Air France has retimed the departure of its Concorde service from New York to Paris. Beginning March 31, the daily flight will leave Kennedy Airport at 8 a.m. instead of 1 p.m. Passengers will arrive in Paris at 5:45 p.m., in time to connect with other European flights.
American Express Travel Management Services has reached an agreement with Symantec Delrina Group and Wallace Computer Services to provide businesses with an automated travel expense reporting system. The partnership was formed to give companies support for integrating Expense Manager, American Express' new software, into their systems.
The addition to its fleet of a fourth 767 aircraft enabled LOT Polish Airlines to carry a record number of passenger in 1995. The airline flew a 1.9 billion passengers for the year, an increase of 16% over the 1.58 million flown in 1994. It was the fourth consecutive year that the carrier's traffic increased. LOT had a 70% load factor for the year, up from 67% in 1994. Of the nearly two million passengers the airline carried, 1.57 million flew LOT to international destinations.
Air Seychelles has leased a new 767-300ER from International Lease Finance Corp. The GE-powered aircraft will be delivered in December to the carrier, which leased a 767-200ER from ILFC in July 1989. The new aircraft will replace an ILFC 757-200ER, increasing capacity.
Air France is offering what it described as its lowest discounts ever from the U.S. to Paris. The reduced fares, available from every U.S. gateway except Newark and New York Kennedy, range from $316 to $428 roundtrip. The tickets carry several restrictions and must be purchased by Jan. 31.
The Travel Funds Protection Plan, an escrow agreement endorsed by the American Society of Travel Agents, has been approved as a consumer protection escrow plan under California law. The approval means tour operators participating in the TFPP no longer need to establish a bond or trust account in California. The escrow agreement is between wholesale tour operators and the Travel Services Division of First of America Bank.
Swissair traffic rose 8.3% for 1995, compared with 1994, on a 7.6% increase in capacity. Passenger traffic rose 9.3%. The carrier logged 3.5 billion revenue ton-kilometers on 5.1 billion available ton-kilometers. The overall load factor grew 0.5 points to 69.4%, while the passenger load factor increased one point to 64.4%. The load factor was a record for the carrier, as were the 8.6 million passengers Swissair carried for the year, up 3.2% from 1994 levels.
St. Petersburg, Russia, government officials are planning to develop resorts and recreational areas along the Finnish Gulf Coast. Reports from Russia say the officials envision tax, visa, customs and investment privileges for investors who want to participate in developing leisure areas. The Kurortny District Government is conducting a financial and marketing survey for development that will be financed in part by the Russian government.
Southwest intends to expand its new Florida service in May with the delivery of two new 737s. From Orlando to Nashville, it will increase from one daily flight to three; Orlando-Fort Lauderdale from five to seven, and Orlando-New Orleans from one to three. Also in May, as previously announced, it will add Birmingham and Louisville to its Orlando destinations.
Baltia Air Lines is aiming to inaugurate service between New York and St. Petersburg, Russia, late this spring, according to Igor Dmitrowski, Baltia's president and chairman. DOT granted tentative approval this week for Baltia to operate the service (DAILY, Jan. 24).
National Transportation Safety Board Member John Goglia's comment on learning that FAA conducted a news briefing on board recommendations on air traffic control system outages before the board even voted on them: "It appears that FAA has clearly transcended the electronic age and moved into clairvoyance....I think they would be well served if they could apply some of that clearly unusual talent toward addressing the problems of the ATC outages. Maybe they could predict them so they could be prepared when they occur."
Air South is again offering $24 segment fares on nonstop flights between any cities it serves. The fare requires a 21-day advance purchase. Until Feb. 15, every time customers purchase tickets, they will receive a free one-way flight certificate good for travel May 1 through Nov. 15.
Saab Aircraft, Fairbrook Leasing Inc., and Saab Aircraft Credit AB filed a petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New Hampshire placing Business Express in involuntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. After several years of operating losses by the carrier, with unpaid leases and large debts, "the Saab Entities were left with no practical alternative but to seek the relief afforded by the Bankruptcy Court," Saab said.
Midwest Express Holdings Inc., which operates Midwest Express Airlines, turned in strong results for the fourth quarter and all of 1995. In the quarter that ended Dec. 31, operating revenues were up 18.3% to $63.4 million, compared with the 1994 period, and net income grew to $2.9 million from $753,000. The quarter would have been even better had the carrier not been subjected to the 4.3 cents-per-gallon federal fuel tax, which cost it $560,000 in pre-tax earnings.
Congested Chicago O'Hare Airport moved up a notch and tied with Atlanta Hartsfield Airport as the best airport in North America by Business Traveler International readers. About 2,000 international travelers cast their votes in the seventh annual survey.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Rental Expenses Third Quarter 1995 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 64,275,749 17.97 American 287,959,000 7.96 Continental 159,325,000 13.58 Delta 252,689,000 8.72
TWA's charter service in 1995, aided by the high-profile papal visit to the U.S., netted $15.5 million in incremental revenue, its best performance in three years. Charters are one of two main areas pegged to bring in additional revenue with existing resources. The other is its new yield management system, which could generate in as much as $100 million a year once it is fully operational. TWA was the last major U.S. airline to implement a comprehensive yield management system that analyzes fare type and revenue mix to determine how best to allocate seats.
Continental gained financial momentum in the fourth quarter to cap a record year, its first annual profit since 1986 and a strong improvement over 1994. "Everywhere we look, we are a better airline than last year," President and Chief Executive Gordon Bethune said yesterday in a telephone news conference. The airline posted a 1995 profit of $224 million, or $6.29 per share on a fully diluted basis. That compares with a net loss of $613 million in 1994 which included a non-recurring charge of $447 million.
Charges taken by United parent UAL Corp. hurt the company's financial performance for the fourth quarter. On a fully diluted basis, the carrier had a $56 million net profit, or 83 cents per share, on $212 million in operating earnings for the quarter. Without the one-time charges, UAL had net earnings of $98 million. In 1994, United had a fourth quarter net profit of $67 million, or $1.47 per share, on $172 million in operating earnings. For 1995, United reported net earnings of $349 million using generally accepted accounting principles.
More not-so-on-time statistics showing how bad the weather has been: For the first 21 days of January, 62.8% ontime departures made Orlando Delta's best-performing hub. Its three largest hubs did not fare well - 42.2% of flights left on time from Cincinnati, 31.8% from Atlanta and 30% from Salt Lake City.
Romania's DAC Air has agreed to acquire four de Havilland Dash 8-300s and four Canadair Regional Jet 200s, Bombardier said yesterday. The carrier also placed four conditional orders and four options for each type. All 24 aircraft are valued at US$425 million. Bucharest-based DAC Air is planning to begin service in May to domestic and other European destinations. The new Bombardier aircraft will replace 24 An-24s that have served the area for more than 30 years.
Comair Holdings Inc., parent of Delta Connection carrier Comair, nearly doubled its third quarter net income to $13.1 million, or 44 cents per share, on revenues of $112.7 million. The results compare with a net income of $6.8 million on revenues of $90.1 million in last year's third quarter. The Comair board declared a seven-cent-per-share cash dividend, payable Feb. 14 to shareholders of record Feb. 5.
As thousands of sports fans flock to Phoenix for the Super Bowl this weekend, Delta is cutting fares from the city, and from Tucson, for people who want to escape the commotion. The reduced fares are good on flights to 80 cities Jan. 25-27 and return between 4:01 p.m. Jan. 28 and 11:59 p.m. Jan. 30.
TWA yesterday moved to snuff out smoking on flights to points in three Western European countries - Great Britain, France and Germany. The new non-smoking policy will be instituted March 2. The ban covers 28 roundtrip flights per week, or 39% of the carrier's international service. "We continue to monitor the marketplace very closely and will expand smoke-free service as customer demand warrants," said Mark Coleman, TWA senior VP- marketing.
National Transportation Safety Board said yesterday that while it remains concerned about the problems FAA is experiencing with its aging computers, the air traffic control system is "very safe" and the public "should not be unduly alarmed by recent press accounts of specific" equipment malfunctions at air route ATC (ARTCCs) centers. The board's conclusion follows a special investigation, begun last September, of ongoing computer and related equipment outages, particularly at the five ARTCCs equipped with the aging controller display computer systems.
