Granted orally an exemption to Northwest to operate scheduled combination services between Detroit and Manzanillo, Mexico...Granted orally an exemption to Ladeco to operate scheduled combination service between Chile and New York, and co- terminalize operations at New York with its existing authority to serve Miami.
- In Federal Register dated Sept. 25...Issued a special condition on Boeing 727-100 aircraft as modified by Associated Air Center. - In FR dated Sept. 26...Proposed an airworthiness directive on certain McDonnell Douglas MD-80 series aircraft to require hydraulic restrictors in the main landing gear. - In FR dated Sept. 28...Superseded an AD on Bombardier CL-600 series aircraft concerning cracking in the rudder control quadrant.
America West filed a motion for immediate action on its application for authority to operate between Las Vegas and Mexico City, saying it is ready to begin the service within four months. The carrier applied Sept. 30, 1994, for Las Vegas-Mexico City as well as Phoenix-Mazatlan/San Jose Del Cabo authority. DOT granted the latter two but deferred action on Las Vegas-Mexico City because the startup date was beyond 90 days. After a recent evaluation of the market, the carrier said it is prepared to launch the service Jan. 19, 1996, using Boeing 737-300 aircraft.
America West Friday reduced its leisure fares an average of $50 from previous roundtrip levels for passengers traveling Oct. 6-Nov. 12 on tickets purchased by Oct. 5. The lowest fares are available for travel on Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. Off-peak travel to Florida is available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
A federal appeals court ruled last month that Congress clearly intended to shift to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) the burden of detaining aliens who request asylum while traveling through the U.S. without visas. The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upholds a lower court ruling last year involving LanChile which held that INS, not the airline, should bear the responsibility and cost of detaining certain aliens (DAILY, Sept. 26, 1994).
Standard&Poor's affirmed Friday its ratings on USAir Group and USAir Inc. - all of which are below investment grade - and removed them from CreditWatch, where they were placed more than 18 months ago. The action affects about $2.3 billion of debt. S&P said the rating affirmation recognizes USAir's progress in cutting non-labor operating costs, and an improved pricing environment following reduction of low-fare competition in East Coast markets.
Aero California has applied for renewal of its authority to operate between a number of points in Mexico and Los Angeles and Phoenix. Included in the application are services between the co-terminal points Loreto and San Jose del Cabo, Mexico, and the terminal point Los Angeles. The carrier also seeks continued authority for Culiacan/Hermosillo/La Paz/Manzanillo-Los Angeles and San Jose del Cabo-Phoenix services. (Docket 50406)
After reaching an aviation agreement with Hong Kong, the U.S. is targeting a stand-alone pact with Macau before China takes control of the Portuguese enclave in 1999. Discussions with Macau so far look hopeful, a U.S. government official said.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic January 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) American 1,210 11.51 2,007 2,428,691 Atlantic 229 9.03 4,157 951,771
Biman Bangladesh Airlines urged DOT to dismiss Northwest's opposition and renew its authority to operate Bangladesh-U.S. service. Northwest asked DOT to defer action on the renewal, citing Bangladesh's refusal to allow Northwest to operate code-share service with KLM to Dhaka via Amsterdam (DAILY, Sept. 19). Biman told DOT it "has no objection whatsoever to Northwest's code-sharing application and communicated this position to the government of Bangladesh." The carrier expects Bangladesh to change its Northwest-KLM code-share position soon.
Continental has repurchased from shareholder Air Canada warrants representing 13% - 6.2 million shares - of Continental's common stock. The U.S. carrier said it paid $55.5 million, including a waiver fee of $5 million to an unidentified major creditor, in connection with the purchase of the warrants. The transaction, which Air Canada said it initiated, will not affect Air Canada's ownership stake in Continental. Rather, it was the U.S.
-- EDO Corp. appointed Kenneth Paladino VP-finance and treasurer. -- In-Flight Phone named George Roll VP-reliability, a new position. -- Lockheed Martin Aeronautical Systems named Thomas Salvaggio director- business ethics. -- Willis Corroon Aerospace appointed Bruce Fine senior VP, effective Oct. 1.
Vanguard Airlines will begin nonstop service Oct. 13 to Chicago Midway from Des Moines, using 737s. Fares for the flights, some of which stop at Minneapolis/St. Paul, are $89 during peak hours and $59 off-peak.
The City of Houston urged DOT to reject Aviateca's bid for renewal of its authority to provide service between points in Guatemala and the U.S. The city said it generally supports U.S. service applications of foreign carriers, but not when the applicant "remains seriously indebted to Houston." Aviateca owes the city $75,897.19, said Houston, $48,079.12 of it more than 30 days overdue.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers Domestic Traffic February 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) America West 1,167 1.37 769 897,952 American 4,938 3.43 1,052 5,196,494
U.S. officials hope to gain agreements on additional access to London Heathrow and charters in this month's talks with the U.K. Pricing and cargo issues are more difficult, however, and are likely to remain for a future round of talks, according to government officials.
Partners Singapore Airlines, Delta and Swissair over the weekend were to introduce new mileage-based round-the-world fares. Passengers can decide when and where they wish to travel, as long as they do not exceed the mileage allowed. Two types of fares were introduced. The first has a maximum mileage of 25,000 miles and excludes travel via Africa, the Southwest Pacific and South America. The second offers an allowance of 32,000 miles and gives passengers more routing options via Africa, the Southwest Pacific and South America.
TriStar Airlines will expand its scheduled service from Los Angeles Dec. 15 to include three nonstop jet flights per week to Aspen, Colo., until April 14. The schedule provides for direct through service from Las Vegas to Aspen. The carrier currently operates daily between Los Angeles and Las Vegas and San Francisco, with direct through service to the Grand Canyon from Los Angeles. TriStar and Peak International, an Aspen-based air services company, announced plans last month to launch the Aspen service.
Citicorp Aircraft Management arranged the sale of a Citicorp-owned 737-200 to Cayman Aviation Leasing, which is owned by the Cayman Islands government. The aircraft continues to be leased by Cayman Airways. Citicorp Aircraft Management said it also arranged the sale of a DC-10-30 by Citicorp North America to Pacific Aviation Holding Co.
Striking back against United's latest attempt to gain Los Angeles- Guadalajara service, American told DOT last week it has reversed its decision to cut back Dallas/Fort Worth-Guadalajara capacity. United had urged DOT to reconsider its decision granting American the route, saying that less than a month after implementing Los Angeles-Guadalajara service, American cut back on its Guadalajara capacity from DFW (DAILY, Aug. 23). As a result, there no longer would be any net gain in U.S.-Guadalajara competition among U.S.
Burlington Air Express and the Chiongbian Group have begun operation of their joint venture international freight forwarding company in the Philippines, according to Steve Dearnley, president of the new BAX Philippines.
FAA has codified a policy permitting pilots with traffic alert and collision avoidance systems to deviate from air traffic control clearances in non-emergency situations. The old rule permitted pilots to deviate only during emergencies. FAA said it disagrees with a National Air Traffic Controllers Association position that TCAS "has compromised safety."
Worldspan has selected Maxnet Communications Systems Inc. to provide hardware and integration services for the computer reservations system's subscribers installing the new Worldspan RemoteLink product, which it will introduce soon. Maxnet offerings are available through the Worldspan TechXChange program, which introduces and markets independently developed technologies and solutions to subscribers. RemoteLink was developed to enable subscribers to establish fully automated office environments for people who work at home or other remote locations.
Mesa Air Group Chairman Larry Risley has increased his holdings of Mesa common stock by 250,000 to 503,966 shares, making him the largest non- institutional shareholder the company said Friday. Risley acquired the shares by exercising options that were to expire Sept. 28. "This transaction represents my confidence in the future of Mesa Air Group," said Risley. In addition to the shares he holds, Risley also has vested but unexercised options.
DOT has granted Delta's motion to defer action until Jan. 5 on its complaint against the German government and Frankfurt/Main Airport. The carrier filed its complaint Dec. 29, 1993, asserting that Germany and the airport had denied it the right to perform its own ground-handling at its European hub, in violation of the U.S.-Germany aviation agreement. DOT has extended the 180-day statutory limit for action several times (DAILY, Sept. 26). (Docket OST-95-683)
