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."
American Eagle has instituted weekend fare specials from 11 Texas cities to Shreveport, La., home of casinos and racetracks. Roundtrip fares are $59 from Dallas/Fort Worth, $119 from Laredo and $69 from Abilene, Amarillo, College Station, Killeen, Lubbock, Midland/Odessa, San Angelo, Waco and Wichita Falls. The fares require a one-day advance purchase and are valid beginning any time on a Saturday until noon on a Sunday.
Less than a week after dropping its Friends Fly Free promotion, Southwest introduced Take Along Fares - tickets foxr $25 each way for as many as three passengers traveling with an adult paying a full roundtrip fare. The carrier said the $25 fare celebrates its 25 years in business, but competitors matched the offer anyway. Southwest's seven-day advance purchase fares must be bought by June 12 for travel through Sept. 5. They are available in all markets except Orange County, Calif. Roundtrip travel and a one-night stayover are required.
Kiwi International Air Lines flew 154.4 million revenue passenger miles in March, 52.2% more than in March 1995, on 22% more capacity, or 217.5 million available seat miles. The load factor jumped 14 percentage points to 71%. Kiwi carried 202,500 passengers during the month, breaking a record set in February. For the first three months of the year, RPMs were up 50% to 384.5 million, ASMs up 32% to 614.5 million and load factor up eight points to 63%. The airline carried 515,500 passengers, a 53% increase over the same period in 1995.
FedEx Pilots Association, which wants to petition for a representation election against the incumbent, ALPA, has sent ballots to pilots asking when it should petition the National Mediation Board. The association said it endorses petitioning after it receives interest from more than 55% of the pilots. At current receipt rates, that should happen in the first week of June, the FPA said.
Khors Air received an exemption to operate all-cargo charter service between Ukraine and the U.S. The Ukrainian carrier planned to operate up to three Il-76 aircraft to the U.S (DAILY, April 17, 1995). A privately owned and operated company founded in 1990 and based at Borispol Airport in Kiev, Khors operates three An-12, 10 Il-76s, one An-24, one An-26 and one An-32. (Dockets OST-96-1097)
- In Federal Register dated April 5...Issued an AD on Bell 214ST helicopters with certain tailboom assemblies, requiring inspection for cracks. - In FR dated April 8...Extended to June 7 the comment period on a proposed AD on Textron Lycoming 235/290/certain 320 and 360 series engines requiring inspections of the crankshaft inner diameter. - In FR dated April 9...Proposed an AD on certain Aerospatiale TBM 700 aircraft to require four rivets on the right side of the rudder.
Hawaiian Airlines' traffic increased 27.4% to 334 million revenue passenger miles in March from 262.2 million RPMs in March 1995. Available seat miles totaled 424.5 million, up 23.9% from 342.8 million, and the load factor rose 2.2 percentage points to 78.7%. For the first three months of the year, Hawaiian's RPMs rose 24.8% to 935.5 million, ASMs 23.2% to 1.244 billion and load factor one point to 75.2%. The carrier transported 1,314,836 passengers, up 11.7%.
Myrtle Beach Jet Express is a program of air service owned and operated by World Technology Systems, a tour operator that contracts with airlines to provide the actual service.
