United was alone among the five U.S. global airlines to hire flight attendants in July. Future Aviation Professionals of America said the carrier took on 20 attendants in Hong Kong, where it has opened a domicile against the wishes of its flight attendants union. United has hired 2,454 attendants in the past 12 months and will hire 80 more this month. American, which has not hired any flight attendants in a year, is interviewing and expects to hire 400.
Cunard will participate in Sabre's Cruise Director reservations and information system, giving travel agents immediate access to its availability, pricing, cabin/category inventory and pre-/post-cruise packages.
Cathay Pacific yesterday posted first-half earnings of HK$983 million (US$128 million), an improvement of 22.4% from its first-half 1994 profit of HK$803 million. The Hong Kong-based airline's revenues for the first six months of 1995 rose 14.8% to HK$14.23 billion (US$1.85 billion) from HK$12.39 billion in the first half of 1994. Cathay said its passenger revenue growth was in line with expectations, and its cargo performance exceeded management forecasts.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena ordered airlines to warn Manila-bound travelers that the airport there does not meet security standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. The Ninoy Aquino Airport was cited last January as a source of possible terrorist activity against U.S. carriers serving the Pacific region. It tightened security as a result, and FAA said in May it believed the precautions were adequate to protect the public (DAILY, May 25).
National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Jim Hall yesterday outlined several more steps the board is taking, including a reconvened public hearing later this year, in an attempt to explain what caused a USAir 737 to crash almost a year ago near Pittsburgh. Hall also said the board will continue to push for early retrofit of modern flight data recorders on 737s. He said that in two recent accidents involving turboprop aircraft, modern recorders helped the board and FAA take prompt action to prevent further accidents.
FAA's aging, unreliable air traffic control system stumbled again yesterday when another center - this time, Oakland - lost power completely for more than an hour, causing widespread traffic disruptions that lasted into the evening. The oceanic control system, which monitors air traffic over the Pacific Ocean, was not restored to power fully for several hours. The agency has had repeated problems recently at its traffic control centers, either with power supply or aging computers.
Polish Air Traffic Agency has purchased its first Category 3 instrument landing system, a Wilcox Mark 10, for the Warsaw Okecie Airport. Wilcox said the equipment is scheduled for delivery in October and installation by yearend.
Xiamen Airlines has leased two new Boeing 737-500s from International Lease Finance Corp. (ILFC). The aircraft, equipped with CFM56-3C-1 engines, are scheduled for delivery in May and September 1996 on initial lease terms of seven to eight years. Xiamen's current fleet comprises 757-200s, 737-500s, 737-300s and Y-7s. One of its 737-500s is on lease from ILFC.
Greenwich Air Services said net sales rose 71% to $50.9 million for the quarter ended June 30. Operating income jumped 75% to $4.9 million, and net income increased 110% to $1.8 million.
America West has proposed to serve Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo from three U.S. points beginning Oct. 29, subject to government approval. It plans to offer daily nonstops to Puerto Vallarta and direct service four times a week to Manzanillo. Fares would be as low as $272 roundtrip to Puerto Vallarta and $324 to Manzanillo from Phoenix. America West said its fare from Salt Lake City to Manzanillo would be 51% less than the lowest fare now offered, and from Albuquerque it would be 30% less.
KLM's combined traffic - passengers, freight and mail - increased 12% in July to 729.4 million revenue ton kilometers, but its load factor slipped 2.2 percentage points to 75% because overall capacity increased 15%. The Dutch carrier's passenger traffic rose 7% from July a year ago to 4.4 billion revenue passenger kilometers, on a like increase of 7% more capacity, and the load factor crept up 0.1 points to 81.2%. Freight and mail traffic for the month rose 19% on 24% more capacity.
Islands of the Bahamas escaped major damage to commercial, residential or tourist properties from Hurricane Erin, according to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism. The only damage was to crops.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has proposed no fiscal 1996 funding for airport movement area safety system (AMASS) procurement, while its House counterpart recommended $20 million more than the Clinton administration's $11.3 million budget request for the program (DAILY, July 6). The Senate panel also eliminated $8 million proposed by the House for development of low-cost airport surface detection equipment and $2 million for development of inductive loop technology for surface detection.
Stephen Crable has become chief of staff of the National Mediation Board, a position created as part of the board's year-long reorganization. Crable, sworn in by NMB Chairwoman Maggie Jacobsen, is a private arbitrator/mediator and lawyer with 20 years of experience in labor/management relations. As chief of staff, he is the top career- management official responsible for integrated labor/management dispute resolution under the Railway Labor Act.
New York City will join the two traditional sites - Washington, D.C., and Chicago - for the Destinations Showcase trade shows in 1996 sponsored by the International Association of Convention&Visitor Bureaus (IACVB). Exhibitors are exclusively from convention and visitor bureaus and their convention centers. The show brings together meeting professionals and representatives of destinations around the world. The Washington show will be held Feb. 8 at the Sheraton Washington Hotel, the Chicago show Sept.
South African Airways, in an effort to promote tourism in East and South Africa, will present 19 half-day workshops for travel professionals in 15 U.S. and Canadian cities this October. The presentation is limited to 50 travel agents per event. Focusing on major tourist destinations, the workshops will detail special techniques for selling long-haul trips to Africa. SAA Senior Manager-Americas Joos Engelbrecht said, "Southern Africa is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after tourist destinations and emerging business markets in the world."
Northwest is upgrading equipment flying its Detroit-London Gatwick route to increase capacity by about 25%. Operating the route since April, the carrier will switch five of its seven weekly flights from a 267-seat DC-10 to a 360-seat 747-200, effective Oct. 29. From Dec. 15 through April 6, it will operate nine weekly flights in the market, with two daily departures on Fridays and Sundays, all using DC-10s. Demand for World Business Class seats has been strong, the carrier said, and load factors in the city-pair have been high.
Midway Airlines has signed a marketing agreement with Great Lakes Aviation by which the regional carrier will provide feed to Midway's Raleigh/Durham base. Great Lakes will operate under the name Midway Connection beginning Oct. 1. Points to be served will be announced next week. The Minneapolis- based regional will operate 30-passenger Embraer Brasilias and 19-passenger Beech 1900s in Midway livery. Passengers on Midway Connection will receive American's AAdvantage frequent flyer miles.
American appointed Craig Kreeger VP-pricing, yield management and distribution planning. Kreeger has worked for American for 10 years, previously as managing director-yield management operations.
Indianapolis has come through in offering enough incentives to American Trans Air to stay in the city instead of yielding to the beckoning of Orlando and St. Petersburg to move south (DAILY, July 10). The state of Indiana has committed to $18.7 million in incentives from the Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) program, which provides credits against state corporate tax to be paid by newly created jobs.
Boosted by higher fares and lower costs, the 10 largest U.S. passenger airline companies posted combined second quarter 1995 net earnings of $993.4 million on total operating revenues of $19.44 billion. In the second quarter last year, the same 10 carriers - the nine majors and Alaska Air Group - managed net earnings of just $24.3 million on revenues of $18.32 billion. Their second quarter 1995 operating profit soared to $1.99 billion from $679.2 million.
Laker Airways has asked DOT for authority to provide scheduled service between Freeport, Bahamas, and the co-terminal points of Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C, and Detroit. The Bahamas-based carrier also asks to serve the two U.S. destinations as co-terminal points on its currently authorized Freeport-U.S. service. Laker operates 727-200 aircraft to the U.S. (Docket 48288&OST-95-378)
Second Annual Interactive Travel Marketing conference, sponsored by AIC Conferences, will be held Oct. 19-20 at the Hotel Nikko, San Francisco. The conference will focus on selling travel products and services through alternate distribution channels - electronic media. Invited speakers include top executives from America Online, Sabre, Southwest Airlines, Apollo Travel Services, Holiday Inn, Amadeus/System One and Worldspan. Registration costs $1,095 if made before Aug. 15. For more information, call 212-952-1899 or 800-409-4AIC.
