Investment interest in Fokker, the bankrupt Dutch aircraft manufacturer, has widened to include Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. of India. Ram Sharma, chairman of the company, said during the Singapore Air Show that his company was "seriously studying" Fokker's commercial possibilities. British Aerospace, Bombardier of Canada, Samsung of South Korea and Aerospatiale of France are known to be considering an investment as well, and the government of Taiwan is said to be interested.
Global Aviation Associates appointed Pete Runnette senior VP, George Hamlin VP in the Washington, D.C., office; Richard Pearson senior associate, and David Barnes associate. Andre Clodong will run the Brussels office;.
Airbus Industrie's prospective program to develop a very large transport aircraft, moribund for a year, drew support from government ministers representing Germany, France and the U.K. The ministers met recently in London with the chairmen of the aircraft manufacturing consortium's three main partners - Daimler-Benz Aerospace of Germany, Aerospatiale of France and British Aerospace - and French Transport Minister Bernard Pons confirmed the Europeans' intention to "attack Boeing on its most buoyant market" - large, long-haul transports.
Greyhound of Canada has reached an agreement with Kelowna Flightcraft Air Charter Ltd. that will enable it to link its bus trips with air service. Six 727-200 aircraft will be added to the carrier's fleet of 24 aircraft and flown under the banner of Greyhound Air. Greyhound Canada will not have an ownership interest in the aircraft or air operations but will handle all marketing and sales.
Kintetsu World Express named Jeffery Jones assistant VP-West in addition to his duties as terminal manager-Denver; Gerard Berger assistant regional VP-Central in addition to terminal manager-Cleveland, and Shigemitsu Takahashi assistant regional VP-East in addition to terminal manager-Miami. Kintetsu promoted Michele Eady to terminal manager-Atlanta and Toshihiko Shimamota to president of subsidiary Kinetsu World Express Do Brazil in Sao Paulo.
DOT issued a final order allocating U.S.-Russia all-cargo frequencies to three airlines - eight per week to Polar Air Cargo, five to Federal Express and three to Evergreen International - after making a change in its tentative decision. The department intended originally to give Federal Express and Evergreen four frequencies each but FedEx objected, saying it needs five to launch an effective express service in the market. FedEx argued that Evergreen did not demonstrate firm plans to use its allocation.
Travel Industry Association's membership income has grown from $1.4 million in 1990 to $2.4 million last year, drawn from 2,300 member organizations. Early last year, the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council, a TIA affiliate, set out to promote participation in the Senate Tourism Caucus and the House Congressional Member Organization for Travel and Tourism. It garnered a record 304 representatives to the House group and 75 members to the Senate caucus.
Industry sources say that while there have been no breakthroughs in all- cargo negotiations between the U.S. and Japan, the two sides have at least the outline of a possible agreement and aim to make sure they seal the deal before April 17, when President Clinton visits Japan.
Major U.S. airlines still have aircraft buying to do before 2000, Philip Baggaley of Standard&Poor's said Friday. American and Delta might buy jets as part of deals to get cost concessions from their unions, he said. United still needs more aircraft to meet its current projections, and Northwest will have to buy airplanes to replace older jets -of which it has more than most - and probably will want to expand as well.
Sabre Travel Information Network has signed five-year renewal agreements with four major travel agencies - Corporate Travel, Council Travel, Maritz Travel and World Travel Partners. The renewals involve a total of 228 locations.
American and Canadian Airlines International, responding to carriers opposing their antitrust immunity request, said none of the objectors claim the arrangement would be anticompetitive. Competitors Delta, Northwest, United and Air Canada point out that the U.S.-Canada open skies agreement is not really open because of phased restrictions on service. But American and CAI said the transborder market already is the most competitive in the world. In one year's time, total nonstop transborder frequencies grew from 1,975 to 2,940, a 49% increase.
National Business Aircraft Association named five recipients of $1,000 scholarships in aviation-related collegiate programs: Robert Posey, Purdue; Michael Hamelin, Salt Lake Community College; Darren Humphrey, Auburn, and Charles Rowe and Jason Zbick of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Trouble starting scheduled service between New York and Israel and U.S. government shutdowns left World Airways with a poor financial performance in the fourth quarter, the carrier said. For the quarter, which ended Dec. 31, World posted a net loss of $1.6 million or 13 cents per share. That compares with a fourth quarter 1994 net loss of $1.3 million or 13 cents per share.
TWA, which is replacing 14 Lockheed L-1011s with new aircraft, will find it has lots of company. FedEx Aviation Services lists 55 of the widebody trijets for sale or lease. Some like what Morten Beyer&Associates calls the "best bargain on the desert."
Reforming FAA now is sparked more by political interests than any other reason, according to Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett. "The recent interest in FAA reform is driven as much by Washington's sudden commitment to balance the federal budget as it is by any real interest in FAA's procurement and personnel problems," she told a Washington audience.
Gaining access to Japanese aviation markets is the mission of a newly formed coalition, to be chaired by former Virginia Gov. Gerald Baliles, who headed the 1993 Airline Commission and now is charged with pushing the U.S. and Japan quickly to resume bilateral negotiations to open more cities to more flights by more airlines in both countries. The Aviation Coalition for Competition and Expanded Services Between the United States and Japan (ACCESS) comprises about 120 consumer organizations, corporations, airlines, cities, airport authorities and policy organizations.
Virgin Atlantic opened a "Clubhouse" airport lounge in Newark last week for up to 70 of its "Upper Class" business-class passengers. The facility includes a library, bar/cafe area and Sony listening facility equipped with laser discs and compact disc players.
