House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Bud Shuster (R- Pa.) and railroad subcommittee Chairwoman Susan Molinari (R-N.Y.) say they will closely examine all aspects of the Amtrak derailment in Arizona Monday caused by saboteurs and what federal penalties are in place. "If we find that the federal penalties for those who commit this type of crime are not strong enough, then we will do whatever it takes to strengthen those penalties," they said in a joint statement.
Rep. James Traficant (D-Ohio) last month introduced legislation (H.R. 2449) that would create a special apportionment category of "air cargo jetports" and set aside 3% of Airport Improvement Program funds for that purpose.
The Travel Channel has set up an online network on the Worldwide Web that will highlight destinations, cultures and cuisine, and enable users to interact by providing information on their travel experiences. "We created The Travel Channel Online Network in response to our television viewers' requests for more in-depth information....Viewers call to ask us where they can find out more about people, places and leisure activities featured in our programming," said Kevin Senie, president and chief executive of Travel Channel Networks.
Travel and Tourism Research Association has published a 460-page book on the industry containing papers, abstracts and other information presented at its annual conference this year in Acapulco. Topics include service excellence, marketing innovations, community tourism, nature travel, Pacific Rim excursions, travel taxes and national tourism development strategies. Copies cost $75, plus $10 for shipping, and can be ordered from TTRA Publications, 10200 W. 44th Ave., Suite 304, Wheat Ridge, Colo. 80033-2840.
The Treasury Department told key tax legislators in Congress that it will not waive the requirement for payment of the 4.3 cents-per-gallon tax on commercial aviation fuel, which went into effect Oct. 1. The chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee last month asked Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin to waive the payment requirement while Congress considered the budget reconciliation bill, which likely will continue the industry's exemption for another two years (DAILY, Sept. 28).
DOT has approved a renewal of Virgin Atlantic authority to provided scheduled combination service on a London-Boston-Milwaukee routing under a blocked-space, code-share arrangement with Midwest Express. (Docket 49360&OST-95-619)
Continental's new in-house leisure product, Continental Vacations, created through a partnership with national tour operator Globetrotters, will promote vacation packages to the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and within the U.S., effective Dec. 16. On April 30, it will promote travel to Europe. The U.S. packages are for roundtrip air fare, hotel accommodations and car rental, and can include meals, entertainment, city tours and show tickets. Travelers booking a Continental Vacations trip receive 500 OnePass miles. A reservations center in Houston will open Oct.
Eastern Airlines has distributed $14.1 million to holders of general unsecured claims greater than $100,000, including more than $7 million to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the reorganized company said. With the latest distribution, Eastern has made three distributions totaling more than $90 million. The third distribution represents 1.25 cents per dollar of the allowed claims greater than $100,000. Eastern plans to continue distributions to large creditors through 1996.
Lufthansa plans to add 34% more capacity in the Frankfurt-Chicago market this winter by replacing the Airbus A340-300 that currently flies the route with a larger Boeing 747. Also, the daily Munich-Chicago nonstop Lufthansa operates during the summer will be upgraded to year-round service. Lufthansa this winter also will offer 22% more capacity in the Frankfurt- Washington Dulles than last year because of its switch in the spring to an A340 for a 747 on the route. In the Frankfurt-Miami market, Lufthansa will add 10% more capacity by using a larger 747.
Boeing is finding growing acceptance in official circles of what it claims is a "paradigm shift" in thinking about jetliner safety, a Boeing safety expert told The DAILY yesterday, a little more than a year after the company launched its effort to change the focus of airlines, designers and regulators away from survivability toward preventing accidents (DAILY, Aug. 18, 1994).
The government of India has approved a proposal from Lufthansa Cargo and the U.K.-based Hinduja Group to create an independent cargo airline based in India. The joint venture would be 60% owned by the Hinduja Group and 40% by Lufthansa Cargo. The venture's business plan calls for a fleet of four or five Boeing 727-200 freighters, each with a capacity of slightly more than 25 tonnes.
French transportation officials said yesterday they are seeking a location for a third Paris airport, to be built around 2020, and in the short term will build two new 2,700-meter parallel runways at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, a spokesman for A roports de Paris (ADP) told The DAILY.
Delta and TAP Air Portugal yesterday signed a new code-sharing/blocked- space agreement covering flights from New York Kennedy and Newark to Lisbon (DAILY, Oct. 11). The new deal will supersede a prior arrangement under which TAP purchased seats on Delta's New York-Lisbon service. Delta plans to suspend those flights at the end of this month. Under the revised agreement, Delta will purchase seats on TAP's nonstop A310-300 flights in the New York/Newark-Lisbon markets, effective Nov. 1, subject to government approval.
Morten Beyer, president of a consulting firm of the same name, is asking DOT Secretary Federico Pe a to exempt 19-seat turboprop aircraft from a proposed rule that will apply Part 121 standards to commuter aircraft. Beyer, in a letter to Pe a, said that 80 regional airlines that operate 19- seat turboprops to 150 small cities and towns will be adversely impacted by the rule.
Allied Pilots Association at American says management has provided a stand- still letter promising it will not enter into a comprehensive alliance with any domestic new-entrant airline during current contract negotiations, or for 12 months, whichever ends first. An alliance is defined as any joint marketing, gate leasing or AAdvantage program.
The initial board of directors for the new General Aviation Airports Coalition last week approved a mission statement and established its top legislative priorities. Michael Stephens, who has spearheaded the effort, also was voted president by the coalition's initial five-member board. After Jan. 1, the board will be expanded to 20 members, with each of the nine FAA regions represented by at least one board member.
The Air Transport Association yesterday said it supports the financing, personnel and procurement reforms in the House FAA reform bill (H.R.2276), but it takes issue with the notion of a full-time Federal Aviation Board and the establishment of a Management Advisory Committee. The Federal Aviation Board also was faulted yesterday by DOT Secretary Federico Pe a, who in testimony before the House Transportation aviation subcommittee listed the board along with FAA independence and an off-budget aviation trust fund as the most objectionable pieces of the bill.
WorldTravel Partners, the official travel services sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, is advising would-be spectators to make their travel arrangements now. The company mailed the Travel&Accommodations Guide to Olympic Games ticket holders two weeks ago and, by the end of the first week, received more than 4,000 orders for travel packages and airline tickets. WorldTravel Partners is receiving more than 750 orders a day.
A Taiwan Tourism Bureau official said the island can expect record inbound and outbound travel this year. The bureau predicts the number of outbound travelers will exceed five million by yearend, and 2.2 million tourists will visit Taiwan. In 1994, 4.8 million Taiwanese traveled abroad, while inbound visitors totaled 2.12 million, breaking the 2 million mark for the first time since 1989.
USAir has cut fall and winter prices up to 40% in some 850 transcontinental markets. Prices range from $408 to $498 roundtrip for off-peak travel Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and from $448 to $548 on other days. Travel must be completed by March 7. The fares require a 14-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. USAir also is offering new roundtrip discounts for seven-day advance purchases every day of the week.
Delta has introduced a winter sale of up to 30% off its current advance purchase excursion fares to 11 European destinations. The fares are good for travel Nov. 1 through Feb. 24 to Barcelona, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Nice, Paris, Rome and Zurich. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 16 and require at least a five-day stay.
MasterCard International will sponsor a debate by former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, and John Sununu, former White House chief of staff and governor of New Hampshire, at the American Society of Travel Agents' World Travel Congress in Philadelphia Nov. 6.
