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.
Daimler-Benz Aerospace is studying whether to move struggling Fokker's operations from The Netherlands to a low-wage country. Fokker trading on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange was suspended temporarily last week due to uncertainty about the company's financial condition. DASA owns 51% of Fokker.
Luxair is leasing two 737-500s from Itochu Air Lease Co. of Japan to serve intra-European markets, including Frankfurt and Paris. The airplanes will be fitted with convertible seats, accommodating 102-120 passengers in two classes, Boeing said. Luxair currently operates four 737-400s/500s. Boeing's jetliner orders for the year total 209.
Simmons Airlines' bid for six international slots at Chicago O'Hare Airport is drawing varied reactions from the aviation community. Simmons, an American Eagle carrier, applied for exemption from the High-Density Rule this month for the slots at the slot-controlled airport to inaugurate Chicago-London, Ontario, service (DAILY, Aug. 7). It plans to begin operating three daily roundtrips on the route Oct. 1, using Saab 340B aircraft.
Contrary to what some in the industry think, American insists that it would not benefit in any way from U.K. proposals in the most recent round of aviation talks with the U.S. The proposals are "a non-starter, forcing us to give up one of our current Heathrow frequencies" to get a new one. One of the U.K. proposals would allow U.S. carriers to swap one Heathrow slot for one Gatwick slot.
Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC) said travel agent sales processed during the first seven months of 1995 were up 5% from the same period last year, to $36.5 billion. International fares increased 2% and domestic fares 5%. Domestic commissions fell 1%, however, while international commissions were up 3%. For the month of July, domestic fares rose 8% and international fares 6%. The international commission rate of 17.51% in July was a record for a four-week month. The bookings are on 149 airlines and three railroads.
The Senate-passed fiscal 1996 DOT appropriations bill (H.R.2002) contains a slightly modified version of a House proposal prohibiting worker's compensation for DOT employees eligible to retire. On other employee- related matters, the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed with the House proposal to leave permanent change of station (PCS) funding at the fiscal 1995 level despite FAA's request for more, and it provided more funding than the House for FAA headquarters staffing.
It seems that despite an earlier mechanical failure - one of three generators, not supplied by engine-maker Allison - the Indonesian IPTN N-250 "Gatokoco" was ready to fly before the scheduled 10 a.m., Aug. 10 event. There was considerable pressure to get the controversial turboprop airborne, according to press reports. But the reports stated that company officials were told they could not fly the prototype early because Indonesian President Suharto "must witness the flight, which carries such national prestige."
An Air France Concorde set a new speed record Wednesday by flying around the world in 31 hours, 27 minutes and 49 seconds elapsed time. The old record was 32 hours, 49 minutes and three seconds, set in October 1992, also by an Air France Concorde. The aircraft, which took off from New York, refueled in Toulouse, Dubai, Bangkok, Guam, Honolulu and Acapulco. Actual flying time was 22 hours, 39 minutes and 21 seconds at an average speed of 1,114 miles per hour.
Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) supports the National Mediation Board's (NMB) decision issued Monday to declare the four American Eagle carriers a single carrier for labor representation purposes (DAILY, Aug. 15). An election will be scheduled to determine which union - the Allied Pilots Association (APA), ALPA or the Regional Airline Pilots Association - will represent the 2,500 pilots. The NMB will set a date after it updates its list of eligible voters, determines how many ballots need to be printed and decides the length of the voting period.
Lone Star Airlines will inaugurate nonstop service to Aspen from Dallas/Fort Worth Dec. 15 under an exclusive agreement with Aspen Skiing Company to promote the service. Lone Star will operate on the route year- round, increasing frequencies during the peak ski season. It plans to offer up to six flights a day this winter. To promote the new service, all passengers will be entered to win a three-year lease of a 1996 Mercedes C220 furnished by Daimler-Benz Aerospace.
British Airways and USAir will add five more cities served by USAir - Charleston and Huntington, W. Va.; Lansing, Mich.; Newport News, Va., and Wilkes-Barre, Pa. - to the code-sharing network that feeds routes to London. The new service, which takes effect Sept. 26, will bring to 68 the number of code-share points beyond U.S. gateways served by the transatlantic partners.
American is offering up to $95 in discounts on domestic travel to passengers who purchase Microsoft's new Windows '95 software at one of 86 CompUSA stores by Sept. 30. The carrier will take $45 off a $299 roundtrip, $65 off a roundtrip of $399 or more and $95 off a fare of $499 or more. Mayda Welis, manager-special market promotions, said, "Research has shown that the demographics of the computer user are very similar to the American Airlines passenger profile."
Alaska Air Group subsidiary Horizon Air averaged a load factor of 61.9% in July, down from 66.6% in July 1994 but still higher than the other 10 regional airlines in a DAILY sampling. United Express affiliate Air Wisconsin was next at nearly 57%, up from 55.7% in the prior period.
United Airlines and Worldspan Travel Information Services reached agreement on the carrier's increased participation in Worldspan Airline Source, the automated airline distribution service offered through the Worldspan computer reservations system. The upgrade, to be concluded later this year, will give travel agents real-time, interactive connectivity with United during the booking process. Availability requests will be routed to United's database, and flight information will be gathered and maximized within two seconds.
American has published a Fly AAway Vacations ski brochure inviting skiers to customize their air transportation, accommodations, rental car and ski lift tickets. British Columbia's Whistler resort, with five different lodging packages, is a new destination this year. Bonuses include free ski goggles, night skiing passes and mountain tours.
Northwest Airlines Corp. becomes a component of the Nasdaq-100 Index today. The capitalization-weighted index comprises the 100 largest non-financial growth stocks listed on Nasdaq's national market.
Denver officials intend to reduce Denver Airport rates and charges this week. Expenses are less than expected, City Attorney Lee Marable said, and during the time Denver Stapleton was open and not meeting airside capacity, landside concessions were booming, generating money that later went to the new airport. "People were stuck, so they spent money," he said.
FAA said it plans to extend the terminatation date of a Special Federal Aviation Regulation that permits an alternate method of training, known as the advanced qualification program (AQP). The special regulation is set to expire Oct. 2. The agency said the extension is necessary while it completes a rulemaking process that will incorporate the rule into the Federal Aviation Regulations.
Cash conservation in the face of FAA's pending Commuter Safety Rule is said to be the reason that some regional airlines in the Northeast are up to two years behind in their bills. One vendor said that was the reason given by more than one airline. The new rule - prompted by DOT Secretary Federico Pena - is expected to have a major impact on the operation of 19-passenger aircraft, perhaps to the extent that older models will be forced out of the fleet, causing loss of small-community air service.
The House Appropriations Committee has asked the General Accounting Office to study the reimbursement pricing policies used in the Defense Logistics Agency's bulk and into-plane aviation fuel programs, administered by the Defense Fuel Supply Center. In the committee report on the fiscal 1996 Defense appropriations bill, the panel said the evaluation should include costs of personnel, training, equipment, environmental compliance, inventory, maintenance, insurance, consumables and federal excise taxes.
It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. Despite extensive testing at the Tech Center and a year-long trial at the Seattle Center before it went on line, FAA's new $1.4 billion Voice Switching and Control System (VSCS) was knocked out by a software bug last Friday afternoon at Seattle. Communications never were lost with aircraft in the airspace of six western states served by the center because a backup system kicked in almost immediately, an FAA spokesman for the Northern Mountain Region said yesterday.
A windshear training aid (WTA) for operators of commuter, air taxi, corporate and other smaller aircraft is available from the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Technical Information Service. The WTA, consisting of package of training materials, was developed by Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) after FAA asked the foundation to look at the adaptability to smaller aircraft operations of a WTA developed for air carrier flight crews and implemented in 1987.
Lone Star Airlines will begin nonstop service to Hermosillo, Mexico, from Dallas/Fort Worth Sept. 5, 1995. The regional said it will operate one roundtrip each weekday, using 30-seat Dornier 328 aircraft. Separately, the carrier said it will introduce service to Roswell and Ruidoso, New Mexico, from Dallas/Fort Worth on the same date. The regional currently serves 13 cities in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri and Mexico.
