EVA Air of Taiwan announced formally yesterday its plans to launch newly authorized service to Macau on Dec. 8 and to Hong Kong on Feb. 1, 1996. The carrier intends to begin discussions with other airlines seeking interline agreements at the two destinations. It will serve Macau initially with Boeing 767-200 aircraft seating about 200 passengers in a two-class configuration. It will operate the Hong Kong flights with McDonnell Douglas MD-11 or Boeing 747-400 aircraft with four-class service.
Total Revenue Departures Total Revenue Departures America West 48,602 American 205,269 Continental 112,997 Delta 239,014 Northwest 141,658 Southwest 170,241 TWA 68,098 United 197,647 USAir 204,214 Total 1,387,740
Brian Mulroney, former prime minister of Canada, yesterday filed in Quebec Superior Court a $50 million action against the government of Canada, the commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other federal government officials in response to "false and reckless allegations" that he received illegal payments to influence Air Canada's acquisition of Airbus Industrie aircraft. Both Air Canada and Airbus declined to comment yesterday on the allegations or the prospective lawsuit.
Southwest has extended the deadline for purchase of its 21-day advance Gotta Go sale fares to Nov. 30. Tickets are good for travel through April 5. Fare examples include $19 for Los Angeles-Oakland and Chicago-Cleveland flights.
Air South's Michael Weber, security chief and regional ground operations manager, will offer advice on how to conduct safe business in Atlanta during the Olympics, and how to accommodate air travelers, at a conference Jan. 11. Weber's speech at the conference, Workplace Atlanta-Solutions to Safety and Security Issues During the Olympics, will be aimed at Atlanta business owners.
AirTran Airways has cut fares by an average $20 for travel Nov. 29-Dec. 18 and Jan. 8-Jan. 31. The tariffs are good throughout its 18-city route system. Tickets must be purchased by Dec. 15. Seats are limited and blackout dates may apply.
Canadian Airlines International has issued a three-year contract to Transcontinental Publications Inc. to publish its English-French inflight magazine, develop versions of it in Chinese, Japanese and other languages, and create an inflight video magazine. Canadian's VP passenger marketing, Gregg Saretsky, said the Transcontinental Group division will provide "innovative inflight entertainment that raises the overall quality of our inflight service."
TWA has been approved by DOT to begin service between New York Kennedy and Santo Domingo Dec. 1. The carrier will operate daily L-1011 service. TWA beefed up service to Mexico and the Caribbean recently to offer better north-south winter travel options.
International Airline Passengers Association (IAPA) is offering members the opportunity to convert frequent flyer miles into LatinPass redeemable on 15 airlines. IAPA members earn IAPAMiles that can be converted into tickets through LatinPass.
Engineers have successfully made the first telephone call using a new Inmarsat system that will make satellite communications available for short- and medium-haul aircraft. The equipment, which will begin flight trials in January, makes use of a new generation of aeronautical services that employ smaller, lighter and cheaper avionics and antennas than those used on longer-range aircraft.
Lone Star Airlines is planning discount fares between Dallas/Fort Worth and Aspen when it starts serving the market Dec. 15. Two roundtrip fares are available through Feb. 18 - $390 for all flights between Dec. 15-Jan. 6, and $337 for travel Jan. 6-Feb. 18. Tickets must be purchased by Nov. 25.
United Leisure Corp. has signed a letter of intent with Apollo Travel Services to form a joint venture to market and create an interactive multimedia travel system. The venture would combine the technology developed by United Leisure with Apollo's reservations system. The two companies have 90 days to work out the details. The system initially would be used only for booking cruises by travel agents, and a site would be established on the World Wide Web to provide consumers with cruise information and enable them to make the reservations themselves.
The world's largest private collection of vintage aircraft opens today near Polk City, Fla. The new Fantasy of Flight museum has simulators that allow spectators to pilot a World War II aircraft in battle. Five P-51 Mustangs are scheduled to overfly opening ceremonies.
The Pentagon is "firmly against any proposal that would charge the Department of Defense for its use of the air traffic control system," a Defense Department assistant secretary told the House Transportation aviation subcommittee recently.
U.S. carriers' traffic was up 1.4% in October from the same month in 1994, to 43.6 billion revenue passenger miles. The Air Transport Association said passenger enplanements decreased for the fourth month in a row, dropping 1.2% in October to 42,164,000. ATA President Carol Hallett said, "Relatively flat growth in traffic has helped to spur some of the fare initiatives over the past few weeks. Now the question will be how those airfare sales will affect passenger traffic in November and December."
USAir intends to expand its international service next year with new flights to Munich and Madrid, if approved. Munich would become USAir's second German destination from Philadelphia, and Madrid its first service to Spain. The carrier also would serve Philadelphia-Rome under a pending application at DOT. The Madrid service has been cleared by DOT but is awaiting approval from the Spanish government, and Munich service depends on an allocation of 1996 Germany frequencies by DOT.
China Airlines and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will launch a cooperative mileage program Dec. 1. Under the terms of the new scheme, members of CAL's Dynasty Flyer Program will be awarded 500 bonus mileage points each time they stay at one of the Mandarin Oriental Groups' 11 hotels. In addition, members will qualify for a special room rate discount. The agreement observes the first time CAL has sought a partner in the hospitality industry to promote its frequent flyer program.
After months of speculation and frustration, Air New Zealand signed a memorandum of understanding Friday with TNT Ltd. of Australia to buy 25% of Ansett Australia's parent, Ansett Holdings Ltd., for A$200 million. Air New Zealand Chairman Bob Matthew said he expects to complete a formal agreement in the near future. After the transaction closes, Ansett will be owned 50% by News Corp., 25% by TNT and 25% by Air New Zealand.
British Aerospace's Asset Management Organization has completed lease transactions with three U.K. regional carriers. AMO leased Air U.K. a BAe 146-300 formerly operated by Mistral Air of Italy to replace a BAe 146-200 that was returned off-lease from Air U.K. to Delta Air Transport in Belgium; extended for five years the lease by charter operator Flightline of its single BAe 146-300; extended for six years a Manx Airlines lease for one of its BAe 146-200s, and sold an additional -200 aircraft to Manx.
Southwest's board has declared a quarterly dividend of one cent per share on all shares currently issued and outstanding. The dividend, the airline's 77th in a row, will be paid on Jan. 2 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Dec. 6.
American appointed Steven Tracas managing director-Western Division sales, succeeding Michael Smith, who was named managing director-sales and reservations, Europe.
America West has reduced fares from Nov. 29 through Dec. 19 as low as $38 roundtrip between Columbus and Indianapolis. The highest sale fare is $318 roundtrip for New York-San Francisco. The fares require a seven-day advance purchase and minimum stay.
