Associated Air Freight appointed Tony McFarland director-credit and collection operations, worldwide. Atlantic Aviation named Bart Lalla director-aircraft services. Avitas appointed Rick Russell director-strategic development, effective today. Barnes Group Inc. appointed Cedric Beckett president of Windsor Manufacturing, a unit of Barnes Aerospace. Diagnostic/Retrieval Systems elected Mark Newman chairman in addition to his duties as president and chief executive.
World Airways says it is on the verge of an alliance to bolster its bid to serve South Africa. The carrier told DOT last week it is "in the final stages of negotiations with a major U.S. carrier for a joint marketing agreement that would generate traffic feed at JFK for World's [proposed] New York-Johannesburg service." USAfrica, which currently holds all six frequencies in the market, took a similar tack last month, signing a marketing and operational alliance with Continental.
Continental has furloughed 95 skycaps in 10 cities and will contract out its curbside bag checking service to ITS. Elimination of those positions is the final step in airport restructuring plans announced last December to coincide with an 18% reduction in domestic capacity, a Continental spokeswoman said. The cuts are expected to save the airline $20.4 million in 1995 and $52 million in 1996.
Carriers bidding for South Africa service updated their applications last week in response to a query from DOT. In an Aug. 9 letter, Paul Gretch, director of DOT's Office of International Aviation, told the applicants of clarifications in the U.S.-South Africa comity and reciprocity regime made during recent bilateral discussion between the two countries. "Specifically, U.S. carriers may operate a total of seven weekly frequencies between the U.S.
Steadily expanding ValuJet Airlines is taking on three more DC-9-30 aircraft, which will increase its fleet to 39. The carrier currently operates 31 DC-9s and was expecting delivery of five more by yearend, but one may be delayed until January. The first of the three newly announced aircraft will be delivered this month. Previously operated by Delta, it will be leased on an interim basis from Great Plains Inc., and ValuJet will buy it in September. The other two, formerly operated by Express One International, will be purchased from NSJ Corporation and Express One.
Alpha Aviation, which operates as Trans World Express at Los Angeles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week. The carrier operates Beech 1900s, connecting with TWA flights. Alpha says it is maintaining normal operations and flight schedules, and it plans to complete reorganization in September.
The Fort Worth city council unanimously approved last week a lease with SkyTeam Airlines, a Part 121 carrier that plans to offer intrastate service from Meacham Field to Houston, San Antonio and Austin by Nov. 15. An amendment added by the council provides that the approval does not obligate the city to offer a tax abatement program, but Jess Coker, SkyTeam executive VP, told The DAILY that even so, an abatement program will be negotiated later. He said the carrier plans to offer as many as 16 daily roundtrips in hushkit-equipped 737-200s, starting as soon as Nov.
TWA said it has canceled its Voting Trust Agreement and also will cancel the Voting Trust Certificates, representing the beneficial ownership of TWA's common stock. The move, ordered by the bankruptcy court, is one more step toward restructuring. LaSalle National Trust, voting trustee, requested the action because of concerns that the continuation of the agreement could delay distributions of securities to certificate holders under the reorganization plan. TWA expects to begin distributing common stock, warrants and equity rights before the end of August.
Granted orally an exemption to Midway Airlines to operate scheduled combination service between Raleigh/Durham, N.C., and St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles, and between Raleigh/Durham and Cancun, Mexico...Granted orally an exemption to TWA for two years to operate scheduled combination service between New York and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic...Granted orally an exemption to Heavylift-VolgaDnepr to operate five emergency cabotage cargo charter flights between Wilmington, Ohio, and Seattle, Wash., between Aug. 15-Sept.
Delta's director-planning, Tom Kerns, has been appointed senior VP- marketing programs by the Travel Industry Association of America. Kerns, a 23-year Delta veteran, was responsible for restructuring Delta's route system as part of the Leadership 7.5 cost-cutting program. Delta is represented on TIA's board by Bob Coggin, senior VP-marketing.
Air Line Pilots Association presented USAir Captain Thomas Kreamer with the 1994 Air Safety Award during the union's annual Air Safety Forum in Washington last week. Kreamer, chairman of USAir's ALPA Master Executive Council's violations and enforcement activities committee, has worked for more than 22 years on accident investigation and development of airborne collision avoidance systems.
Air Canada will launch nonstop service to Los Angeles and San Francisco from Vancouver Oct. 29, operating two daily flights to both cities. The carrier will use A320 and DC-9 aircraft in the markets. An introductory fare of $98 roundtrip is available until Aug. 25.
H.R.2002 - introduced July 11 by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) - a bill making appropriations for the DOT and related agencies for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 1996, and for other purposes. Different versions were passed by the House and Senate.
- In Federal Register dated Aug. 11...Issued proposed rules on airmen certification...Proposed an airworthiness directive on de Havilland Dash 6 aircraft to require inspecting the fuselage side frame flanges at a certain station for cracks.
DOT has assessed USAir Shuttle $25,000 in civil penalties and issued a consent order concerning the carrier's violation's of reporting requirements. In the order, the department asserted that the carrier had "a history of delinquency" filing required reports, citing the delayed filing of its third quarter Passenger Origin-Destination Survey, due November 15, 1994, as the most recent violation. "Despite repeated requests from the department and replies by Shuttle which promised imminent compliance, Shuttle failed to file its survey report until Jan.
Honeywell/Racal team successfully transmitted personal computer data using Inmarsat satellites, opening up the possibility that airline passengers will be able to carry out nearly all functions of a modern business office while in flight. A laptop computer would be able to communicate with services like Prodigy, CompuServe and America Online.
Shuttle by United plans to blow into Reno from San Francisco Dec. 15, launching five daily roundtrips. The Shuttle flights will replace United Express in the market.
The labor union representing Air Inter's flight crews said recent bomb attacks in Paris prove the need to monitor baggage checked on domestic flights closely, Reuter reported. The union has been asking the French Transport Ministry for the past nine months to require systematic surveillance of checked bags on flights within France. A bomb that exploded Thursday in central Paris, near the Arc de Triomphe, was the second in two days.
NWT Air of Canada pilots, recording Global Positioning System location data against conventional navigation systems in 737 flights on far-northern routes, confirmed what the carrier expected - GPS is at least as accurate as the aids now being used for en route navigation.
Aeromexico reported second quarter net earnings of $98 million, turning around a loss of $32.9 million in the 1994 quarter. A reduction of 600 workers, combined with a decrease in its fleet to 51 aircraft from 58 contributed to the better performance, as did increased net consolidated income and a stronger Mexican peso. Aeromexico's revenue passenger kilometers on flights to the U.S. rose 17%.
Sudan Airways suddenly suspended its service between London and Johannesburg last week, stranding passengers in London. British Airways, which also operates to Johannesburg, offered a low fare to Sudan Airways ticketholders who needed to return to South Africa. Officials from the Sudanese airline could not be reached for comment, and a Reuter report from Johannesburg quoted industry sources as saying future service has been canceled. Another South African carrier, Avia Airlines, was liquidated earlier this month.
U.S. Major Carriers Unit Revenues and Expenses By Region First Quarter 1995 Operating Operating Operating Yield Revenues Expenses Profit(Loss) per RPM per ASM per ASM per ASM Carrier (cents) (cents) (cents) (cents) America West 7.51 6.97 0.54 10.86 Domestic 7.51 6.97 0.54 10.86
Major airlines have hired more pilots in the first seven months of this year, 1,462, than they did in all of 1994, 1,266, AIR Inc. reports. Both the major and the national airlines produced more than 240 new pilot jobs in July. TWA recalled the last few of its furloughed pilots during the month.
DOT has tentatively allocated 14 of 16 new frequencies in the U.S.-Brazil market to American, Tower Air and United. The new U.S.-Brazil agreement, reached June 8, increased the number of scheduled combination frequencies available to Brazil from 61 to 77 (DAILY, June 12). With an eye to balancing competition in the market, the department gave United all seven of the weekly frequencies it requested, bringing the carrier's total to 35, the same as American. United plans to use the frequencies for Miami-Sao Paulo flights with 767-300s, starting March 15.
