House Appropriations Committee recommended this week in the Commerce- Justice-State funding bill (H.R.2076) $2 million for the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration in fiscal 1996, providing only enough money to complete the agency's participation in this fall's White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. Funding would terminate Dec. 31, and the panel says future USTTA activities should be carried out by the International Trade Administration. The Clinton administration requested $16.3 million for USTTA in fiscal 1996.
GP Express is pulling all but its essential-air-service operations out of Colorado after July 31, citing the high operating costs at the new Denver International Airport and declining loads. Colorado markets losing GP service include Gunnison, Montrose, Telluride and Grand Junction, as well as Jackson Hole, Wyo. Sources say the high local fares and extra trip times to the new distant airport are forcing business travelers into their cars. United Express Mesa will have a monopoly in the markets with focus on feeding connecting passengers to United at Denver.
Senate Majority Whip Trent Lott (R-Miss.) believes airlines are in a good position to win a continued exemption from the 4.3 cents-per-gallon transportation fuel tax, but considers a repeal unlikely. "The odds are not good that we're going to repeal the tax," Lott said in an interview to be broadcast Sunday on Aviation News Today. "But the odds are good that we'll keep the exemption for the airlines." Lott is in favor of a complete repeal of the tax and is a co-sponsor of legislation (S.304) to do so.
Burlington Air Express expanded its company-owned operations in Mexico with the recent opening of offices in Chihuahua and Monterrey. It already had offices in Mexico City and Guadalajara.
Reno Air posted a net profit of $1.723 million, or 18 cents per share, for the second quarter 1995, up from a loss of $2.5 million during last year's quarter. The results include a $1.6 million credit negotiated with a lessor to eliminate an over-accrual in maintenance reserves related to two aircraft. Reno reported $61.4 million in operating revenues on $59.7 million in operating expenses. It carried a record 975,125 passengers for the three months ended June 30, but its load factor fell to 60.7%, down from 65.2%.
TWA will try to build up winter-oriented north-south travel from its St. Louis hub by launching service in December to five points in Mexico - Cancun, Ixtapa, Manzanillo, Cozumel and Puerto Vallarta - and to Montego Bay, Jamaica. At the same time, it will increase flights from St. Louis to Honolulu, San Juan, Orlando and Sarasota. The carrier said that in the past, its network "has been geared toward east-west flying that peaks in the summer. These changes build upon TWA's profitable St.
FAA plans to allow properly trained pilots of aircraft certificated for nine or fewer passengers operating under Part 135 to perform certain maintenance functions on their own. The agency is acting after receiving more than 250 petitions, mainly from air taxi operators upset that their pilots are not authorized to reconfigure cabins or exchange medical oxygen bottles.
China Airlines inaugurated service on its Taipei-Dubai-Rome route July 17, offering two roundtrip flights per week using 747 aircraft owned by its subsidiary, Mandarin Airlines. The flight takes 14 hours and 30 minutes, and a CAL spokesman said it is the shortest flying time for any service connecting Taiwan and Europe.
Sociedad Aeronautica de Medellin Consolidada S.A. (SAM), an affiliate of Avianca, has placed another order for an RJ100 regional jet, British Aerospace's Avro International Aerospace unit reported. The order was valued at about $25 million, bringing the total value of aircraft recently ordered by SAM - including an earlier eight - to $255 million, Avro International said.
Regional airline traffic increased 18.9% in June, based on a survey of 13 carriers. Capacity was up 16.7%. Revenue passenger miles for the 13 carriers were 672.7 million versus 586.6 million in June 1994. Available seat miles were 1.254 billion compared to 1.105 billion in the same month a year ago. Gulfstream International, the small, expansion-minded Miami- based regional and a United code-sharing partner, again was tops in RPM growth at 90.7%. That was against an ASM growth of only 53.7%.
Northwest added a fourth weekly roundtrip service from Seattle/Tacoma to each of two Asian destinations, Osaka and Hong Kong. The extra Hong Kong flight will operate until Sept. 4, while the Osaka increase is year-round. Each of the new flights will leave the U.S. on Mondays. "The additional frequencies continue Northwest's development of Seattle/Tacoma as a trans- Pacific gateway," said Michael Levine, executive VP-marketing and international. "Both flights have performed well and have a good mix of originating and connecting traffic."
Continental inaugurated daily nonstop flights Wednesday from Newark to Manchester, England. The carrier is operating a 757 designed for the service, with a BusinessFirst cabin that offers 16 sleeper seats.
Northwest topped its record 1994 second quarter net income of $71.3 million by reporting yesterday a new best-ever net income of $104.8 million for the three months ended June 30. The company attributed its eighth consecutive profitable quarter to higher traffic and a "strong overall pricing environment." Higher fares in the first six months of 1995 improved revenue yield in the second quarter by 1.5%. During the quarter, Northwest also set another record - June's 77% load factor was the highest for the month in company history.
CCAIR flew 12.5 million revenue passenger miles in June, a 6% decline from June 1994's figure of 13.3 million RPMs. Enplanements also dropped - 9.2% to 69,398 from 76,402 - but capacity increased 8.6% to nearly 27 million available seat miles from 24.8 million. As a result, load factor dropped 7.2 percentage points to 46.2% from 53.4%.
FAA plans to revise emergency evacuation demonstration procedures for transport category aircraft. Acting on recommendations from the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, the agency said the proposed changes are needed to make evacuation demonstrations safer for participants and ensure that operators show the effectiveness of crew training by conducting at least a partial demonstration. The changes would impact both the manufacturers and operators of the aircraft.
Computer Sciences Corp., El Segundo, Calif., said it has been awarded a five-year FAA contract to provide expanded software engineering services to support National Airspace System Enroute programs. Including all options, the EnRoute Software Development and Support (ERSDS) contract is valued at up to $207.1 million.
Shipments of and billings for general aviation aircraft continued to improve in the first six months of 1995 compared with the same period last year, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association reported yesterday. GAMA said 445 units valued at $1.3 billion were shipped, up from 406 units and $927.8 million a year earlier. Piston-engine aircraft shipments increased 10% to 243, turboprops 27.4% to 107 and jets 4% to 105.
DOT has tentatively found Smyrna, Tenn.-based air taxi operator Corporate Flight Management, Inc. (CFM) fit to conduct commuter operations. The carrier, if ultimately granted the authority, proposes to operate commuter flights - up to 24 weekly - between Bowling Green and Cincinnati, Ohio, using two Beech King Air 200s, each configured for up to 13 passengers.
Apollo will unveil a travel agency education program this summer, as well as a new Apollo Help system and computer-based training (CBT). The new Apollo Help will be on-line by August, when two courses of the new Apollo Electronic University CBT will be in beta testing. Apollo Help will provide quicker and easier access, and a new "About" page will give product overviews. Apollo said the new products will enhance customer learning and enable agents to improve their Apollo skills on the job.
Delta is expanding its duty-free program for customers at Narita and Nagoya airports in Japan. Departing passengers can pre-order duty-free products onboard and receive delivery at the baggage claim area when returning to Japan. Delta has prepared an in-flight video in Japanese and will station representatives in baggage claim to assist customers. The carrier said industry analysts estimate that Japanese passengers spend nearly $50 billion a year on duty-free items. Delta's duty-free program was ranked the best earlier this year by Onboard Services Magazine.
India's national carrier, Air India, has set up a three-member committee of engineering and finance department officials to negotiate with Airbus Industrie, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas and submit final recommendations for the purchase of 10 medium-capacity, long-range aircraft. With the A340-300, 777-200 and MD-11 as candidates, the carrier requires passenger capacity between 270 and 300, cargo capacity between 15 and 16 metric tons, and range varying from 5,400 to 5,700 nautical miles.
Departure of much-traveled Business Express President Bryan Bedford to Mesaba has fueled further speculation concerning the plans Northwest has for its Airlink partner, in which it holds a potential 30% stake. Bedford was with Aspen Airways, Mesa unit WestAir and Phoenix Airline services before joining Business Express in February 1994. The last two are both Northwest affiliates. Bedford traditionally takes his top lieutenants with him. No sign of that yet. Marketing chief Warren Wilkinson says he is staying; VP Gary Ellmer becomes the new president...
Air Wisconsin Airlines Corp. this week reported a second quarter operating profit of $734,000, a 23.2% increase from the second quarter of 1994. Operating revenues rose 19.2% to $29.5 million as operating expenses increased 19.1% to $28.8 million. 2nd Qtr 95 2nd Qtr 94 6 Mths 95 6 Mths 94 Oper. Rev. $29,491,000 $24,749,000 $58,230,000 $51,377,000 Oper Exp. $28,757,000 $24,153,000 $56,525,000 $50,020,000
FAA, assessing the ability of other countries' aviation authorities to provide safety oversight of their air carriers that operate in the U.S., rated Brunei as acceptable and Aruba, Jamaica, Turkey, Trinidad and Tobago as conditional. The focus of the foreign assessment program is on countries and their adherence to International Civil Aviation Organization standards, not on individual carriers. A conditional rating means FAA found areas that did not satisfy the standards.
Great Lakes Airlines' obligation to continue essential air service at Fairmont, Mankato and Worthington, Minn., and Brookings and Mitchell, S.D., has been extended another 30 days by DOT. Great Lakes, which Jan. 23 filed a notice of intent to suspend its subsidized service at those communities effective April 24, has been held in by DOT since then. Great Lakes has since filed a new proposal to serve all five communities, which the department is processing. Great Lakes will be required to serve the points until Aug.
