Nations Air has terminated a proposed merger with Frank Lorenzo and his company, ATX. DOT got wind of Lorenzo's involvement with the carrier last month and considered releasing the information to the public (DAILY, Sept. 15). In a short letter to an FAA regional office, Nations Air President Mark McDonald said the carrier has terminated the merger and is discussing a new round of financing with current stockholders and new investors. It hopes to complete these talks by the end of November.
The U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration has plans to refine data available on the World Wide Web to help users analyze the international market. USTTA also will seek partners to provide state and city data as well.
America West will take part in the field trial of an Airline Maintenance and Operations Support System (AMOSS) being developed by Honeywell and Computing Devices International (CDII). A ground-based software system, AMOSS is designed to provide a state-of-the-art fault isolation and diagnostic capability that integrates aircraft and ground support service.
KLM plans to terminate service between Amsterdam and the Canadian cities Ottawa and Halifax, effective March 29, because of unfavorable exchange rates and low ticket prices. The Dutch carrier decided to suspend the markets, which are served in combination, despite what it described as "very high" load factors. KLM began serving the cities in June 1989 with one of its own 747s, incurring substantial losses.
A temporary power outage in the Host computer at Fort Worth Air Route Traffic Control Center delayed more than 500 flights in the area Tuesday. A problem with a component of the power conditioning system of the Host computer caused it to lose power at 12:08 p.m. Power was restored in three seconds, but it took 12 minutes more to restore the backup system to full capacity. Controllers lost radio contact with aircraft for about three seconds, while power was switched to emergency generators.
McDonnell Douglas turned in 19% better third quarter net earnings of $192 million yesterday, helped by military work as sales edged downward to $3.35 billion and jetliner sales turned soft. Operating profits through the first nine months of the year stood at record levels, and the company continued to generate cash, using some of it to buy back stock. Douglas Aircraft sales fell $304 million, although stronger performances earlier this year kept the nine-month sales total at $3 billion, $600 million ahead of last year's pace.
National Air Transportation Association is expanding its safety seminar to include deicing instruction. Scheduled Nov. 16-17 in Pittsburgh, the intensive session will focus on aircraft fueling safety, quality control and fire prevention, as well as deicing techniques and procedures. For more information or to register for the seminar, contact Cindy Aloise at 800-808-6282.
Uncertain status of USAir apparently is having an adverse effect on this week's U.S.-U.K. aviation talks.British Airways is not about to let anything happen as long as USAir is in play, an industry official said, referring to the prospect of USAir collaboration or a merger with United or American.Although a U.S.-U.K. deal was expected from this week's talks, DOT was unwilling late yesterday to say whether they would continue.
DOT has approved Air Micronesia's bid for authority to operate between Guam and Manila and beyond Manila to and from Taipei, Taiwan/Seoul, Korea/Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia/Jakarta, Indonesia. In a late filing, Federal Express had urged DOT to defer action on the application until that carrier provides additional information about its service plans (DAILY, Oct. 16). Noting that it already acted on the application with the consent of all parties, including Federal Express, the department said it will address the matter in a separate order.
E-mail is becoming the preferred way of customers to communicate with travel agents, according to a survey conducted by Air Travel Card. The survey found that 52% of respondents use E-mail to exchange information and travel itineraries with agents. Most corporate travel decisionmakers also rated the form of communication as excellent or very good.
Atlas Air has successfully concluded negotiations for the continuation of its 747 freighter wet-lease with Varig. Atlas Air operates a fleet of eight 747-200 freighters and one 747-100 freighter for six carriers - British Airways, China Airlines, Emirates, KLM, Lufthansa and Varig.
Suzanne Cook, senior VP-research for the Travel Industry Association, gives this snapshot of the travel industry in 1995: All growth so far this year has been on the leisure side, up 3.5%, with more people traveling by air than automobile. Real travel sales are 4% higher than last year. The number of travel agencies is growing, but not their incomes. Cruise line business is flat but has great potential, and the motorcoach industry is bullish in 1995. The hotel boom is slowing, but food service can expect sales 4.8% higher than in 1994.
DOT has granted six U.S. carriers authority to operate new services to Vancouver when they become available in February 1996, the second year of the U.S.-Canada bilateral agreement. American, America West, Alaska, Delta, Northwest and United all gained frequencies. There were no losers in the proceeding, as service requests equaled the number of available slots (DAILY, Oct. 11).
Carnival Air Lines and Mercury Air Group, a provider of petroleum products, cargo and aviation services to commercial carriers, have signed a letter of intent under which Mercury will acquire all the common stock of Carnival Air Lines in a "merger of equals" transaction. After consummation of the transaction, expected in the first quarter of 1996 pending regulatory approval, Micky Arison, who controls Carnival Air, will become majority owner of the merged company, a Carnival spokesman said.
Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett has called on all segments of the travel industry to practice greater cooperation in the political arena. Speaking to the Travel Industry Association's national conference this week in Alexandria, Va., Hallett said the industry has just begun to tap its collective force in lobbying. "I strongly believe cooperation is essential in this industry.
Condor Flugdienst has asked DOT for renewal of its authority to operate for two years combination services between Frankfurt and San Juan, Puerto Rico/San Jose, Costa Rica. (Docket 49836&OST-95-728)
DNATA Cargo, a division of the Emirates Group, has received ISO 9002 certification from Bureau Veritas Quality International. DNATA said it is the first cargo-handling company in the Middle East and the second in the world to receive the certification.
The U.S. scheduled airline industry's systemwide passenger traffic increased 1.2% last month on 1% more capacity, nudging the group's load factor up 0.1 percentage point to 66.5%, according to Air Transport Association data. Passenger enplanements declined for the third straight month, ATA said. Domestic passenger traffic fell 0.4% on 0.2% more capacity, but international traffic rose 4.7% on 3.2% more capacity.
House and Senate negotiators on the fiscal 1996 DOT appropriations bill (H.R. 2002) adopted legislation yesterday to require a new FAA acquisition system and are likely today to mandate a new personnel system as well. Conferees dropped $10 million in FAA user fees that were proposed in the Senate bill. Several aviation issues remained unresolved late yesterday, including funding for airport grants and bonus pay for air traffic controllers.
AMR Corp.'s third quarter net earnings after preferred stock dividends increased 21.6% over those of the 1994 quarter, to $229 million or $2.64 per share on a fully diluted basis, despite the hurricanes that plagued Caribbean operations during the period. AMR's operating profit rose 6.5% from a year ago to $521 million, and all three of the company's business segments - the Airline Group, the Sabre Group and Management Services - posted improved results.
USAir Group stunned Wall Street yesterday by reporting a third quarter net profit of $43.1 million, or 35 cents per share, that Chairman Seth Schofield said confirmed the profit potential of the USAir franchise. Most airline analysts had forecast a USAir net loss for the quarter. Even one of the few who predicted a profit, PaineWebber analyst Sam Buttrick, said the company would earn only 10 cents per share. NatWest Securities analyst Vivian Lee described USAir's earnings report as "unbelievable," and S.G.
CIC Research has compiled a list of the top 20 cities worldwide for Internet-using business travelers. When asked to name the destination most frequently traveled to on business, those responding to a survey on the Internet most often answered Washington, D.C., New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. The only foreign points in the top 20 were London, Toronto and Frankfurt.
Las Vegas-based Scenic Airlines is building a new terminal and headquarters at Clark County's North Las Vegas Air Terminal. The $5 million facility will house the main terminal, business offices and maintenance bay. President Cliff Langness said the tour operator's goal is to have the facility ready to occupy by mid-March. The complex, to the north of the existing terminal building, will include a gift shop, photo concession and catering service.
Volga-Dnepr J.S. Cargo Airlines is requesting an amendment to its current authority that would enable it to provide scheduled all-cargo service between New York and the co-terminal points Ulanovsk and Moscow, Russia. The carrier has applied for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled cargo service between the co-terminal points Ulanovsk and Moscow, on the one hand, and the co-terminal points Bangor, Maine, and Houston, Texas, on the other.
