Galileo International has signed an agreement that will enable travel agents in China to book through its system. The pact, with the Management Information System of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), also enables travel agents who use Galileo to make and confirm bookings on China's international and domestic carriers. It covers 25 airlines and 10,000 computer terminals at 3,000 travel agencies in China.
Federal Express yesterday reported that operating income for the quarter ended Nov. 30, the second of its fiscal year, slipped to $170.9 million from $176.4 million a year earlier. Revenues increased 8% to $2.5 billion and net income was up 4% to $89.9 million. For the six months, operating income increased to $320.1 million from $319.4 million on revenues of $5 billion, up from $4.6 billion. Net income was $165.2 million, compared with $147.3 million.
American Chairman Robert Crandall yesterday urged aviation industry trade organizations to establish a task force on FAA funding "to define a financing approach at least minimally acceptable to all." In a speech to the Wings Club in New York, Crandall also called for a strategy for making the air traffic control system more efficient built around four steps: replacement of hardware, investment in better software, acceleration of the national route program and development of satellite navigation.
Illinois DOT says the nine-county Chicago area has experienced a 19% decline since 1989 in the share of long-distance trips by air. The results were part of a study aimed at reflecting passenger willingness to use a potential third Chicago-area airport near Peotone, Ill. The decline, IDOT said, is one that echoes a national trend "caused by the Gulf War and its higher petroleum prices and flyer uncertainties." The survey noted, however, that the U.S.
Government of Barbados wants to strengthen its tourism ministry and the Barbados Tourism Investment Corporation to meet the short-, medium- and long-term needs of the tourism industry. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tourism and International Transport in St. Michael is inviting firms to bid by Dec. 22 on a contract to conduct a technical and cost study on the subject.
The issue of sharing pilot records between airlines is "apparently simple," but there are "a number of valid concerns that need to be aired and evaluated before rushing to judgment and action," FAA Administrator David Hinson told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee yesterday. Despite the challenges involved, representatives of pilots and airlines voiced conditional acceptance of a pilot recordkeeping system along lines recommended last month by the National Transportation Safety Board (DAILY, Nov. 13).
American's Allied Pilots Association has offered a proposal in contract negotiations to allow American pilots to operate smaller jets and recapture some of the short-haul routes abandoned by American to Reno Air, Midway Airlines and American Eagle carriers. Under the concept - which APA says currently is no more than an idea to be discussed and fleshed out - American would acquire an undetermined number of new jets of an undetermined size, but smaller than anything American currently flies, an APA spokesman said.
Rio Air Express, operating as Skyjet Brasil, requested one-year authority to provide charter combination service between a point or points in Brazil and a point or points in the U.S. If approved, the carrier plans to begin operating the service this month, using DC-10-30 aircraft. (Dockets 49876, 49877, OST-95-921&OST-95-922)
Western Pacific Airlines has awarded a comprehensive 10-year maintenance contract to BFGoodrich Aerospace Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul Group. BFG also will provide purchasing, inventory management, engineering services, technical information and training and an investment in spares, rotables and expendable inventories. BFG said the contract is a major step toward leveraging its total service and support capabilities, and the combination of its aerospace service businesses into one group has allowed it to offer a wide range of services.
Hertz has opened a location in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. Since signing an agreement with the Olayan Group in 1992 for franchisee services in the Middle East, Hertz has opened franchises in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot yesterday urged the U.K. to create more capacity by building a fifth terminal at London's Heathrow Airport and predicted that the first of a new generation of large commercial jets will be delivered to a launch customer by 2001. In a speech before the Aviation Club of Great Britain, he encouraged countries to adopt "open skies" regimes. With a new round of restructuring and a recession behind it, Europe could be the proving ground for open skies, Jeanniot suggested.
Carriers told Illinois lawmakers Tuesday that without their support, the economic benefits of a proposed $2.3 billion south suburban airport near Peotone, Ill., would be zero. The Illinois Senate Transit and Economic Development Committee heard testimony from airlines, state transportation officials and others on Senate Bill 1245, which would create a regional airport authority to run Chicago's three airports and develop the Peotone facility.
Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan, 88, died Dec. 9 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Orange, Calif. Corrigan always maintained that he took a wrong turn in 1938 when, refused a U.S. permit for a solo transatlantic flight, he left New York for California and ended up in Dublin 28 hours later.
Taiwan's newest domestic carrier, U-Land Airlines, inaugurated service Monday between Taipei and Kaohsiung, offering six daily roundtrips using a newly purchased MD-82 and an unauthorized fare on one of them. Following delivery of a second MD-82, scheduled late this month, U-Land plans to open Taipei-Makung and Kaohsiung-Kinmen routes.
International Airlines Travel Agent Network's board of directors has agreed in principle to expand its accreditation, endorsement and related services now offered to full-service travel agents to include agencies that specialize in cruises. The program is anticipated to be ready by the second quarter of 1996.
Delta is offering student discount fares as low as $138 roundtrip in the U.S. and to five Canadian destinations. Students who call Delta between Jan. 4 and March 4 can receive student select savings certificates. Only one request per student will be accepted. The "extra credit" fares are valid for travel Jan. 15- March 31.
The U.S. aerospace industry "rebounded sharply" this year from its years-long slump as the backlog of on-order large commercial transport aircraft increased by $3.4 billion to $71 billion through the first three quarters, Don Fuqua, president of the Aerospace Industries Association, said yesterday in Washington. Airlines ordered 215 commercial jet transports through September, compared with 79 in all of 1994, he said in a yearend address. "We do not, however, expect an immediate boom in transport production.
High hotel occupancy rates have led several large hotel chains to consider charging a penalty fee of up to $50 for guests checking out earlier than planned. Hyatt and Westin hotels will begin charging the fee in a few weeks, and others are considering imposing a charge. The new policy has raised the ire of the Business Travel Contractors Corporation (BTCC), which says business travelers have little control over schedules and already are paying increasingly higher room rates.
Peruvian flag carrier Faucett is challenging Fine Airlines' assertion that a Peruvian investigation cleared it of charges that it transported arms to Ecuador early this year during the Ecuador-Peru border war. Embroiled in an ongoing battle with the government of Peru over the charges, Fine filed this month an English translation of the findings of the "Eleventh Public Prosecutor's Office in and for the Province of Lima," which the carrier maintained absolved it of wrongdoing (DAILY, Dec. 7).
American Society of Travel Agents has appointed a subcommittee of its Aviation Committee to prepare policy recommendations for the board of directors on whether to maintain or reverse its opposition to the mileage- based corporate fare program proposed by Business Travel Contractors Corp. Several ASTA members have asked the association to take another look at the proposal, and the board will do so in March. (Travel and tourism news below)
United has debuted its World Wide Web home page, found at http://www.ual.com. The Web site includes an e-mail area, and United plans to incorporate its personal travel planning software, United Connection, as well. The site includes the usuals - frequent flier information, press releases and information on destinations, aircraft seating and airport maps. It also includes a word search function.
British Airways received a record number of entries in its Tourism for Tomorrow Awards program, which highlights tourism projects that promote natural and cultural environments. BA received nominations for 121 projects from 44 countries, a 25% increase from last year. The award will be presented in February.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Balance Sheet As of September 30, 1995 ASSETS Undisbursed Balances: Available for Investment $ 753.18 TOTAL UNDISBURSED BALANCE (Cash in Account) $ 753.18 Receivables: Interest Receivables $ 185,284,072.86 TOTAL RECEIVABLES $ 185,284,072.86
Hotel News Roundup: Radisson Hotels Worldwide has added seven hotels in Israel through an agreement linking its European partner Radisson SAS Hotels Worldwide with the Moriah Hotel Group of Israel. The new hotels are in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Tiberias, Eilat, Zichron Yaacov and the Dead Sea resort area...Holiday Inn Worldwide opened a record four hotels in its Asia Pacific division in October, with facilities in India and Pakistan and two in Indonesia.
Food and Drug Administration this week ordered Las Vegas casinos to stop using outdoor laser displays following numerous reports of "illumination" of aircraft cockpits, including one instance in which a Southwest pilot was temporarily blinded (DAILY, Nov. 21). "All outdoor laser displays within a radius of 20 miles of any of the operating airports in Clark, County, Nev., are required to cease operation" until they comply with interim guidelines issued by FAA, the FDA said.
