North Dakota is the state to visit for families vacationing on a budget, according to the results of an American Automobile Association vacation cost survey. Vacation expenses are the lowest in North Dakota, where food and hotel for a family of two adults and two children come to about $142 a day, compared with the national average of $193, followed by Nebraska, with an average of $145. Hawaii is the most expensive at $383 per day, and Delaware is second at $312.
Executive Jet Aviation said it will take delivery of seven more Citation V Ultra business jets from Cessna this year for use in its NetJets fractional ownership program. EJA has taken delivery of 21 Citation V Ultras since last July. NetJets also offers fractional interests in the Citation S/II, the Raytheon Hawker 1000 and the Gulfstream IV-SP. NetJets owners are guaranteed availability anytime and anywhere. Participants pay for actual flight time, not for deadheading or positioning time.
Clark County, Ariz., officials have given zoning approval for Bally Entertainment to build the Paris Casino Resort, a $500 million hotel/casino on the Las Vegas strip. The resort's design will pay tribute to famous French sites, among them a 50-story Eiffel Tower replica that will house a French restaurant. The 2,900-room resort, including a 1,500-seat showroom, is scheduled for completion in 1998.
Nice Systems of Tel Aviv said it was selected by the Romanian Air Traffic Services Administration to supply digital voice logging systems for 13 air traffic control sites. The company said its NiceLog system has been selected by authorities in the U.S., Hong Kong, Israel, Hungary, Norway and Holland over the past year. The system has open architecture and features extensive use of commercial hardware and software, the company said.
Crowne Plaza Hotels will re-enter the Washington, D.C., market next month when it opens its Franklin Square hotel, which has undergone $15 million in renovations. The building, constructed in 1921, recently was the home of the General Services Administration. It was purchased in 1994 by Home Plaza Corp., a Dutch/French venture headed by Parisian hotelier Albert Cohen, and has been restored by an international team of architects and designers.
Travel Industry Association is accepting nominations until July 26 for the Odyssey Awards and for its Hall of Leaders. The Odyssey Awards were reconfigured last year into two categories - travel promotion, and public and community service. This year, the travel promotion category will break down the advertising and innovative marketing categories into domestic and international sections. Winners will be announced at TIA's annual Travel Industry National Conference Oct. 17 in Alexandria, Va. For an application, call TIA at 202-408-TIAA.
Collins said a new video tape training aid is available to assist operators of its TWR-850 turbulence weather radars. The video, produced in conjunction with UND Aerospace, is designed to help regional airline and business aviation flight crews achieve optimal performance of the radar. Three dimensional graphics demonstrate appropriate tilt and range management techniques.
Southwest is one of five finalists for the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards. It was recognized for its introduction of ticketless travel, lauded by the Smithsonian as an outstanding application of aviation- related technology.
American Society of Travel Agents has filed a lawsuit against Nu-Concepts in Travel, a California agency ASTA claims is using the association's trademark. ASTA said the company has never been an association member but has distributed travel agent identification cards bearing ASTA's logo to consumers.
Terminal and en route charges based on the weight of an aircraft would lead to lower fees for small airplanes than a system based on cost allocation, according to a Reason Foundation study. The study, "Reinventing Air Traffic Control: A New Blueprint for a Better System," proposes restructuring the U.S. air traffic control system along the principle of "user pay means user say," according to Robert Poole, foundation president and co-author of the study (DAILY, May 29).
Delta boarded 81,827 passengers at its Atlanta hub on May 24, a one-day record for Delta and, according to the carrier, the most passengers ever boarded by a single airline at a single airport in one day.
German federal government, city of Berlin and state of Brandenberg reportedly have opted for Schonefeld Airport as the site of the major new international airport to serve the region. The supervisory committee, Berlin Brandenburg Airport Holding (BBF), meets June 24 to discuss the site selection.
Japan Airlines (JAL) posted an operating profit for fiscal year 1995, its first in five years. Growing demand for business travel and a stronger yen, which boosted tourist travel, led to the turnaround, JAL said. The carrier's operating profit of 15,403 million yen (US$141.51 million) compares with a loss of 9,858 million yen (US$90.56 million) in fiscal 1994. The fiscal year ends March 31. Sales revenue climbed 7.8% to 1.12 trillion yen (US$11.02 billion). JAL said cost cutting paid off and attributed a 5.3% increase in costs to additional capacity.
Hawaiian Airlines has tapped Michael McQuay, a longtime Continental executive, to be its new executive VP and chief operating officer. McQuay replaces Frank Forster, who will retire June 15. McQuay has held a string of operational posts during his 25-year career with Continental, most recently as VP of Continental's Houston hub. He served as president and chief executive of Continental Micronesia.
United and SAS have agreed to expand their alliance significantly by Sept. 30 for at least five years, on the condition that they receive DOT approval of antitrust immunity (DAILY, May 29). The broadened agreement requires "forms of business integration that go far beyond mere code sharing," the carriers said in a joint filing at DOT.
It did not take long for FAA's new acquisition regulations, introduced April 1, to be challenged. Wilcox Electric says the new rules contain "no timeliness provision for protests," such as the one it lodged over its loss of the Wide Area Augmentation System contract (DAILY, May 29). Moreover, Wilcox says that even if it had defaulted on the contract, which it was not accused of, the law does not permit agencies to exclude it from a reprocurement.
Florida Keys and New Orleans, high on tourist lists, are among the most vulnerable U.S. locations for hurricanes, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, anticipating the 1996 hurricane season, which begins Saturday. NOAA says it tries to post warnings 24 hours before a storm's landfall, but increased populations at the two locations require 30 hours to evacuate. Although the 1995 hurricane season was the second most active in 125 years, National Hurricane Center Director Robert Burpee said hopefully it was just a "spike."
British Airways plans to resume service to Belgrade after being absent from the market for almost 15 years, flying three times a week from London Gatwick to the capital of the new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. "Since the suspension of sanctions last December, there has been a notable increase in personal travel and trade between Belgrade and the major capitals of Europe," said BA Chief Executive Bob Ayling. The carrier will operate 737s with fares starting at #439 roundtrip.
House Transportation aviation subcommittee is scheduled today to consider an FAA authorization bill and apparently will be faced with proposed changes relating to passenger facility charges, airport privatization and certification of small airports. The subcommittee also is slated to mark up legislation dealing with the transfer of pilot records among airlines and with limitations on children piloting aircraft.
American yesterday named William Ris VP-government affairs. Ris, an attorney with strong ties to the Clinton administration, replaces Edward Faberman, who left the company in April (DAILY, April 10). American has refused comment on Faberman's sudden departure. Ris is a member of the Wexler Group, a Washington D.C.-based consulting firm, where he has been executive VP since 1983. American is among his clients. Ris served the Clinton campaign as its primary adviser on transportation and infrastructure issues.
Jet USA Airlines Inc. has filed an initial public offering to issue stock and warrants that it hopes will generate as much as $23 million for the startup airline. The company filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission to offer 2.3 million common shares and an equal number of warrants to purchase common stock. The company envisions selling the shares for about $5.
For the third year in row, travel agents polled by Carlson Wagonlit Travel picked Disney theme parks - Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida - as the top summer vacation destination. Florida came in second, up from fifth place last year, followed by Las Vegas, the Caribbean, Mexico, Europe, Hawaii, Alaska, California and Canada. Visiting the Grand Canyon and taking a cruise also fared well among preferred vacations.
Citing "unique circumstances that justify special considerations," DOT tentatively approved the application of American and Canadian Airlines International for immunity from U.S. antitrust laws. In a show cause order issued late Tuesday, the department exempted all-cargo and third-country services from immunity because they are excluded from the February 1995 open skies aviation agreement between the U.S. and Canada, and it incorporated an agreement between the carriers and the Justice Department to deny immunity to most New York-Toronto operations until Feb.
Abacus Distribution System will launch in the third quarter an Internet product that will allow travel agents and vendors to enhance their distribution network via the World Wide Web. The computer reservations system signed a memorandum of understanding with Sembawang Media to develop online reservations system capabilities on the Internet. Sembawang's subsidiaries SilkRoute Ventures and Contract will be Abacus's technical partners.
Holiday Inn Worldwide has published a redesigned worldwide directory of its hotels that distinguishes outstanding properties by marking them with a torch symbol, for its Torchbearer Award, or with a star, indicating they have received the Quality Excellence Award. The directory has new features, such as tips on packing a suitcase, how to travel with one's pet and how to survive a family road trip. Consumers can call 1-800-HOLIDAY for a copy. A special travel agent edition can be obtained by calling 1- 800-241-6826.
