Cargolux Airlines International has been granted authority to conduct a second weekly flight to Bangkok under an extension of the air services agreement between Luxembourg and Thailand, signed last month. The cargo carrier is expected to add flights to its schedule within a few weeks. It has been flying to Thailand since 1988.
Future Aviation Professionals of America (FAPA) expects an unusually large turnout by recruiters for pilots at its Sept. 8 job fair in Las Vegas. The need for pilots is shown by the number of carriers planning to attend, said Greg Carr, executive director-career placement services.
American has given cash-strapped Hawaiian Airlines 45 more days to make good on several million dollars in aircraft lease and maintenance payments that were due Tuesday. Hawaiian, which operates eight DC-10s leased from American, on its West Coast and South Pacific routes, including six that are on long-term leases, said it obtained the extension in order to pursue needed financing.
President Clinton last week announced his intention to nominate Charles Hunnicutt as DOT assistant secretary for aviation and international affairs - a position that has remained unfilled since the administration took office. Hunnicutt is currently a partner in the Washington law firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller, and Ciresi, where his practice focuses on international trade and contract law. He has served as the chair of the International Trade Commission from 1980 to 1987.
The Minneapolis Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) is pursuing ways to position Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport (MSP) as the "North Coast" gateway to Asia and Northern Europe, MAC Chairman Pierson Grieve said at the city's second Global Access Conference. A year-old task force, composed of airlines, freight forwarders, travel agents, tourism agencies and other businesses, has targeted runway extension and construction of a new federal inspection facility in the main terminal as immediate needs to improving international air service.
Aeromexico Vacations is offering a free extra night's stay in Mexico from its nine U.S. gateways. The air/hotel packages available Sept. 1-Oct. 31, are good in resort locations such as Cancun, Acapulco, Ixtapa and Puerto Vallarta.
Wilcox Electric said it will supply a Category 2 ILS in October to Harbin City Airport in China. Wilcox installed a Cat 2 ILS at the Beijing Capital Airport last December.
The Atlanta National Airspace Data Interchange Network experienced an outage of the Weather Message Switching Center Rehost for two hours and 45 minutes last Saturday, a loss that "had a nationwide impact," according to the Professional Airways System Specialists. The WMSC Rehost, operational at Atlanta for less than a year, is an interim system that will be in place only until the WMSC Replacement is on line, according to FAA.
McGregor Travel Management, based in Stamford, Conn., has purchased Washington, D.C., agency Dimensions Travel, giving it 55 offices in the U.S. and Great Britain. McGregor last week unveiled FACTMail, a reservations product enabling its clients to receive travel information through PC-based E-mail, bypassing telephone conversations with travel agents. FACTMail provides information on arrival and departure times, airports, aircraft, airlines, on-time performance and fares.
Egyptair ordered three 777-200s, valued at $400 million, for delivery beginning in 1997, Boeing said yesterday. Other Middle East carriers with 777 orders are Emirates and Saudia. Boeing said it now has 16 customers and 167 announced orders for the aircraft and options on 99 more. The Egyptair aircraft will have a range of 7,000 nautical miles and seat 308 passengers in three classes.
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center is opening its space station manufacturing area to the public, the only such tours available in the U.S. Visitors to the U.S. Space&Rocket Center's museum in Huntsville, Ala., can take a 10-minute bus ride to the center to watch construction of the International Space Station. The tour also includes a visit to historic rocket test stands used in the late 1950s and a million-gallon water tank used to train astronauts for space walks.
Society of Automotive Engineers has formed a group to write a recommended practice on measurement procedures for strobe anticollision lights. SAE established the group at the request of FAA because of confusion on the acceptable intensity level of strobe lights, and uncertainty among users about how and when to perform maintenance on the lights.
BWIA International Airways is putting its entire Caribbean route network on sale for travel this fall from New York and Miami, its two U.S. gateways. Prices are 30% below the carrier's regular seven-day advance purchase fares. Tickets must be purchased two days in advance of departure and will be on sale through Sept. 30 for travel between Sept. 5 and Dec. 15. "Pricing incentives encourage incremental traffic in traditionally weak travel periods," said Beth Mack, BWIA's new VP-sales North America.
Garuda Indonesia and KLM have reached an agreement to code share on flights between The Netherlands and Indonesia and block space on each other's flights beyond their primary gateways. KLM described the cooperative agreement as an extension of a relationship with Garuda that already covers fleet maintenance, engine and component pooling, storage, training, automation and cargo operations (DAILY, July 6).
LOT Polish Airlines' passenger volume during the first six months of 1995 increased 21% from last year's first half, to 812,000, and the airline expects the total to reach 1.8 million this year, an increase of 20% over 1994. LOT attributed much of the growth to a surge in domestic travel within Poland and its increased frequency of service between the U.S. and Poland. "Our strong showing on the domestic front is encouraging," said Marek Sidor, LOT's general director, North America. "And by adding three flights a week between the U.S.
Aerolineas Argentinas and Marine Expeditions Inc. are marketing cruise packages jointly to Argentina's Patagonia region, which includes the provinces of La Pampa, Neuquen, Rio Negro, Chubut, Santa Cruz and Tierra del Fuego, and part of Antartica. Aerolineas offers daily service to Buenos Aires from New York and Miami, six flights a week from Los Angeles, and direct flights from Montreal and Toronto. From Buenos Aires, passengers travel by air to Ushuaia, from which they sail along the Beagle Channel.
Tower Air will suspend its New Delhi service Sept. 8 because a U.S. government prohibition of U.S. carrier flights over Afghanistan has increased the airline's flying time and costs in the market, making the operation uneconomical, Tower said yesterday.
Delta is considering leasing A310 pilot crews to Air Jamaica for New York Kennedy-Kingston service and is interested in other profitable "insourcing" opportunities, but some significant issues remain, according to Delta's employee newsline.The carrier announced earlier it was phasing out its A310s by the end of 1995.
Frank Lorenzo, whose attempt to get back into commercial aviation ended last year with rejection by DOT of his ATX startup, has made an offer for an interest in Nations Air. The carrier operates 737-200s, mainly in the Boston-Philadelphia-Pittsburgh markets.
McDonnell Douglas Corp. and Taiwan-based Air Asia Co. Ltd. have signed a licensing agreement that makes Air Asia the U.S. manufacturer's authorized maintenance contractor in Asia. The agreement, signed by Richard Jones, MDC regional VP, and Jack Sun, Air Asia chairman, provides for Air Asia to carry out warranty repairs, retrofitting, performance upgrading, maintenance work to comply with airworthiness directives and service bulletins, component overhaul and repair, and parts replacement for operators of MDC aircraft.
Airmax, a leading cargo management company serving international airlines, said yesterday it has reached an interline agreement with Korean Air Lines (KAL) to create a cargo hub in the midwestern U.S. Under the accord, Airmax will provide handling, road feeder service and cargo management systems from Chicago O'Hare Airport, enabling Korean Air to deliver cargo to more than 100 cities within a 1,000-mile radius of Chicago. The cargo will be managed at Airmax's new 68,000-square-foot Chicago warehouse.
Dassault Industries Group and the Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs have signed a strategic alliance agreement that reportedly provides for the ministry to help the company promote investment and cooperation projects through Taiwan's Committee for Aviation and Space Industry Development. Neither party would describe the pact. It was signed by Serge Dassault, president of Dassault Aviation, and Yang Shihchien, vice minister of economic affairs.
The government of The Netherlands reportedly has banned Amsterdam Schiphol Airport police from testing security by placing explosives or other devices in passengers' baggage. The action follows an incident Friday in which police planted several ounces of "explosive materials" - with no detonator or fuse - in the suitcase of an American traveling to Florida, the Associated Press reported. Upon arriving, the passenger complained to Northwest Airlines that his suitcase had been torn.
Senate aviation leaders drafting bipartisan FAA reform legislation are considering a phase-in of dedicated user fees to replace current aviation excise taxes, implementing several fees almost immediately and allowing more time to develop air traffic control user fees (DAILY, Aug. 11). Senate leaders are aiming for Senate Commerce Committee approval early in September - before a House-Senate conference on the DOT appropriations bill (H.R.2002), which includes provisions exempting FAA personnel and procurement rules from a number of federal laws and regulations.
