Aerolitoral has applied for renewal of its authority to operate combination services between U.S. and Mexican destinations, and to hold out the designator code of its parent, Aeromexico, on the services. The carrier holds authority to operate Chihuahua-El Paso/Albuquerque, Hermosillo- Tucson, Ciudad Juarez-Albuquerque and Obregon-Tucson. It also is wants renewal of its authority to use DC-9s in the Hermosillo-Tucson market, and of Aeromexico's authority to wet-lease that equipment to Aerolitoral, which operates Metro IIIs. (Docket OST-95-835)
Northwest said yesterday it has signed a marketing agreement with Japanese cargo carrier Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). Under the pact, the carriers have started joint all-cargo 747 freighter service between Osaka Kansai Airport and Chicago O'Hare. Each operates two weekly flights in the market and will coordinate services through an interline agreement. They currently provide interline cargo service between Tokyo Narita and Seoul and from Narita to Taipei and Singapore.
Missouri Tourism Commission has two new members appointed by Gov. Mel Carnahan - Consuelo Washington and Louis Hamilton. Washington was elected to a term ending Jan. 15, 1997. She has worked for TWA for nearly 30 years and is manager-area reservations in St. Louis. Hamilton was appointed to a term ending Jan. 15, 2000. He is president of Hamilton&Company, a community and public affairs consulting firm.
American Automobile Association and AAA clubs will launch a campaign June 12 to generate public interest in the deteriorating state of the country's air traffic control system, bridges and highways. Without giving away too much, a spokesman said news conferences around the country will "try to bring home what a sorry state" ATC and roads are in, arguing that the government is not spending transportation trust fund money on infrastructure.
USAir will add flights to Philadelphia June 15 from San Diego, Seattle, Denver and Minneapolis, operating two daily roundtrips from Minneapolis and one per day from the other three points. The carrier will begin Philadelphia-Madrid service June 15. USAir serves Paris, Frankfurt, Munich and Rome from Philadelphia.
Air cargo traffic remained stagnant in April after declining 2.6% in March, the Air Transport Association said yesterday. "While domestic cargo showed a small gain in April, the growth in that segment wasn't enough to outweigh the drop in international cargo, which fell for the second straight month," ATA President Carol Hallett said.
American Airlines Cargo has decided to charge a 4.3% fuel surcharge on domestic cargo and priority packages beginning July 1 to offset a spike in fuel costs. The charge applies to all shipments between points in the U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Bill Boesch, president of AA Cargo, said American's average fuel price has increased more than 15% since last year.
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays is offering free air fare for children flying with two paying adults on American Trans Air flights out of Los Angeles and San Francisco to Hawaii June 16-Aug. 28. The free tickets must be requested in conjunction with a seven-night minimum stay in selected room categories on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Hawaii or Lanai. The fare is for children two to 16 years old.
The mission of the newly created Tourism Industries (TI) office within the Commerce Department focuses more on helping exporters and travel suppliers than promoting the U.S. as a destination, which was a large function of the now defunct U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration. TI's mission is to bring more exporters to the international travel and tourism market, and to function as the official government tourism office for international purposes.
The Customs Service is asking members of the American Society of Travel Agents for help with informing consumers of its regulations. ASTA is being asked to make sure travelers are aware of regulations or restrictions before arriving at the gate. President Jeanne Epping said Customs is moving in the direction of customer service, which "is unique for a law enforcement agency."
British Airways flew 3.5% more revenue passenger miles last month than in May 1995 on a 4.9% jump in capacity. The carrier logged 5.07 billion RPMs on capacity of 7.33 billion available seat miles. The load factor was 69.2%, off by 1 percentage point. The number of passengers carried rose 1.3%. For the first two months of the carrier's fiscal year, traffic was up 3.2% on a capacity gain of 5.7%. Load factor was down 1.6 percentage points to 69.8%, while the number of passengers remained unchanged.
The crash of ValuJet Flight 592 May 11 in the Florida Everglades and its aftermath sent the carrier's load factor tumbling 18.8 percentage points last month, to 52.7%. While the airline's capacity grew 27.5% over that of May 1995, its traffic fell 6% and the number of passengers it enplaned dropped 7.4%. Capacity was up even though the carrier cut its scheduled service nearly in half during the last third of the month, after FAA announced a stepped-up inspection of its operation.
Growth in all four of its geographic service areas gave United's traffic a 5.2% boost in May. The carrier increased capacity 3.1%, driving up the load factor 1.4 percentage points to 71.6%. The number of revenue passengers carried in North America, Latin America and across the Pacific and Atlantic rose 2.5%. For the first five months of the year, United's traffic grew 5.6%, compared with the same period in 1995, on a capacity increase of 3.5%. The load factor gained 1.4 points to 69.6%. The number of passengers was up 4.5%.
American has extended its program of collecting leftover foreign change on international flights for UNICEF. The collections, taken by many carriers on international flights, were started by American in December 1994 on a few flights and expanded last year. With the latest addition, the carrier will collect change on 104 flights per day. The collections generated $65,000 for UNICEF last year.
FedEx Chairman Frederick Smith is willing to consider acquiring as many as 10 aircraft with a takeoff weight of one million pounds, Airbus Industrie Senior VP-Commercial John Leahy says in a pitch for the proposed A3XX jumbo. Leahy says Boeing has briefed Smith on the stretched 747, with which the A3XX would compete. FedEx could use a jumbo at as many as 10 airports as long as they do not need expensive modifications for cargo, according to Leahy.
The Travel Industry Association has let the administration know the travel industry as a whole opposes President Clinton's proposed $16 departure tax on travelers to fund education (DAILY, June 5). TIA said although an educated public means better future employees for industry, the investment should be shared by all U.S. corporations. TIA estimates the tax will affect 45 million international guests and nearly 46 million Americans traveling abroad. The proposal is for $10 of the $16 to go to the general fund to then be used to reduce college tuition.
Chinese officials hope to attract 52 million visitors a year by 2000, up from 45 million in 1995. But travel analysts in China expect closer to 60 million visitors a year. Foreign tourists are projected to generate $10.5 billion in revenue in 1997, a 20% increase from last year.
Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is reducing lodging rates in China and Southeast Asia through August and, in some cases, through September. The starting rate for a night's stay in Hong Kong is $200, rates in China range from $63 in Beihai to $182 in Beijing, and rooms start at $251 in Taiwan and $123 in Bangkok.
USAir's traffic inched up 0.9% last month over that of May 1995 on a 5.4% decrease in capacity. Load factor for the month was up 4.4 percentage points to 69.8%.
Pittsburgh-based Hotel Electronic Distribution Network Association will hold its 1996 summer meeting at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto July 10-12. The program includes a presentation by Microsoft on its Internet travel product, a status report on the Amadeus/System One consolidation, rollout of the association's new Internet site managed by TravelWeb and a panel discussion on the future of corporate travel. For meeting information, call 412-784-8433.
Editors of Midwest Living magazine have published a book called 75 Great Small Town Getaways that highlights small towns in 10 midwestern states. It provides information on local festivals and activities, driving distances, shopping, lodging and dining. The book costs $14.95 in book stores, and can be ordered by calling 1-800-678-8091.
Delta's traffic rose 13.1% last month, giving it the strongest May boardings in its history. Capacity for the month grew 2%, compared with May 1995, sending the load factor up 7 percentage points to 70.8%. The carrier boarded 15.6% more passengers for the month. For the first five months of the year, traffic was up 7.6% on a capacity increase of 0.6%, lifting the load factor 4.4 points to 67.8%, and passengers rose 9.3% from 1995 levels. May 96 May 95 5 Mths 96 5 Mths 95
