TWA will begin operating nonstop service four days a week to Mexico City from St. Louis Oct. 29 pending government approval. The carrier said it anticipates increasing to daily flights over the Christmas holiday period. The new service is part of its strategy to build operations in markets with the greatest revenue potential. It recently added new service to Cancun, Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Zihuatanejo.
Sabena's passenger traffic rose 9.8% in July from the same month a year ago, to 837.7 million revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers boarded rose 16.7% to 465,592, and the airline's cargo traffic fell 5.1% to 32.2 million freight ton kilometers. Through the first seven months, passenger traffic was up 18.5% to 4.87 billion RPKs, and passenger volume rose 19.8% to 2.8 million. Cargo traffic increased 3.1% to 248.1 million FTKs.
Boeing 747 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day First Quarter 1995 B747-100 Continental Northwest TWA Number of Aircraft Operated 1 23 9 Total Fleet Operations Departures 1 36 12 Block Hours 3 259 73
Aer Lingus, which has been operating twice-weekly flights to Belfast from the U.S. as part of its Vacations Ireland tour product since July, will upgrade the service to year-round, scheduled status on Oct. 1, increasing the number of weekly flights to three. "The service we operated this summer has shown sufficient potential for us to commit to operating the full Aer Lingus product through this winter," said David Bunworth, Aer Lingus sales and marketing director.
Boeing 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day First Quarter 1995 B737-300 America West Continental Number of Aircraft Operated 34 62 Total Fleet Operations Departures 224 311 Block Hours 391 626
Flightstar Corp. has begun construction of a new fixed-base operation facility at the former Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Ill. Flightstar currently is operating at a hangar that will be converted into a window manu-facturing plant.
Delta is padding its schedule at Phoenix, Tucson, Cincinnati and Hawaii Dec. 1. At Phoenix and Tucson, it will increase the number of flights to hubs Atlanta, Cincinnati and Salt Lake City, as well as Los Angeles and other western cities. It will introduce the 142-seat MD-88 aircraft to Phoenix operations.
Krasnoyarsk Airlines, operating as KrasAir, is seeking an amendment to its authority permitting it to conduct charter service between Russia and the U.S. In January, KrasAir received authority to operate scheduled combination service between Russia and New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco (DAILY, Jan. 17). A former division of Aeroflot, KrasAir is 51% owned by the Russian state and 44% by employees, with the balance held by an investment fund. It operates a fleet of 50 Russian-made aircraft and two DC-10-30s, leased from Douglas Aircraft.
USAir will reduce fares between Washington National and Columbus, Ohio, by as much as 50% Oct. 1 - the day ValuJet introduces $49 one-way fares from Washington Dulles. USAir is offering one-way weekend fares of $49 based on roundtrip purchase, and a $59 one-way fare any day of the week if purchased 21 days in advance, or $89 with a seven-day advance purchase. Children traveling with adults pay $49. The fare for less than a seven-day advance will be $139.
Air Canada and Canadian Airlines International, which have been paying commissions of up 12% on some domestic fares, will standardize commission rates on all domestic fares at 8.25%, effective Sept. 18. Over the past year or more, both carriers introduced 12% commissions on deeply discounted fares in selected markets where they compete with charter carriers for leisure travelers. But now, both carriers are moving back to the 8.25% standard. Canadian said yesterday the move will save it as much as C$6 million annually through a reduction in the cost of sales.
Reps. William Clinger (R-Pa.) and Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), chairmen of the House Government Reform and Transportation committees, have urged the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee to oppose FAA personnel and procurement reform measures in the Senate DOT appropriations bill. In a letter sent Friday to Rep. Bob Livingston (R-La.), Clinger and Shuster said the reform measures would undermine efforts in their committees to reform procurement government-wide and personnel and procurement at FAA.
SAS and United, both marketing partners of Lufthansa, have signed a cooperative agreement covering code sharing, connection scheduling, frequent flyer programs and passenger lounges. The agreement, to be implemented in phases beginning Jan. 1, subject to government approval, has been expected since last spring, when SAS and Lufthansa signed a comprehensive strategic alliance agreement (DAILY, May 12).
Union negotiators for pilots at Jetstream Airlines have reached a tentative agreement with the company on a collective bargaining contract that provides substantial improvements in wages, benefits and working conditions, according to the pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association. The pact, which follows several months of informational picketing by pilots, clears the way for Jetstream to expand by operating new or modified Dornier 328s, ALPA said.
DOT tentatively reallocated USAfrica's six frequencies and a currently unallocated frequency in the U.S.-South Africa market to World Airways and Southern Air Transport. Awarded five frequencies, World plans to fly three weekly combination and two weekly cargo flights between New York and Johannesburg, via Accra, Ghana, using MD-11 aircraft. Southern Air Cargo plans twice-weekly all-cargo service between Columbus, Ohio, and New York, on the one hand, and Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa, on the other, using 747Fs.
Former FAA deputy administrator Barry Harris has been elected chairman and chief executive of new carrier Independence Air. The prospective Atlanta startup, awaiting government approval to begin service, intends to operate long-haul passenger and freight service with 270-seat A300B4s. Independence said it expects to launch service this year between Atlanta, Los Angeles and New York.
With antitrust immunity, requested Friday, Delta, Swissair, Sabena and Austrian plot a cooperative alliance creating "a seamless air transportation system" (DAILY, Sept. 11). Currently limited to point-to- point code-share arrangements on a limited number of routes, the expanded alliance would enable the carriers to coordinate scheduling, marketing, planning and pricing. Delta would enter into three separate and parallel cooperation agreements with the three European carriers, as well as an agreement that would coordinate the three parallel pacts.
The airline industry is considering a reform proposal that would initially establish FAA as an autonomous agency controlled by the aviation industry, and ultimately set up air traffic control as a separate, government- sponsored enterprise, sources said yesterday. The proposal, still being refined, is expected to be presented Thursday to the Air Transport Association board. ATA President Carol Hallett last week criticized the House FAA reform bill (H.R.2276) as inadequate (DAILY, Sept. 8).
Worldspan's top marketing official, Senior VP Lew Ellsworthy, left the computer reservations system company last week. His departure is the first major move at Worldspan since Mike Buckman succeeded Cal Rader as chief executive in June.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) voted last week to reject a petition by UPS to be governed by the Railway Labor Act (RLA), like all other airlines, instead of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). UPS wants protections provided by the RLA regarding labor instability and service disruptions; the act requires mediation before strikes are permitted. The NLRB determined that the air portion of UPS's package delivery system is not part of its core business.
Continental is urging DOT to reverse its tentative decision granting Delta and USAir new Toronto service from Atlanta and Pittsburgh, respectively, and award New York/Newark-Toronto service to Continental.
Consolidated Freightways said yesterday it has accepted $100 million aggregate principal amount of its 7.35% notes due 2005 that have been tendered by the holders pursuant to the company's exchange offer. The company originally issued the notes on June 1 in a private placement. Under the terms of the exchange offer, the company will issue $100 million aggregate principal amount of 7.35% notes due 2005 in exchange for the tendered notes.
Rep. Norman Mineta (D-Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee, announced yesterday he will resign Oct. 10 to become VP of the transportation systems and services division of Lockheed Martin Corp. Mineta, 63, who entered Congress in 1975, chaired the House Public Works Committee - predecessor to the Transportation Committee - in the last Congress and was chairman of the House aviation subcommittee from 1981 through 1988.
USAir has requested authority to operate combination service between Charlotte, N.C., and St. Maarten, Netherlands Antilles. The carrier also asked for two years' renewal of its authority to operate combination service between Baltimore/Washington and Philadelphia, on the one hand, and St. Maarten, on the other hand. The carrier anticipates operating one weekly roundtrip between Charlotte and St. Maarten, using Boeing 757 aircraft. USAir currently operates twice-weekly BWI-St. Maarten service, using 757s. After initially operating one roundtrip between St.
