European Union transport ministers yesterday gave Neil Kinnock six months to prove that individual EU member states would be better off if they let the European Commission negotiate a multilateral air agreement with the U.S. on their behalf. Kinnock, the European Commission member in charge of transport, who has campaigned for a united front in talks with the U.S. - and against individual open-skies bilateral agreements negotiated by the U.S. with nine European countries - said he was "delighted" with the decision, taken as the ministers met in Luxembourg.
Lone Star Airlines has decided to begin flights between Dallas/Fort Worth and Del Rio, Texas, on July 10 because it has received enough commitments from businesses to use the service (DAILY, June 7). The carrier will offer two roundtrip flights each weekday and one on weekends, using new 30-seat Dornier 328s. A Lone Star spokeswoman said the airline received twice as much support as it had hoped, with some businesses buying vouchers for travel in the next year and others committing themselves orally to specific levels of business flights.
A cooperative effort among several airlines, Honeywell and Boeing has won FAA certification of the Future Air Navigation System 1 (FANS-1), which Qantas will introduce this month on air routes over the Pacific. Air New Zealand, Cathay Pacific and United also participated in the development effort. Aircraft equipped with FANS-1 will make primary use of Global Positioning System equipment for navigation and a data link for two-way communication between pilots and air traffic controllers.
The American Society of Travel Agents, with Apollo Travel Services, Avis Rent A Car, Galileo International and Hilton Hotels, has released findings from a February study involving 12 consumer focus groups who documented their perceptions of travel agents.
Continental is seeking authority to operate daily service between Newark and Lima, Peru, via Bogota, Colombia. In addition, the carrier also is requesting authority to institute Houston-Lima service, via Bogota, when additional Peru frequencies become available. The carrier's new nonstop service between Newark and South America "marks the beginning of an expansion from our Newark hub to the Latin American region which we traditionally served via Houston," said Mark Drusch, Continental's VP- international and regulatory affairs.
Duff&Phelps Credit Rating Co. (DCR) said yesterday it has assigned a rating of AA to Los Angeles Airport's proposed issuance of $91.1 million refunding revenue bonds and $84.3 million revenue bonds. DCR said the credit strength of the airport is "driven by strong origin-and-destination passenger market fundamentals, the airport's standing as a major international gateway with the potential for expansion, strong debt service coverage and management's progress over the last couple of years to actively manage through changing market fundamentals.
Hawaiian Airlines has made an initial distribution of 5.4 million shares of new common stock to creditors with allowed claims, in accordance with its Chapter 11 reorganization plan, and has received another extension from American on overdue maintenance and rental payments. The carrier is scrambling to find additional capital to overcome liquidity problems and offset a first quarter net loss of $8.3 million.
British Airways is accepting nominations from around the world for the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, given each year to encourage environmentally responsible tourism programs. This year's awards will include a new category, long-haul, to prompt more responses from the U.S. market. Finalists will be announced at the Safari Planet Earth Awards Oct. 30 in New York. BA's frequent traveler program is the title co-sponsor of Safari.
Boeing 727 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1994 B727-200 American Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 89 55 134 Total Fleet Operations Departures 347 215 640 Block Hours 761 489 1,122
Air Transport Association has produced 30-second spots - on the impact of the federal aviation fuel tax and the airline industry's celebration of flying 10 billion passengers - that are running this month on the CNN Airport Network. The videos were produced in cooperation with the American Association of Airport Executives. The fuel tax spot features ATA President Carol Hallett and Air Line Pilots Association President Randy Babbitt talking about the industry's "united effort to repeal the tax which will cost airlines more than $530 million per year," ATA said.
Sabre Decision Technologies' Aircrews flight crew scheduling system will be part of the permanent research collection at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. The system was recognized this year by the Computerworld Smithsonian Awards as an innovative application of information technology in the transportation industry.
Japan Airlines, warning that proposed U.S. sanctions against Japan would cause service difficulties, said yesterday it will support retaliatory measures if the Japanese government proposes them. "If these sanctions are enacted, all parties - airlines and customers - will experience considerable inconvenience," the carrier said. On Monday, when it proposed sanctions against cargo operations of JAL and Nippon Cargo Airlines, DOT said there was enough alternative cargo aviation capacity to ensure the continued flow of goods in the affected markets (DAILY, June 20).
DOT's decision to leave the high-density rule unchanged was driven by the projected cost of delays due to increased service and airlines' loss of fare premiums (DAILY, June 21). Lifting the rule generally would increase operations - and revenues - for the four high-density airports, although under differing scenarios.
Signing of a memorandum of understanding between Japan's aircraft development team and Boeing on a YSX 100-seat aircraft is expected by the end of the month, an official of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry said yesterday. "The MOU will be a forward-looking one," the official said. The Japanese involvement includes the government and Mitsubishi, Kawasaki and Japan Aircraft Development Corp.
Air traffic controllers will hand out information pamphlets to travelers at airports across the nation Thursday, protesting a move in Congress to eliminate the 5% premium added to their salaries following a strike in 1981.
U.S. Carrier Systemwide Market Share At Leading U.S. Airports U.S. Major, National and Commuter* Carriers 20 The Year 1994 Atlanta Enplaned % of Total Passengers Passengers Delta 20,089,105 78.65 Atlantic Southeast 987,024 3.86 ValuJet 936,677 3.67 Continental 684,345 2.68
DOT's study of the high-density rule indicates that if the slot controls were lifted, consumers and airports would gain, while major airlines at the four slot-controlled airports would lose. Issued Friday, the study also says that ending HDR would not have a uniform effect on the four airports: O'Hare is likely to show a net profit, while the other three would register net losses. In general, consumer gains from reduced fares and expanded services would outweigh the costs of increased delays.
Southwest will provide by the end of the year a link between its World Wide Web Home Gate on the Internet and TravelWeb, enabling users to book airline tickets and hotel reservations at the same time. TravelWeb, developed by Dallas-based Hotel Industry Switch Company, offers information on more than 200 member hotels in the cities served by Southwest.
In response to continued refusal of Japan to approve Federal Express service between Subic Bay, Japan and other points in Asia, DOT Secretary Federico Pea proposed yesterday to impose sanctions on cargo operations of Japan Airlines and Nippon Cargo Airlines. The sanctions would prohibit JAL's and NCA's scheduled all-cargo services from Japan to the U.S. from carrying any cargo that was brought to Japan from certain Asian markets by a Japanese carrier.
Kiwi International Air Lines says it has reported an aggregate profit of $2 million since its management shakeup in February, posting profits for three consecutive months - March, April and May. The airline reported a profit of $401,000 last month on revenues of $14.4 million, compared with a $3.4 million loss in May 1994. It has nearly doubled the number of passengers carried since January to a record 146,000 passengers in May. For the year to date, the carrier has incurred a loss of $167,000 on revenues of $66.8 million.
Lucas Industries said yesterday it has sold its Lucas Aerospace Communications and Electronics businesses to Sierra Technologies of Dallas. The sale is part of a restructuring program to divest businesses not vital to Lucas's core competencies in the aerospace and automotive markets, said George Simpson, chief executive. Lucas did not disclose the purchase price but valued the businesses at $40 million.
Aeroperu has requested renewal of its authority to operate between Peru and the U.S. Currently holding authority to operate all-cargo service between Miami and Lima, the carrier has a fleet of Boeing 727s and 757s and Douglas DC-10s. (Docket 44944)
Boeing yesterday confirmed Saudia Arabian Airlines orders for 23 777-200 and five 747-400 transports, but Douglas said it had been asked by Saudia to delay an announcement of orders for 29 MD-90s and four MD-11 freighters, implying that the Boeing announcement was premature. A Douglas spokesman said contracts were to have been signed within a couple of days, but now it "might be more than a few days." The U.S.
Boeing said more than 8,300 employees have accepted an early-retirement offer, putting the company ahead of its goal to reduce its work force by 12,000 this year. The retirement incentives, the first ever offered by Boeing, were available to 13,000 workers. Boeing laid off 3,300 workers earlier this year, so its employment will total about 105,000 when the retirements take effect July 1.
