Laker Airways, Freddie Laker's new company that plans to operate transatlantic service from Florida, is the result of 14 months of negotiations with General Electric Capital Corp. Aviation Services (GECAS) (DAILY, Sept. 26). A Laker representative declined to elaborate on the aircraft deal with GECAS. Laker Airways will be controlled by Oscar Wyatt, chairman and founder of the Coastal Corporation of Houston, who holds 75% of the voting rights and 51% of the company.
Air Line Pilots Association's main push in the next few months will be bringing the four American Eagle carriers under the ALPA umbrella, President Randy Babbitt says.ALPA units are in mediated talks with FedEx, WestAir, Delta and Express One, and direct negotiations are starting at Mesaba and Sun Country and continuing at USAir Shuttle and Reeve Aleutian Airways. Yesterday, the USAir Shuttle pilots asked for mediation.
Cathay Pacific Airways USA has passed the 3-million-miles mark in awarding AAdvantage frequent flyer bonus miles to travel agents as part of the "Miles for Me" promotion. The program, launched in February, enables Cathay passengers to earn 10,000 AAdvantage bonus miles by redeeming a reward certificate that is available only from travel agents. At the same time, travel agents automatically earn 5,000 AAdvantage miles when passengers redeem the certificate.
USAir will launch service to Washington Dulles from Columbus Nov. 16. USAir and USAir Express each will offer a daily flight with a 68-seat F-28 and a 32-seat Dornier 38. USAir provides service to Columbus from Washington National and Baltimore/Washington airports.
Jeppesen&Co., the Frankfurt affiliate of Denver-based Jeppesen, announced a new online service that calculates international navigation charges. The new service, Enroute Navigation Charge, is available as a subscription or on an as-needed basis. Jeppesen said the service permits users to input data, such as route and aircraft weight, and receive a detailed statement of navigation charges in less than a minute.
Trimble said yesterday its approach navigation system was awarded a supplemental type certificate by FAA. The system will enable regional/commuter, corporate and helicopter operators to fly instrument flight rules supplemental en route, terminal and non-precision approaches, Trimble said. The Trimble 2101 I/O (input, output) is the "most accurate and usable GPS receiver on the market," said Bruce Alspach, VP-Avionics Group.
Reno Air has put tickets on sale for coach travel from Albuquerque, Colorado Springs, Tucson and Palm Springs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays in October. Tickets must be purchased by Oct. 2. Upgrades can be purchased on the day of departure for an additional $20. Fares from Albuquerque are as low as $49 to Los Angeles, $40 from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas, $30 from Tucson to Las Vegas, and $35 from Palm Springs to San Jose.
Delta has asked DOT for another limited waiver of the 180-day statutory limit for action on its complaint against the German government and Frankfurt/Main Airport. A decision has been repeatedly postponed since Delta filed the complaint Dec. 29, 1993, contending the German government and the airport had denied it the right to perform its own ground-handling and imposed unreasonable and burdensome rates and charges in violation of the U.S.-Germany agreement. "The issues relating to Delta's complaint have still not been resolved," said the carrier.
Although FAA plans to replace old computers at five air route traffic control centers, the airlines have expressed concern about what the agency will do to "lessen the impact of outages in the interim," according to a letter to Administrator David Hinson from Air Transport Association President Carol Hallett. ATA recommended that FAA and contractor Loral discuss actions needed to install the newer computers ahead of the October 1977 schedule.
British Airways Chairman Colin Marshall reiterated yesterday the carrier's commitment to partner USAir and its opposition to union representation on the USAir board. Speaking to the British-American Business Association, Marshall said, "While the fortunes of USAir have been a matter of some concern, the alliance has always remained of strategic importance to our future development." BA is "confident" that USAir's rationalization program will be successful, he added.
Top 25 Domestic City-Pair Markets Over 750 Miles O&D Passengers First Quarter 1995 Long Total Average Haul Markets Non-Stop Passengers Rank Rank City-Pair Mileage Per Day 1 3 Los Angeles - New York 2,467 6,438 2 4 Miami - New York 1,097 6,208
CityFlyer Express, a British Airways Express operator, has ordered two new 66-seat ATR 72-200s, ATR said yesterday. The first of the new planes will be delivered in November and the second in February. The two will bring CityFlyer's fleet to four ATR 72 and six ATR 42s.
BWIA International Airways is now using the Sabre Passenger Reservations System at all ticket offices, reservations facilities and airports. BWIA uses a designated partition of Sabre as its internal system for passenger reservations, ticketing, airport processing and inventory control. It is one of 60 airlines, including Alaska Airlines, Southwest, Hawaiian and Gulf Air, that use reservations multihost services from Sabre Decision Technologies.
Women's Transportation Seminar's Washington Chapter is sponsoring a seminar by Dr. JoAnn Pina on how female/male differences in communicating affect who is heard at meetings, gets credit for results and receives promotions. It will be held Sept. 29 from 7:45 a.m. until 10:15 a.m. at the American Trucking Association Field Office, 430 First St. S.E., Washington, D.C. Cost is $15. To sign up, call Lorry Halloway at Crowell&Moring, 202-624- 2538.
Alitalia has named Lucio Miranda manager of sales and marketing for North America. He replaces Bruno Scaldaferri, who has been transferred to Miami as manager southeast regional USA, Central America and Mexico.
Burlington Air Express has launched Logistics Advantage, a third-party unit to provide logistics solutions for multinational companies. Operating autonomously from Burlington Air Express, the unit "will be one of the truly global logistics providers," said Gene Long, VP of the group. Logistics Advantage will target multi-site companies that seek value and competitive advantages through supply-chain integration, Long said.
Air Micronesia has requested authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Guam, the Philippines, and a point or points in Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The carrier proposes to operate between Guam and Manila, and beyond Manila to and from Taipei, Taiwan/Seoul, Korea/Singapore/Kuala Lumpur, and Malaysia/Jakarta. It plans a January 1996 start for five-times-per-week roundtrip service between Guam and Taipei, Seoul and Singapore via Manila, using Boeing 727 aircraft. It would begin the Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta service soon afterward.
Longstanding restrictions against South African participation in International Civil Aviation Organization affairs were dropped last week at the 31st session of the ICAO Assembly, meeting in Montreal. The assembly declared that, in light of the elimination of apartheid and the establishment of a democratic and non-racial government, all previous assembly resolutions restricting South Africa's involvement no longer are in force.
Western Pacific Airlines is offering a special two-for-one promotion to appease customers who may have been inconvenienced by telephone glitches during its startup period. The companion fares are good for travel Sept. 28 through Dec. 14. The glitches, according to the carrier, were the result of underestimating how many calls a day it would receive. When it started service in April, it expected up to 10,000 calls a day, but it has taken between 30,000 and 40,000. "It has taken a while to get our system up to speed to handle this enormous volume of calls.
DHL Airways has withdrawn its application from the U.S.-Brazil All-Cargo Service proceeding. The carrier had applied to provide all-cargo service between Cincinnati and Miami, on the one hand, and Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Docket OST-95-316)
MedAire Inc.'s MedLink, a 24-hour hotline to physicians for airlines, corporate aviation and ships, is now available on all TWA flights for assistance in inflight medical emergencies. Pilots use standard communications procedures to talk directly to the physician. MedAire President Joan Garrett said the program has reduced the number of flight diversions by more than 90%.
Turning aside opposition from Northwest, DOT renewed Saudi Arabian Airlines' authority to operate scheduled combination and all-cargo services between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia. Northwest had urged DOT to deny the request, citing its inability to win approval for code-share service to Saudi Arabia with KLM.
Cathay Pacific Airways-USA plans to hold a "CyberAuction" on the Internet Oct. 13-26 during which it will sell 50 roundtrip Los Angeles-Hong Kong business-class tickets to the highest bidders. The auction was designed for Cathay's CyberTravelers program as part of its efforts to launch its new business-class product in the U.S. During the auction period, CyberTravelers can submit their sealed bids by e-mail for a choice of five consecutive departure dates, Nov. 20-24, with a return trip five days after departure.
Negotiations between Taiwan and Hong Kong on renewing their bilateral aviation agreement, which expired April 30, have foundered again, this time on the issue of how many flights each will be able to operate. Cathay Pacific, which represents Hong Kong in the talks, reportedly wants to limit service on Taiwan-Hong Kong routes to 14 per week, while the Taiwan side is holding out for many more than that.
Boeing will start formal negotiations Oct. 23 with the Seattle Professional Engineering Employees Association (SPEEA), which represents about 20,000 engineers and technical workers. SPEEA said the negotiations will be for a new three-year contract, and the two sides have been meeting regularly for nearly a year to establish a "baseline for data" to enable them to focus on problem-solving during negotiations.
