The U.S. lodging industry accounted for $68.9 billion of the $400 billion in sales generated by travel and tourism in 1994, according to the American Hotel&Motel Association's Lodging Industry Profile. The $400 billion total excludes $12.5 billion in international visitor spending on U.S. air carriers. Traveler spending in 1994 equates to $45.7 million per hour, or $12,680 per second. The lodging profile says sales at U.S. hotels and motels were up from $61.7 billion in 1993, and the average occupancy rate rose 1.6 points to 65.2% in 1994.
American's fleet is 87.5% Stage 3 and averages eight years of age. As of June 30, AMR had 650 jet aircraft and 266 regional aircraft, which were an average of four years old. In all, it has one of the youngest fleets in the U.S.
Passenger revenues of AMR Eagle carriers decreased 7.7% or $30 million in the six months ended June 30, and the Texas hailstorm in April damaged about 10% of American's fleet and about 9% of the Eagle fleet, AMR Corp. said in a 10-Q form filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company said the Eagles' revenues dropped after FAA placed temporary flight restrictions on ATR aircraft following the fatal crash of a Simmons ATR last October.
FAA said yesterday it ordered Japan Airlines not to perform work on U.S.- registered aircraft at Narita and Haneda airports because an inspection team discovered the two repair stations conducted unauthorized repairs. The stations also were turning over work to non-certified facilities, reusing parts that should have been discarded, failing to provide proper training to repair personnel and using parts from unapproved vendors, said Bill White, deputy director-Flight Standards Service. U.S.
Elsinore said Air France, working with its Quality Management Solutions Group and FAA inspectors based in Europe, has successfully completed a critical quality system improvement program that resulted in the full renewal and expansion of the carrier's FAA Repair Station Operations Specifications Ratings. Elsinore said it and Air France now are implementing an Advance Quality System at the carrier, with enhanced supplier surveillance and parts traceability.
Former investigator John Deans of DOT's Office of Inspector General has filed for assistance from the Office of Special Counsel under the Whistleblower Protection Act. Deans claims he was dismissed because of findings in his investigation into possible misuse of funds for the new Denver Airport. Deans filed a concurrent appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board, the appellate body if OSC denies him assistance. Denver Mayor Wellington Webb yesterday denied that funds were misused.
Qantas has given its foreign investors 90 days to sell the Qantas shares they purchased that boosted foreign ownership of the company's stock above the legal limit of 49%. The exact level of foreign ownership will not be known until Friday, but it is expected to be about 52%. Qantas's Articles of Association give shareholders 30 days to sell their shares in such a situation, but Qantas decided to extend the period to 90 days because of the "unusual circumstances" surrounding the first few days of trading in the newly privatized company's stock.
Like Canadian, American is making it easier for weekend travelers to take spur-of-the-moment trips, offering BreakAAway fares ranging from $79 to $299 roundtrip with a one-day advance purchase. The fares are available in selected American and American Eagle cities to Dallas/Fort Worth, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Nashville and Miami. For the first time, American will offer BreakAAway fares on transcontinental flights.
Airlines and travel promoters, with the end of the lucrative summer season in sight, are plumbing the depths of creativity to reel in a few more customers in August. Some of the more unusual deals, as outlined by Best Fares Discount Travel Magazine, are: Develop a roll of film and save up to $100 on USAir; buy eight gallons of supreme gasoline and save up to $75 on Continental, and buy a box of cereal and receive the second admission free at Six Flags and Disneyland theme parks.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Landing Fee Expenses First Quarter 1995 Average Amount Systemwide Spent Per Landing America West $ 7,218,672 $ 155.07 American 58,814,000 281.01 Continental 25,751,000 211.03 Delta 64,883,000 271.53 Federal Express 17,131,000 239.93
USAir positioned aircraft away from Norfolk and Newport News, Va., last night to protect them from the effects of Hurricane Felix. The carrier said aircraft terminating in those cities will be flown elsewhere, and flights scheduled to originate at the two cities this morning will be canceled.
Banner Aerospace reported net income of $712,000 for the quarter ended June 30, compared with $894,000 the same quarter a year ago. Sales in the quarter rose to $60.6 million from $52.4 million. The revenue increase reflected improved sales of hardware to original equipment manufacturers and fixed-based operators, and of rotables to commercial airline customers. The lower net income stemmed primarily from an increase in interest expense caused by higher interest rates, Banner said.
Alaska Air Group carriers Alaska and Horizon Air yesterday began limited testing of a ticketless system in four markets - Seattle-Ketchikan, Seattle-Oakland, Seattle-Spokane and Boise-Oakland. The carriers plan to implement ticketless travel throughout their systems this fall, and to make it available through travel agencies. Also this fall, they plan to install automated check-in kiosks that issue boarding passes.
Foreign airlines should put most of their U.S. marketing efforts into attracting travelers from California, where most U.S. travelers originate. Not only do Californians stay five nights longer on average than residents of New York, the second highest originating state, 28% of the Californians use airlines to get around abroad, according to the USTTA. Forty-seven percent of New York travelers, on the other hand, use a taxi. Only 18% fly while out of the country.
London-based Airtours Plc has agreed to buy Canadian tour operator Sunquest Vacations Ltd. for BPS 37.6 million (US$59.5 million). The British tour company cautioned that its profits for the year ending Sept. 30 likely will be 25% lower than last year, Chairman David Crossland told Reuter. Airtours had pretax profits of BPS 75.8 million last year (US$120 million). Its shares have dropped 17% since the beginning of the month. About half a million package holidays, from a total of 10 million, remain unsold, Reuter said.
Air Canada will convert last winter's five-per-week charter flights to Hawaii to eight scheduled nonstops per week this winter, as permitted by the new U.S.-Canada open skies agreement. Service to Honolulu will begin Sept. 2, with Maui to follow Oct. 4. Air Canada will operate all the flights using 767s, and its capacity to Hawaii will be 60% higher than last winter's. All flights will be from Vancouver, leaving in the late afternoon, and U.S. Customs pre-clearance will be available.
Sao Paulo-based VASP has acquired a 50.1% stake in Ecuatoriana de Aviacion for US$32.9 million. The US$66 million valuation, as a percentage of annual revenues, is the highest of any Latin American or Caribbean privatization since 1992, according to DAILY affiliate Aviation-Latin America&Caribbean newsletter. Ecuatoriana has been grounded since late 1993, and the new Ecuatoriana is expected to be back in service around January, operating to the U.S., most of South and Central America and Europe.
U.S. Major Carriers Advertising Expenses First Quarter 1995 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues America West $ 5,094,629 1.58 Domestic 5,068,236 1.59 Latin 26,393 0.94 American 47,682,000 1.52 Domestic 28,316,000 1.26
Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council is concerned that immigration reform legislation proposing a border crossing fee for travelers entering the U.S. from Mexico and Canada would have the opposite of its intended purpose - to facilitate inbound travel. It is under consideration in the Senate, while the House is pondering a version that would impose steeper fines on airlines.
Reporting an "overwhelming first-day response" to its Weekend Getaway fare cuts for travel between 14 cities in Canada, Canadian Airlines International extended the promotion to four transborder routes - Toronto to New York LaGuardia, Chicago O'Hare and Washington Dulles, and Vancouver to O'Hare. Roundtrip Getaway fares are as much as 73% less than full economy. The fares, available through Dec. 7 for travel between Aug. 18 and Dec. 12, require a Saturday departure and a return on the following Monday or Tuesday.
The City of Chicago increased the level of security yesterday at O'Hare and Midway Airports, city spokeswoman Lisa Howard told The DAILY. "We are in constant contact with FAA and the FBI for intelligence and guidance as to what level of security to be on," Howard said. "We are now on an intermediate level of security, exceeding the federal requirement, but we are not as high as New York's airports." Howard said passengers might notice more uniformed police at both airports' terminals and K-9 explosives detection unit dogs on patrol in O'Hare's terminals.
American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has added nine companies to its Tour Operator Program, which recognizes legitimate, reliable operators that agree to a plan protecting clients of ASTA member agencies against financial losses. ASTA now has 65 tour companies in the program.
Improving signage to aid foreign tourists traveling in the U.S. still is the No. 1 recommendation from states setting the agenda for the October White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. Also high on the list are creating a centralized database for travel information, improving highways and standardizing industry terms, according to an update of the top 30 recommendations from 29 states. Lowest priority is repairing or expanding the aviation system.
Infini Travel Information, the computer reservations system owned by All Nippon Airways and Abacus Distribution Systems, has implemented Locator Back with British Airways and Deutsche BA.
Air Canada flew 1.8 billion revenue passenger miles in July, 9.5% more than in July 1994. Capacity increased 10.4% for the month, so the load factor dipped to 68% from 68.6%. July 95 July 94 7 Mths 95 7 Mths 94 RPMs 1,804,000,000 1,648,000,000 9,256,000,000 8,419,000,000 ASMs 2,654,000,000 2,404,000,000 14,955,000,000 13,178,000,000 LoadFtr% 68.0 68.6 61.9 63.9
