USAir Group, Northwest and UPS remained on the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's annual list of the 50 companies with the largest underfunded pension plans. The listed companies account for 45% of the $13.5 billion in 1994 underfunding by single-employer plans insured by the PBGC. Being on the list does not mean companies are not in full compliance with federal government minimum funding requirements, or that the pension plans are at risk, PBGC said. A USAir spokesman said the carrier complies with all requirements and is current on all payments into the plan.
Boeing 757 and 767 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Second Quarter 1995 B757-200 America West American Continental Number of Aircraft Operated 14 85 13 Total Fleet Operations Departures 58 260 36 Block Hours 174 880 164 Flight Hours 155 767 147
Mexicana has applied to DOT for authority to operate scheduled combination service between Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and New York. The carrier said it plans to begin operations Dec. 15 to Newark Airport, using Airbus A320 aircraft seating 156 passengers. Asking for an exemption of at least one year, Mexicana apologized to the department for giving short notice but said the Mexican government advised it only in the past several days that it was authorized for the route. (Docket OST-95-906)
Citing a high rate of accidents among domestic carriers, Taiwan's Civil Aeronauics Administration said it will undertake an expanded, three-week safety check of the island's airlines. Taiwan has recorded 13 serious incidents so far this year, and a CAA official acknowledged that there is a need to strengthen air safety policy. The official said the agency has asked air safety experts in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand for help in developing the new policy.
Lufthansa signed a marketing agreement with Adria Airways this week. The pact, signed in Ljubljiana, Slovenia, on Tuesday, will go into effect Jan. 1, 1996. The carriers will code share on flights twice a week between Ljubljana and Frankfurt and once daily between Ljubljana and Munich. The airlines also will work together in the areas of check-in, ground-handling, flight schedules and joint use of airport lounges.
Travel management firm Travel and Transport, in an open letter to the American Society of Travel Agents board of directors, has asked the agency to reconsider its opposition to the mileage-based net fare system proposed by Business Travel Contractors Corporation. Travel agents have resisted the proposal because they fear they will be left out of the travel distribution process. Under the plan, BTCC would secure contracts from corporations for travel at established fares, allowing for fluctuations, such as a fuel crisis, that drive up airline operating costs.
Airports, travel bureaus and others signing on to the Internet in increasing numbers could benefit from a new magazine to be launched by Miller Freeman - Web Techniques. The monthly publication, which will debut in February, will target professionals who design, develop and maintain World Wide Web sites.
Galaxy Scientific Corp. said it has designed a baggage container for aircraft that withstood the blast of a bomb larger than the one that brought down Pan Am 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. The company said its ECOS-3 container "met all our expectations" in FAA explosive testing. James Yoh, Galaxy president, said the container is designed and constructed for easy replacement of panels damaged by normal use, and the materials can be recycled.
Delta and Lockheed Martin are considering teaming up to offer "a full range of maintenance and technical services to owners and operators of L-1011 aircraft worldwide," the companies said yesterday. Delta, with 55, is the largest L-1011 operator.
Apollo has lifted computer reservations system (CRS) restrictions on the types of passenger name records that can be ticketed electronically, allowing agents to ticket PNRs with open or waitlisted segments. Also, tickets previously issued electronically and paper tickets can be exchanged for new electronic tickets. On Jan. 1, electronic ticketing will become the default method of issuing tickets on Apollo.
Alaska Airlines reported a 12.5% traffic increase in November to 711 million revenue passenger miles from 631 million RPMs flown in November 1994. Available seat miles totaled 1.102 billion, up 5.2% from 1.048 billion. Alaska's load factor improved from 60.3% to 64.5% as the airline carried 870,700 passengers. Traffic for the first 11 months was up 14% and capacity 16%, resulting in a decline in load factor to 61.7% from 62.8%. RPMs totaled 7.858 billion for the period, and ASMs 12.733 billion.
Members of the Texas congressional delegation assailed yesterday a key provision in the U.S.-India agreement permitting Air-India to operate fifth-freedom service from London Heathrow to Chicago and Washington. "I strongly oppose DOT giving access to Heathrow to Air-India, a foreign carrier," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison at a news conference in Washington. "The Department of Transportation is not being even-handed," she added, noting the long effort of the Texas delegation to get nonstop access to Heathrow from Houston or Dallas.
British Airways' November traffic grew 8.4% on 8.6% more capacity than in November 1994. For the month, the carrier logged 4.3 billion revenue passenger miles on 6.4 billion available seat miles. Strong international growth fueled the traffic increase. Intercontinental RPMs shot up 8.9%, but on 10.4% more ASMs. The airline carried 4.4% more passengers systemwide and 9.8% more in intercontinental markets. The passenger load factor was 67.1%, a dip of 0.2 points compared with November 1994.
American has signed a letter of intent to purchase Honeywell/Trimble HT9100 GNSS navigation systems for its Omega Replacement Program. The order, the first major project award for the Honeywell/Trimble team, calls for at least 400 of the Global Positioning System-based equipment to retrofit American's MD-80, 727 and DC-10 aircraft. Installation will begin this summer. The system combines the Global Navigation Satellite technologies with airline flight management system operational procedures.
Air Line Pilots Association, anticipating issuance of proposed new airline pilot flight and duty time rules next week by FAA, yesterday released a draft policy of its own to "prevent fatigue in the cockpit." Proposing a minimum rest period of 12 hours and a maximum basic duty period of 12 hours, ALPA said the current FAA rules "take no account of duty time." An FAA official said last week that the agency's proposed new rules will reflect the "latest scientific data available" on fatigue (DAILY, Nov. 30).
David Plavin has been selected president of Airports Council International- North America, replacing George Howard, who leaves at yearend. Plavin most recently was director of aviation for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Kiwi International Airlines is seeking a two-year renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Newark, N.J., and Bermuda. After inaugurating service on the route in May 1995, the carrier discontinued the flights for the winter months but plans to resume them on or about April 1, 1996, for the peak summer travel season. Kiwi notes that its service will enhance competition on the route, now served only by Continental. Starting in April, Kiwi will offer seven weekly roundtrips using 162-seat Boeing 727-200 aircraft.
ValuJet Airlines, which continues to accrue aircraft and cities served, reported a 158% increase in November traffic to 265.5 million revenue passenger miles. Its available seat miles were up 157%, but to 398 million, and the load factor edged up to 66.7%.
Alaska Airlines and its sister carrier Horizon Air have gone ticketless systemwide, including flights to Mexico, Canada and Russia. The electronic ticketing system, called Instant Travel, was available in seven markets in October. The two carriers plan in the future to make the system available to customers through travel agents. Customers will receive a letter showing the itinerary, fare, confirmation number and fare restrictions within three days of booking.
United, citing its continued dispute with the government of Japan, said it plans to oppose Japan Airlines' bid to introduce new service between Japan and Kona, Hawaii. Beginning in April 1996, JAL proposes operating three- times-weekly nonstop service to Kona from Tokyo Narita Airport, with stopovers in Honolulu on return flights, using 404-seat Boeing 747-300 aircraft (DAILY, Dec. 5). The new service is permitted under terms of the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to by the U.S. and Japan in 1989, according to JAL.
Alitalia's board will meet Dec. 15 to consider changes in the carrier's restructuring plan that may include cancellation of several aircraft orders and further personnel and organizational changes. The carrier is holding meetings on the plan this week and early next week. The changes are being directed by Alitalia President Renato Riverso, who took direct control of the company after chief executive Roberto Schisano was removed this fall.
KLM and its pilots union have agreed to resume contract negotiations, the two groups said yesterday. The airline and the union, the Dutch Air Line Pilots Association VNV, will pick up where they left off after negotiations stalled last month. Pay and benefit issues will head the agenda of the meeting, a date for which has not been announced. The talks broke off last month after a disagreement over an independent study which found that KLM's 1,300 pilots are not paid more than pilots at competitors.
Even if the more than 32,000 Machinists on strike at Boeing return to work right away, the company probably will deliver no more than 15 more aircraft by yearend, according to investment house Merrill Lynch, which cut its fourth-quarter earnings estimate for the company nearly two-thirds, to $61.76 million. Based on earlier estimates of fourth quarter deliveries, Merrill suggested that some 33 aircraft probably will slip to early next year or later, boosting profits in 1996 but eating into current earnings.
Officials representing FAA and the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers agreed yesterday to approach Congress for help in staffing busy facilities and providing incentives to keep controllers working at them. Kevin Haggerty, a legislative representative for NATCA, said he and Bill Jeffers, director of the FAA's air traffic service, will visit Congress next week in an attempt to get $24 million to beef up the facilities. "We will go on the Hill and say we need to find the money right now," Haggerty said.
