Northwest requested authority to operate scheduled combination service between the U.S. and Dhaka, Bangladesh, beginning Sept. 1. If approved, the service will be operated via Amsterdam under Northwest's code-sharing arrangement with KLM. (Docket 50421)
America West yesterday reduced its fares to Mazatlan, a port city in Western Mexico, on tickets purchased through June 30 for travel July 7 through Sept. 30. Fares range from $114 to $179 each way, based on a roundtrip purchase, with the lowest fares available for travel Monday through Thursday. The tickets are non-refundable and require a three-day minimum or 30-day maximum stay. Other restrictions may apply.
DOT Secretary Federico Pea, citing two incidents this week in which air turbulence caused passenger injuries, yesterday ordered FAA to determine whether seat belt rules need to be stronger.
DOT tentatively has selected United over American to provide scheduled combination service in the Los Angeles-Guadalajara market. United plans to operate three daily roundtrip flights with 737-300 aircraft on the route. American proposed the same level of service using MD-80 aircraft.
The chief executive officers of the 23 Air Transport Association member airlines yesterday told Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan in a letter that they oppose the city's attempts to channel revenue to non-airport projects and increase landing fees 32% (DAILY, June 23). "We are united as an industry in opposing city efforts to divert revenue off the airport and disappointed that an economic engine as important as LAX is languishing because of city policies and politics," ATA President Carol Hallett said.
Southwest will take another step toward the distribution system of the 21st century next month, when its skycaps begin testing hand-held, wireless personal computers in Houston, Dallas and Oakland. The units will enable the skycaps to verify that ticketless passengers are booked on a flight before accepting their bags at the curb. The testing begins July 15, and Southwest intends to expand use of the system gradually to its 13 busiest cities. The 39 units, made by Telxon, cost about $200,000.
SilkAir and Bouraq Airlines signed a joint services agreement recently and plan to launch nonstop service between Singapore and Ujung Pandang in Sulawesi, Indonesia, on Oct. 29. The joint service is in line with the memorandum of understanding on tourism cooperation signed recently by the governments of Singapore and Indonesia, SilkAir said. SilkAir and its parent company, Singapore Airlines, plan to promote the services extensively in the U.S., Europe, Japan and other North Asian countries.
United's Mileage Plus frequent flyer program won four 1995 Tempo Awards from the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing. One of the awards was given for a promotion in which a compact disk of United's theme song, "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin, was given to its 100,000 frequent flyers.
A USAir employee stock ownership plan likely will be announced by the end of July, according to Gruntal&Co. analyst Steve Lewins, who said the ESOP will win the necessary and numerous approvals by yearend and take effect in January.Lewins also expects Continental to announce its recapitalization plan within two weeks.
Air Canada and Continental will begin code sharing on 34 flights per day July 8, and they plan to expand their joint operation this winter to include additional service from both sides of the border. Twenty-six of the initial 34 jointly marketed flights will be operated by Air Canada, carrying the CO code, and eight will be Continental flights carrying the AC code.
Northrop Grumman received a two-year, $3.4 million contract from the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) to develop and demonstrate "smart" adaptive wing concepts that could "significantly increase aircraft efficiency, leading to greater payloads, longer range and decreased operating costs," the company said. The concepts, called lift enhancement and optimal transonic cruise, use smart materials and structures to change the wing shape in flight, so it will perform more efficiently in various flight regimes.
Iberia's passenger traffic rose 10.9% in May from the same month a year ago to 1.89 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers boarded increased 5.9% to 1.2 million, and the airline's cargo traffic skyrocketed 31.5% to 58.1 million freight tonne kilometers. Through the first five months of 1995, Iberia's passenger traffic increased nearly 7.1% to 9.1 billion RPKs, and its passenger boardings rose 4.7% to 5.56 million. Cargo traffic climbed 21.8% to 267.5 million FTKs.
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) said yesterday it expects its second quarter earnings per share to exceed current analyst projections. The company based its optimism on continuing strength in revenue yield and passenger traffic. ACA did not offer projections, but analysts have been estimating earnings of 24 cents per share for the regional.
TAP Air Portugal's passenger traffic increased 2% last month to 598.5 million revenue passenger kilometers, and the number of passengers boarded rose 6.1% from the same 1994 month to 299,953. TAP's May cargo traffic gained 11.5% to 18.4 million freight tonne kilometers. Through the first five months of this year, TAP's passenger traffic declined 0.7% to nearly 2.8 billion RPKs, but its passenger enplanements increased 4.1% to 1.36 million. Cargo traffic improved 3% to 77.6 million FTKs.
To attract business during the long July 4th holiday weekend, Delta Shuttle is offering a two-for-one fare to passengers who wear red, white or blue and buy a ticket at Delta's special $173 roundtrip unrestricted rate. To take advantage of the offer, passengers must wear one of the patriotic colors and travel between Saturday and Tuesday. Return flights must begin by 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. After the July 4th kickoff, the Delta Shuttle will extend the program through the summer. Passengers may then wear any color and still get the two-for-one offer.
French charter Corsair on Saturday launched weekly service from Oakland to Papeete, Tahiti. The flight, which originates in Paris and stops in Oakland before continuing to Papeete, is operated with a Boeing 747SP configured to seat 353 passengers.
Regional Airline Association yesterday told FAA it supports the agency's proposed rule to require commuter airlines to meet the same safety requirements as carriers operating larger aircraft, but it questioned some of the costs associated with a single standard and suggested alternate means of compliance or dropping some requirements. The comment deadline was yesterday.
Korean Air Lines has asked DOT for authority to operate scheduled single- plane, one-stop service between Seoul and Washington Dulles Airport via New York. The application is submitted under DOT's "Cities Program" and is based on the principles of reciprocity and comity, said the carrier, adding that "no U.S. or foreign carrier provides single-plane service of any nature to Washington, D.C., from Seoul." If approved, KAL plans to operate twice-weekly service on the route as a continuation of two of its current New York flights, using a 747 aircraft. (Docket 50417)
Boeing 757 and 767 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1994 B757-200 America West American Continental Number of Aircraft Operated 12 81 8 Total Fleet Operations Departures 53 266 22 Block Hours 154 843 91
Vought Aircraft Co., Dallas, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, has begun testing a preliminary design for the next-generation engine nacelle fan cowl door. The testing is part of an effort to produce what Vought called an "affordable composite structure with increased strength and damage tolerance." The work is being performed under a $22 million contract from Pratt&Whitney.
VASP Brazilian Airlines ordered two more MD-11s, adding to the four currently in its fleet, Douglas Aircraft Co. said. The two new aircraft, scheduled for delivery in November and December, will be powered by General Electric CF6-80C2 engines. The carrier plans to add four more MD- 11s to its fleet through 1998, including both passenger and freighter versions, Douglas said. The manufacturer's most recent MD-11 orders came in December, two for FedEx and one for Swissair.
Pilots at USAir's Jetstream Airlines began an informational picketing campaign Sunday to express dissatisfaction with the pace of contract negotiations. Complaining that it has been negotiating with the company for more than a year and a half, the Air Line Pilots Association unit at the USAir Express carrier began the picketing at Dayton Airport and plans to expand it to airports at Pittsburgh, Johnstown and Altoona, all in Pennsylvania, and at Hagerstown, Md.
United Parcel Service said yesterday it will invest $130 million over the next five years to develop further its facilities and service in the Asia/Pacific region. UPS said it has spent $102 million since 1988 to acquire and expand operations in Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Australia. The new strategy calls for a $115 million investment in aircraft, $3 million in buildings and facilities, $3 million in vehicles and $13 million in other technology and service enhancements.
