Singapore has exempted airlines from its Retirement Age Act, which otherwise would bar early retirement of cabin crewmembers. "It is common among airlines, particularly those in the Asia Pacific region, to adopt a business strategy which projects a youthful and dynamic image to maintain and enhance their competitiveness," says the Ministry of Labor.
Air Afrique is seeking authority to serve Bamako, Mali, as an intermediate point on its Abidjan-Dakar-New York service. The carrier currently operates Airbus A310 service five times a week on the route. (OST-95-350)
Japan was the biggest single contributor to the United States' 1994 travel surplus, accounting for $12.5 billion - up 15% over 1993 - of the $21.6 billion total, the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration said. Reporting on revised final data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis for 1994, the agency said higher spending by U.S. residents in Europe accounted for a 37% decline in the travel surplus with Europe. The surplus was $1.8 billion with Germany, down 17%, and $1.4 billion with the U.K., down 32%.
Burlington Air Express's second quarter operating profit fell 30.6% to $14.4 million from last year's record $20.8 million but still qualified as the second largest quarterly profit in the company's history. The carrier's total revenue for the quarter increased 13.1% to nearly $342 million. The cargo express and global logistics company attributed the quarter's profits to volume growth, primarily international, combined with efficient utilization of domestic fleet capacity.
Not much escapes or is beneath the notice of Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett, who responded recently to a Chicago Tribune column by Joan Beck complaining about airline reservation and in-flight service, cramped seats, high fares - basically, everything between reservation and debarkation. Hallett described the column as "one long whine" and a disservice to thousands of industry employees, ending the letter with the advice, "Joan, get a life!"
Taiwan's TransAsia Airlines will inaugurate regularly scheduled service between Taipei and Surabaya on Oct. 5. A company spokesman said A320 aircraft will serve the new route. TransAsia currently operates two A320s, and an A321 is scheduled to be delivered before the end of this year.
Westinghouse Electric Corp. received a $5.4 million contract from Airborne Express for an air traffic control surveillance radar system at Wilmington, Ohio, in what the manufacturer said is the first sale of an ATC radar to a non-government customer. The purchase includes an ASR-9 airport surveillance radar and monopulse secondary surveillance radar, which will be installed by November. Wilmington is Airborne Express's headquarters and the hub of its overnight package delivery operations.
American has asked DOT to renew its authority to serve Miami-Cancun. The carrier currently operates three times daily roundtrip service on the route, using Boeing 727 aircraft. (Docket OST-95-357)
Sabre Travel Information Network has launched "Business Travel Solutions," a fully integrated suite of three PC-based modules for travel planning, travel expense reporting and pre-travel decision-making. Scheduled for field testing this year, the modules also may run stand-alone and are being developed to work in conjunction with other industry products. Sabre said it will partner with travel agencies, consulting and integration firms to market and operate Business Travel Solutions.
Amerijet International has asked DOT for authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Miami and Guadalajara, Mexico, independently and in combination with its Miami-Mexico City/Merida/Cancun services. If approved, the carrier said it plans to begin the service as soon as possible with at least one flight per week, extending its Miami service beyond one of its Mexican terminals to Guadalajara, using Boeing 727-100 or -200 aircraft. The carrier said it "will expand the service as market conditions dictate." (Docket OST-95-352)
A detailed agenda for cooperative efforts in aviation between the U.S. and Russian governments was signed by Vice President Al Gore during a recent trip to Moscow. The memorandum of understanding, which falls short of being a bilateral airworthiness pact, is designed to make a future bilateral pact easier to reach. The June 30 MOU is a follow-on to a December agreement intended to "expedite efforts toward a bilateral airworthiness agreement (BAA) for the reciprocal acceptance of airworthiness certifications."
George Howard, president of the Airports Council International-North America, will be leaving the post Dec. 31. "I came to ACI-NA for two years and I've stayed for six," Howard said. "I'm very pleased to have been part of the coalition that achieved the PFC and Stage 2 phaseout and now to be a part of the coalition for FAA reform, including adequate funding for airports and airways. I hope to continue to play an active role in the aviation industry."
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Revenues and Expenses Fourth Quarter 1994 (In Dollars) Total Operating % Passenger Carrier Revenues Change Revenues American 1,063,430,000 19.83 907,041,000 Atlantic 442,810,000 24.17 362,160,000 Latin 539,251,000 20.61 479,546,000
FAA yesterday approved $325 million in passenger facility charges for an on-airport automated guideway transit (AGT) project at New York Kennedy Airport and $300 million for monorail and landside access projects at Newark Airport. The agency rejected, however, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's plan to collect PFCs to finance part of an on-airport AGT system at New York LaGuardia.
Airlines of Britain Holdings, the parent company of British Midland, Manx Airlines and Loganair, has appointed Stewart John as non-executive director of the group. John, who worked from 1980 until 1994 in Hong Kong as engineering director of Cathay Pacific Airways, currently is VP of the Royal Aeronautical Society and president of the International Federation of Airworthiness. He also is non-executive director of Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace subsidiaries Newall Aerospace and Lucas Asia Pacific.
USAir's unilateral decision to break off concession discussions with its unions, begun more than a year ago in an attempt to obtain billions in labor cost savings, is "a serious error," according to the airline's pilots union. The carrier said Friday it will return to conventional collective bargaining instead of negotiating for savings in exchange for 20% ownership by employees (DAILY, July 31).
FAA has issued a final environmental impact statement on the Expanded East Coast Plan's (EECP) effect on New Jersey and has tentatively decided to continue the current routes and procedures, which were implemented as part of the EECP beginning in 1987 but modified as called for in the Solberg Mitigation Proposal (DAILY, Dec. 15, Oct. 4).
Swissair said its traffic for the first six months of 1995 was 9.3% higher than that of the same period last year, on a 10.7% increase in intercontinental routes. The carrier transported 4,144,000 passengers in the first half of 1995, a 4.8% increase. Available ton kilometers were up 6.5%. The overall load factor was 68% and the seat load factor was 61.6%.
IATA reported that the average load factor for its carriers in June was 71%, a one-point increase from year-ago totals. The June total brought the average load factor for the first half of the year to 67%, the same as for the same period last year. The group also reported a "healthy growth rate" for freight traffic of 10% for June and 13% for the first six months.
Delta yesterday announced an end-of-summer sale, discounting by up to 40% regular advance purchase excursion fares on travel throughout the U.S. and Canada. Tickets must be bought by Aug. 9 for travel Aug. 13-Dec. 15. The fares, good in Delta/Delta Connection combination markets, require a 14-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. Continental said it is offering the same sale with the same dates and restrictions. Both carriers blacked out Nov. 19, 22 and 26.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Administrator David Hinson are scheduled to testify at a Senate Commerce, Science&Transportation aviation subcommittee hearing on proposed FAA reform. Set for 2:30 p.m. Wednesday in Room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building, the hearing will address proposals to privatize air traffic control or turn it over to a government corporation. The panel also will explore making FAA an independent agency.
DOT has concluded that Wrangler Aviation, operating as Tradewind International Airlines, meets citizen requirements after its major organizational restructuring. In July 1993, DOT gave the Greensboro, N.C., all-cargo carrier four months to restructure, finding at that time that Wrangler was majority-owned or -controlled by interests from Singapore (DAILY, July 19). The carrier filed an objection to the order and garnered support for its case from Piedmont Triad Airport Authority and political leaders, including Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke, Sen.
Air Express International reported net income of $7.6 million, up 23% over the $6.1 million of the 1994 quarter. For the first six months, net income increased 32% to $12.7 million. Revenues for the quarter rose 28% to $304.4 million and operating profit increased 28% to $13 million. Six- month revenues and operating profit increased 33%, to $588.4 million and $21.6 million. Dennis Dolan, chief financial officer, said the company suffered operating losses in German, South African and New Zealand markets and is implementing "turnaround strategies."
Continental is petitioning DOT to reconsider its decision denying the carrier an immediate exemption to begin serving the Newark-Bogota-Lima market on an interim basis. As part of its order establishing the U.S.- Lima Combination Service Proceeding, DOT decided not to allot on a temporary basis frequencies for gateways other than Miami/Fort Lauderdale (DAILY, July 19). American also asked to operate immediate service between Lima and DFW.
The City of Houston and the Greater Houston Partnership are boosting Gulf Air's application to serve Houston as a co-terminal point with New York on its route between the U.S. and the Middle East. If approved, Gulf plans to begin serving the city with the introduction of its winter schedule on Oct. 29. "As the oil technology capital of the world, Houston provides much of the equipment and expertise involved in the exploration and development of the oil fields of the Middle East," said the City and the Partnership.
