Tower Air Inc. declared a dividend of 4 cents for the first quarter of fiscal 1996. Stockholders of record on March 8 will receive the cash dividend for each share of common stock owned. The payable date is March 15.
SatoTravel President Michael Premo has taken on the additional responsibilities of chief executive officer. Premo engineered the travel management company's expansion into the commercial arena since becoming president in 1990.
Delta recalled 24 furloughed pilots last week, will recall more this week for the May-June schedule, and intends to call back 190 by Aug. 1 to meet staffing requirements, pending a ratification vote of its tentative contract agreement with pilots. The contract would require Delta to recall all 470 furloughed pilots by July 1997. Delta also is beginning immediately to hire more full-time reservations agents, upping its U.S. sales force to 400 more full-timers than originally forecast for this point in the fiscal year.
Carnival Air Lines intends to hire as many as 50 flight attendants in the New York area in the next month. It will screen candidates at an open house March 6.
Las Vegas McCarran Airport received its first nonstop service to Washington, D.C., Friday when United began flights to Dulles Airport. The carrier will use A320s on the route and will continue on to Frankfurt with 777s.
Vanguard Airlines will begin nonstop service March 19 from Kansas City, its base, to Los Angeles. Vanguard will use 737s on the route, initially offering one daily flight with a regular one-way fare of $49. The airline will add a second daily flight April 14, and on April 15, tickets will cost $49 with a 14-day advance purchase and $79 when reservations are made on the same day as the flight.
ValuJet Airlines initiated nonstop flights from Washington Dulles to New Orleans Friday with fares as low as $99 one way with a 21-day advance purchase. Also on Friday, the airline began service from Atlanta to Charlotte for fares as low as $39, and from Atlanta to Pittsburgh for as little as $59.
Continuing its push to secure open skies agreements in Europe, the U.S. expects to conduct discussions with Hungary in March or April and is waiting for Poland to respond to a proposal the U.S. sent it a couple of weeks ago. The U.S. expects a positive answer and hopes to attain a new agreement without another round of talks.
Brochure featuring a picture a of tombstone with the warning "R.I.P. On- Demand Air Charter" is being distributed by the National Air Transportation Association. The brochure outlines steps NATA members can take against FAA's crewmember flight- and duty-time proposal. "We are giving them the ammunition to actually save their businesses," said NATA President James Coyne.
Air Line Pilots Association President Randolph Babbitt said pilots are strong supporters of FAA's Air Carrier Familiarization program despite criticism by the DOT Inspector General's office that FAA has allowed the program to be misused. In a letter to DOT Secretary Federico Pena, Babbitt said pilots believe there is "no substitute for the face-to-face exchange between pilots and controllers in jumpseats.
Alaska Airlines' says its new advertising campaign has changed customer perceptions about how expensive it is. Goodby Silverstein&Partners, which created the ads, surveyed customers on the West Coast before and after the ads ran. A significantly higher percentage of the post-ad respondents agreed with the statement, Alaska has consistently low fares. Alaska said it ranks second, behind Southwest, in people's perceptions of who has the lowest fares.
Air Transport Association believes FAA should drop its $475 million Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) program, under contract to a Wilcox- led team, because the agency has another, little-known program that can do the job as well at a fraction of the cost.
Hilton Hotels has joined Midwest Express Airlines' frequent flyer program. Program members will earn 500 miles for business-rate stays at any of 210 U.S. Hilton hotels. Members of Hilton's guest reward program can redeem HHonors points for free travel, and frequent flyer members can participate in the HHonors Reward Exchange, which swaps points for miles and miles for points.
United Friday announced a four-for-one stock split of its common shares. If shareholders approve the move, slated for May 6, it would bring the company's share price more in line with that of other companies on the New York Stock Exchange and make it easier for smaller investors to purchase shares in the company. United's shares currently trade in the top 1% of all NYSE companies, closing February at 178 5/8. May 6 also will be the day of record for the split. If approved, shares will be mailed in late May.
The U.S. will seek more service opportunities and carrier designations when it resumes negotiations with Brazil late in April. Continental and Delta seek entry to the market, now dominated by American and United. Tower Air also is designated.
Northwest will add seasonal daily service between Detroit and Vancouver, to be operated June 1-Sept. 30. During the same period, the carrier will boost capacity 50% to Vancouver and Calgary from Minneapolis.
The new Pan Am Air Bridge, formerly Chalk's International Airlines, made its inaugural flight Friday, from Chalk's Seaplane Base at Watson Island in Miami to Key West and Fort Jefferson. The resurrected Pan Am will operate with five seaplanes and has options to buy 12 more. The Pan Am Air Bridge Partnership Group comprises Pan Am founder Martin Shugrue, Pan Am Air Bridge Chief Executive Chuck Slagle, Advisory Board Chairman Chuck Cobb and Dacra Development President Craig Robins.
American and Citibank have started distributing Citibank AAdvantage cards in Peru. Frequent flyer program members in Peru will earn one AAdvantage mile for every U.S. dollar or nuevo sol equivalent charged on the card.
Air France will add its improved business- and first-class products on flights between Paris and Miami May 27. The upgrades are part of a $100 million makeover the carrier launched last year.
George Black, who has been director of transportation for Gwinnett County, Ga., was sworn in as the newest member of the National Transportation Safety Board. As county traffic engineer, he founded an accident investigation unit that looked into more than 1,500 vehicular crashes.
Federal Express named eight VPs in its new Latin American division: Juan Cento, VP-South America and Central America; Julio Colomba VP-South America and Caribbean; Karen Dreyer VP-finance; Charles Kennedy VP-legal; Walter Kimbrough VP-personnel; Michael Murkowski VP-marketing, sales and customer service; Rick Nixon VP-sales, and Diane Stokely VP-planning and administration.
