Aloha Airlines' fall schedule, which went into effect Tuesday, incorporates 188 daily flights, including new late-afternoon Kona-Maui flights. Aloha's regional partner, Island Air, offers more than 100 daily flights to "hidden Hawaii" - Princeville on Kauai, Lanai City on Lanai, Kapalua and Kahului on Maui, Hoolehua and Kalaupapa on Molokai and Honolulu on Oahu. Aloha is offering a $35 fare on selected flights through Dec. 15.
U.S.-India aviation talks got off to a slow start yesterday in Washington, U.S. industry officials said. There was little progress, they said, as Indian negotiators pressed for capacity restraints and other restrictions. The consensus: At least one more round of talks will be needed.
Kiwi and Air South yesterday began their marketing alliance, which is designed to provide seamless north-south travel to cities both serve. The carriers are offering 21-day advance-purchase fares as low as $209 roundtrip between Orlando and Columbia, S.C., and $258 between New York and Tallahassee.
EVA Air of Taiwan said yesterday it will buy six MD-90 aircraft from Douglas Aircraft in a joint acquisition with Makung International. The agreement gives EVA options to buy six more MD-90s. Douglas is to deliver four aircraft in the fourth quarter of 1996 and two in the first quarter of 1997, all configured with 12 first-class and 143 economy-class seats.
USAir Chairman Seth Schofield, who has been at the helm of the carrier through three of the most difficult years in its history, will retire after 38 years once a successor is found, the airline announced late yesterday. The USAir board has formed a special committee of non-management directors, led by Rouse Co. Chairman Mathias DeVito, to conduct a search for a new chairman. Schofield, chairman since July 1992, has agreed to remain until a successor is chosen.
A ban on overtime, quietly imposed last month by Air Canada after reporting surprisingly poor financial results, has employees so worked up that Chairman Hollis Harris reminded them yesterday that overtime is guaranteed, and that they still have it better than their counterparts at rival Canadian Airlines International.
Salt Lake City Airport is the customer satisfaction leader in a ranking of the 27 largest domestic airports, according to a new J.D. Power and Associates survey. The report is based on the opinions of 3,000 frequent flyers who evaluated the airports in terms of check-in and post-flight services, on-time performance and convenience of gate location. Salt Lake City scored a 110 on the satisfaction index, in which 100 is the industry average.
USAir will become a member of All Nippon Airways' frequent flyer program Oct. 1, enabling ANA travelers from Japan to earn and redeem miles on the USAir system. ANA passengers flying to Washington Dulles, Los Angeles and New York Kennedy will be able to connect with USAir flights and earn mileage throughout USAir's system. ANA joined USAir's frequent flyer program in 1991. USAir's international network includes the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, Germany and France.
Swissair and Swedish domestic carrier Transwede are negotiating a blocked- space agreement, Swissair confirmed yesterday. A deal is expected within two weeks. The airlines would cooperate on flights to five of Transwede's destinations. If an agreement is reached, it will go into effect in January at the earliest. Swissair previously cooperated with SAS under the umbrella of the European Quality Alliance, but SAS is dropping out of the EQA as a result of its cooperative agreement with Lufthansa.
Qantas regional subsidiary Eastern Australia Airlines has ordered a de Havilland Dash 8-200, the first aircraft of its type delivered to Australia. The carrier also secured delivery positions for three more Dash 8-200s. The first airplane, scheduled for delivery in January, is for use primarily in the Sydney-Canberra market. Eastern Australia Airlines has six other Dash 8s in its fleet.
If USAir turns a pre-tax profit this year, it will have to book a charge for employee profit sharing that could reach $50 million. Such a charge makes it seem unlikely the airline will record earnings per share for 1995.
Birmingham (U.K.) Airport officials said they have selected Irish airport owner Aer Rianta to begin formal negotiations for a "strategic partnership." Under the agreement, Aer Rianta will take up a substantial minority shareholding while the existing owners, seven local district councils, will reduce their shareholdings below 50%. The remaining shareholder has yet to be named. Besides Aer Rianta, National Express and Airport Group International made final presentations to the Board of Birmingham Airport.
Travel Industry Association (TIA) says the price of travel has grown at a slightly slower rate than the overall cost of goods and services in the first half of the year. Cost of transportation overall is up 2.8%, with increases in airline fares, up 0.9%; motor fuel, 5.8%; lodging, 3.5%; food and beverages, 2.2%, and entertainment, 3.3%.
From its new position within FAA, the Office of Commercial Space Transportation hopes to benefit from FAA regulatory expertise and experience, Frank Weaver, director of the office, said yesterday. As part of the administration's restructuring of DOT, the space transportation unit will move Oct. 1 from the Office of the Secretary to FAA, and Weaver will become FAA associate administrator for commercial space transportation.
Alamo Rent A Car has launched a Fall Partners promotion that gives customers free airline companion tickets, upgrades and hotel stays, as well as discounts on car rentals in 1995 and 1996. The offer is good at any of Alamo's 121 U.S. locations and applies to customers renting a car for at least four days between Sept. 23 and Dec. 15. Alamo's partners are Alaska Airlines, Carnival, Delta, Hawaiian, KLM, Midwest Express, TWA, United, USAir, Choice Hotels, Hyatt Resorts, Ramada and Busch Entertainment.
MarkAir is expected today to submit to a bankruptcy court a letter of intent for the sale of the Denver operation to a new investor. The carrier, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April, now operates only six aircraft from Denver and no longer operates any flights from its Anchorage base to the lower 48 states. MarkAir has not revealed the identity of the investor. Separately, the struggling airline is attempting to break its collective bargaining agreement with its pilots.
USAir yesterday touched off an airline stock rally on Wall Street with a prediction that it will report third quarter and full year 1995 pre-tax profits, barring unforeseen events. USAir's revised financial forecast - it had not previously projected pre-tax results, but had provided analysts with yield and cost estimates it felt compelled to update because of securities laws - bumped its stock price up 1 5/8 yesterday to 9 5/8 in heavy trading. At one point, USAir was among the most actively traded issues.
Ladeco S.A. of Chile asked DOT to renew its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Santiago and Toronto via U.S. co-terminal points Miami, New York and Baltimore/Washington. (Docket 49717&OST-95- 519)
Distribution Of Airline And Union PAC Contributions By Party Contributions to Rep Dem Distribution 93-94 91-92 89-90 87-88 1/1- 1/1- Rep./Dem Rep/Dem Rep/Dem Rep/Dem Rep/Dem 6/30/95 6/30/95 Airlines Airborne Freight $4,000 $0 100%/0% 77%/23% 76%/24% 53%/47% NA/NA Alaska 3,000 1,050 74%/26% 42%/58% 51%/49% 69%/31% 45%/55%
Africa holds tremendous potential for expansion of aviation; there is no other way for the continent to go, according to IATA Director General Pierre Jeanniot. Speaking at the first-ever IATA Africa roundtable, "Indaba," held recently in Johannesburg, Jeanniot said the very geography of Africa dictates that air transport is "the only way forward." The Indaba audience comprised executives of African airlines, representatives of civil aviation authorities across Africa and members of the media.
All Nippon Airways boarded 180,002 passengers on international flights in July, an increase of 30.5% from the same month a year ago. The airline's international passenger load factor fell seven percentage points to 68.2%, however. ANA's domestic passenger volume rose 5.7% to nearly 3 million, but its load factor slipped 0.5 points to 60%. Through the first four months of its current fiscal year, which began April 1, ANA carried 614,578 passengers on international routes, an increase of 26.4%. Its international passenger load factor was 62.5%.
Tarom has asked DOT to amend its Bucharest-New York/Chicago authority to permit operation of combined flights from Bucharest to the two U.S. points with no traffic rights between New York and Chicago. The carrier also wants authority to increase its Bucharest-Chicago service from two to three roundtrips per week. In all, Tarom proposes offering three weekly roundtrips between Bucharest and Chicago and New York, using Airbus A310 aircraft. (Docket 41734&OST-95-550)
Western Pacific Airlines asked DOT to take another look at its application for an exemption from slot rules to operate Colorado Springs-Chicago O'Hare service. After being turned down in April, the carrier filed its current bid for four new-entrant slots in May, gaining support from the Colorado governor and congressional delegation as well as the City of Chicago (DAILY, May 31). The carrier distinguishes its bid from Spirit's failed attempt to gain slots at LaGuardia (DAILY, Aug. 28).
First Boeing 777, WA001, leaves Seattle today for an eight-day tour of Europe. Boeing said that "despite a downturn in the airline industry, the 777 has captured more than 70% of all orders in its market category since its launch in October 1990." Sixteen customers have placed orders for 167 of the new aircraft, the company said. During the tour, the 777 will establish speed records on its departure, Seattle to Geneva, and return, Frankfurt to Seattle on Sept. 13. Other European cities it will visit are Warsaw, Vienna and London.
