Canadian Airlines International will match Air Canada's move to cap travel agent commissions in the U.S. at $50 for a roundtrip ticket and $25 for one-way travel (DAILY, June 11). Canadian also will follow Air Canada's move to increase domestic commissions in Canada to 9% from the current 8.25%.
Integrated all-cargo carriers have begun to dominate the U.S. air export market, capturing 87% of new shipments generated in 1995, according to the Colography Group, which projects these carriers will control "all new shipments entering the market by the year 2000." Integrated carriers controlled about 70% of the 69.7 million total air export shipments tendered last year.
JetTrain is offering free companion tickets to fathers, grandfathers and great grandfathers in honor of Fathers Day this weekend. The dads can fly free with the purchase of a $79 ticket from Newark or Pittsburgh to Orlando, or a $69 ticket from Newark to Pittsburgh. All travel must be completed by June 20.
Dunlop Aircraft Tires opened a new U.S. headquarters and distribution center in Crewe, Va., taking over from the former Dunlop Aviation/Hawker Pacific operations in Miami, which now is closed. The new address is Tyler Street Warehouse, Crewe, Va., 23930. Telephone 804-645-1415, fax 804-645- 1618.
USAir reduced fares in more than 2,700 city-pairs involving Florida, Canada and the Caribbean. The lowest roundtrip fares are $158 between Providence, R.I., and Fort Lauderdale, $198 between Philadelphia and Key West, and $198 between Hartford and Fort Myers. Tickets must be purchased at least 21 days in advance, and no later than June 18, for travel beginning July 9 and ending by Nov. 14. All tickets must be purchased as roundtrips and require one Saturday night stay.
TWA, acting on the possibility that yesterday's American-British Airways agreement will open up slots at London Heathrow, says it is prepared to begin operating a daily roundtrip between Heathrow and New York Kennedy Sept. 4 with a 747 and could add two more daily flights with 767s on Oct. 27. TWA requested authority this week from DOT to operate to Heathrow, even through there is no authority currently available, one day before American and BA announced their proposed strategic alliance (DAILY, June 11). "We urge the department to emphasize to the U.K.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) will introduce legislation today on regulating the quality of aircraft cabin air. A news conference is scheduled today in Washington, where flight attendants represented by the Association of Flight Attendants will speak on personal impacts of poor cabin air, such as lightheadedness, breathing problems and headaches. The legislation would require U.S. and foreign airlines to equip aircraft with ventilation systems that provide not less than 20 cubic feet of fresh air per minute per person in the cabin.
Continental has been in discussions with Boeing on changing the mix of its 1993 aircraft order, on hold for a while, but without necessarily changing the overall value of the deal. Continental Chief Executive Gordon Bethune told Aviation Week Group editors yesterday that the airline has less need now for the 767-300ER and more for the next generation 737.
A ValuJet flight attendant and Association of Flight Attendants union leader will talk about the working conditions of the carrier's 600 flight attendants tonight at the AFL-CIO's Town Hall Meeting in Atlanta. The meeting is scheduled at 6 p.m. at the IBEW Auditorium on Pulliam St. as part of the America Needs a Raise campaign. The AFA said some ValuJet flight attendants make $12,000 a year, are not guaranteed raises and have no paid sick leave or vacation.
Greenwich Air Services said it has completed the $231.5 million purchase of Aviall's domestic and foreign commercial engine services operations. The cash transaction was financed by public offerings. Greenwich Chairman Eugene Conese said the purchase "made our company the largest, most diversified independent gas turbine engine repair and overhaul organization in the world." Greenwich now can provide repair and overhaul services for all the major original equipment engine manufacturers, he said. This includes 14 engine lines and 50 engine models.
American and British Airways unveiled the terms of their commercial alliance yesterday, detailing plans to code share on many flights, merge their frequent flyer programs and take other steps to integrate their cargo and passenger operations. As expected, the pact is premised on immunity from U.S. antitrust laws, which in turn requires an open skies aviation treaty between the U.S. and the U.K. Both carriers said yesterday they have encouraged their governments to seek such an agreement quickly.
Delta said yesterday that on July 11 it will redeem all outstanding shares of its Series C convertible preferred stock and related depository shares. As of yesterday, there were about 22,995 shares of Series C convertible preferred stock and 22.99 million depository shares. Each depository share is equal to 1/1,000 of a share of Series C convertible preferred stock. The move will save $80 million in annual preferred dividend payments, the carrier said. Each depository share will be redeemed for 0.7605 shares of Delta common stock.
Crash of a ValuJet DC-9 even while the carrier was undergoing intensive FAA surveillance "underscored what we have known for some time - that even heightened surveillance is not going to be enough to prevent every accident," according to FAA Administrator David Hinson. "What the times require is a fundamental change in the FAA's primary mode of intervention - from regulation and inspection to risk management and collaborative problem solving," Hinson said.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Income Statement October 1, 1995 - February 29, 1996 Current Month RECEIPTS (Revenues) Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas $ (6,513,000.00) Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. (351,712,000.00)
Bedek Aviation of Israel has received a UPS contract to convert two 747- 200s from passenger airplanes into freighters. The conversion will include a side cargo door. The contract is valued at up to $30 million.
Raytheon and Telephonics have joined with local partners in India to bid for a 5 billion rupee (US$142.8 million) project to set up a satellite- based networking system for 89 airports countrywide on a build-and-transfer basis, civil aviation ministry officials said this week. Raytheon has tied up with the Tata Group of companies, and Telephonics and Ispat Group have formed a joint-venture company, Ispat Telephonics, to bid on the project, ministry sources said. Other contenders include the Mumbai-based Mittal Group.
Frontier Airlines flew 148% more revenue passenger miles in May, 60.2 million, than in May 1995. Capacity rose 81.3% to 99.1 million available seat miles, and the load factor grew from 44.5% to 60.8%. Frontier nearly doubled the number of passengers it carried during the month, to 87,471 from 44,036. For the first five months of the year, traffic rose 161.2% to 302.6 million RPMs from 115,852, and ASMs increased 88.4% to 496.2 million from 263.4 million.
Kiwi International Air Lines will open on June 18 the Kiwi Travel Store, its first consumer ticketing office, in Atlanta. Customers will be able to make reservations and pick up tickets, and the facility will provide office space for sales staff. Tad Hutcheson, VP-marketing and business development, said, "Kiwi is the sixth largest carrier at Hartsfield International, and we've had great consumer demand for this type of facility for some time."
Fokker delivered its first Fokker 60 Utility aircraft Monday to the Royal Netherlands Air Force, which accepted two of four it has on order. The Fokker 60 is a stretched Fokker 50 propjet designed for multi-purpose transport uses.
TriStar Airlines and Eagle Canyon have signed a joint marketing, ticketing and baggage agreement for tour service to the Grand Canyon. TriStar operates daily flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco to Las Vegas, and Eagle Canyon offers tour flights to the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas, including ground tours. Passengers arriving in Las Vegas on TriStar will be escorted from Eagle's ticket counter by carrier representatives to the new Las Vegas Executive Air Terminal, or they will be picked up at their hotel by Eagle tour buses.
The National Transportation Safety Board ended its salvage and recovery work yesterday in the Florida Everglades at the site of the May 11 crash of a ValuJet DC-9 following the recovery of about 75% of the wreckage and the identification of 36 crash victims thus far. NTSB Chairman Jim Hall told a news conference in Miami that investigators' activity at the site for a month was an "unparalleled effort" to recover evidence, and that the board hopes it will enable analysts to determine the probable cause of the crash.
Federal Express Corp. has awarded two contracts to Hewlett-Packard for Intel and UNIX system computing products. Hewlett Packard desktop PCs will become one of the standards for high-volume customers using FedEx Powership automated shipping systems, Hewlett Packard said. Powership is a package tracking system used by FedEx customers that also prepares customized management reports.
