First Aviation Services said it acquired National Airmotive Corp. for $30.4 million. National Airmotive, a distributor and overhaul agency for gas turbine engines, employs 350. First Aviation Services is a unit of First Equity Development, an investment banking firm specializing in the aerospace industry.
Mesa Air Group's board of directors has rejected Continental's offer to combine wholly owned subsidiary Continental Express with Mesa. The proposal, for Mesa to issue $90 million in common stock, representing 32% of the outstanding common stock of the combined company, in exchange for a 100% stake in Continental Express, was unanimously rejected as not in the best interest of Mesa shareholders.
KLM will cancel more than 20 flights and reschedule several others in anticipation of a six-hour work stoppage by its pilots slated for Thursday. The KLM pilots union, VNV, conducted a similar strike last week to protest a management proposal to increase the retirement age for new KLM pilots, and other proposed labor contract amendments (DAILY, May 31). The strike is scheduled to take place 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. local time Thursday and will effectively ground all 53 KLM flights that normally depart Amsterdam Schiphol Airport during that period.
SAS and Thai Airways International yesterday signed a new cooperative agreement under which the two longtime partners will code share on all flights between Scandinavia and Thailand. SAS described the new deal as the "relaunch" of a relationship that began in the late 1950s and one that completes SAS's search for a partner in Asia. Thai already code shares with Lufthansa, with which SAS signed an alliance agreement in mid-May (DAILY, May 12).
After months of negotiations and political wrangling, the U.S. and U.K. agreed yesterday on an incremental deal, providing additional U.S. carrier service between Chicago and Heathrow. The pact is "an important first step" toward liberalizing the U.S. aviation relationship with the U.K., DOT Secretary Federico Pena said. "The deal means that passengers will be able to benefit from greater frequency of transatlantic service and a wider choice, bringing with it the prospect of more competitive fares," said British Transport Secretary Brian Mawhinney.
U.S. National Carriers Productivity In RPMs and ASMs Per Employee Fourth Quarter 1994 Revenue Available Passenger Seat Miles Miles Total Airline (000) (000) Employees Alaska 1,947,377 3,218,119 6,477 Aloha 159,735 264,200 2,065
TWA is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between St. Louis and Cozumel, Mexico. If its request is approved, the carrier plans to operate a single weekly flight, beginning Nov. 26, using Boeing 727 aircraft. If the service proves successful, the carrier said it will expand operations in subsequent seasons. (Docket 50380)
Federal Express has applied with the Taiwan government for permission to set up an integrated freight courier service operation center at Chiang Kai-shek Airport. A source close to the company said FedEx plans gradually to shift its Asian transshipment center from Subic Bay, in the Philippines, to Taipei. Under the new plan, FedEx will set up a door-to-door vertical and integrated air cargo express service center at Chiang Kai-shek in three stages. Stage 1 will begin this year, Stage 2 in 1997 and Stage 3 in 2000.
ValuJet's May passenger load factor jumped 6.4 percentage points from a year ago to 71.5% as its traffic rose 228% on 198% more capacity. "May was an exceptional month for us," said Chairman Robert Priddy. The 6.4- point rise in load factor was more significant, he said, because in May 1994 ValuJet was offering a two-for-one fare special. For the month, ValuJet boarded 409,130 passengers, including a record 19,438 on May 26. For five months, its traffic shot up 245% on 221% more capacity, for a 67.7% load factor.
America West yesterday launched a five-day fare sale for travel to Mexico. Tickets must be purchased through June 9 for travel July 6-Aug. 31. Fares to Mazatlan and Los Cabos range from $99 to $164 each way and to Mexico City $149 to $189, based on roundtrip purchase. The carrier is doubling its flights to the two points, giving Mazatlan daily service except on Thursdays and Los Cabos daily service on five days and two daily flights on Thursdays and Saturdays. America West also is offering members of its FlightFund program extra miles during the summer.
FAA has released a flight standards information bulletin to clarify a notice of enforcement issued in February which industry said caused misinterpretations. The notice of enforcement said that all businesses producing aircraft parts intended for commercial sale and installation must apply for and obtain parts manufacturer approval (PMA). The notice was intended to ensure industry awareness of the agency's plan to enforce regulations governing all persons producing aircraft parts, and reduce the use of unapproved parts.
Korean carrier Asiana Airlines has become the 16th member of the Orient Airlines Association. The carrier, established in 1988, recently announced its first annual profit, and says it has plans to increase the size of its fleet and international route network. Asiana operates a fleet of 35 Boeing aircraft to 26 points in the U.S., Japan, China and Southeast Asia, as well as domestic service in Korea.
Delta is offering special Saturday fares from its Cincinnati hub to 69 points in the East and Midwest, discounting some tickets as much as 83%, based on the unrestricted coach fare. Delta said fares are as low as $78 roundtrip to Columbus, Dayton, Fort Wayne, Huntington/Ashland, Indianapolis, Lexington and Louisville. The fares are good for travel on a Saturday, with a return flight the same day or any Saturday up to 30 days from departure. The fares are available for both Delta and Comair flights.
Air Canada will launch daily nonstop service between Montreal and Atlanta on July 4. The airline already operates four daily flights between Toronto and Atlanta. Southbound flights from Montreal will be operated with DC-9s, while northbound flights will be flown with A320s. The Montreal-Atlanta service will be the fifth new route launched by Air Canada since Canada and the U.S. signed an open skies agreement in February.
Continental is raising BusinessFirst fares to Europe, effective June 12, except in the two markets it serves jointly with Alitalia - Newark- Rome/Milan. Fares for service from Newark to London and Manchester will rise 3% eastbound and 20% westbound. Fares from Newark to Paris, Frankfurt, and Madrid, eastbound only, will be 3% higher. Houston-London fares will go up 18% in both directions, Chicago-London 3% eastbound only, and Los Angeles-Paris 5% eastbound only. Continental said only that the increases are "reflecting the strong demand" for BusinessFirst.
UND Aerospace at the University of North Dakota said it is changing its management structure following a safety audit by the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF), and has named a safety director who will report directly to the dean of the aviation college. UND said it contracted for the audit before the DOT/FAA aviation safety summit in January at which all air carriers were advised to undergo internal safety audits. FSF reviewed management and organization structure, flight instruction, air service operations, safety programs and maintenance during the 10-day audit.
THY Turkish Airlines' passenger traffic increased 15.7% during the first four months of this year to 2.69 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers boarded rose 22.2% to just under 2.3 million, and the airline's cargo traffic was up 11.9% to 74.4 million freight ton kilometers.
Roscoe Turner: Aviation's Master Showman by Carrol Glines. The biography of one of the key aviation pioneers whose colorful career as a barnstormer and air racer made aviation part of the national scene. Smithsonian Press; $29.95, hard cover. To order, call 1-800-782-4612.
Air Canada is now online through the Internet and CompuServe. Users can access information on Air Canada's Aeroplan program, complete schedule and new services and alliances. "As we serve more new destinations and offer more new services around the world, we are looking for new and effective ways of informing and entertaining our customers - and potential customers," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Hollis Harris.
DOT's Office of International Transportation and Trade has scheduled a public meeting June 20 to discuss concerns and issues regarding transportation in the Western Hemisphere. Comments from the meeting will be used in developing the agenda for a conference of transport ministers from the region. The proposed Western Hemisphere Transportation Initiative stems from a meeting in October of 12 transport ministers and from the Summit of the Americas in December.
Emirates will sponsor the 1995 Miss World Pageant, scheduled Nov. 20 in Sun City, South Africa. The sponsorship initiative coincides with the scheduled June 3 launch of Emirates' twice-weekly service from Dubai to Johannesburg and the Comoro Islands. It also supports the marketing cooperation agreement signed with Sun International.
Europe is opposing a U.S. bid to ban the use of gambling devices on U.S. and non-U.S. aircraft, even in international airspace. The measure would violate a central principle of international aviation that one state cannot unilaterally impose its view on another country's aircraft when flights are conducted outside the first state's territory, said a diplomatic note endorsed by 18 European countries and the European Community.
Shuttle America Airlines is seeking a certificate to start up passenger service within the U.S. The proposed carrier is planning to operate between Long Beach, Calif., and Chicago Midway Airport, using a leased MD- 80 aircraft. Shuttle maintains that a significant niche in both the business and leisure travel markets has developed at Long Beach since it was recently abandoned by major air carriers.
SAS has warned its pilots it will implement a lockout for three days this month if no agreement is reached by June 9 on wage levels, and will cancel all flights on those days. SAS pilots held a strike Friday, as planned, after failing to reach an agreement with management in negotiations with the Danish mediation board that lasted through Thursday night. Because of strike notices given by the SAS pilots' unions for June 9, 12 and 14, SAS said it will proceed with the lock out if no pact is in place on June 9.
