The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners Wednesday approved a $523.6 million budget for fiscal 1995-96 that includes an increase in landing fees of 50 cents per 1,000 pounds gross landed weight, from $1.56 to $2.06, at Los Angeles Airport. "It has been two years since landing fees have increased at LAX," said Board President Ted Stein. "In fact, this is the first increase initiated by the current Board of Airport Commissioners."
Gulfstream International flew 4.9 million revenue passenger miles last month, nearly 92% more than the same 1994 month. Capacity rose 41.3% to nearly 9 million available seat miles from 6.3 million, pushing the load factor up 14.4 percentage points to 54.7%. The number of passengers rose nearly 97% to 27,556 from 14,012. May 1995 May 1994 Rev. Passenger Miles 4,908,449 2,557,000 Available Seat Miles 8,965,852 6,344,913
Colorado Springs-based Western Pacific, the airline with the blue hair of Marge Simpson - from the TV cartoon family - painted on one of its tails and the Colorado Springs Broadmoor Hotel on another, soon will display other advertisements on the exterior of its airplanes.
Continental has named Nene Foxhall VP-state and civic affairs, responsible for state and local government relations. Foxhall most recently worked as an attorney with Mayor, Day, Caldwell and Keeton, and before that was the political writer and editor for The Houston Chronicle.
AAR Corp., reporting preliminary results, said yesterday it expects net sales for its fourth quarter ended May 31 to increase 7.9% to a record $129.5 million from $120 million in the same quarter last year. Net income is expected to increase 45% to $3.5 million from $2.4 million. For the fiscal year, net income is expected to climb 10.2% to $10.5 million as net sales increase 10.6% to $451 million.
Boeing 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1994 B737-300 America West Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 33 58 13 Total Fleet Operations Departures 211 370 71 Block Hours 364 614 115
The Air Line Pilots Association is supporting the nomination of AFL-CIO Secretary/Treasurer Thomas Donahue for president. Donahue has supported the efforts of airline pilots in the past, most notably at Eastern, Continental and TWA, ALPA President Randy Babbitt said. "He represents the kind of progressive thinking that will be needed to face organized labor's many challenges."
Air Travel Card interviews with 200 corporate travel decisionmakers in May found that 74% educate business travelers about safety and security. More than half said travel agencies also play a role through written materials or security alerts. The main security concerns of corporate employees traveling in the U.S. are property theft (32%), assault (27%) and lost or stolen travel documents (22%). Top international travel concerns are terrorism (24%) and cultural and custom differences (21%).
Northwest's new Pacific Operations Center (POC) in Japan required an investment of US$1.2 million, excluding the building, but will save the airline an estimated US$3.5 million a year, according to Murray Barrett, head of the POC. The assessment may be conservative. When the carrier built its Systems Operations Control center in Minneapolis in 1991, it cost US$6.7 million and was expected to save US$9 million. But it actually saved the airline US$18 million.
Dutch government and the U.S. have signed the world's first bilateral air safety agreement, the Dutch said. The accord is geared to promoting the highest air safety standards through close collaboration between civil aviation authorities. Collaboration will focus on certification of airworthiness, environmental tests and flight simulator assessments.
British Airways will transfer its Central and Eastern Africa service from London Heathrow to London Gatwick next year in an effort to expand its long-haul network at Gatwick and make room for increasing demand at Heathrow. Next spring, BA will begin operating long-haul flights to six African destinations - Lusaka, Entebbe, Nairobi, Dar Es Salam, Harare and Lilongwe - from Gatwick's North Terminal. To accommodate the new service, the carrier said it is adding four Boeing 747s, three 767s and a DC-10 to its Gatwick fleet.
Air Macau is leasing two A320 and two A321 aircraft from International Lease Finance Co. The new regional carrier - and the first airline to be established in Macau - will take delivery of the A321s by the end of the year and the A320s in the first quarter of 1996. All are powered by IAE V2500 engines. Air Macau is 51% owned by Macau Aviation Services Co. Other shareholders include TAP Air Portugal and local interests.
ValuJet Airlines plans to purchase four DC-9s for $18 million, including the cost of hushkitting and other modifications, from McDonnell Douglas and Paxford International. The aircraft, operated previously by Alitalia and Mexican charter carrier SAM, will be delivered in August, September, October and December. In an earlier acquisition, ValuJet expects delivery of three DC-9s in July and another in August, and after the newly announced purchase of four, it will have 36 of the aircraft in its fleet.
As rivals try to map out strategic plans to create $1 billion businesses, GE Aircraft Engines has combined its support, overhaul, repair and parts units into a single organization already approaching $2 billion in sales with double-digit growth prospects.
FAA said yesterday it plans to order U.S. airlines to replace the software in Honeywell windshear detection systems on 1,618 transport aircraft because they may not give pilots enough warning that they are encountering windshear when the aircraft's flaps are in motion. FAA's action stems from a recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board following an investigation of the July 2, 1994, crash of a USAir DC-9 attempting to land at Charlotte, N.C., which killed 37 passengers.
LTU Lufttransport-Unternehmen has asked DOT for authority to operate scheduled combination service between Germany and Daytona, Fla. LTU wants to offer a weekly flight on Dusseldorf-Daytona Beach-San Andres, and Colombia-Daytona Beach-Dusseldorf routings, beginning Nov. 2. There will be no local traffic between Daytona Beach and San Andres.
Competition authorities of the European Commission this week approved a second tranche of public aid worth 5 billion French francs for state-owned flag carrier Air France. It is the second installment of a total capital increase of FF20 billion, authorized by Brussels last July, although subject to certain restrictions. The Commission said approval of the third tranche will depend on progress achieved regarding the restructuring plan struck with Air France when the subsidy initially was agreed.
China Airlines will open a representative office in Dubai. Announcement of the opening follows an earlier statement that CAL will begin passenger service to Dubai on July 16 with the inauguration of its new Taipei-Dubai- Rome route.
Air South has retained former University of South Carolina and National Basketball Association star Alex English as a spokesman. English will address community and business groups and work as a consultant.
Malaysia Airlines has applied at DOT for authority to operate scheduled combination service between points in Malaysia and the U.S. co-terminal point San Francisco. The carrier plans to provide all-cargo services under a commercial arrangement with World Airways. Beginning July 5, the carrier wants to begin all-cargo service on a Kuala Lumpur/Penang-San Francisco-Los Angeles routing under the arrangement with World. The flight will be performed using MD-11 freighter aircraft operated by World.
Express One has requested a waiver of the 45-day notice period required before the restart of air operations so it can begin service as soon as it gets authorization from FAA. The cargo and passenger carrier voluntarily grounded its fleet of 39 aircraft June 4 after an FAA investigation "disclosed serious safety concerns." Subsequently, FAA entered into a consent order with Express, imposing a $500,000 civil fine on the carrier and requiring it to take a series of steps (DAILY, June 19). The airline also has filed for bankruptcy protection.
Sabre Decision Technologies has signed a contract with BAA plc to license and install StaffPlan and StaffRoster at London Heathrow and Gatwick. The systems schedule and keep track of security staff and special services personnel. StaffPlan, which will be used in about three months, aids in more efficiently judging workload. BAA already uses StaffRoster.
