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FAA canceled a news conference last week at which it planned to announce implementation of a Free Flight steering task force. A meeting of the task force scheduled this Wednesday also was canceled. Opposition by the chief counsel's office was described by a Free Flight proponent as an "overzealous interpretation" of the Federal Advisory Committee Act "by lawyers who seem determined to find ways not to get something done."
KLM plans to operate a fourth weekly flight between Seoul and Amsterdam this summer using a 747 combi. The extra flight is possible under a new aviation agreement completed last week by the Dutch and South Korean governments, KLM said. The accord will allow KLM to increase Korea- Europe capacity sharply, and the carrier estimates that demand in the market will grow 25% to 30% this year. Further negotiations will take place in September with an eye toward accommodating more growth in the market, KLM said.
Swissair launched five-times-a-week service between Newark and Zurich Friday and will increase the frequency to daily as of March 31. Including service between Zurich and New York Kennedy Airport, Swissair will have 21 weekly flights to the New York area.
BWIA Airways International has fired President and Chief Operating Officer Ed Wegel, the second top executive it has dropped this year. Michael Stanfield of Loebs Partners, the lead U.S. financial institution that took the carrier private last year, will replace him with the title of interim chief executive. Stanfield will hold the post four months while the carrier searches for someone to fill the slot vacated earlier by Edward Acker.
Galileo International computer reservations system, bucking an industry trend to raise CRS fees while airlines are searching for cheaper distribution methods, has revised its pricing structure - downward in most cases. Galileo said that by careful cost control, it has "stood alone in the industry by refraining from increasing its participation fees for over two years." The CRS will eliminate charges for open segments and charge airlines only for products used for booking.
Dutch government has extended the emergency credit line for Fokker for two weeks but without the extra 20 million to 30 million guilders requested by the court-appointed administrators of the troubled aircraft maker. The decision to give Fokker more time to find a buyer was reached in a cabinet meeting last week in The Hague. According to a spokesman for Dutch Economic Affairs Minister Hans Wijers, the credit line of 255 million guilders given a month ago will be enough for Fokker. The company will be under court protection from creditors until March 19.
Lufthansa's tentative contract agreement with its pilots union will limit duty time on long-haul flights. Final details of the pact are to be worked out at a meeting scheduled Thursday.
Delta, Austrian Airlines and Swissair are expanding their service from Washington to Geneva and beyond to Vienna. As of April 1, Delta and Swissair will purchase seats six times a week on Austrian's A310 flights, up from five times. Delta sells seats on the aircraft in the Washington- Geneva and Washington-Vienna markets, Austrian in the Washington-Vienna and Vienna-Geneva market and Swissair between Washington and Geneva and Geneva and Vienna.
DOT has approved USAir's application to operate daily nonstop service between Philadelphia and Munich, beginning May 23. USAir also received tentative approval last week to serve Rome form Philadelphia. It intends to operate to Munich with 767-200ER aircraft.
Tower Air Inc. declared a dividend of 4 cents for the first quarter of fiscal 1996. Stockholders of record on March 8 will receive the cash dividend for each share of common stock owned. The payable date is March 15.
SatoTravel President Michael Premo has taken on the additional responsibilities of chief executive officer. Premo engineered the travel management company's expansion into the commercial arena since becoming president in 1990.
Delta recalled 24 furloughed pilots last week, will recall more this week for the May-June schedule, and intends to call back 190 by Aug. 1 to meet staffing requirements, pending a ratification vote of its tentative contract agreement with pilots. The contract would require Delta to recall all 470 furloughed pilots by July 1997. Delta also is beginning immediately to hire more full-time reservations agents, upping its U.S. sales force to 400 more full-timers than originally forecast for this point in the fiscal year.
Carnival Air Lines intends to hire as many as 50 flight attendants in the New York area in the next month. It will screen candidates at an open house March 6.
Las Vegas McCarran Airport received its first nonstop service to Washington, D.C., Friday when United began flights to Dulles Airport. The carrier will use A320s on the route and will continue on to Frankfurt with 777s.
Vanguard Airlines will begin nonstop service March 19 from Kansas City, its base, to Los Angeles. Vanguard will use 737s on the route, initially offering one daily flight with a regular one-way fare of $49. The airline will add a second daily flight April 14, and on April 15, tickets will cost $49 with a 14-day advance purchase and $79 when reservations are made on the same day as the flight.
ValuJet Airlines initiated nonstop flights from Washington Dulles to New Orleans Friday with fares as low as $99 one way with a 21-day advance purchase. Also on Friday, the airline began service from Atlanta to Charlotte for fares as low as $39, and from Atlanta to Pittsburgh for as little as $59.
Continuing its push to secure open skies agreements in Europe, the U.S. expects to conduct discussions with Hungary in March or April and is waiting for Poland to respond to a proposal the U.S. sent it a couple of weeks ago. The U.S. expects a positive answer and hopes to attain a new agreement without another round of talks.
