EVA Airways and Ansett Australia plan to begin code-sharing operations between Taipei and Sydney on Dec. 1 if they obtain approval from Australia's International Air Service Commission. The two airlines also plan a blocked-space arrangement for Taipei-Brisbane-Auckland-Brisbane- Taipei service. EVA currently flies twice a week to Sydney, using Boeing 767-300ERs.
Qantas plans to begin twice-weekly DC-8 freighter service between Los Angeles and Sydney via Honolulu and Nadi on Oct. 28. The flights will give Qantas five weekly southbound freighter flights and two northbound flights. The services are planned to coincide with the withdrawal of two 747 Combis from the aircraft. Qantas will reconfigure the Combis as passenger aircraft.
Annual conference on travel scams sponsored by the American Society of Travel Agents will be held at 9 a.m. Oct. 19 at the Hyatt Regency Miami. The conference includes a session on emerging technology, "Internet is Boom of New Opportunities; is it a Hotbed for Fraud?" Among the speakers are Hoyte Decker, DOT's director of consumer affairs; Ed Perkins, editor of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, and Art Weiss, Texas deputy attorney general.
Teleflex Inc. said it has reached agreement with GE Aircraft Engines on a joint venture to repair commercial aircraft engine fan blades and compressor airfoils. The new company, Airfoil Technologies International, is expected to begin operations before yearend, said Roy Carriker, president of Sermatech International, a subsidiary of Teleflex, and Thomas Brisken, general manager of GE Engine Services for GEAE. The new company will combine Sermatech's and GE's relevant repair and engineering expertise on a worldwide basis, they said.
CIT Group said it purchased two DC-10-10 freighters from International Lease Finance Corp. The aircraft are on lease to Federal Express with 11 years remaining.
America West's September traffic rose 15.4% from the same month a year ago on 8.4% more capacity, producing a load factor increase of 3.9 percentage points to 64.6% - the highest September load factor in the airline's history. The number of passengers boarded rose 13.2%. America West also reported flying a record 3.58 billion revenue passenger miles in the third quarter, another record for the company. For nine months, traffic rose 7.2% on 7.9% more capacity, depressing the load factor 0.5 points to 69.2%.
Southwest is offering fares of $99 or less between any two cities it serves to passengers age 65 or older. The fares are available through Dec. 20. In some markets, such as Seattle-Boise or Houston-New Orleans, fares are $29 one way.
Summary of U.S. National Carriers Systemwide Revenues and Expenses First Quarter 1995 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues Alaska 238,363,000 3.07 191,979,000 Aloha 53,389,993 (9.32) 43,515,854
The president of the International Association of Machinists said yesterday that production has ceased at all Boeing production lines and that top government officials are looking into the export of U.S. aerospace jobs and technologies. George Kourpias, who joined striking Boeing workers on picket lines, said he recently met with President Clinton to discuss the "escalating export of U.S.
Morris Travel Services LLC has renewed its contract with Worldspan in a development the computer reservations system company said solidifies the travel automation arrangement between the two companies until 2000. One of the top 25 full-service travel management firms in the U.S., Morris Travel has been a subscriber of Worldspan or one of its predecessor companies since October 1987.
Swissair is offering inflight satellite telephone service on its European flights. The new service, which premiered last week on Swissair flights between London and Geneva, is similar to that offered on the airline's long-haul aircraft. The phones are being installed on Swissair's Airbus A320 fleet at a cost of about US$13 million. Inmarsat, the supplier of the satellite phones on Swissair's 13 MD-11s, said Swissair has the highest user rates of any airline. Because of strong demand, inflight phones will be installed on Swissair's fleet of five Boeing 747s.
Frontier Airlines will introduce service Nov. 17 from its Denver base to San Francisco. It plans to operate two daily nonstop flights with 136-seat 737-300 aircraft, offering $81 one-way fares for travel through Dec. 15. The regular fare will be $91 with a 21-day advance purchase. Frontier President Sam Addoms said San Francisco is Denver's fourth largest destination market. The carrier will inaugurate service to Minneapolis/St. Paul and Salt Lake City on Nov. 13. Frontier passengers earn credit in Continental's OnePass frequent flyer program.
Six U.S. carriers have applied for 12 new U.S.-Vancouver frequencies to become available in February 1996, the second year of the U.S.-Canada bilateral agreement. The service requests equal the number of available slots as the accord permits the designation of six additional carriers operating up to two daily roundtrips each (DAILY, Sept. 25). The frequencies may be used to operate a double daily service at one U.S. point or one daily flight at each of two U.S. cities.
Horizon Air has won FAA approval for new, lower-visibility landings at the Medford, Ore., airport. The carrier's Dash 8s can begin their approach with as little as 1,800 feet forward visibility instead of the 2,400-foot minimum for other airlines. The carrier invested $12 million in Flight Dynamics' head-up guidance system, enabling it to fly "when other airlines are grounded by fog."
DOT has dismissed without prejudice Jet Express Corp.'s application for an operating certificate to engage in interstate scheduled passenger operations. The carrier applied for the certificate Sept. 7, 1995, and withdrew its application on Sept. 14. (Docket OST-95-604)
A committee established by the Polish Parliament to expedite the privatization of state-owned LOT Polish Airlines has set Dec. 31, 1996, as the deadline for completing the process. The committee, which was created in August, is rethinking the government's initial decision to retain a 51% stake in the airline. Selling a majority stake, however, would require Parliament to amend the original privatization legislation (DAILY, Sept. 29).
Kiwi Air Lines has signed a $3 million contract with Phoenix-based Simula Inc.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Airline Interiors, for 16G commercial aircraft seating systems. The seats will include the latest refinements in in-seat offerings, such as telephones, fax machines, games and shopping. Deliveries begin this month. Simula said the contract is its second for seating systems in the past few months.
British Airways plans to increase its service to India with the addition of two more flights a week, giving it a total of 16 weekly frequencies. Beginning next spring, BA will operate daily Boeing 747-400 terminating flights from London Heathrow to Bombay. Also, BA will serve Madras nonstop from Heathrow twice a week, with continuing service to Singapore. Delhi will continue to receive daily service, with two flights extending to Calcutta and four to Dhaka. On Oct. 31, BA will resume service to Sri Lanka with twice-weekly flights from London Gatwick.
Precision Standard has obtained a 30-day extension of its debt payments from its primary lender to enable it to continue negotiating a longer-term "normalization" of its debt structure, Precision Standard Chairman Matthew Gold said last week.
DOT Secretary Federico Pe a, noting his November visit to Asia, yesterday told the Detroit Economic Club that the department promised Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport officials it would "take a hard look" at their request for a Detroit-China route.
Sabre Travel Information Network (STIN) named Sam Gilliland to the newly created position of VP and general manger of Business Travel Solutions. Gilliland previously was STIN's managing director for Western Division sales. In his new position, Gilliland will be responsible for the development and strategic direction of Business Travel Solutions by Sabre, a suite of travel automation tools for corporate travel managers, their travel agencies and corporate travelers.
Miami-based Fine Airlines has signed an interline accord with Air France that Fine says will expedite the French flag carrier's cargo services into Latin America and the Caribbean via Miami. Under the agreement, Fine will deliver some of Air France's Europe-originating freight from Miami to Latin America.
General Services Administration has ordered the U.S. Forest Service to repossess 35 four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft it said were "illegally removed" from its inventory. According to a letter obtained by The DAILY, Peggy Lowndes, chief of the GSA Property Management Branch in San Francisco, told the Forest Service in Washington, D.C., that 23 Air Force C-130A Hercules aircraft and 12 Navy P3A Electras were transferred to the Forest Service, ostensibly for fire-fighting purposes.
BWIA International Airways reported a net loss of nearly US$1 million for the quarter ended June 30, a significant improvement from the second quarter last year, when it lost US$8.8 million. The recently privatized carrier had an operating loss for the quarter of US$1.2 million, down from a loss of US$5.6 million a year ago. "We are very pleased with the continued improvement in our financial performance," said Edward Wegel, president of BWIA.
