Lufthansa has amended the terms of its Miles&More frequent flyer program, giving members three years instead of two to claim awards. The new rule applies to all miles credited to members since Jan. 1, 1993, the airline said. Frequent flyers also can earn extra miles in special campaigns.
Air South is selling $24 "real last chance saver fares" until Jan. 31 good for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The price is good up to the day before departure. The fares are good for one-way flights between any two cities Air South serves. They will be sold until Jan. 7.
American and Qantas will begin code sharing on Qantas flights from Los Angeles to Auckland and Melbourne on Nov. 15, their anniversary of trans- Pacific code sharing. The carriers code share on 24 weekly Qantas flights between Sydney and Los Angeles, and on American flights from Los Angeles to Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington Dulles.
U.S. Customs Service has been awarded Hammer Awards for excellence in passenger operations, carrier security and automated entry. The awards, part of Vice President Al Gore's National Performance Review, are intended to replace the proverbial $600 government-issue hammer.
Northwest will begin Detroit-Colorado Springs service March 2 with two daily nonstop flights. The carrier already offers three daily flights from its Minneapolis hub to the Colorado city. It will use 146-seat 727s in the market.
Senate yesterday passed by an 87-to-10 vote the conference report (House Report 104-286) on the fiscal 1996 DOT appropriations bill (H.R.2002), clearing the measure for the President. Although some appropriations bills could face a veto, President Clinton has said he intends to sign H.R.2002 (DAILY, Oct. 31).
USAir will lease six aircraft it previously removed from service to four carriers. New Colorado carrier Jet Aspen will sublease two BAe 146-200s for service beginning Dec. 15. Another BAe 146 will go to London-based Flightline. Air 21, a new carrier based in Fresno, Calif., already has taken one F28 and will take a second today. BahamasAir will lease a 737- 200. USAir said all four operators have been offered training and technical support, but agreements have not been reached in all cases.
In what is shaping up as a power struggle between investment partners, KLM has threatened Northwest with legal action if its board adopts a proposed shareholder rights plan. The plan, apparently intended to prevent any one party from gaining too big a stake in Northwest or exerting too much influence over the company, could affect KLM's ability to exercise an option to purchase up to 5.27 million shares of Northwest common stock in August 1998.
Burlington Air Express said third quarter revenues increased 17% to $365.8 million from $311.9 million, but operating profit skidded to $17.4 million from $22.2 million. The dropoff was precipitated by domestic profit declining from $13.8 million for the quarter to $8.8 million, while international profit remained essentially flat at $8.7 million. For the first nine months, revenues rose to $1.03 billion from $875.7 million, as operating profit dropped to $39.9 million from $52 million.
Information on Aloha Airlines and sister carrier Island Air is now available on the World Wide Web. Users can find data on reservations, schedules, destinations and aircraft types. Users accessing the information, found at http://www.alohaair.com/aloha-air/, can enter a sweepstakes to win Kliban Cat T-shirts.
A FedEx pilot is suing the company in a federal court in Memphis under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act because FAA regulations force him to stop flying at age 60. The suit is supported by the Professional Pilots Federation, a group of pilots who organized for the specific reason of forcing repeal of the age 60 rule. The PPF said the suit was filed after FAA did not comment on the pilot's request for an exemption from the rule.
San Francisco Airport and its tenant airlines signed a memorandum of understanding yesterday for a $2.4 billion Master Plan (MP) construction program. The agreement for development on projects until the year 2000 includes provisions for airlines' responsibility regarding soil and groundwater remediation. In return, the airport has agreed to limit airline landing fees and terminal rent to $125 million a year through fiscal 2000.
USAir Express carrier Jetstream International Airlines is changing its name today to PSA Airlines, the namesake of a California carrier that USAir acquired in 1988. Keith Houk, VP of USAir Express and USAir Shuttle, said, "We want to preserve the names and memories of the great local service airlines that came together to make up today's USAir." Jetstream President Dick Pfenning said the name change coincides with the modernization of the carrier's entire fleet to "cabin class" aircraft, upgrading from 19-seat Jetstream 31s to 32-seat Dornier 328s.
Japan Airlines said yesterday it will launch the stretched Boeing 777-300 with an order for five airplanes, valued at $800 million. JAL also was a launch customer for the 777-200 with an order for 10 and options on 10 more. The first of the 777-200s, slated to go into service next spring on domestic routes, will have 377 seats in economy and 12 in first class. The first of the 777-300s, which are 10 meters longer than the -200, will go into service in 1998. Seating on the -300 can be increased to 480-520 seats in two classes on domestic routes, JAL said.
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution and Woodside Travel Trust, a $17.4 billion travel management company, have signed a strategic partnership agreement under which Amadeus becomes a preferred provider of distribution system services to Woodside. The agreement also contains provisions for creating joint marketing efforts.
Swissair plans to launch Zurich-Newark service and resume flights to Rio de Janeiro during the 1995-96 winter travel season. Nonstop scheduled service to Newark, realizing a longstanding company goal of a late-evening connection between metropolitan New York and Switzerland, will be launched in March with an Airbus A310 configured for two classes of service. Swissair will operate the service five days per week initially, expanding it to daily frequency by the beginning of April.
Singapore Airlines plans to begin weekly 747-400 freighter service to Chicago on Thursday. The flight will operate from Singapore to Chicago O'Hare via Taipei and Anchorage, and will return to Singapore via Los Angeles, Anchorage and Seoul. The major cargo carried on the new route is expected to garments and electronic parts. With the addition of the new service, SIA Cargo will serve 25 freighter destinations.
FAA reform and modernization is a top priority of President Bill Clinton, who asked members of Congress yesterday to redouble their efforts in fixing, once and for all, the problem of aging air traffic control technology. The $37.5 billion transportation appropriations bill for fiscal 1996 mandates acquisition and personnel reforms at FAA, and Clinton told 1,700 delegates at the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism that when the bill "hits my desk, I intend to sign it."
Airport and air navigation facility user charges continue to grow faster than other operating costs, according to the International Air Transport Association. Last year, IATA carriers paid $5.6 billion in airport fees and $4.3 billion in en route charges for their international operations.
President Clinton, praising longtime aviation and transportation supporter Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) yesterday for work over the years that led to a new national tourism strategy, called him the real father of this week's White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. Referring to his determination in pursuing the issue, Clinton said, "If Jim had been a dog, half the people in Washington would have rabies."
Conquest Airlines, Austin, Texas, is offering Thanksgiving weekend fare specials of $109 roundtrip between any two cities it serves. The tariffs are good for any flight beginning Nov. 23 or Nov. 24 and returning Nov. 23, 24 or 26. Conquest operates to nine cities in Texas and between St. Paul, Minn., and Chicago.
U.S. Major Carriers Advertising Expenses Second Quarter 1995 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues America West $ 11,435,135 3.07 Domestic 11,431,422 3.10 Latin 3,713 0.10 American 49,071,000 1.45 Domestic 29,208,000 1.22
GE Aircraft Engines has started testing the first growth version of its new 90,000-pounds-thrust-class GE90 turbofan, the GE90-92B, GE officials said. The baseline 84,700 lbst. GE90-85 engine powers British Airways' Boeing 777 widebody twin, and engine testing delays postponed first deliveries from September until next month. The Dash 92B engine, to be rated at 92,000 lbst., should be delivered to BA in December 1996, on the first increased- growth-weight version of the 777.
