Ladeco, S.A., has requested renewal of its 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. (Docket OST-96-1017)
USAir will write profit-sharing checks in late March for the first time to employees who made pay concessions in 1992. The carrier expects to pay $73.7 million to employees this year, or 80% of their total salary reduction. On Monday, USAir reported its first profit since 1988 (DAILY, Jan. 23)
Northwest has promoted Jun Mokudai to VP-Japan, responsible for marketing, sales, human resources, inflight services, finance and airport operations in the country. He was VP of marketing and sales-Japan since 1992. John Dasburg, Northwest president and chief executive, said Mokudai is "well known in the Japanese travel industry and has a thorough knowledge of all aspects of airline operations."
Excalibur Airways has applied for a permit to operate combination charter service between points in the U.S. and the U.K. The carrier proposes operating directly or via intermediate or beyond points in other countries, with or without stopovers. It wants to start the service in May with a series of weekly charter flights between Manchester, Prestwick and London Gatwick in the U.K. and Orlando, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the U.S. All flights will be operated by two DC-10-30 aircraft dry-leased from G.E. Capital Aviation Services.
Tower Air plans resume to scheduled service to New Delhi April 4, adding the Indian city to its twice-weekly service between New York and Bombay, via a scheduled stop in Amsterdam. "Clearly, India is an important focal point in our global niche strategy of tapping into large, growing markets where disposable incomes are increasing," said Morris Nachtomi, co- founder and chief executive. After inaugurating service to New Delhi in 1994, the carrier suspended the flights in August 1995, saying the route had become uneconomical because of U.S.
Northwest is seeking renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Montreal. The carrier has asked for a two-year renewal of its exemption to operate two daily roundtrips on the route, using DC-9-30s, and to add two daily roundtrips this year after DOT finalizes its decision on the 1996 U.S.-Montreal route proceeding. (Docket OST-96-1005)
Boeing, which weathered a 10-week strike by its 32,000 Machinists union workers before securing a four-year contract at the end of 1995, has won new agreements from its second largest union with comparative ease. The manufacturer's engineers and technical workers, represented by the Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association (SPEEA), Monday voted 80% and 79%, respectively, in favor of two new four-year contracts. SPEEA represents about 21,000 employees, 9,000 of whom are dues-paying members eligible to vote.
DOT issued a show cause order tentatively granting Baltia Air Lines a certificate to operate scheduled service between New York and St. Petersburg, Russia. (Docket OST-95-396)
British Airways' assessment that the U.S. government "would have difficulty approving...additional investment [in USAir] was likely correct, given that the investment would lead to issues of ownership, control and governance," a senior administration official said yesterday. BA disclosed last week it would not exercise rights to subscribe for additional preference shares in USAir, which would have meant a further investment of $450 million in the U.S. carrier (DAILY, Jan. 22).
A Dutch court yesterday granted Fokker a four-week reprieve from obligations to its creditors, during which the company can continue to manufacture aircraft and determine whether, and in what form, it can continue operations beyond that. Sources in The Netherlands said Fokker is talking with Bombardier about a partnership. The company also is negotiating with the Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs to determine how the pre-financing of five aircraft already ordered by the Dutch government can be rendered to the company.
Arrow Air has applied for renewal of its exemption to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Miami and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The carrier operates two weekly roundtrip flights in the market. (OST-96-1013)
Carnival Air Lines has asked for authority to operate scheduled combination service between Fort Lauderdale and San Jose, Costa Rica. The carrier is proposing daily nonstop service on the route, using 737-200 and -400 aircraft. In its application, the carrier noted that there is currently no single-plane service between the two points. (Docket OST-96-1003)
Airlines Reporting Corp. said travel agency sales on ARC participating carriers exceeded $60 billion for the first time in 1995, totaling $61.2 billion, up 6% from 1994's $57.7 billion. ARC said the total number of accredited agency locations were up 4% for the year for a total of 45,168, mainly due to a growth in Satellite Ticket Printer locations. Contrary to industry projections, the total number of retail locations was up 1% to 33,593. Total fares increased 6% - domestic fares 7% and international fares 4%.
Only a small percentage of taxes paid by travelers is reinvested in promoting or enhancing travel, according to a study by the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council, an affiliate of the Travel Industry Association. Tax dedication data were available only for hotels and restaurants. Of $1.8 billion collected in hotel tax revenue in 1995 at 43 of the top 50 destinations, $637 million was dedicated to travel-related promotion and improvements, and the rest went to general funds.
Mileage in Alaska Airlines' frequent flyer program will no longer expire after three years, effective immediately. The carrier decided to allow the mileage to accumulate indefinitely after hearing from focus groups and receiving comments from members in the program.
Continental Chairman and Chief Executive Gordon Bethune has told union leaders to stop worrying about the airline being bought up by another carrier. "I see absolutely...almost no probability of any merger occurring with us," or between any two other large U.S. airlines, in the coming year or the foreseeable future, he said. Continental is "very capable" of operating independently, and it is unlikely that anyone wants to pay the high price of its stock, he said.
Air Line Pilots Association unit at Federal Express suspended self-help measures in a goodwill gesture to get contract negotiations back on a positive track. All pilots will be encouraged immediately to begin accepting overtime and draft flying that they have refused since self-help went into effect Nov. 25. Talks with a federal mediator are continuing.
Worldspan for Windows subscribers will have e-mail and fax capabilities under Microsoft Mail External/At Work Fax. The product is the newest component of the Worldspan FastTrack family of messaging products. The cost to install the system and train users varies according to automation configuration at each travel agency location, Worldspan said.
DOT's goal of sharing safety data between airlines and FAA became bogged down in procedures this week, leading to the creation of a task force that will examine issues raised at the first meeting on the subject at the Air Transport Association headquarters in Washington (DAILY, Dec. 8). "We think good intentions are there on both sides, but we think regulatory protection is essential" before there is widespread sharing of safety data, said Al Prest, VP-operations for ATA.
Capital Cargo International Airlines has requested DOT rights to operate all-cargo charter service between the U.S. and points in Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador. The carrier also wants to carry revenue cargo on proving flights for its Part 121 certificate between the U.S. and San Jose, Costa Rica. Capital Cargo said it expects to begin the proving flights on or about Feb. 12. (Dockets OST-96-1015, OST-96-1016&OST-96- 987)
DHL Airways applied for renewal of its exemption to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Cincinnati and Houston, on the one hand, and Monterrey and Guadalajara, Mexico, on the other. The carrier also asked to integrate this service with its existing authority to serve the Cincinnati/Houston-Mexico City market. DHL began scheduled Cincinnati/Houston-Guadalajara service last Oct. 5, using 727 aircraft, and it has maintained five flights a week since then. It launched Monterrey service last March, operating small aircraft in the market. (Docket OST- 95-145)
Former Vice President Dan Quayle has been elected to the board of Amtran, the parent of American Trans Air. Chairman and Chief Executive George Mikelsons said, "We are honored that Vice President Quayle has joined our Board of Directors. He is a man of tremendous accomplishment and outstanding integrity, and we look forward to the contributions he will make to this company." The appointment follows the resignation of John Tague this month.
The shutdown of the federal government has cost USAir $10 million in revenue so far, according to CFO John Harper. Delta says its shuttle operation suffered a passenger falloff when the bureaucrats were grounded, but it declined to put a dollar value on the loss.
Business Week magazine asserted this week - and FAA denied vehemently - that the agency certified the Boeing 777 last April without adequate demonstration that the aircraft can be operated safely with the engine imbalance and vibration that would result if one of its two engines lost a fan blade in flight. Critics within FAA, quoted anonymously by the magazine in its Jan. 29 issue, said certification regulations are inadequate considering how much larger and heavier fan blades are in engines developed for the 777 than in earlier, smaller engines.
Daimler-Benz cut off financial support for its ailing Fokker Aircraft unit yesterday following a meeting of its management board in Stuttgart, leaving the Dutch subsidiary with very limited prospects. Trading in Fokker shares was suspended. The Dutch government had made clear after a meeting Friday that no more aid is forthcoming. Daimler-Benz had said that it was prepared to put up one billion guilders in new equity for Fokker but that another 1.3 billion guilders was needed from the Dutch government.
