not about bringing USAir into the prospective American-BA alliance or acquiring it.
The bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation Committee and its aviation subcommittee introduced legislation yesterday to establish formal procedures and entities to assist the families of people injured or killed in aviation disasters. The bill would establish a National Transportation Safety Board family advocate to be a liaison between families and the government and the airline, and directs NTSB to designate an independent organization, such as the Red Cross, to take primary responsibility for the care and support of the families.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association told the General Accounting Office this week that it opposes closing Chicago's downtown Meigs Field. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), whose district includes part of Chicago, asked the GAO to investigate Mayor Richard Daley's plan to replace the airport with a $27 million park. Meigs Field, an FAA reliever airport, has received special federal support to attract general aviation and corporate aircraft that otherwise would use nearby airline hubs, according to Bill Dunn, AOPA VP for regional affairs.
U.S. Major Carriers Systemwide Share of Service First Quarter 1996 Total Revenue Departures Alaska 36,554 America West 50,097 American 193,432 Continental 107,590 Delta 229,159 Northwest 140,512 Southwest 179,085 TWA 70,091 United 190,457
Joyce Fleischman, the Department of Agriculture's deputy inspector general, will be named, probably today, to replace DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo, who resigned July 3. At DOT, Fleischman will be the acting IG.
While clearing American and British Airways to go ahead with their alliance plans, the British House of Commons Transport Select Committee provided some comfort to opponents of the alliance. The government panel voted Tuesday against referring the alliance proposal to the U.K. Monopolies and Mergers Commission, where it would have gotten much greater scrutiny (DAILY, July 31).
Anthony Broderick, FAA's former top enforcement official, believes a "difference in perspective" between himself and Mary Schiavo, DOT's former inspector general, probably figured in the FBI's potentially devastating investigation of Broderick. Speaking with Aviation Week Group editors, Broderick said he was "shocked" when he learned of the FBI probe, which began after Schiavo linked him to an alleged cover-up of unapproved parts infractions.
American Automobile Association has named 12 tour suppliers and 11 cruise providers to its preferred supplier team for the 1997-98 program. AAA reduced the number of preferred travel suppliers from more than 400 to 26 last year to enhance member benefits. The preferred tour suppliers are ATS/Island in the Sun, Brennan Tours, Certified Vacations, Classic Custom Vacations, Der Travel Services, General Tours, TBI Tours, Kingdom Tours, Northwest World Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, Tauck Tours, Trafalgar Tours and Travel Impressions.
