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.
AirTran Airways clocked 83.7 million revenue passenger miles in May, a 217% increase over May 1995 while it flew 163% more capacity. Available seat miles totaled 124.9 million, up from 47.6 million. The load factor increased 11.5 points to 67%. AirTran carried 96,188 passengers during the month. For the first five months, RPMs rose 287% to 419.6 million as ASMs increased 209% to 613.6 million and the load factor jumped 13.7 points to 68.4%. Boardings grew 321% to 476,113. AirTran will accept its 11th 737- 200 in July.
Canadian Airlines International has signed a three-year contract with Pepsi-Cola Canada Beverages to serve the soft drink maker's products on its flights. Under the pact, which includes a two-year extension option, Pepsi will supply the airline with 250,000 cases of soft drink per year, including Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, 7-Up and 7-Up light. The deal took effect yesterday. As part of the pact, Pepsi has produced 10 million cans of soda showing the Canadian and Pepsi logos.
American Trans Air said yesterday it will add four destinations to its route map this summer, with nonstop flights from Orlando to Nassau and Montego Bay and direct flights from Orlando to San Diego and Seattle.
Northwest has asked DOT for exemptions to operate scheduled combination service from Detroit to Providenciales, Turks&Caicos Islands, and Antigua and Barbuda islands. The carrier proposes weekly service in both markets, using Airbus A320 aircraft in the former and Boeing 757s in the latter. Northwest also wants to operate service weekly A320 service between Minneapolis/St.Paul and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. All the services are scheduled to begin Dec. 21. (Dockets OST-96-1439, OST-96-1440&OST-96-1441)
In a major cabinet reshuffle Taiwan's president Lee Teng-hui has named Tsai Chao-yang to succeed Liu Chao-shiuan as minister of transportation and communications. Tsai formerly served as deputy min-ister under Liu. Until recently, Liu had been expected to stay on as minister of transportation and communications in the new cabinet formed by President Lee following his re-election.
GE Engine Services said yesterday it was awarded a five-year contract valued at more than $60 million by the Gulf Aircraft Maintenance Co. on behalf of Gulf Air. GE Engine Services will maintain CFM56 engines that power 14 Airbus A320 and six A340-300 aircraft in Gulf Air's fleet. The work will be performed at GE facilities in Wales under a program that provides support at a flat rate per flying hour. GE says this enables customers to forecast expenses and manage costs better.
Computer reservations system fees have risen 211% in the past five years and are one of the main drivers of distribution costs, Delta Executive VP- Marketing Bob Coggin told business executives in Atlanta. Just as it did by introducing caps on travel agent commissions, Delta is exploring ways to reduce CRS fees through new technology, such as the Internet, and wants to offer electronic ticketing on all domestic flights by yearend. Distribution costs for the industry totaled $12.6 billion last year, or 18.6% of total costs, he said.
Another low-cost startup with ties to the U.S. plans to establish itself in Europe. Debonair intends to start flying from London Luton Airport next week with five BAe 146s. The airline will be run by Franco Mancassola, a principal of defunct Discovery Airways, launched in Hawaii in 1988. Jonathan Ornstein, another U.S. airline veteran, recently launched Virgin Atlantic's low-cost operation on the Continent.
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution has launched new fare displays that expand the number of columns in the first screen to include data on penalties, taxes, travel dates and days. Amadeus said the change to its Central System is one of the most significant enhancements it has made since the system became operational in January 1992. Separately, the company said it has been named the preferred CRS of SRG International, a global travel management company headquartered in France.
A ValuJet spokesman confirmed yesterday that the carrier has had talks with several airlines and intends to reduce the number of outside contractors that carry out its heavy maintenance. ValuJet now has four third-party sources of heavy maintenance work, compared with six before the May 11 crash of one of its DC-9s in the Florida Everglades, which killed all 110 aboard. The spokesman confirmed that there have been "initial discussions" with Air Canada, Northwest and American.
DHL Worldwide Express said its new domestic air express service for middleweight packages - the Jumbo Box - "combines convenient packaging, simplified pricing, an easy shipping document kit and door-to-door service." The service was introduced internationally last year. DHL said many small and medium-size companies without freight departments are now operating internationally for the first time.
As American and British Airways moved to unveil plans for their new, much-awaited transatlantic alliance this morning in New York, industry players began positioning themselves yesterday for the pact, which could provide pitfalls for some and opportunities for others. TWA, one carrier that stands to gain from the deal, applied formally yesterday to DOT for authority to fly between New York and London Heathrow. Currently, American and United are the only U.S. carriers allowed to fly to Heathrow, and TWA hopes the American-BA deal will open up access. Other U.S.
The Japan Civil Aviation Bureau's decision to offer two slots a day at Narita Airport beginning July 1 is a "very welcome concession by the JCAB to business aircraft," FAA Administrator David Hinson said yesterday in Washington. "We in the U.S. appreciate their willingness to do this," Hinson said (DAILY, June 7). He reported that FAA and JCAB are continuing a dialogue they began three years ago to "increase and improve" access, not only at Narita but at other Japanese airports.
Siemens Nixdorf said it has created a Transportation Technologies unit that will offer consulting services and information technology products for airport, airline and rail industries. Siemens Nixdorf said it has worked with companies such as Delta, KLM, United, Lufthansa and Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, and Chicago O'Hare and Amsterdam Schiphol airports. It provides services in network designs, systems implementation, systems integration and business process re-engineering.
American's Hospitality awards, a new frequent flyer program feature, enables customers to redeem AAdvantage miles for hotel stays and car rentals. For 10,000 miles, customers get one night at a Fiesta Inn Mexico or Red Lion Hotel. Other hotels require more miles. A two-day weekday or three-day weekend rental from Alamo costs 12,000 miles, and from Avis, Hertz or National, 16,000 miles.
