Continental's new in-house leisure product, Continental Vacations, created through a partnership with national tour operator Globetrotters, will promote vacation packages to the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii and within the U.S., effective Dec. 16. On April 30, it will promote travel to Europe. The U.S. packages are for roundtrip air fare, hotel accommodations and car rental, and can include meals, entertainment, city tours and show tickets. Travelers booking a Continental Vacations trip receive 500 OnePass miles. A reservations center in Houston will open Oct.
Eastern Airlines has distributed $14.1 million to holders of general unsecured claims greater than $100,000, including more than $7 million to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., the reorganized company said. With the latest distribution, Eastern has made three distributions totaling more than $90 million. The third distribution represents 1.25 cents per dollar of the allowed claims greater than $100,000. Eastern plans to continue distributions to large creditors through 1996.
Lufthansa plans to add 34% more capacity in the Frankfurt-Chicago market this winter by replacing the Airbus A340-300 that currently flies the route with a larger Boeing 747. Also, the daily Munich-Chicago nonstop Lufthansa operates during the summer will be upgraded to year-round service. Lufthansa this winter also will offer 22% more capacity in the Frankfurt- Washington Dulles than last year because of its switch in the spring to an A340 for a 747 on the route. In the Frankfurt-Miami market, Lufthansa will add 10% more capacity by using a larger 747.
Boeing is finding growing acceptance in official circles of what it claims is a "paradigm shift" in thinking about jetliner safety, a Boeing safety expert told The DAILY yesterday, a little more than a year after the company launched its effort to change the focus of airlines, designers and regulators away from survivability toward preventing accidents (DAILY, Aug. 18, 1994).
The government of India has approved a proposal from Lufthansa Cargo and the U.K.-based Hinduja Group to create an independent cargo airline based in India. The joint venture would be 60% owned by the Hinduja Group and 40% by Lufthansa Cargo. The venture's business plan calls for a fleet of four or five Boeing 727-200 freighters, each with a capacity of slightly more than 25 tonnes.
French transportation officials said yesterday they are seeking a location for a third Paris airport, to be built around 2020, and in the short term will build two new 2,700-meter parallel runways at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, a spokesman for A roports de Paris (ADP) told The DAILY.
Delta and TAP Air Portugal yesterday signed a new code-sharing/blocked- space agreement covering flights from New York Kennedy and Newark to Lisbon (DAILY, Oct. 11). The new deal will supersede a prior arrangement under which TAP purchased seats on Delta's New York-Lisbon service. Delta plans to suspend those flights at the end of this month. Under the revised agreement, Delta will purchase seats on TAP's nonstop A310-300 flights in the New York/Newark-Lisbon markets, effective Nov. 1, subject to government approval.
Morten Beyer, president of a consulting firm of the same name, is asking DOT Secretary Federico Pe a to exempt 19-seat turboprop aircraft from a proposed rule that will apply Part 121 standards to commuter aircraft. Beyer, in a letter to Pe a, said that 80 regional airlines that operate 19- seat turboprops to 150 small cities and towns will be adversely impacted by the rule.
Allied Pilots Association at American says management has provided a stand- still letter promising it will not enter into a comprehensive alliance with any domestic new-entrant airline during current contract negotiations, or for 12 months, whichever ends first. An alliance is defined as any joint marketing, gate leasing or AAdvantage program.
The initial board of directors for the new General Aviation Airports Coalition last week approved a mission statement and established its top legislative priorities. Michael Stephens, who has spearheaded the effort, also was voted president by the coalition's initial five-member board. After Jan. 1, the board will be expanded to 20 members, with each of the nine FAA regions represented by at least one board member.
The Air Transport Association yesterday said it supports the financing, personnel and procurement reforms in the House FAA reform bill (H.R.2276), but it takes issue with the notion of a full-time Federal Aviation Board and the establishment of a Management Advisory Committee. The Federal Aviation Board also was faulted yesterday by DOT Secretary Federico Pe a, who in testimony before the House Transportation aviation subcommittee listed the board along with FAA independence and an off-budget aviation trust fund as the most objectionable pieces of the bill.
WorldTravel Partners, the official travel services sponsor of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, is advising would-be spectators to make their travel arrangements now. The company mailed the Travel&Accommodations Guide to Olympic Games ticket holders two weeks ago and, by the end of the first week, received more than 4,000 orders for travel packages and airline tickets. WorldTravel Partners is receiving more than 750 orders a day.
A Taiwan Tourism Bureau official said the island can expect record inbound and outbound travel this year. The bureau predicts the number of outbound travelers will exceed five million by yearend, and 2.2 million tourists will visit Taiwan. In 1994, 4.8 million Taiwanese traveled abroad, while inbound visitors totaled 2.12 million, breaking the 2 million mark for the first time since 1989.
USAir has cut fall and winter prices up to 40% in some 850 transcontinental markets. Prices range from $408 to $498 roundtrip for off-peak travel Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and from $448 to $548 on other days. Travel must be completed by March 7. The fares require a 14-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. USAir also is offering new roundtrip discounts for seven-day advance purchases every day of the week.
Delta has introduced a winter sale of up to 30% off its current advance purchase excursion fares to 11 European destinations. The fares are good for travel Nov. 1 through Feb. 24 to Barcelona, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Madrid, Manchester, Milan, Nice, Paris, Rome and Zurich. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 16 and require at least a five-day stay.
MasterCard International will sponsor a debate by former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, and John Sununu, former White House chief of staff and governor of New Hampshire, at the American Society of Travel Agents' World Travel Congress in Philadelphia Nov. 6.
American Trans Air's September consolidated (scheduled and charter) traffic rose 20.6% from September a year ago on 9.1% more capacity, lifting the airline's load factor 6.8 percentage points to 71.3%. The number of passengers carried increased 22.8%, and the length of the average passenger trip declined 0.8% to 1,908 miles. Through the first nine months of this year, American Trans Air's consolidated traffic rose 26.9% on 23.1% more capacity, boosting its load factor 2.2 points to 72.7%.
International Lease Finance Corp. has announced lease of a CFM-powered Airbus A320 to Canada 3000 Airlines and of a Rolls-Royce-powered Boeing 757 to Transavia Airlines of Amsterdam.
The federal government should create a National Satellite Account to measure the impact of travel and tourism on the national economy, said Michael Boskin, chairman of the Senate's Commission to Review the Consumer Price Index and former chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.
Air Line Pilots Association said the pilots at Express I Airlines, operating as Northwest Airlink, have authorized their union leaders to call a strike, if necessary. The pilots, who have been in negotiations with the company for a contract for almost two years, voted nearly 98% in favor of a "peaceful withdrawal of service." A strike at the carrier is not an immediate possibility, however. Both sides requested mediation with the National Mediation Board in February.
Martinair Holland is upgrading its services this fall with smoke-free transatlantic flights, inflight telephone and fax service, lounge access at five U.S. gateways and new Royal Doulton dinnerware. The changes are effective Nov. 1. Business-class lounge access for Martinair's Star Class passengers will be offered at Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Denver and Newark and is being made available in conjunction with other carriers. Martinair will offer the inflight changes on five new MD-11s.
The market value of U.S. airline stocks tracked by The DAILY 3.5% last month to $33.59 billion from $32.45 billion in August. The group, which is largely driven by the major passenger carriers' stock performance, benefited from optimism about third quarter results and the prospects for 1996. The value of the major carrier stocks resumed the upward trend broken in August, increasing 3.1% to $24.18 billion. The value of the national carrier stocks declined 5.4% to $2.3 billion, and the regional stocks fell 18.7% to $379.9 million.
