World, having decided to withdraw from the scheduled service business, will end its passenger service to Tel Aviv and Johannesburg in the next two months to focus on profitable operations. The carrier said in June it was dropping its European scheduled charter business to focus on wet-leasing and military charters (DAILY, June 26). It now says it will withdraw "in an orderly way" from Tel Aviv after Sept. 3, and from Johannesburg after Aug. 23. World said it has reached an agreement with TWA and Tower Air to honor World tickets for Tel Aviv flights after Sept.
Far Horizons, based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., is organizing a 16-day food tour of India Jan. 8-23. The tour, led by Food&Wine television celebrity David Rosengarten, costs $5,495. The price covers roundtrip air transportation from New York, seven special lunches and seven dinners. Sightseeing includes the Taj Mahal, Dhulikhel, the shore temples of Madras and a cruise in the lagoons of Cochin.
U.S. and U.K. ended negotiations yesterday in Washington without setting dates for future talks. They promised to exchange working papers and consult on dates for future talks, a DOT spokesman said.
A U.S. "getaway guide" is being developed by Publishing Concepts of St. Louis to persuade Canadians to visit the U.S. The guide is expected to debut in March as an insert in major Canadian newspapers.
India's Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a permit to a travel agency consortium comprising Travel Corp. of India, SITA World Travel and UVI Holidays for charter flights from Britain to Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, during the country's tourist season - October 1996 through March 1997. The DGCA had ordered a ban on all tourist-chartered flights following the Purulia arms dropping case in January, when weapons intended for terrorists were airdropped from a chartered aircraft in India's eastern region.
New reference guide to business travel in 11 Pacific Rim countries is available. Passport Pal: The Pacific Rim, is a 56-page reference on conducting business in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The guide provides cultural insights, including dining customs, Asian holidays, greetings in the local language, business and social protocols and advice on how to get around. Passport Pal costs $29.95 and can be ordered by calling 1-888-PASSPAL.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications has ordered the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to speed up the introduction of private helicopter service. A ministry official said the MOTC is unhappy with what it sees as unnecessary delays in the opening of private service and has told CAA officials to begin accepting applications from potential operators before the end of this year.
U.S. Major Carriers Atlantic Share of Service First Quarter 1996 Total Revenue Departures American 5,527 Continental 1,282 Delta 6,648 Northwest 1,386 TWA 2,104 United 3,265 USAir 539 Total 20,751 Average Number of
Western Pacific's affiliate Mountain Air Express has ordered 12 Dornier 328-120 regional turboprop aircraft and taken options on 12 more, Dornier parent Fairchild said yesterday. Deliveries begin in September. The manufacturer said the aircraft will cruise at 335 knots, opening new markets with distances approaching 600 nautical miles, and will provide "unmatched performance from high-elevation resort airports in the Rocky Mountains, even during the hot summer seasons."
FAA issued an emergency airworthiness directive requiring inspection of some Hartzell propellers used on smaller and older types of commuter aircraft, such as the DC-3 (supplemental type certificate-modified), the Shorts SD3 and the Twin Commander. FAA has reviewed and approved Hartzell's alert service bulletin that contains a list of affected propellers and describes inspection procedures. The AD requires that the inspections be performed within 10 hours of service. FAA said it received a report of an inflight blade separation on a Shorts S312 in the U.K.
Travel to the U.S. from the U.K. increased 4% in 1995 from 1994 to 2.888 million visitors, according to the U.S. International Trade Administration. Only Japan accounted for more visitors, 4.598 million. ITA predicts that travel from the U.K. will increase 2% in 1996, 1997 and 1998 and 3% in 1999, reaching 3.2 million visitors.
Business Travel Contractors Corporation (BTCC) announced the formation of the Business Travel Coalition - a group of corporations from the U.S. and abroad that will participate in the debate of key industry and public policy issues. The coalition will operate under the corporate structure of BTCC, and only corporate senior financial and administrative executives, and travel and purchasing managers, will be invited to join.
Five carriers have filed applications for service to Toronto in the U.S.- Toronto Third Year Service Proceeding. DOT will select up to four primary carriers and four backup carriers to operate two daily, scheduled, combination frequencies each between the U.S. and Toronto. The frequencies, made available by the 1995 air services agreement between the U.S. and Canada, will be available beginning February 1997. TWA, Delta and Continental are seeking to add two daily flights to Toronto from St. Louis, Atlanta and Newark, respectively.
India's private domestic carrier, Modiluft, which fell out with partner Lufthansa last month, said it will sue the German airline for $100 million in damages for breach of contract, misrepresentation and breach of trust, Modiluft officials said yesterday. The petition, to be filed in Mumbai High Court, cites Lufthansa for "tortious liability" during the tenure of their partnership. Modiluft contends that Lufthansa unilaterally snapped its ties with the Indian carrier without giving six months' notice as stipulated in the contract.
Southwest will stretch its reach to southern New England Oct. 27 when it inaugurates service to T.F. Green Airport in Providence, R.I., with eight daily flights from Baltimore/Washington Airport. Southwest previously announced its desire to begin operating to Providence but did not reveal the point of origin. The new flights will boost its operations at BWI by 30%. Southwest also is reducing fares at Baltimore to longer-haul destinations, such as Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Correction: Because of a data processing error at DOT, three figures of American Trans Air's financial results were misstated in a DAILY chart on U.S. national carriers' operating and net profits, first quarter 1996 (DAILY, July 30). The correct numbers are: First quarter 1996 net profit, $2.353 million; first quarter 1995 operating profit, $10.619 million, and first quarter 1995 net profit, $5.404 million.
The probable cause of an engine explosion on a ValuJet DC-9 last year was the failure of an engine repair contractor, Turk Hava Yollari, to detect a crack in a high-pressure compressor disk, the National Transportation Safety Board concluded yesterday. THY was the foreign repair station performing maintenance on the engine. The aircraft was departing Atlanta for Miami on June 8, 1995, when a "loud bang" was heard.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity, In Revenues and Expenses Per Employee First Quarter 1996, In Dollars Total Total Operating Operating Revenues Expenses Total (000) (000) Employees American Trans Air 207,135 201,919 3,358 Carnival 78,305 75,155 1,243
LanChile has hired Paul Gartlan as director-international affairs. He most recently was VP and general manager-North America for Ladeco Chilean Airlines. Gartlan will be responsible for developing international markets, particularly Asia, and strategic alliances.
Philippine Airlines has become the newest A340 operator, Airbus Industrie said yesterday. A second A340 is to be delivered in September. Both aircraft are leased A340-300s and "precede the start of deliveries of Philippine Airlines' own fleet of 28 Airbus Industrie aircraft in October."
Capping more than 30 years of effort, IATA today filed with DOT two intercarrier agreements on passenger liability limits, and Director General Pierre Jeanniot said he is urging the U.S. to approve them "rapidly" so they can take effect by Nov. 1. The agreements increase passenger liability limits from $75,000 in the U.S., $150,000 in much of Europe and $350,000 in Australia to full "compensatory damages," and they relieve a claimant from having to prove an airline was at fault in order to receive full compensation for death or serious injury.
Air France has signed a participation agreement with LatinPass, the frequent flyer plan of 15 Latin American and Caribbean airlines. By yearend, Air France's Frequence Plus members will be able to redeem miles on LatinPass, and members of LatinPass will accrue and redeem miles on Air France.
National Business Aircraft Association said its membership has exceeded 4,000 for the first time in its 49-year history, reaching 4,058. NBAA started out with 19 members in 1947. "During the past two years, NBAA membership has increased by more than 20%," said NBAA President John Olcott. "I believe that much of our growth directly reflects the expansion of business aviation, both in the U.S. and around the world."
