American is set to begin May 1 daily nonstop Boeing 767-200 roundtrip service between Boston and Paris Orly, the route it was awarded Friday by DOT (DAILY, April 15). American said it plans to launch the service with special promotional fares "that are significantly lower than the current lowest published fares offered by the existing carrier on the route" - TWA, which operates daily 767 service between Boston and Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Delta selected Pratt&Whitney engines for the 12 new Boeing 767-300ERs it ordered this year for its international fleet. Pratt said the order for 24 installed PW4060 engines is valued at about $170 million. Delta plans to use the new aircraft to replace L-1011s.
Canada's unusually wet winter caused its carriers to use a lot of glycol for de-icing.Air Canada estimates it de-iced a record 4,700 aircraft at Toronto alone, using 1.7 million liters of fluid. During the more typical 1994-95 winter, the carrier de-iced 2,698 aircraft at Toronto and needed 1.03 million liters of solution.
Sky Games International Ltd., a joint venture between Harrah's Entertainment Inc. and Interactive Entertainment Ltd., confirmed that Singapore Airlines will be the launch customer for its gambling software. The company announced the contract in November but withheld the airline's name.
Aero Systems Engineering, St. Paul, Minn., a member of the Celsius Group of Stockholm, Sweden, reported 1995 net income of $189,488, compared with a 1994 net loss of $1.2 million. Roland Dilda, president, said the improvement was due largely to better cost controls and increased wind tunnel projects. "The results clearly validate our 1993 purchase of FluiDyne Corp.," he said. "As a result of this new wind tunnel business, ASE can expect a more balanced business base." Celsius operations in the U.S. include AeroThrust Corp. of Miami and FFV Aerotech of Nashville.
Air Aruba requested renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service for two years between Aruba, via Bonaire and Curacao, and the coterminal points Miami, New York and Baltimore. (Docket OST-96- 1146)
Federal Express reported that the expiration of the 6.25% air cargo waybill tax on Dec. 31 increased its domestic revenues by $19 million and its yield by 1% in the quarter that ended Feb. 29. "This benefit will continue until such time as the excise tax is re-enacted by Congress," the company said in a quarterly report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. FedEx said its international revenues and volumes increased at slower rates than in the past, and "management expects these trends to continue through the fourth quarter."
Alaska Airlines appointed Jeff Cacy to the new position of director of system sales and distribution and Lisena Quintiliani to Cacy's former job, director of business travel marketing. Cacy will be responsible for field and corporate sales, distribution technologies, travel industry programs, international sales and special market programs. Quintiliani will be responsible for the Mileage Plan and other marketing programs.
Executive Jet Aviation has contracted with Raytheon FBOs for maintenance and avionics support of its NetJets fleet of 17 Hawker 100 midsize business aircraft.
Air Transport Association said it will conduct its 23rd annual Freight Claims Seminar June 25-26 in Tucson, Ariz., at the Sheraton El Conquistador Hotel. Theme for this year's seminar is "A No-Win Situation: Overcoming the Wasted Effects of Claims." For more information, call 202-626-4249 or fax 202-626-4264. Hotel closeout date is June 4.
The National Transportation Agency of Canada will require Greyhound of Canada to obtain an air license if it plans to offer commercial flights in conjunction with its bus service. The bus company announced in February a jet service plan by which Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter Ltd., which currently operates a fleet of 24 aircraft, would acquire six 727-200s and use them to connect passengers to Greyhound's scheduled bus service. Greyhound would not own a stake in the venture, but it would market and sell tickets and its name would be painted on Kelowna's jets.
World Airways applied for an exemption to operate combination service between San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, and beyond to Cologne, Germany. World proposes a weekly flight between San Juan and Puerto Plata, using 347-seat DC-10-30 aircraft, and, beginning June 1, beyond service to Cologne with local traffic rights between Puerto Plata and Cologne. (Docket OST-96-1254)
Delta Connection carrier Comair flew 128.4 million revenue passenger miles in March, a 37.3% increase over March 1995. Available seat miles rose 16.1% to 219.2 million, and the load factor improved 9.1 percentage points to 58.6%. For the first three months of the year, Comair's traffic increased 26.2% to 1.281 billion RPMs while capacity was up 15.9% to 2.366 billion ASMs. Load factor improved 3.4 points to 54.1%.
SimuFlite Training International's Gulfstream IV-SP full flight simulator has earned Level D initial qualification from FAA and has qualified as Level II under the International Qualification Test Guide standards. The simulator was built by CAE Electronics of Montreal.
British Airways has firmed up a code-share and frequent flyer alliance with America West. The move, expected for several weeks and still subject to U.S. government approval, is tied to the U.K. carrier's new daily service to Phoenix, which starts July 1 (DAILY, March 25). In addition to code sharing and reciprocal participation in each other's frequent flyer programs, America West will perform passenger service and ground handling for BA in Phoenix.
Air Canada yesterday launched nonstop service between Toronto and Nashville. The carrier is operating two daily flights in the market with 50-passenger Canadair CL-65s.
Aviation Sales Co., which bills itself as the world's leading aircraft spare parts redistributor, filed a $75.74 million initial public offering yesterday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company plans to sell 3.74 million shares at an offering price of $20 per share, listing the shares on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol "AVSC." Underwriters are Smith Barney Inc., Alex. Brown&Sons Inc., and Sanders Morris Mundy Inc.
DHL Worldwide Express said yesterday it is offering worldwide tracking of shipments and regularly updated news about its operations in more than 200 countries on its World Wide Web home page. A customer wanting to track a shipment need only enter the airbill number and country of origin, DHL said. The screen will display the date and time of delivery and the name of the person who signed for receipt of the shipment. The screen also will detail status of shipments in transit. A DHL News section will feature DHL news releases from around the world.
Airbus Industrie and GE Aircraft Engines will conduct a joint study of engine requirements for a stretched version of the four-engine A340, the A340-600. The GE engine would have a thrust capability beginning at 51,000 pounds and the A340 would be stretched by 20 frames, making it possible to carry 375 passengers in a three-class configuration more than 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 kilometers). Potential entry into service is the early 2000s. Airbus said the project is separate from the A340-8000 project, which would increase the A340's range without a stretch.
Moody's said yesterday it is reviewing the long-term credit ratings of International Lease Finance Corp. for possible upgrade. It said the review was prompted in part by ILFC's improved financial flexibility following its accelerated pace of aircraft sales, and by Moody's more positive outlook on industry fundamentals. The review will focus on ILFC's ability to manage its "significantly large scale of business," Moody's said.
U.S. Major Carriers Traffic March, 3 Months 1996 (000) March March % 1996 1995 Change America West Revenue Passenger Miles 1,342,806 1,170,318 14.7 Available Seat Miles 1,736,883 1,629,359 6.6 Load Factor (%) 77.3 71.8 American
Air Transport Association and its president, Carol Hallett, are essentially trying to "trade the safety of the flying public for corporate profit" in their opposition to proposed flight and duty-time rules, Allied Pilots Association President Jim Sovich said Friday.
DOT is expected to issue two studies of the domestic aviation industry during the next two weeks. First, the department will release its study of new entrants, documenting the effect of startups on fares and identifying markets in which competitive conditions may favor new entry. Next, look for a study detailing aviation development in small communities since deregulation.
Hughes Telecommunications and Space Co. said Friday it will continue to pursue development of a civil satellite-based augmentation to the Global Positioning System "In spite of the recent Inmarsat Council decision not to invest in the proposed International Satellite Navigation System" (ISNS) (DAILY, April 12). Hughes said it thinks ICO Global Communications, a private company owned by some Inmarsat signatories and private investors - including Hughes - will carry the program forward.
Air Line Pilots Association has requested federal mediation in contract negotiations with Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a Delta Connection carrier. ALPA asked the National Mediation Board April 10 to join the seven-month- old talks. Reporting major differences, ALPA said management "has continually brushed aside our concerns with the explanation, 'We don't want to change the contract,' while management itself has proposed more than 50 changes to the agreement - all of which demand concessions from the pilots despite the company's solid record of profitability."
