MEDEX Assistance Corp. is offering its "Safe Trip" program to travelers who become ill while abroad. Safe Trip includes 24-hour multilingual assistance, worldwide doctor referrals, help with hospital admissions, assistance in replacing lost prescriptions and travel documents, emergency cash and coordination and payment of medical evacuations. For more information, call 1-800-537-2029.
FAA and NASA officials said yesterday tests are under way at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on a Final Approach Spacing Tool (FAST), software to improve handling of arrivals and reduce delays. The field tests, conducted in cooperation with American, will continue through May to "validate the new software tools before the FAA displays nationally," said the project leader, Tom Davis, an engineer at NASA's Ames Research Center.
Midwest Express Holdings Inc. said yesterday its board of directors has voted to put in place a poison pill, or shareholder rights plan, designed to protect the company against a hostile takeover. Under the plan, each shareholder of record as of yesterday will receive a Preferred Share Purchase Right for each outstanding share of common stock.
British Airways has awarded its 1995 Global Tourism for Tomorrow Award to Sea to Sea Cycle, a 140-mile bicycle path across Northern England. The path, which follows minor roads, traffic-free cycle tracks and old railway tunnels and bridges, has stimulated local economies while having a minimal impact on the landscape. Two U.S. entries in the competition received honorable mention - Sustainable Living Centers, which manages youth hostels, and Carnival Cruise Line for developing Eco-Waves.
The American Bed&Breakfast Association says the number of inns in the U.S. grew from 5,000 in 1980 to more than 20,000 10 years later, and they are in strong demand today. The industry has changed significantly in the past 30 years, and customers have changed with it. Guests now expect more upscale accommodations but think they should come at a bargain, the association says. It has some words of advice for entrepreneurs wanting to start an inn.
A portion of Mozambique's wilderness could be turned into an $800 million luxury holiday resort and game park developed by U.S. multimillionaire James Ulysses Blanchard III. Blanchard, at a news conference this week in Johannesburg, said he believes the government is close to approving the project. He plans to spend $20 million to stock the resort with big game, and students will be given free rides on the park's steam train, according to news reports from Johannesburg.
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays has developed travel packages for the 1996 Kilauea Volcano Wilderness Runs, to be held July 27 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park near Hilo. The runs include a 26.2-mile track past volcanic steam vents and through lava fields that has been called the "world's toughest measured marathon." Packages for a seven-night holiday, including roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles or San Francisco, start at $909.
Korean Airlines has asked DOT to amend its operating permit to include authority to operate scheduled combination service between points in Korea and Saipan. The carrier currently operates seven flights per week on the route under exemption authority, using a 258-seat A300-600. (Docket OST- 96-1070)
Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus, having projected demand for about 700 converted freighter aircraft over the next 15 years, is preparing to offer cargo versions of Airbus Industrie's A300 series as well as the A310. In the A310 conversion, DASA Airbus retrofits the jetliner with a large loading door, reinforced floor and cargo loading system to carry between 30 and 50 tons of cargo. The company is developing an A300-B4 conversion and expects to offer it soon.
America West has applied for a one-year renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Phoenix and Mexico City. The carrier currently operates twice-daily nonstop flights on the route, using Boeing 737-300 aircraft. (Docket OST-96-1069)
Japan Airlines has applied for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Sendai, Japan, and Honolulu. The carrier wants at least a one-year renewal. Because of the dispute between the U.S. and Japan, JAL has been operating under a series of 179-day renewals since late 1994. The latest extension is due to expire April 1. In its application, JAL maintains that the service is consistent with the 1989 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel has acquired Jetset Travel of Singapore, its fourth acquisition in the Asia/Pacific region in the past year. Carlson President Geoffrey Marshall said, "Anchoring ourselves in the Singapore market was one of our remaining objectives for the Asia/Pacific area."
Air Express International said its net income increased 36% to $9.1 million in the fourth quarter of 1995 as revenues rose 13% to $334.9 million. For the year, net income gained 28%, to $29 million, and revenues increased to $1.2 billion. Operating income increased 37% for the quarter, to $15.3 million, and 30% for the year, to $49.6 million. Guenter Rohrmann, president, said the company "experienced sold growth in all segments of our logistics business throughout the world" during 1995.
Boeing 747-200 with winglets will be put into flight testing late this year in a program expected to interest freighter operators. The "blended" winglets, developed by Aviation Partners of Seattle, improve wing aerodynamics and may add as much as an extra hour of range to the aging 747 model. Technical issues are "manageable," according to Aviation Partners Chief Executive Joe Clark, and the cost of the modification is estimated at $1.35 million per aircraft.
It will cost more to apply for permission to start up a new airline and fewer companies are likely to attempt it - or succeed - if the Transportation Department and FAA adopt newly published suggestions from the General Accounting Office. GAO said DOT and FAA should consider making new-entrant airlines pay a larger portion of what it costs the government to certify them. Also, the auditing agency commented that DOT and FAA are spending millions of tax dollars on certification services for applicants that "never begin operations" as new-entrant airlines.
All Nippon Airways and Austrian Airlines have applied to the Japanese and Austrian governments to begin joint service between Osaka's Kansai Airport and Vienna. The carriers plan to offer roundtrip flights twice a week using an Austrian A340. It is the first nonstop scheduled service between Osaka and Vienna, ANA said. The new service will carry 15,000 passengers and 300 tons of cargo in the first year, ANA estimated. It will be the 16th international route for ANA from Kansai. The two airlines have operated joint service between Tokyo and Vienna since 1989.
IATA has mounted a campaign to obtain the four ratifications needed to allow airlines to use electronic air cargo records. A Montreal protocol was negotiated more than 20 years ago, but only 26 of the 30 nations required to ratify it have done so. The air cargo industry needs the pact to reach its full market potential, IATA says.
American Society of Travel Agents has thanked the new Pan Am for its plan to offer full travel agent commissions when it starts service, expected this summer. ASTA President Jeanne Epping said Martin Shugrue, head of the airline, "recognizes the critical service and revenue stream that travel agents provide to airlines."
Atlas Air, which operates a fleet of 747 freighters, reported that its fourth quarter net earnings increased 151% from the 1994 quarter, to $8.4 million, representing a 15% profit margin. Operating profit jumped 175% to $16.2 million, and revenues gained 57% to $56.1 million. For the year, net income was $17.8 million, up from $3.6 million; operating profit was $42.7 million, up from $13.9 million, and revenue was $171.3 million, compared with $103 million.
CanAir Cargo is seeking renewal of its authority to operate passenger service between a point or points in Canada and a point or points in the U.S. CanAir operates charter flights between Canada and Florida, as well as fifth-freedom charters using Convair-580, Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 aircraft. (OST-96-1061)
Several airlines at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport will begin relocating in the next few days as Atlantic Southeast Airlines, a Delta Connection carrier, moves all of its operations to 15 gates on Concourse C North. The Atlanta City Council last week approved an agreement to relocate ASA's operations to reduce connecting time with Delta. ASA will begin operating from the gates May 1. The move requires Air South, AGI, Kiwi, TWA and ValuJet to relocate.
Air France flew 4.2 billion revenue passenger kilometers last month, an 8.8% increase from January 1995 figures. Capacity for the month was 6 billion available seat kilometers, a rise of 4.5%. The load factor was 70%, up 2.8 percentage points. Freight ton kilometers increased 2.2% to 332 million.
DOT has renewed Thai Airways International's exemption to operate scheduled combination service between Bangkok and Los Angeles via Seoul, with full traffic rights between Seoul and Los Angeles. The carrier operates four weekly flights on the route, using 747-400 aircraft (DAILY, Jan. 26). (Docket OST-95-338)
DOT has granted United exemption authority to integrate its Miami-Lima and Miami-Santiago services to enable it to operate on a Miami-Lima-Santiago routing. The department also allocated to United three weekly frequencies for services beyond Lima to Santiago, which the carrier will use to operate three weekly Boeing 757 flights (DAILY, Sept. 19, 1995).
