GTE has received a $20 million FAA contract to continue the Direct User Access Terminal Service (DUATS) program and will add to it on-line weather and flight planning. DUATS is available on a 24-hour basis at no cost to users for access to aeronautical information, such as aviation weather and notices to airmen, automated flight planning and other services. Effective Oct.
American's traffic increased 5.5% last month, compared with March 1995, while capacity inched up 0.6% and the load factor gained 3.2 percentage points to 69.1%. "We are very pleased with our March performance," said Senior VP-Marketing Michael Gunn, "particularly because our increased traffic and loads did not come at the expense of yields, which were also up versus last year." The number of passengers boarded by the airline fell 0.4%. For the first three months of the year, American's traffic rose 3.3%, compared with the 1995 quarter, on 0.4% more capacity.
World Airways flew 83% more block hours in March than it did in the same month last year, for a total of 4,035. Average daily fleet utilization was 10.4 block hours per day, compared with 7.9 in March 1995. President and Chief Executive Charles Pollard said the carrier expects a first quarter loss "consistent with analysts' expectations." He cited "operating losses on the New York-Tel Aviv route and planned up-front crew training expenses related to the introduction of two MD-11ERs and two DC-10-30s in March."
Northwest's traffic was up 12.3% last month, compared with March 1995, on a 7.8% rise in capacity. International revenue passenger miles increased 19.8%. The load factor was up 3 percentage points to 75.4% while the number of passengers boarded by the carrier grew 7.3%. For the first quarter of 1996, its traffic rose 12.2% on 8.4% more capacity. The load factor gained 2.3 percentage points to 70.2%, and the number of passengers grew 8%. March 96 March 95 3 Mths 96 3 Mths 95
Horizon Air will begin serving Jackson Hole, Wyo., from Seattle and Boise, Idaho, June 9 with 31-seat Dornier 328s. In new nonstop service, flights from Seattle to Jackson Hole will stop in Bozeman, Mont. Horizon also plans to add a second nonstop flight between Seattle and Redmond/Bend, Ore.
Viscount Air Service, based in Tucson, Ariz., is a charter airline operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since March. In a chart published in The DAILY April 8, Viscount was incorrectly placed on the list of "currently not operating" carriers.
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines has added two Jetstream 41 aircraft and several new flights to its spring schedule. From its Washington Dulles hub, the carrier will operate additional flights to Newark, Boston, Charleston, S.C., Raleigh/Durham, N.C., Allentown, Pa., and Wilkes Barre/Scranton, Pa. It also is adding a flight in the Boston- Portland, Maine, market.
Rockwell International hopes to capture much of the market in China for satellite-based air traffic management systems, valued at $1.9 billion by Booz-Allen&Hamilton. The consulting firm, part of a Rockwell team that conducted a major ATM demonstration in western China, includes in its estimate the modernization of air traffic control facilities at 120 Chinese airports.
Engine Market Share Among U.S. Major, National and Large Regional Carriers As of February 1996 Aircraft Manufacturer / Number Share of Engine Type Operated Engines Type (%) CFM 796 CFM 56 B737 671 2 67.0 DC-8 75 4 65.8 A320 50 2 48.5
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic February, 2 Months 1996 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) January January % 1996 1995 Change Domestic Freight 654,493 621,232 5.4 Mail 140,046 133,343 5.0 Total 794,539 754,575 5.3 International Freight 544,038 522,750 4.1
The Airports Council International-North America is calling on the U.S. government to start discussions with Japan aimed at liberalizing passenger services. "The upcoming U.S.-Japan summit [next week, when President Clinton visits Tokyo] provides an excellent springboard for the talks," ACI-NA President David Plavin said in a letter to DOT Secretary Federico Pena. "We urge the U.S. government to seize this exceptional opportunity to make progress toward a long-overdue expansion of combination service opportunities," he added. Writing on behalf of ACI-NA's U.S.
American Eagle Group Executive VP Joseph Benero will retire Dec. 31 but remain affiliated with the company as a consultant. Benero has been responsible for many special aviation accounts of American Eagle Group Inc., an insurance holding company with an aviation division headquartered in Dallas.
With pressure building for U.S.-Japan passenger talks, DOT continues to evaluate divergent industry views and the impact of outstanding U.S.-Japan passenger issues. "With the cargo talks out of the way, the question now before us is whether to begin passenger talks," DOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs Patrick Murphy said yesterday. The two countries were scheduled to draft the final text of the cargo agreement this week in Washington, Murphy told a Senate Commerce aviation subcommittee hearing in Honolulu.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena will leave tonight for Santiago, Chile, to attend the Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative Conference of Ministers. He is slated to give the keynote address Thursday at the meeting, which follows up an initial meeting of 12 transportation ministers held in Tampa, Fla., in October 1994, and the Summit of the Americas in Miami, also in 1994. Noting that "Latin America's economies have been among the fastest-growing in the world," Pena said "opportunities for U.S.
America West has been named the official airline of the Western Athletic Conference. The carrier will receive advertising and promotional opportunities at conference events, exposure on radio and TV, and merchandising opportunities. It will arrange travel packages for football, basketball and volleyball championships next year.
More than 100 investors in a Polaris Aircraft limited partnership filed suit yesterday against Kidder, Peabody&Co., charging fraud, breach of contract and conspiracy, according to the law firm of Archibald M. Mull III. Both Polaris, the general partner, and Kidder, Peabody were owned mainly by General Electric, which also is a target of the suit, according to the law firm. A GE spokesman said the company is "confident that the offerings at issue were made in compliance with applicable law, and it will defend this case as it has others - vigorously."
Pan Am - The New Airline is holding an open house this month in Miami to hire pilots and flight attendants. The carrier, which expects to begin operations this summer, said it will train flight crews in May. Martin Shugrue, chief executive, said Pan Am will start service with three A300-B4 aircraft and plans to take on two more in the fourth quarter and three more early in 1997. The carrier's open house for pilots will be held through Saturday while the flight attendants' is set for April 22-27. Pan Am is operating a job hotline at 305-873-5471.
United said yesterday it has installed satellite telephone equipment on 68 long-haul aircraft, some of the aircraft it operates in transoceanic markets. Satellite phone service is activated when an aircraft is more than 200 miles from the North American coastline. Over the U.S., the phones use GTE's digital ground-based system, which is available on aircraft operating in North America. The satellite service, which also enables users of computers with internal modems to send faxes, is available on newer United aircraft, including 747-400s, 767-300s and 777s.
RPS Inc., a ground and air small-package carrier, has signed an agreement with Daylight Air for airlift of a "substantial percentage" of RPS's second-day air business that normally goes to commercial carriers. Daylight, a new freight carrier based in Ypsilanti, Mich., will serve nine RPS hubs - Chicago, Columbus, Fort Worth, Harrisburg, Los Angeles, Portland, Queens, Sacramento and Toledo. Ron Joseph, RPS VP- transportation, safety and maintenance, said Daylight "is the perfect complement to the company's existing group of airlift suppliers."
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority and the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority are urging DOT to renew Saudi Arabian Airlines' authority to operate scheduled combination and all -cargo service between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia.
Continental's traffic rose 4.2% last month, compared with March 1995, on a 5.2% decline in capacity. The passenger load factor was up 6.5 percentage points to 72.2%. March 96 March 95 3 Mths 96 3 Mths 95 RPMs 3,685,393,000 3,538,028,000 9,755,682,000 9,564,377,000 ASMs 5,105,669,000 5,384,432,000 14,563,662,000 16,008,273,000 LoadFtr% 72.2 65.7 67.0 59.8
ValuJet has cut spring fares from any of the 31 cities it serves. Reservations must be made by April 14 for travel April 16 through June 5. Fridays, Sundays and the May 23-27 Memorial Day weekend are blacked out. One-way fares from Atlanta range from $29 to $79.
Federal Express has asked DOT to amend its U.S. -Russia all -cargo exemption, authorizing it to serve additional intermediate points in Europe. FedEx received authority to operate New York - and Memphis -Moscow, via Paris and Frankfurt (DAILY, Feb. 20). To increase flexibility, the carrier has asked that it be allowed to operate the service "via a point or points in Europe contained in [its] existing certificate authority." If specific named intermediate points are necessary, the carrier asked that Nuremberg and Munich be added to its authority.
Michael Sears, 48, was named president of Douglas Aircraft Co., succeeding Robert Hood, 63, who will be president emeritus and retire later this year. Sears has been VP-general manager of McDonnell Douglas Corp.'s largest tactical military aircraft program, the F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter. Explaining Sears' move to the company's commercial transport operation, McDonnell Douglas Chairman and Chief Executive Harry Stonecipher said, "I need a winner running Douglas.
Arlene Feldman, FAA eastern regional administrator, has been elected to a three -year term on the board of governors of The Wings Club of New York. Aviation -Related Bills Introduced In Congress, January - March 1996
