Georgetown University Adjunct Professor of Law Joseph Schmitz, who has a number of airline clients in his private practice, says the constitutional provision against ex post facto laws should apply to retroactive federal taxes. Speaking at a recent Senate Governmental Affairs Committee hearing Schmitz noted that Roman Emperor Caligula, who notified the public improperly of new tax laws, was assassinated at age 29. Schmitz urged the Senate to "do better than Caligula."
Continental will spend $29 million over the next 12 years to rename the Brendan Byrne Arena in The Meadowlands Sports Complex the Continental Airlines Arena under a marketing partnership with the New Jersey Sports Authority that became effective Jan. 1. The complex will now be made up of the Continental Arena, Giants Stadium and the Meadowlands Racetrack. Continental's name will be put on signage throughout the arena and its logo will be placed on the roof, where it will be visible from Manhattan, Giants Stadium, the racetrack and aircraft.
American Trans Air is offering "anti-freeze" fares to sunny destinations from Indianapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee and Boston, starting at $74 one way. The fares are good for travel through Feb. 14, and tickets must be purchased by Jan. 19.
Sabena carried more than 5 million passengers in 1995, a 17% increase over 1994, the carrier said. Growth in Europe was strongest at 18.7%, and Sabena attributed the jump to development of its Brussels hub-and-spoke system, which enables passengers to make day trips on the Continent. The Brussels-Tokyo route grew 17.5%, passenger traffic on the North Atlantic gained 10.8%, and Africa service increased 9.5%. Sabena said it has doubled its passenger volume during the last seven years, from an average of 6,500 passengers per day in 1987 to 13,700 in 1995.
New Regional Aircraft Deliveries, September 1995 Last 12 Months Carrier No. Type Engines Delivery Air Dolomiti 1 AA ATR-42-500 PW127E 0 Air Littoral 2 Canadair RJ CF34-3A 2 Air Midwest* 2 Beech 1900D PT6A-67D 2
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Traffic June 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) Alaska 936 15.72 864 808,559 Aloha 426 2.42 136 57,785 American Trans Air 351 5.13 2,046 718,543
Airborne Express said it has become the first foreign-owned company to forge a partnership with Vietnam Post and Telecommunications to provide express and freight delivery throughout the nation. Paul McGee, county manager for the company, said that the "ability to tap into the Vietnam Post Office's infrastructure gives us an enormous competitive advantage."
Delta and American Express have agreed to offer a co-branded credit card that will automatically enroll cardmembers in Delta's SkyMiles frequent flyer program with a 5,000-mile enrollment bonus. The revolving credit card has an 8.9% introductory interest rate for the first six months. Miles do not expire unless a cardmember does not travel on Delta or Delta Connection at least once in three years.
Horizon Air is offering winter discounts between all cities it serves in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, California, British Columbia and Alberta, except for Sun Valley, Idaho. Prices range from $39 one way to $109, based on a roundtrip purchase. Tickets must be purchased by Jan. 15 for travel through Feb. 29.
DOT has postponed action to April 5, 1996, on Delta's complaint against the German government and Frankfurt/Main Airport. DOT responded to a request from Delta for yet another limited waiver of the 180-day statutory limit for action on the complaint. The department has postponed action repeatedly since Delta filed the complaint Dec. 29, 1993, with the last waiver deferring action until today.
Pratt&Whitney Canada said its PW530A turbofan engine was granted a type certificate by Transport Canada. The engine, a joint development with Germany's Motoren-und-Turbinen-Union Munchen, will power the new Cessna Citation Bravo business jet.
Sabre Travel Information Network joined United last week in offering travelers the carrier's ticketless system, called E-Ticketing, which is also available on Apollo and System One. Worldspan introduced the service this week.
Continental has applied for certificate authority to operate scheduled combination service between Newark and Manchester, England. Proposing to continue daily nonstop 757-200 service it currently operates under exemption authority, Continental argued that no other carrier offers Newark-Manchester service and only British Airways operates between New York and Manchester. Continental also notes that the U.S.-U.K. agreement last June 5 - the so-called mini-deal - opened up regional U.K. markets to U.S. service.
ValuJet's traffic jumped 135% in December to 265.7 million revenue passenger miles compared with last December on 134% more capacity for a total of 423.4 million available seat miles. The carrier's traffic for the year was up 179% from 1994 to 2.6 billion RPMs on 159% more capacity. Its load factor in December was 62.8%, up 0.2 points, and for the year it improved 4.8 points to 68.8%. Dec 95 Dec 94 12 Mths 95 12 Mths 94 RPMs 265,733,000 113,110,000 2,624,298,000 940,546,000
Delta has introduced daily one-stop service from Tucson to Atlanta via Albuquerque, giving its Tucson customers single-connection service to four international destinations - Shannon, Dublin, Barcelona and Madrid.
Canadian Airlines launched a fare sale yesterday, cutting ticket prices by as much as 83% off full coach fares and as much as 40% off excursion fares. The sale applies to travel throughout Canada and to destinations in the U.S., Europe and Latin America. The discounts, which require a seven-day advance purchase, are available through Jan. 12 for travel through the end of May.
Two European airlines - Virgin Atlantic Airways and Lufthansa - are offering winter discounts between Europe and the U.S. Lufthansa's sale prices start at $338 roundtrip between Frankfurt and 10 gateway cities in the U.S. The promotion runs through March 21. Virgin Atlantic ticket prices to the U.K. start at $278 roundtrip from Miami and $368 from the western U.S. Travel on the Virgin Atlantic fares must be completed by March 22.
British Airways traffic grew 7.9% in December over the same month in 1994, almost keeping pace with an 8% capacity increase. The carrier flew 4.4 billion revenue passenger miles for the month on 6.5 billion available seat miles. The passenger load factor was 67.8%, down 0.1 points from December 1994. The number of passengers carried grew 2.5% to 2.3 million. For the period April through December, the first three quarters of BA's financial year, traffic gained 9.6% on 6.1% additional capacity. Passenger load factor was up 2.4 points to 74.8%.
British Midland Airways is offering U.S. travel agents a 20% commission for each discounted ticket for travel to Europe sold under the carrier's fare sale, which continues through March 31. Agents also receive a free ticket for every 20 tickets they sell during the period.
The year just ended could be called The Year of "The Rule." The year just ahead will begin to unfold the true significance of DOT Secretary Federico Pena's new Commuter Safety Rule and its impact on the regional airline industry. For the majority of the airlines and the communities, the impact will be slight. Others may find it too onerous to remain in business. The Rule mandates that all commercial aircraft with 10 or more passenger seats meet FAR Part 25 transport-category certification standards and be operated under Part 121 rather than Part 135.
DOT Public Affairs Specialist Elaine Matrigali retired this week. An 18- year DOT veteran, Matrigali served in public affairs for 15 years after spending three years working for the Coast Guard. Separately, DOT has awarded 126 fifth-freedom frequencies for 1996 U.S.-Germany summer service with Delta receiving 98 and United 28.
DOT prohibited Mesa Air Group carriers from suspending essential air service to six communities in the western U.S. until April 8 or until a new carrier is selected for the service. In making its decision, DOT rejected Mesa's Dec. 8 notice of intent to suspend Jan. 1 its Beech 1900 service at Kingman, Ariz.; Silver City, N.M.; Goodland, Kan.; Lamar, Colo.; and Merced and Visalia, Calif. Mountain West Airlines operates EAS at the first four points, while WestAir serves the California communities. Both are Mesa subsidiaries and operate as United Express.
Opposition from airlines and aircraft manufacturers at the International Civil Aviation Organization's Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP/3) meeting last month prevented the group from making much-needed reforms, Airports Council International, Geneva, said. ACI said it was disappointed with CAEP/3's recommendation to leave current aircraft noise and emission levels unchanged (DAILY, Dec. 19). "We believe there is an environmental need for increased stringencies on noise and engine emissions.
Englewood, Colo.-based Centennial Express filed a Part 13 complaint at FAA alleging that the Jefferson County, Colo., Airport Authority has prohibited scheduled passenger service at Jefferson County Airport under Part 135 in violation of federal preemption laws and FAA grant assurances. The company has a longstanding complaint at FAA against the Arapahoe County, Colo., Public Airport Authority for prohibiting access to Centennial Airport under terms Centennial Express considers reasonable.
