Union officials said no further meetings are scheduled with Boeing following a seven-hour session last week, the first between the company and the striking Machinists in more than a month. Bob Gregory, the union's Boeing coordinator, and Bill Johnson, its district president, said the company did not use the meeting to turn over information the National Labor Relations Board charged it is withholding illegally. "Our strike will continue," Johnson said.
British Airways and USAir have created a jointly owned, U.S.-based engineering services company, Airline Technical Services. ATS is based at USAir's Pittsburgh hub and is intended to capitalize on BA's long-haul and USAir's short-haul expertise. ATS will market the combined range of BA and USAir aircraft engineering and maintenance services, seeking contracts in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere, where the company can jointly serve new customers in the third-party maintenance market.
Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines recently added a sixth daily Salt Lake City-Sun Valley roundtrip and plans to add a seventh on Dec. 15. The expanded service will remain in effect through March 31. All services will be operated with 30-passenger Embraer Brasilias.
Granted orally an exemption to Pacific International Airlines to continue to wet-lease Boeing 727 aircraft to Air Caribbean for all-cargo operations between Curaao, Netherlands Antilles, and Miami.
Najeeb Halaby was named chairman of the AOPA Air Safety Foundation Board of Visitors. Halaby recently received the National Air and Space Museum's lifetime achievement award. He served as FAA administrator under President John Kennedy and was chief executive of Pan Am from 1969 to 1972.
Bell Helicopter Textron promoted Jim Rogers to VP-program marketing and named Jeff Pino executive director-European marketing. Senior VP Peter Parsinen will add responsibility for customer and marketing support; Ed Keglovits was named executive director-marketing support, Bruce Camp executive director-customer support, and Loren Doughty director-Customer Training Academy.
SimuFlite Training International promoted Eugene Haggerty to VP- training services; Jeffrey Roberts to VP-sales and marketing; Allison Blankenship to managing director-courseware and communications, and Thomas Ferranti to managing director-technical services.
United will begin serving Starbucks coffee on all flights in January. United said annual coffee consumption in pounds, based on 75 million passengers a year, could equal the weight of 27 737-500s.
Greenwich Air Services has entered an agreement with majority owner Greenwich Co. Ltd. by which GCL will be merged into Greenwich Air Services and Greenwich Air Services will be the surviving entity. GCL's holdings in Greenwich Air Services represent almost all of GCL's assets. As part of the merger, Greenwich Air Services will acquire and cancel the 3.95 million shares of its common stock held by GCL and, in turn, issue to GCL stockholders 3.95 million new shares.
Casino Wings will make its inaugural flight Nov. 12 from St. Petersburg/Clearwater Airport and Fort Lauderdale to New Orleans. The charter carrier is offering two- and three-night casino vacation packages in New Orleans. The service is provided with 727-200s. Casino Wings is considering expanding in the first quarter of 1996 to Orlando and Jacksonville from New Orleans. The casino packages include roundtrip air service, accommodations, a welcome dinner and farewell brunch, a variety show and all airport/casino/hotel transfers.
Denver's new airport had another surprise for regional airlines recently when the facility hit them with a $3.55-per-gallon glycol "recovery fee" for the de-icing fluids consumed last winter. That fee is in addition to the actual $3.35-per-gallon cost of the fluid, which this year is up to about $5.40. GP Express owner George Poullos said he was billed for more than 3,000 gallons of the stuff, which is applied at a cost of $134 per Beech 1900, including tax.
Universal Studios Florida has created Universal City Travel Company to promote the multi-billion dollar construction of destination resort Universal City Florida. The company, working with travel industry partners, also plans to support tourism to Florida in general. The company has hired Jim Sheats, formerly director of leisure sales and marketing for USAir, as VP and general manager. It also announced that Mason Ayres, who helped launch the Walt Disney Travel Company's air-inclusive program, will be director-marketing.
FAA's new program to identify suspected unapproved parts (see Page 241) could impose a "tremendous burden" on industry, according to Michael Rioux, Air Transport Association VP-engineering. "There is about $45 billion worth of inventory in the supply chain, and it could prove a huge cost burden if we have to verify all those components for perhaps no reason at all."
Continuing his 17-day Asia trip, DOT Secretary Federico Pena is scheduled to be in Jakarta, Indonesia, today to meet with Indonesian President Suharto and preside over Indonesia's signing of a contract with Airport Systems International, Overland Park, Kan., for instrument landing systems and other airport equipment.
Qantas has reorganized its senior-level operations management. Gordon Howlett, executive general manager-international operations, has been named executive general manager-national operations, and Colin Hughes, group general manager-national operations, will be group general manager- international operations. Both appointments are effective Dec. 1.
While commending FAA for its quick response to recommendations for upgrading the standards of scheduled Part 135 operators, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman James Hall last week added that he hoped the agency "exercises good common sense" in implementing the new standards. In a speech during last week's Regional Airline Association Fall Membership Meeting, Hall noted that the proposed rulemaking to upgrade the standards of Part 135 operators to match those of Part 121 operators "will change the industry, no doubt about it."
United Express carrier Atlantic Coast Airlines (ACA) has signed an agreement for a credit line of up to $20 million with Shawmut Capital Corp. ACA said it will use the three-year line to finance its outstanding receivables. The new deal, which replaces ACA's current credit line, will reduce the carrier's annual interest expense and other related costs, and improve the terms of receivable financing, ACA said.
Pilots at Liberty Express Airlines, a USAir Express carrier in Pennsylvania, have voted for representation by the Air Line Pilots Association. The National Mediation Board said that of 78 eligible voters, ALPA received 61 votes.
American will hold its second annual travelers with disabilities educational conference 12:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at its Fort Worth headquarters. The keynote address will be delivered by Ted Kennedy Jr., who lost a leg to bone cancer. The free conference is designed to educate travel agents and meeting planners on providing services to the disabled. The conference coincides with Travelers with Disabilities Awareness Week, sponsored by the Society for the Advancement of Travel for the Handicapped.
Standard&Poor's has assigned its B+ rating to Atlas Air Inc.'s $115 million pass-through certificates due in 2005. The agency said the corporate credit rating is B+, and the rating outlook is stable. The ratings reflect the company's low operating cost structure and profitable, multi-year contracts with several international airlines for dedicated air freight transportation, offset by contract renewal risk and a highly competitive industry environment. Proceeds from the rated issue will be used to purchase used Boeing 747 freighters to expand operations.
