Amadeus Global Travel Distribution will take over the shareholding of German travel distributor START's foreign subsidiaries in Austria, Greece, Hungary, Poland and Turkey in a strategic alliance agreed to by the two companies last year. Amadeus also will directly serve subscribers in Egypt, Pakistan and Russia. The alliance deals mainly with market coverage, joint operations and product development. Amadeus will become the 100% shareholder of the marketing subsidiaries, except in Poland, where LOT and Orbis Travel jointly hold 49% of the local company.
Pratt&Whitney Canada is expected to accept the government's new matching-loan fund program offer to help fund development of the PW150 - the powerplant that will power the new 70-passenger de Havilland Dash 8-400 high- speed turboprop. The company had threatened to move the program out of Canada after the government last year eliminated a more defense-oriented development aid program. The new fund will start off at C$150 million and will grow to as much as C$250 million, although it is still watered down from the program it replaces.
Reno Air will put a new MD-90 in service between Orange County and San Jose April 4. The aircraft, dubbed the Orange County Flyer, will fly primarily in that market, doubling the number of daily flights by Reno. The paint scheme includes an orange inside the "o" in Reno. The airline is the second domestic carrier to take delivery of the MD-90 series aircraft.
Moody's Investors Service said yesterday it has raised the long-term debt ratings of GPA Group from Caa to B1 following GPA's announcement that it has completed the sale of $4.05 billion of pass-through certificates. Moody's said that since 1993, GPA has resolved ongoing litigation with several airframe and engine manufacturers and has divested several loss- making subsidiaries and associated companies.
American and American Eagle are offering $699 roundtrip fares to Anguilla or St. Kitts/Nevis, Leeward Islands, or Tortola/Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands from 19 cities in California, Oregon and Washington. Reservations must be made 14 days in advance and tickets must be purchased by May 31 for travel by Oct. 31.
Boeing said it plans to sell a subsidiary in Macon, Ga., that manufactures cargo-handling hardware for aircraft. The subsidiary, part of Boeing Commercial, has a work force of about 700 employees. Boeing said it has focused on a potential buyer who wants to remain unidentified until the terms of the deal are "substantially negotiated."
FAA on Monday will replace an 11-foot-high stack of procurement rules with a document of fewer than 100 pages, and a one-foot-thick stack of personnel statutes and rules with a 41-page document. The new way of doing business likely will involve putting the $475 million Wide Area Augmentation System under the new procurement rules and charging overflight fees for the first time to help finance the changes.
Delta is on schedule to board 2 million passengers at Atlanta in March - the first time any carrier has boarded that many passengers during any one month at any airport in the world, the carrier said. Delta's Atlanta boarding record is 1.8 million passengers last December. As of Wednesday, it had boarded 1.784 million passengers and needed to average 54,000 boardings yesterday, today, tomorrow and Sunday to break the mark. It is averaging 66,000 boardings a day.
Challengair is seeking renewal of its rights to perform charter passenger and cargo service between Brussels and points in the U.S. The Belgian carrier operates DC-10-30 aircraft. (Docket OST-96-1189)
Dollar Rent A Car Systems is extending its double frequent flyer miles award program with United and America West through June. Dollar is awarding 1,000 miles to United Mileage Plus members and 2,000 miles to America West FlightFund members for any car rented on a Sunday, Monday or Tuesday at participating locations. FlightFund members who keep their rental for at least five days receive an additional 1,000 miles, and Mileage Plus members receive 1,500 miles when they rent from any Dollar- Hawaii location for three consecutive days.
Japan Air System said yesterday it has placed new firm orders for six more Douglas MD-90 aircraft and is taking an option on another. JAS earlier ordered 10 MD-90s. It plans to take delivery of the new orders in 1997 and 1998 and will inaugurate service with its first MD-90 next month.
Islena Airlines of Honduras has ordered one ATR 42, which will be delivered and placed in service in early May, AI(R) Marketing said. Founded in 1981, Islena Airlines now has a fleet of 14 aircraft, including its first airplane, a Cessna 206 that seats five passengers. The regional carrier chose the aircraft because of its "low operating cost, seat capacity versus profitability and the tremendous support offered by the AI(R) team worldwide," an Islena executive said. Currently, 186 ATRs, 43 Jetstreams and nine Avro RJs are operated in the Americas.
Lineas Aereas Allegro has asked DOT to renew its U.S.-Mexico charter exemption and amend its exemption to enable it to operate scheduled combination service between San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, and San Francisco, and between Cancun, Mexico, and Orlando, Fla. Allegro operates two Boeing 727-200s, three DC-9-10s and two MD-83s. (Docket OST-96-1187)
Carnival Air Lines has named Richard Goetz as director-ground operations. Goetz worked for the old Pan Am as system director of passenger services and field security, and most recently served as a liaison between airports and airlines for the Port Authority of New York/New Jersey.
The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has named American the recipient of its Corporate Citizen Award, the first airline to receive the honor. American and the ASPCA recently teamed to produce a live animal-handling training video. ASPCA President Roger Caras said American has "set a standard in the industry" by recognizing that every creature deserves safety and comfort in transport.
Embraer will begin its EMB-145 regional-jet tour of the U.S. May 10, visiting 11 or 12 cities and including the Regional Airline Association annual meeting in Orlando May 20-22. Four test pilots have been added, and the three aircraft are on a three-shift, seven-days-a-week certification flight-test schedule. That program is running two weeks behind schedule, but the company says it will make its October target. The only problems so far have been heavy manual controls when hydraulics are lost, and a thrust- reverser design that costs the aircraft some altitude.
FAA yesterday named Robert Valone to oversee implementation of its new acquisition management system, which goes into effect Monday. George Donohue, associate administrator for research and acquisition, said Valone was appointed to the new post of acting deputy associate administrator for research and acquisition. Taking Valone's place on an acting basis as director of air traffic systems development is Edward Seymour, deputy director.
Vision Air has not leased a Lockheed L-1011 aircraft from IAL Aircraft Holding as reported March 27 in The DAILY. Instead, IAL is one of several companies the potential new entrant is talking to about leasing or buying an aircraft to operate on its proposed New York-London Stansted service, said Vision President Vincent Civitello. The carrier tentatively plans to base its operations at Kennedy's international arrivals building but is considering using facilities in other terminals at the airport.
Colorado Springs Airport is proposing to build a new terminal in three to five years to handle the capacity of its largest tenant - Western Pacific Airlines. The airline, which has added two gates and will add a temporary concourse of five to six more gates, wants a new terminal that would give it 15 gates, said Ed Talbow, WestPac director of properties and facilities. The carrier originally estimated it would need less space for a cost of about $4 million.
Paraguayan carrier LAPSA seeks renewal of its rights to operate five-times- weekly roundtrip service between Asuncion, Paraguay, and Miami with stops in Quito and Guayaquil, Ecuador. It also wants to continue to carry blind- sector traffic between Asuncion and Guayaquil/Quito. (Docket OST-96-1173)
Top 100 Domestic Airports Served By U.S. Major and National Carriers The Year 1995 Enplaned Rank Mkt Pax ASL ---- --- --------- ----- 1 Chicago Ohare ORD 27,446,986 732 2 Dallas/Fort Worth DFW 23,920,230 716 3 Atlanta ATL 23,794,739 529
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses Third Quarter 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American 1,340,598,000 13.19 1,166,192,000 Atlantic 609,249,000 15.08 519,710,000
RAA is pulling out all the stops to convince FAA to withdraw proposed ADs on all regional turboprops that would prohibit their operation in freezing rain and freezing drizzle conditions - the same restriction that has severely impaired the operation of the ATR 42/72 series this winter. The association insists the icing matter is an operational rather than an airworthiness issue and suggests that its participation in the upcoming international conference on icing certification requirements in May may be limited if the AD proposals are not lifted.
In a preview of a bitter House floor fight set for next month, the chairmen of the House Transportation and Budget committees argued at length yesterday over whether transportation users were receiving full benefit for their taxes and whether transportation should be exempt from competing with other programs for federal funds.
