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.
First flight of the new ATR-42-400 was completed this week, bringing still another ATR product closer to market. The -400 is virtually identical to the new hot-and-high ATR-42-500, for which certification is "imminent," but has less powerful engines. It replaces the ATR-42-300.
Pilot error: U.K. Ministry of Defense has blamed the captain of a Royal Air Force BAe 146 for overshooting a runway and coming to rest in soft soil in June 1994. The pilot was not flying the airplane, but Prince Charles was, and the captain was faulted for not taking control away from him.
Comair Holdings reported that net income for its first quarter, which ended June 30, jumped to $16.6 million from $9.4 million in the same period last year. The Delta Connection carrier said total revenues rose to $115.4 million from $87.9 million. Passenger revenues increased to $111.1 million from $84.4 million. David Mueller, chairman, attributed the net increase to higher fares and traffic growth. The Comair board declared a 3-for-2 common stock split and an eight-cent quarterly cash dividend, both payable Aug. 10 to holders of record July 28.
The House Rules Committee late Wednesday approved a rule that would allow a floor vote on an amendment to the DOT appropriations bill (H.R. 2002) to give the President line-item veto authority. A line-item veto covering only the DOT bill was proposed in a Rules Committee hearing Wednesday by Rep. Bill Orton (D-Utah), but the potential amendment protected by Rules would apply to all funding bills.
...Business Express, meanwhile, says it will retain an investment banking firm "to advise the company on strategic business options and growth plans." Such options include an initial public offering, development of strategic alliances as well as merger and acquisition opportunities, the company said. According to Wilkinson, the carrier has had "a good summer; we are performing much better; traffic is building; the [three Avro RJ70] jets are starting to perform. We are a player again." Could there be a link-up with Mesaba in the future?
The City of Tuscaloosa, Ala., is objecting to plans by American Eagle affiliate Flagship Airlines to drop service at the point, saying the city's burgeoning economy justified continued service at the point and that it would be without service if Flagship were allowed to withdraw.
Atlantic Southeast's selection of five used British Aerospace BAe 146 quadjets was not without some aggressive competition between new-aircraft manufacturer Avro Aerospace and Asset Management Organization (AMO) - both British Aerospace units. It was a question of "new" versus "used" with Avro advancing its new RJ-series aircraft and AMO its inventory of used 146s, the RJ's predecessor. Perhaps the bottom line for Atlantic Southeast was the monthly rent, which unconfirmed reports indicate may be as low as $60,000 per unit.
AMR Eagle's Executive Airlines unit Nov. 1 will add three daily roundtrip flights between Miami International Airport and Vero Beach Municipal Airport in Florida's Treasure Coast region, using 33-seat Shorts 360 aircraft. AMR Eagle's VP-Marketing Joel Chusid said, "We've been wanting to serve the Treasure Coast for some time, and we're delighted that we now have that opportunity." American Eagle, which is enlarging and renovating its Miami terminal, said the project should be finished by this fall.
National Labor Relations Board has asked the National Mediation Board to decide which agency has jurisdiction over a petition concerning whether Federal Express employees seeking union representation should be subject to the National Labor Relations Act or the Railway Labor Act.The case dates back to an August 1991 petition for representation of ground service workers claiming National Labor Relations Act jurisdiction.
Gulfstream International Airlines will expand its service at three cities in Florida early next month, the regional said. On Aug. 6, the company will begin service between St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Tallahassee, operating three daily nonstops. The carrier also will double its daily flights between St. Petersburg/Clearwater and Miami, with connecting flights to Tallahassee. The regional will offer introductory roundtrip fare to Tallahasssee of $69 from St. Petersburg/Clearwater and $138 from Miami for tickets purchased on or before Aug. 15.
Establishment of a new association to represent operators of general aviation airports will be discussed at an organizational meeting scheduled Aug. 18. The effort is led by Michael Stephens, who has worked previously for the Airports Council International-North America and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. "General aviation airports have unique needs that differ greatly from air carrier airports," Stephens said. "Their dealings with the community are different.
ATR has received an order for seven 66-passenger ATR 72-210 aircraft from Air New Zealand's Mount Cook Airline, ATR said. The aircraft will progressively replace the 44-passenger Hawker Siddeley HS748s currently operated by Mount Cook Airline. Deliveries will begin in September and be completed by the end of this year or the beginning of 1996. The transaction was announced against a backdrop of simmering controversy over renewed French nuclear testing in the South Pacific. ATR is a partnership composed of French firm Aerospatiale and Italian company Alenia.
Legislators urged the administration to stand strong in talks with Japan and industry officials pressed for more effective guidelines for future international negotiations yesterday during a hearing on U.S.-Japan aviation relations before the House Transportation and Infrastructure aviation subcommittee.
Formosa Airlines of Taiwan has ordered two Fokker 50 turboprops and two Fokker 100 jets - the company's first jets, Fokker said. The carrier brought two Fokker 50s into its fleet at the beginning of this year. The two additional F50s will be configured with 56 seats and delivered in September and October. They will go into service on routes out of Taichung to various destinations within Taiwan.
Council of Better Business Bureaus Foundation, observing the fifth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, has released an ADA compliance guide for travel and tour agencies. The guide summarizes the public accommodations section of the law, which affects nearly all businesses, and suggests ways to remove barriers for customers with disabilities. The travel guide complements summaries published for other industries. Copies are available for $2.50 from CBBBF, Suite 800, 4200 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 22203.
NASA engineers plan to gather a wide range of data on supersonic transport flight dynamics next year in a series of 35 instrumented test flights by a Russian Tu-144 SST, according to the head of the agency's High Speed Research program. Louis J. Williams told The DAILY work is on schedule for a February start of test flights from Tupolev Design Bureau facilities near Moscow, with modifications of the 1982-vintage Tu-144 testbed NASA will instrument already well under way.
