Passport to New Zealand, a seminar conducted by New Zealand travel officials for U.S. travel agents and tour operators, is making the rounds in Chicago, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. For information on the seminar, contact the New Zealand Tourism Board at 310-395-7480.
Alaska Airlines has received an unusual plaque - one made by a customer to show his appreciation for years of good service on Alaska and sister carrier Horizon. The customer, who has racked up thousands of miles on the airlines for his West Coast company, says he will fly Alaska for all his vacations, reports Alaska's World.
Atlantic City is changing its image, with the result that visitors to the New Jersey shore destination are increasing in record numbers. The city, long considered good only for one-day jaunts to casinos, is expanding its airport facilities, remodeling the downtown area and boosting the number of hotel rooms with the aim of turning "America's favorite playground" into a vacation destination. City officials say the number of conventions booked is up significantly, and hotel rooms are expected to increase from 9,000 to 20,000 in the next several years.
Jet Express, public charters flown by tour operator World Technology Systems, is transporting more passengers to Myrtle Beach than any scheduled airline. In 1995, USAir captured 50% of the market share and Jet Express 24%, but Jet Express so far this year has 37% to USAir's 35%. It operates daily service to Newark, New York, Chicago, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Textron said yesterday its first quarter net income rose 15% to $125 million, while revenues increased 9% to $2.6 billion. Chairman James Hardymon said that "double-digit revenue and income growth in our aircraft and industrial segments were the drivers behind our strong first quarter results." The aircraft segment benefited from strong sales of helicopters and business jets both domestically and internationally, he said. Solid gains in this segment are expected to continue, Hardymon said.
Correction: FAA's International Icing Conference will be held May 6-8. Incorrect dates were published in the Regional Aviation pages (DAILY, April 12).
Precision Standard said yesterday it lost $3.8 million on sales of $154.7 million in 1995, compared with a profit of $11.2 million on sales of $148.5 million the preceding year. In the fourth quarter, the company lost $2.3 million on sales of $42.2 million, versus a profit of $9.8 million on sales of $40.8 million in the like 1994 period.
Federico Bloch, chairman of the TACA group, said he believes more liberal aviation agreements will develop in Latin America and could foster closer ties between Latin carriers and U.S. airlines. "This is a trend that is gaining steam," he told the International Aviation Club of Washington yesterday. "We'll start seeing a lot more liberal [aviation] agreements, not just within the region, but into the U.S.," he said.
Namibia entrepreneurs are seeking joint-ventures to establish tourism facilities in northern Namibia, which is suited for safaris and hunting expeditions. The locals want modest lodging and dining facilities. Parties interested in seeing a business plan for a guest lodge near Rundu, which includes a camp site, swimming pool and souvenir shop, should contact Mr. N.J. Nel, Mororani Guest Lodge&Tearoom, P.O. Box 372, Tsumeb, Namibia. Telephone 26-46-712-0087, fax 26-46-712-1105.
Talks are under way to co-produce the Collins traffic alert and collision avoidance system with China, a company official said yesterday. Clay Jones, VP and general manager of the air transport division, said, "We are talking on the when and how and where, and we think we could have a product in about two years." This would be Collins's first co-production program, Jones said. Collins has about 35% of the TCAS market, most of which is in the U.S., where TCAS is mandatory for air transport aircraft, and in Europe.
Air Cara`95bes Exploitation has asked DOT to renew its authority to conduct charter service between the French West Indies and the co-terminal points Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The carrier has a fleet of small aircraft, including Dornier 228-201s, de Havilland Twin Otters and Cessna Citations. (Docket OST-96-1256)
Washington Chapter of the Travel&Tourism Research Council will hold a luncheon April 24 in Washington, D.C., to answer questions on how the new USA National Tourism Organization will operate. The scheduled speaker is the president of USA NTO, Edward Book. Lunch is from noon until 2 p.m. at Blackie's, 1217 22nd St. Cost is $25. For reservations, call John Packer at 703-506-4224.
Shipments of small, piston-powered aircraft are continuing to increase, climbing 10.1% in the first quarter to 122 units from 109 the same period last year. The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) said that shipments were up overall for the quarter by 9.1% to 227 units, although billings showed a 5.3% decline. Turboprop shipments rose 15.4% for the quarter, but jet shipments fell by two to 45 from 47.
Budget Rent a Car has signed a licensee agreement to open four Budget locations in Malaysia with Kopesma Car Rental, and has concluded a joint- venture agreement with Worldclass Rent a Car Limited of Thailand. The agreement with Worldclass gives Budget its first location in Thailand.
U.S. business travelers spent an average $456 on a roundtrip domestic airline ticket in 1995 and $1,610 on an international ticket, which is similar to 1994 spending, according to Runzheimer International. In its yearend analysis of business travel, Runzheimer also found that the business traveler spent an average $96 a night on a hotel room and $38 a day to rent a car. The survey of travel managers found that 78% of air travel expenses incurred by their companies are for domestic flights and 22% for international trips.
CFM International said yesterday that the design work is nearly 70% complete on its new CFM56-9 (Lite) powerplant for the proposed new Asian 100-passenger aircraft. CFMI said it plans to certify the engine within three years of aircraft launch, a schedule matched to planned aircraft certification in 2001. The CFM56-9 will meet thrust requirements of 18,500 to 23,000 pounds. CFMI said it sees a potential market for 1,200 aircraft of this size over the next 20 years.
American will join several foreign and U.S. carriers in banning cigarette smoking on more of its flights this summer. As of June 1, all American flights to Europe and the Caribbean will be smoke-free. At the same time, American will disallow smoking on flights from the U.S. to leisure destinations in Mexico such as Acapulco, Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. "A significant, and growing, majority of our customers in these markets tell us they want non-smoking flights," said American President Donald Carty.
Flying Colours, a British startup carrier based in Manchester, has leased three 757s from International Lease Finance Corp. for delivery in February, March and May 1997. The aircraft, to be powered by Rolls-Royce engines, will be configured for 235 passengers.
TWA is offering its Frequent Flight Bonus Program members 10 miles for every dollar spent dining at certain restaurants. With Dining A La Card Miles, members can register up to three major credit cards that will credit the miles to their account when meals are charged on the cards. The maximum allowance per restaurant is 6,000 miles, or a $600 bill. The first visit each month to participating restaurants will be eligible for the mileage.
Kintetsu World Express (KWE) of Japan and its Singapore and U.S. subsidiaries announced teaming with Singapore Technologies in a joint venture aimed at "developing and expanding the business of freight forwarding to China" and other Asian nations. The new venture grew from Singapore Technologies' role in developing the infrastructure for the demonstration city of Wuxi in southern China in the early 1990s under the aegis of the Chinese government, KWE said.
While discounting safety concerns and acknowledging some competitive issues, DOT is urging a continuation of the ban on electronic gambling on board foreign services in its study "Video Gambling in Foreign Air Transportation." Mandated by the Federal Aviation Authorization Act of 1994, the study concludes that if the ban were lifted, U.S carriers could earn up to $300 million per year without raising significant safety issues. On the other hand, the continued prohibition would allow foreign carriers access to these revenues, in some cases at the expense of U.S.
America West kicked off financial reporting for the first quarter of 1996 with record pretax earnings of $25.4 million, a 132% increase from the $10.97 million in pretax earnings the carrier collected in the first quarter of 1995. The airline reported net income of $13.73 million for the quarter, or $0.27 per share on a fully diluted basis. The net income result represents a 164% increase from first quarter 1995 levels and a 135% gain for fully distributed shares.
FAA yesterday named J.C. Johns to head its Global Positioning System team. His responsibilities include development and installation of the Wide Area Augmentation System and the Local Area Augmentation System. Johns has been a leader in developing WAAS and headed the acquisition part of the program, FAA said.
FAA still plans to complete by the end of April its proposal for assessing $150 million in new user fees during fiscal 1997, Administrator David Hinson said yesterday. At a House Appropriations transportation subcommittee hearing on the FAA budget, Hinson committed to having the agency's proposed schedule in time for the subcommittee's markup of fiscal 1997 funding, but he declined to outline specifics of the plan. He confirmed under questioning, however, that certain fees are being considered closely.
