The board of GATX Corp. Friday declared a quarterly dividend of 40 cents per common share, payable Dec. 31 to shareholders of record Dec. 15. The board also declared a quarterly dividend of 62.5 cents per share on the $2.50 preferred stock, payable Dec. 1 to shareholders of record Nov. 15, and a quarterly dividend of 96.875 cents per share on the $3.875 cumulative convertible preferred stock, payable Feb. 1, 1996, to shareholders of record Jan. 15, 1996. The common and preferred dividends are unchanged from the previous quarter.
Asiana Airlines is seeking authority to operate expanded intermodal service and a one-year renewal of its exemption to operate Los Angeles-Houston and New York-Boston/Chicago intermodal cargo services. The expansion would enable the carrier to operate intermodal cargo service to 15 additional U.S. cities from Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. Asiana said the intermodal authority it seeks is "comparable to rights currently granted or allowed by the Korean government to U.S. carriers operating in Korea." (Dockets 48727, OST-95-768&OST-95-769)
Laker Airways has applied for a certificate to operate scheduled and charter combination service, starting with New Orleans-Fort Lauderdale flights on Dec. 15, using 727-200 aircraft. It also intends to operate transatlantic charter passenger service, using three DC-10-30 aircraft (DAILY, Sept. 27). In the first year, the carrier plans to provide charter flights from Orlando and Fort Lauderdale to London Gatwick, Manchester, Glasgow and Berlin.
Mesaba Holdings' board has elected Robert Pohlad and Bryan Bedford, president of Mesaba, as new Class Three and Class One directors, respectively, and re-elected Donald Washburn and Raymond Zehr as Class One directors. Class One director's terms expire in 1998, Class Two terms in 1996 and Class Three terms in 1997. Mesaba Holdings is parent of Mesaba Airlines, a regional carrier operating as Northwest Airlink. As of today, its stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol MAIR instead of ATCC.
Despite predictions in some quarters that the role of travel agents will fade with the rise of ticketless travel and other technological innovations, corporate travel managers expect the reverse. According to a recent Worldspan survey, two-thirds of the managers think travel agents will retain their current role or become more important to the travel process over the next three years.
FAA labor union opposition to the scope of personnel reform legislation included in the DOT appropriations bill may add some urgency to consideration of FAA reform bills in the House and Senate. Some observers had believed the reform effort likely would be consolidated with the FAA reauthorization bill late next year, but the personnel and procurement regulations mandated by the appropriations bill are to take effect by April 1.
Big Three U.S. carriers American, Delta and United have switched spots frequently among the top three positions during the past six months in a CIC Research survey asking Internet users to name the airline they like best. British Airways has a lock on leadership among non-U.S. carriers.
Paradise Airways promoted Jerrold Kuzia to director-marketing and planning; Thomas Bennington to director-operations, and Reginald Jones to deputy general manager.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association is developing a legislative proposal that would tie the level of aviation user taxes to the amount of spending out of the aviation trust fund. The goals of the plan, which remains a work in progress, are to retain existing excise and fuel taxes - not user fees - for funding the aviation system, and to allow for an increase in FAA funding without reducing the amounts made available to other modes of transportation or other discretionary domestic programs.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Landing Expenses Second Quarter 1995 Average Amount Systemwide Spent Per Landing America West $ 7,708,475 $ 158.60 American 55,182,000 268.83 Continental 23,568,000 208.57 Delta 67,733,000 283.39
Sabreliner named Larry Valentine director-environment and safety and assigned to Jerry LaMotte responsibilities for environment and safety at subsidiary Midcoast Aviation.
Air Canada applied Friday to trade its Class A non-voting common shares and 8% convertible subordinated debentures through the Nasdaq National Market. At the same time, the airline filed a registration at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Trading in the Air Canada shares and debentures is expected to begin by mid-November. "The Nasdaq National Market will allow the U.S. financial community direct access to trade Air Canada's stock in a market 10 times the size of Canada's," said Air Canada Chairman Hollis Harris.
Airlines Reporting Corp.'s Joint Advisory Board has endorsed a comprehensive rewrite of the ticket security rules, to update them and make it easier for travel agents to understand them. ARC said airlines have made clear that agents who comply with ticket security rules will not be held liable for ticket stock theft. A working group that prepared the changes also wanted to provide clear daytime security guidelines for travel agency managers.
- In Federal Register dated Oct. 20...Proposed adoption of a new airworthiness directive on Airbus A320 aircraft series aircraft requiring the replacement of the relays in the forward electronics rack of the braking system of the landing gear...Proposed adoption of a new AD on Pratt&Whitney JFTD12A and T73 series turboshaft engines requiring initial and repetitive fluorescent penetrant inspections of compressor hubs, disks, spacers and bolted-on airseals for cracks.
Terry Hallcom, a bidder for MarkAir, is president and chief executive of Shuttle Inc. d/b/a USAir Shuttle. He was identified incorrectly in The DAILY of Oct. 27
A group of Spanish and Argentinian banks is said to be negotiating to acquire most or all of Iberia's majority stake in Aerolineas Argentinas. The current management would maintain control. Iberia is under pressure to sell as a condition for securing European Commission approval of another round of state subsidy.
National Aviation Club will present J. Kenneth Higgins, director of flight test for Boeing, with the Cliff Henderson Award for Achievement for lifetime individual contribution to aviation. Higgins is being recognized for his work in commercial aviation, particularly for leading and directing the Boeing 777 flight test program. He will receive the award at a luncheon Nov. 14 at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington, Va.
U.S. and Macau initalled last week their first-ever bilateral air services pact. "This modern agreement will complement other recent liberalizing initiatives that have been put in place with Hong Kong and the Philippines," said DOT Secretary Federico Pena, who will visit Macau on his upcoming Asian trip.
Lufthansa plans to expand operations at Munich over the next year with increased intra-European and intercontinental flying. "Frankfurt Airport will remain our major hub, but Munich will evolve as number two," Herbert Steppat, head of planning and network management, said last week. Lufthansa believes Munich, the third largest passenger market in Germany after Frankfurt and Dusseldorf, is well positioned geographically to handle transit passengers en route from one foreign destination to another.
