Sun Country Airlines said it became the first airline to obtain operational approval to use the Global Positioning System as a primary navigation system in oceanic and remote airspace. The carrier said that it won approval following a validation flight July 25-26 from Boston to Portugal and return, and that it was told by FAA that it is the first carrier to obtain such approval. "The validation flight also marked the first time an airline has flown using GPS as the only long-range navigation system in oceanic airspace," the carrier said.
Mexico and Canada account for the most visitors to the U.S. by far in terms of the number of travelers as a percentage of population. Data on the top 20 countries of origin for travel to the U.S., as compiled by CIC Research, show that in 1994, the number of visitors from Canada was equivalent to 51% of its population. Mexico followed with 12%. Comparing those numbers with 1990, visits from Canada have fallen off from the equivalent of 65% of its population, however. Mexico was up from 9%. The U.S.
KLM has leased three more 767-300ERs from International Lease Finance Corp. The carrier previously signed contracts for seven of the aircraft on seven- year operating leases in conjunction with ILFC's acquisition of its 10 used A310-200s. The new aircraft will be delivered in September 1996, February 1997 and May 1997.
Association of America has chosen Nashville and Chicago as the sites for the Discover America International Pow Wows for 1997 and 1998, respectively. The event will be held in Los Angeles next year. TIA said Pow Wow generates nearly $2.5 billion in Visit USA sales during three days of business, of which the host city can expect to receive 10%, and the business conducted at Pow Wow generates one out of every eight visitors to the U.S. More than 1,500 international tour operators from 70 countries come to buy products from 1,200 U.S.
American Trans Air is enhancing its winter schedule to vacation destinations from Chicago Midway, beginning Dec. 19. The carrier, which operates to Honolulu, Maui, and seven Florida destinations, will offer direct service to three new destinations - San Juan, St. Thomas and St. Croix. It is increasing flights to Florida by 45%, and for skiing buffs, it will operate to Salt Lake City, beginning Oct. 18. Introductory fares, available through Feb. 4, will be as low as $179 to San Juan and $219 to the Virgin Islands.
Alamo Rent A Car has been chosen as the highest-rated company in the rental car industry by travel agents in the U.S. and Canada, and other vacation travel specialists, in a survey by Cruise&Vacation Views.
ValuJet Airlines has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to create a holding company - ValuJet Inc. - that will give it flexibility in organizing or acquiring additional subsidiaries. Under the transaction, ValuJet Airlines would become a wholly owned subsidiary of the holding company. Each stockholder of the airline would become a stockholder of ValuJet Inc. with an identical number of shares and ownership interest.
Apollo has streamlined its computer reservations system by adding standardized seat map and Apollo Postscript features. The seat maps are designed to simplify airline seat assignments by eliminating the need to decipher different carriers' seat map symbols. Apollo Postscript enables travel agents to add a text message at the top of a passenger name record - for example, a reminder to book the passenger a car or deliver tickets.
British Airways launched a supersonic night out on the town Saturday, offering Londoners a night in Barbados for a cool 4,620 British pounds sterling that includes, according to BA, an Alka Seltzer on the return trip. The Concorde service to Bridgetown, Barbados, will operate every week until Aug. 27. BA's commercial manager for the Concorde, Dave Rowland, said the first flight had 94 passengers on board.
The European Commission has sent letters to Lufthansa and Scandinavian Airlines System "raising doubts" about the carriers' proposed alliance, a European Union spokeswoman said yesterday. The letters will be published soon in the commission's official journal, and a 45-day comment period will follow.
Like Raleigh/Durham, Salt Lake City - a loser in the London route case - commissioned a study to determine its potential as an international gateway. It was conducted before Delta announced it would not be seeking Salt Lake City-London rights anytime soon in response to American's decision to terminate Nashville-London service.
Travel to South Africa from the U.S., which declined in the 1980s and hit bottom at 44,000 in 1989, finally has picked up. Carrier reports to DOT put the total at 91,000 passengers for 1994, and travel to the U.S. from South Africa increased to 79,024, up from 36,555 in 1989. Traffic could more than double in the next couple of years if bilateral talks this week in Pretoria are successful in securing rights for interested U.S. carriers - there are at least seven.
AirTran Corp. reported record earnings of $44.6 million in its first quarter, which ended June 30, up from $33.8 million in the year-earlier quarter. AirTran Airways reached profitability in June and is "well positioned to operate as a separate company after its proposed spinoff later this summer," Chairman Robert Swenson said.
FAA certification of a new Transponder Landing System (TLS) is expected in October, according to Advanced Navigation&Positioning Corp., Hood River, Ore., which demonstrated the system publicly for the first time this week at the annual air show at Oshkosh, Wis.
Air cargo grew only 3.7% in July, the Air Transport Association reported yesterday, increasing to 1.5 billion revenue ton miles from 1.4 billion RTMs during the same month last year. For the year to date, air cargo grew 8.7% to 8.6 billion RTMs from 8 billion. ATA President Carol Hallett said the slower growth, which has persisted this year, is "certainly not encouraging. However, with reports that the economy is stabilizing and growth is projected for the rest of the year, we will be looking for improving traffic numbers."
Last year's on-time leader, Southwest, scored in June the best on-time record for the first time this year. Overall, the nation's 10 largest carriers posted a 75.9% on-time arrival mark during the month, down substantially from May's 80.7% record and June 1994's 80.7%, according to DOT's Air Travel Consumer Report, issued yesterday. As has been the case since the start of the year, the data include delays caused by mechanical problems as DOT pursues rulemaking to exclude that information once again from the on-time numbers.
National Transportation Safety Board has determined that the probable cause of a Learjet 35A under contract to the Air Force and the California Air National Guard was improperly installed electrical wiring for special- mission operations that led to an inflight fire; improper maintenance and inspection procedures by operator Phoenix Air, and inadequate oversight and approval of the maintenance and inspection practice by the operator in the installation of the special-mission systems. The aircraft crashed Dec.
The Raleigh/Durham, N.C., Airport Authority has commissioned a study that concludes the first year of operation by American on the much-sought- after route to London was a resounding success, surpassing most expectations. American had predicted it would yield $500,000 in profits during the first year, but it actually generated $2 million, the study found. American predicted 21.05% of the traffic would consist of local passengers, but it accounted for 56% for the year June 1994-May 1995.
Business fares and the price of flying short-haul routes are creeping back up after declining steadily during 1993-94 and reaching low points at the end of last year. BTI Americas, a partner of Business Travel International, which tracks fares in more than 2,000 city-pairs using data derived from Sabre, reported $345 as the average coach price and $283 as the lowest logical business airfare (LLBA) during the fourth quarter of 1994. Those prices were down 14% and 23%, respectively, from 1993 highs.
Yields in the nation's top 25 city pairs slumped 8.5% in the fourth quarter of 1994, to an average of 17.6 cents per revenue passenger mile, Avitas reports. The quarter's performance dragged down the average for the year to 19.1 cents per RPM, off 5.3%. The biggest drop was in the Chicago-New York market - down 8.7 cents, or 36.9%, for the quarter and 6.3 cents, or 27.7%, for the year.
Qantas Chairman Gary Pemberton said the company will exercise its powers to ensure it does not exceed the 49% foreign ownership limit set by the Australian government. After its shares began trading Monday, the Qantas Share Registry received foreign ownership notifications representing 49.63%, but Pemberton said Qantas had no way of knowing the nationality of sellers among the 73 million shares, or whether there was any breach of the limit, until sales were settled.
USAir has cut fares to Florida and the Caribbean from more than 120 cities in the East for travel between Aug. 22 and Oct. 5 in a three-day sale that ends today. Roundtrip fares, priced as low as $198, require a Saturday night stay and a 21-day advance purchase. The $198 fare applies to Pittsburgh-Fort Lauderdale, $100 off the normal advance purchase excursion fare; Charlotte-Nassau, a $101 saving, and Boston-Paradise Island, Bahamas, saving $250. Service to Paradise Island begins Sept. 6.
FAA suspended bankrupt MarkAir's operating certificate "until it corrects deficiencies in the maintenance portion of its operations," the agency said. FAA alleges that the carrier failed to maintain an adequate staff of maintenance personnel, and that its continuing analysis and surveillance system is not being adequately maintained. The carrier operated six 737s providing scheduled service to Denver, Anchorage, Seattle, Reno, Oakland, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, New York, San Diego and Chicago.
