Aviation Daily

Staff
Phoenix Media Group signed a joint venture marketing agreement with DCI Telecommunications Inc. giving Phoenix exclusive rights to market DCI's Privilege Card to Asian-based airlines. The companies said many upscale merchants and restaurants in major U.S. cities have contracted with DCI to honor the card and grant discounts to cardholders. The cards will feature the logos of participating airlines. DCI has a contract with United, is negotiating with several European airlines and believes it will secure an agreement with a major Asian airline in the near term.

Staff
A coalition of five suing airlines argue that American is getting its new Super A concourse at Miami Airport at "less than half price." American has stated it will pay for the state-of-the-art facility and additional gates, while other tenant airlines' rent will rise only 10% above increases called for in the airport's overall $3.6 billion capital improvement program (CIP) (DAILY, Feb. 7). "We are pleased that American has said it is willing to pay for its fair share, and that goes a long way on a resolution to this.

Staff
Kiwi has chosen Long Haymes Carr, Winston-Salem, N.C., as its new advertising agency. The firm takes over the $8 million account, which previously was handled by Gianettino&Meredith, Short Hills, N.J. Kiwi said it chose Long Haymes Carr not only for its creative capabilities, but also for its aggressive compensation arrangements. "We have a new business plan, called Beyond Tomorrow, that aims to push our revenues up about 20%. Long Haymes Carr is a critical part of the formula to achieve this goal," the carrier said.

Staff
Used Jet Aircraft Deliveries October 1995 Carrier # Type Engines Previous Operator AF&T 1 Fokker 100 Tay650-15 Taba Ages A/C Intl 1 727-200 ADV JT8D-17R Mexicana Air Europa 2 737-300 CFM56-3B1 GPA Group Air Jamaica 1 A310-300 PW4152 Delta Air Liberte 1 MD-83 JT8D-219 Air Liberte Tunis

Staff
BFGoorich Aerospace introduced a steel brake for Boeing 737-600/700/800 aircraft, saying it will reduce operating costs by improving service life, turnaround times and reliability. The brake has a new friction material that will increase its performance life by 30% and reduce the frequency of overhauls and related costs, the company said.

Staff
Swissair is offering "giveaway" fares from Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Lugano to five Far Eastern destinations March 1 to Oct. 31. A roundtrip flight to Bangkok will cost 1,200 Swiss francs, to Singapore SF1,245, to Manila or Hong Kong SF1,460 and to Seoul SF1,645.

Staff
United will receive $49,029 from an investment banker who pleaded guilty Monday to simple assault on a flight attendant during a flight from Buenos Aires to New York in October. The passenger became rowdy when he was refused alcohol after the airline stopped serving drinks. Of the $49,029, $1,000 will cover cleanup costs associated with the passenger's defecating on a food service cart, and the rest will go toward the amount United reimbursed other passengers, according to press reports. The defendant faces up to six months in jail and a $5,000 fine.

FAA

Staff
FAA said yesterday that Swaziland and Zimbabwe do not comply with international safety standards, and it rated Poland as conditional. This means any carrier from the first two nations cannot serve the U.S., and Polish carriers will get increased surveillance.

Staff
The success of FAA and the European Joint Aviation Authorities in harmonizing certification standards for newly designed U.S. and European small airplanes will boost the general aviation industry, Anthony Broderick, FAA associate administrator for regulation and certification, said yesterday in Washington. The agency published the harmonized rules in Friday's Federal Register, and Broderick praised the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee and JAA groups for the accomplishment. He added, however, that common rules on large aircraft are years away.

Staff
TWA has filed suit against Omega World Travel, claiming it violated its responsibility as an agent of TWA by selling discounted tickets it obtained from entities controlled by former TWA owner Carl Icahn. The suit, filed in St. Louis Circuit Court, seeks restitution of all revenues Omega gained by selling the discounted tickets to the public. Omega obtained some of the tickets from Global Discount Travel Services, which Icahn set up to sell the tickets under an agreement with TWA that limited the sale to groups or corporations.

Staff
Vanguard Airlines is offering $19 one-way fares between Chicago Midway and Des Moines, Iowa. The fares require a 14-day advance purchase. Vanguard has revamped its pricing structure to reflect that it no longer offers low fares only at certain times of day and days of the week. It operates three daily flights in the Chicago-Des Moines market.

Staff
Air Operations of Europe AB (AOE) is seeking renewal of its authority to operate charter service between one or more points in Sweden, Denmark and Norway and the U.S. Based in Sweden, AOE is wholly owned by ING Aviation Lease, a Netherlands corporation. (Dockets OST-95-118&OST-95-119)

Staff
Chilean carrier Ladeco has received renewed DOT authority to operate scheduled combination service between Santiago, Chile, and Los Angeles. The service is operated via Mexico City, with local traffic rights in both directions between Mexico City and Los Angeles (DAILY, Jan. 24). (Docket OST-96-1017)

Staff
Air Asia Co. and Boeing are near an agreement to cooperate in helicopter maintenance in Taiwan, according to Taiwanese newspaper reports. A formal accord be signed this month. Air Asia already signed helicopter maintenance agreements with Bell Helicopter Textron and Sikorsky Aircraft, and it has become the first Taiwanese company licensed to perform maintenance on the S-70C helicopter.

Staff
TWA, which did not know a year ago whether it would survive, signaled its return as a competitive factor in the airline industry yesterday by ordering 20 new 757s and taking options on 20 more. The carrier said in December it hoped to replace its L-1011s with 757s (DAILY, Dec. 12, 1995), and in yesterday's announcement it said it will use the new aircraft to replace 14 of the Lockheed trijets. Only last month, Chief Financial Officer Robert Peiser told an industry conference that a year ago, he was not sure TWA would be flying today (DAILY, Jan. 22).

Staff
DOT has approved Northwest's application for authority to operate between the U.S. and Bucharest, Romania, via Amsterdam. Beginning April 9, Northwest will put its code on eight 737-300 roundtrips a week between Bucharest and Amsterdam operated by code-share partner KLM. The service will increase to 10 per week in July (DAILY, Dec. 22, 1995). DOT also has renewed Northwest's authority to operate between the U.S.

Staff
Asia will overtake the U.S. this year as Israel Aircraft Industries' main market despite growing sales in North America, IAI corporate marketing VP Menashe Broder said last week at the Singapore Air Show. "Although the Israeli government and military is our most important customer, it is not the largest," Broder says. "IAI's exports reached $1.2 billion in 1995, out of a turnover of $1.5 billion. We expect that Asia will equal and surpass our U.S. volume of new orders, both in the military and commercial sales."

Staff
United and American's efforts to block construction of a proposed airport near Peotone violate antitrust laws, 10 mayors from O'Hare-area communities allege. The mayors told members of Congress this month that the two airlines are "waging a massive and expensive campaign to block construction of a new regional South Suburban Airport," and they called on the Justice Department and Congress to investigate the issue. In a letter to Illinois Reps.

Staff
DOT has granted American a two-year renewal of its authority to operate scheduled service between Chicago and Birmingham, England. The carrier has operated daily nonstop service in the market since May 1995, using 215-seat 767-200ER aircraft. (Docket OST-95-927) Separately, Continental received a two-year renewal of its rights to operate scheduled combination service between Newark and Manchester, England. The carrier is operating daily nonstop 757-200 service (DAILY, Jan. 5). (Docket OST-95-982)

Staff
Wanted: A good, high-paying job in the private sector of the travel industry. Greg Farmer, undersecretary of commerce for travel and tourism, who will be out of a job April 12 when the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration closes, has turned down public sector offers and is hoping for work in Florida. His second choice is Washington, D.C.

Staff
DOT has approved in part Faucett's application for renewal of its authority to conduct wet-lease operations on behalf of APA International Airlines on APA's U.S.-Dominican Republic scheduled combination routes. Faucett asked that its authority be extended until June 9, 1996, but DOT limited the renewal to April 10, keeping the remainder of the term pending.

Staff
U.S. troops in Bosnia will hand out teddy bears and other stuffed animals tomorrow to Bosnian children. SatoTravel organized Operation Bear Lift, in which the gifts were collected by groups in Hawaii and transported in cargo space donated by Northwest.

Staff
China Airlines and EVA Airways are offering discounts of up to $73 to overseas Chinese living returning to vote in Taiwan's presidential elections. The discounts are valid for travel March 1-23.

Staff
Airlines at Miami Airport are worried that their fees may increase in order to finance development of a competing airport at the former Homestead Air Force Base. The airlines told the Dade County Board of Commissioners that terms in the recent lease and redevelopment agreement with Homestead Air Base Developers Inc. (HABDI) provide funding for the new airport from Miami's 1954 Trust Agreement.

Staff
SITA said Airbus Industrie selected it to install the Airbus Representative Communication System (ARCS), the 85-site system that will enable the European aircraft manufacturing consortium to communicate with its customer support executives. Under the six-year contract, Airbus representatives will be able to transmit technical data using a message system designed for ease of use and lower international communications costs, Sita said.