Taiwan and Hong Kong, still unable to secure approval by China of the five-year bilateral aviation agreement they ratified in December, agreed to extend the current agreement for a fifth time, until March 29. China claims the right of approval of any Hong Kong agreement extending beyond July 1, 1997, the date on which the Crown colony is to return to Chinese rule. Dragonair and EVA Airways have delayed plans to launch Taiwan-Hong Kong service under the new agreement.
United's 20,000 flight attendants are scheduled to vote April 9 on a four-year contract that freezes pay for two years and limits raises for two more, but protects U.S. jobs throughout the period. If approved, the collective bargaining agreement would prohibit United from opening additional flight attendant domiciles outside the U.S. and cap foreign flight attendant employment at 10% of the carrier's total, according to spokeswoman Meribeth Weber of the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents cabin staff at United.
National Transportation Safety Board was in possession yesterday of the flight data and cockpit voice recorders, recovered Wednesday, from the chartered 757 that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean Feb. 6 off the coast of the Dominican Republic, killing all 189 aboard. The recorders were recovered from a depth of about 7,200 feet by a U.S. Navy remotely controlled submersible vehicle.
Backpackers headed for Australia, generally thought to travel on a shoestring, spend US$2,915 per person per visit in the country, compared with US$1,499 for all visitors, according to a recent survey.
Hotel Roundup: Holiday Inn Worldwide plans to form a separate Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts organization within Holiday Inn for the upscale hotel market and double the number of Crowne Plaza facilities by 2000. It now has 110 properties worldwide...Doubletree Corporation has completed the purchase of 974,000 shares of Memphis-based RFS Hotel Investors' (RFS) convertible preferred stock at $19 a share, for a total investment of $18.5 million.
Midwest Express will increase its Milwaukee service to New York LaGuardia and Kansas City May 1, adding a daily flight to each city. With the expansion, New York will get five weekday flights and Kansas City four. Midwest Express said the increase is made possible by three recently acquired DC-9s, which also will support additional flights to Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth and Philadelphia.
The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners has made final a Los Angeles Airport lease agreement with Delta, reached in 1994, that will reduce the carrier's costs and allow it to maintain its reservations operation, according to the Department of Airports. Delta employs 1,600 workers at the airport, and the deal dates back to a disagreement over leases that was connected to the Los Angeles landing fees dispute (DAILY, Oct. 25, 1994). The board said Delta was obligated to pay rent on a 280,000-square-foot facility it was not using.
Continental is pressing U.S. negotiators to seek additional U.S. carrier designations for the U.S.-Brazil market when the two sides meet late in April. The U.S.-Brazil bilateral allows for only three U.S. designations, currently held by United, American and Tower. Continental has applied for 14 frequencies to operate daily DC-10-30 Newark-Sao Paulo and Newark-Rio de Janeiro combination service beginning June 6, however (DAILY, Feb. 28).
Aviation industry elements that contract with FAA offered generally positive comments on acquisition reforms the agency plans to submit to Congress on April 1. Professional Services Council (PSC) President Bert Concklin called the proposal a "fundamental transformation of the FAA acquisition system into a 21st century success model." He said FAA is "moving in a direction which can be a model for all government," and he identified sole-source contracting, screening information requests, and cost and pricing data as the most significant issues in the new program.
Apollo Travel Services said Small Luxury Hotels, with 196 properties worldwide, is the newest participant in Inside Availability, its highest level of participation, with seamless connections to hotel databases via the RoomMaster product. In addition, six hotel chains are new participants in Inside Link.
Hudson General Corp. will sell 26% interest in its aviation services business to Lufthansa Airport and Ground Services GmbH (LAGS), the wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Lufthansa AG, for about $23.8 million. Neither LAGS nor Lufthansa will acquire any securities of Hudson General. LAGS has the option after Oct. 1, 2000, to increase its holding to a maximum of 49%. Hudson General will continue to manage the aviation business, which constitutes about 70% of its assets and almost all of its revenues. Execution of the deal is set for July 1.
Air Transport Association Cargo Traffic December, 12 Months 1995 Revenue Ton-Miles (000) December December % 1995 1994 Change Domestic Freight 727,964 714,904 1.8 Mail 190,887 195,481 (2.4) Total 918,851 910,385 0.9 International
Tower Air said it will pull the plug on service to India and Amsterdam. "Since April 1994, we have invested much time, effort and money in what has turned out to be a difficult, unprofitable venture," said Chief Executive Morris Nachtomi. "Since we don't forsee any imminent change in the situation, we've elected to close down our operations in India." Nachtomi blamed the failure of the service on the seasonality of the market and its unidirectional nature. The company will end operations to India and Amsterdam, which it has used as its India gateway, by March 10.
United launches its first two-class 747-100 this weekend on flights between Los Angeles and Honolulu.The switch to two classes of service from three and use of the larger 747s instead of DC-10s will create 4,500 extra seats per week each way between the mainland and Hawaii as of July.Eight aircraft will be converted to the new configuration by summer and two more by September.
EuroBelgian Airlines (EBA) challenged Belgium's official tourist establishment on a charge of blocking free enterprise at Milan's international tourism fair. Belgium's two regional Flemish and Walloon tourism bureaus, Office de Promotion Touristique Wallonie-Bruxelles and Toerisme Vlaanderen, prohibited EBA from setting up its booth at the fair, scheduled Feb. 27 through March 3. The reason for the restriction, EBA said, is that the agencies have an "exclusive arrangement" to promote Sabena as the preferred carrier for tourists traveling to Belgium.
International Association of Convention&Visitor Bureaus will celebrate its 100th anniversary at its 82nd annual convention July 20-23 at the Detroit Westin Hotel. The association will induct a new slate of volunteer leaders and award two scholarships offered by the IACVB Foundation. IACVB recently concluded its 10th annual Destinations Showcase in Washington, D.C., which attracted 780 meeting professionals. It will hold more Destinations Showcase events Sept. 17 in Chicago and Oct. 2 in New York.
Lockheed L1011 And McDonnell Douglas MD-11 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Third Quarter 1995 L1011-1-250 Delta TWA Total Number of Aircraft Operated 39 14 53 Total Fleet Operations Departures 114 33 146
Corporations are expected to spend 7% more on employee travel this year than in 1995, according to the 1996 Corporate Travel Index published by Business Travel News. The index predicts travelers will pay an average $193.13 for one day's lodging, three meals and an intermediate-size rental car in the U.S., up $12.45 from last year. New York is the most expensive destination at $357.72 a day, up 9.1% from 1995. The cheapest city is Biloxi, Miss., followed by Chattanooga, Tenn.; Peoria, Ill.; Springfield, Mo., and Mobile, Ala.
The IATA Clearing House handled $25.89 billion in transactions in 1995, 13.6% more than in 1994. Interline passenger business, which accounted for 60% of the transactions, grew 14.2%, IATA said. Cargo interline rose 6.5% to $1.03 billion, about 4% of the total for the world's carriers. Services such as engineering and maintenance, aircraft leasing, reservations, passenger handling, catering and communications increased 11.8% and accounted for $7.63 billion, about 30% of the total processed by IATA.
Taiwan passport holders laid out more than US$8.5 billion for overseas travel in 1995, the first year expenditures on foreign travel by local residents exceeded Taiwan's foreign trade surplus. Foreigners in Taiwan spent about US$3.8 billion in 1995, creating a travel payment deficit of US$4.7 billion.
The U.S. and Germany will initial an open skies agreement today. DOT Secretary Federico Pea will preside over a signing ceremony this morning in Washington, after German Transport Minister Matthias Wissmann announces the pact to the German press in Bonn. Also today, Lufthansa-United will apply for antitrust immunity for their strategic alliance, but a Lufthansa noted that antitrust immunity is not covered specifically by the agreement.
Relations between the FAA and industry, which appeared to be improving through the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee process and other means, now show signs of reverting to the antagonistic attitudes of the past. The hardening stance of industry toward FAA was exposed this week in testimony to Congress by Roger Fleming, senior VP for the Air Transport Association.
American Airlines Cargo Division will introduce on March 1 a "simplified" product line "as part of our ongoing efforts to improve service levels and to make our products more flexible and easier for our customers to use," said William Boesch, division president. The line will consist of five products - mail, on- board courier, priority parcel service and two airport-to-airport products, expressAAir and standardAAir.
American Society of Travel Agents will hold its Travel Management Academy April 17-20 at the Embassy Suites Camelhead Hotel, Phoenix. The four-day course is for agency owners, managers and management trainees. The academy's Graduates Retreat will follow April 20-21. ASTA also will offer its new Marketing Mania! seminar in conjunction with its free Internet training seminar April 26 and April 27, respectively, at the St. Louis Airport Hilton.
