Southwest will operate three flights between Tampa, Fla., and New Orleans as of April 7. The carrier said it originally planned to establish two flights in the market as of Jan. 22, but schedule changes enabled it to add a third flight.
Austrian Airlines ordered three more Fokker 70s and took options on another three. The carrier ordered four and took options on four last January. It now has seven firm orders and four options on the aircraft. The first two from the original order were delivered in September and October, and the remaining two will be delivered next March. The first of the latest order will arrive next fall and the remaining two in early 1997. Fokker said its firm orders now stand at 360, 70 of which are for the smaller F70. Fokker said it has booked 46 orders this year.
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners has accepted recommendations from a study commissioned to determine whether the port authority can save money through increased privatization of functions at Newark Airport. The adopted measures will save more than $10 million at Newark in 1996, the port authority said.
Winter storms that blew across the Northeast yesterday wreaked havoc on airline operations, especially at New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Runways were closed for a portion of the day at Philadelphia, Newark and New York. Delta expected to cancel as much as 50% of its operations at New York yesterday and was considering diversion of international arrivals at New York Kennedy to Atlanta.
Apollo has enhanced its sign-on profile to enable it automatically to sign out travel agents when they physically move from one terminal to another. Apollo said the automatic sign-out saves time and reduces potential security problems. Agents requested the change, saying they often move between departments or desks, occasionally forgetting to sign off. Typing a short code on the new terminal signs off the user from other terminals to which he is logged on.
DOT's Aviation and Enforcement Office charged Miami-based Millon Air yesterday with running unauthorized wet-lease operations with the Guatemalan carrier LAMSA. In a formal complaint, the enforcement office maintained Millon may be liable for civil penalties of $300,000. DOT is charging Millon with operating at least 80 flights with LAMSA between Miami, San Pedro Sula, Honduras and Guatemala City, Guatemala, between July 31, 1994, and June 6, 1995, when Millon first received approval for the arrangement.
Carnival Air Lines is offering military personnel on active duty free flights on Christmas Day to all of its domestic points. The offer is valid for standby and same-day travel only. Carnival said travelers should be in uniform and present a military identification card.
A Canadian Senate committee has concluded that a contract for private redevelopment of Terminals 1 and 2 at Toronto Pearson Airport was to the benefit of Canadian taxpayers and should not have been canceled. In late 1993, newly elected Prime Minister Jean Chretien canceled the privatization deal with Pearson Development Corp., charging that the process was flawed and probably politically motivated.
U.S. National Carriers Traffic November, 11 Months 1995 November November % 1995 1994 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 711,000 631,000 12.7 Available Seat Miles (000) 1,102,000 1,048,000 5.2 Load Factor (%) 64.5 60.2 Passengers 870,700 757,300 15.0 American Trans Air
Radisson Hotels Worldwide is joining American's AAdvantage program Jan. 1. Frequent flyers will earn 500 miles each time they stay at a Radisson hotel in 39 countries. A one-time, 5,000-mile bonus will be offered for stays between Feb. 1 and April 30.
USAir Group's yearend earnings probably will surpass analyst forecasts, the company said yesterday. The announcement came after USAir Chairman Seth Schofield told a meeting of airline analysts in New York that the carrier probably turned in its strongest-ever performance last month. "Yields were better than our earlier forecast, and our costs continue to be a pleasant surprise," Schofield said. The start of next year also looks promising.
America West has been named the official airline of Super Bowl XXX, to be held Jan. 28 in Tempe, Ariz. Leading up to the Super Bowl, the carrier will sponsor a football camp for about 5,000 boys and girls, a seven-day sports extravaganza near the stadium and the America West Super Bowl for Kids to benefit the Big Brothers/Big Sisters organization. Proceeds will be reinvested in local community programs, America West said.
According to the latest airport traffic report from Geneva-based Airports Council International, passenger traffic at the world's airports rose almost 5% for the first nine months of this year, compared with the same 1994 period. Cargo volume was up 8% and aircraft movements more than 2%. The Pacific region registered the highest passenger growth, up 7.6%, followed by Europe, 6.6% and Asia, nearly 4%. North American airports posted a 3.3% increase in passengers, followed by airports in Latin America and the Caribbean, up 1.3%.
Engineers and managers from Boeing, General Electric and British Airways met throughout the day yesterday in Seattle to decide whether to open up fan blade-tip clearances by 0.05 inches on GE90 engines powering some of the carrier's 777 widebody twins. The deliberations followed a "stall event" this month that has held up deliveries of BA's second and third aircraft.
Passenger traffic carried by the world's airlines increased 7% this year, according to preliminary estimates by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The figures, for scheduled traffic carried by ICAO members, are based on incomplete data and in some instances cover only the first eight months of 1995, ICAO said. The increase came on a 5% jump in domestic passenger kilometers and an 8% rise in international traffic.
Boeing Commercial President Ron Woodard said yesterday the company plans to increase aircraft production rates in the fourth quarter of 1996, its first hike in three years, as it recovers from its recent 10-week strike by the Machinists union and satisfies increased demand for new aircraft. By the end of 1996, Boeing plans to be manufacturing 22.5 aircraft per month, and the rate will grow to 24 per month early in 1997, when 777 production reaches its full rate. "This is a positive sign to see the beginning of an upswing in production rates," he said.
Delta is submitting a new retirement proposal to its Air Line Pilots Association unit this week, plus definitive language on remaining sections of its contract proposal. Delta and ALPA negotiators met last week on the overall collective bargaining agreement, which must be ratified before the Delta-ALPA accord on 100-seat flying can be put in place to enable Delta to compete better against low-cost carriers. The union said Delta was adamant about the need to reach agreement quickly.
City of New York demanded last week arbitration of its claim against the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey seeking more than $400 million in "underpayments of rent" at New York Kennedy and LaGuardia airports. "For years the Port Authority has improperly computed the rent due to the city under the airports lease," New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani said. "This has deprived the city of hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue which it was entitled to receive."
DHL Worldwide Express said yesterday it plans a three-year, $30 million expansion of its regional direct air network in Latin America. The investment in aircraft, equipment, facilities and technology will begin in the first quarter of 1996, said George Gonzalez, regional director of operations for Latin America and the Caribbean. The first phase will focus on DHL's hub in Panama City.
Northwest plans to increase service to Anchorage from Minneapolis this spring by adding a second daily nonstop flight April 7. On June 1, the airline will add a third daily flight for the summer only. It also plans to resume daily nonstop service between Anchorage and Detroit in the summer.
Air Mauritius has leased an Airbus A340-300 for four years from International Lease Finance Corp. The aircraft, the third A340 leased from ILFC, will be delivered next November and will replace a 747SP.
FAA, noting that the industry-wide random drug testing rate continues to be less than 1% positive, has decided to continue requiring random tests of 25% of covered employees through 1996. The agency used to require that 50% be tested, but the requirement still is far above the 10% test rate advocated by industry.
Airlines flying the new Macau-Taiwan routes are reporting lower-than- expected traffic. Air Macau, TransAsia Airways and EVA Airways say that except for inaugural flights conducted Dec. 8, flights on the newly authorized routes have been only 30% to 50% booked. Because of the weak demand, Air Macau has cut back service from three flights per day to two on the Macau-Taipei route. Competing in the market, TransAsia also has lopped off one flight per day, from two to one. Analysts in Taipei expected traffic to increase during the Christmas season.
DOT has granted Atlant-Soyuz Airlines authority to operate charter combination service between Russia and the U.S. Atlant-Soyuz, a private joint stock company, and Atlant/Jove, which manages the carrier's interests in the U.S., have entered into a joint venture as Cargo Aircraft Leasing Corp. to acquire Boeing 737 aircraft for Atlant-Soyuz's fleet. The Moscow- based carrier operates an Il-66M passenger aircraft and relies mainly on Il-76s for cargo service. The carrier also holds authority to operate charter all-cargo service between Russia and the U.S.
Citing continuing delays in the delivery of new aircraft due to the just- settled Boeing strike, United asked DOT to allow it an extra 30 days, until Jan. 30, to begin its second daily Miami-Sao Paulo service. (Docket OST-95- 247)
