Skyways, a Swedish regional carrier, has placed the first of two Fokker 50s in revenue service from Stockholm Arlanda Airport to Borlange and Visby in Gotland. The carrier, which is owned by Salenia AB and is based in Linkuping, Sweden, configures its 50s with 50 seats. The second Fokker 50 will be placed in service in August. Skyways hitherto had operated a fleet of Saab 340s on its domestic feeder network into Arlanda and Copenhagen. Traffic growth prompted the carrier to upgrade to larger equipment.
The board of Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast Airlines has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 8.5 cents per share, which is equivalent to an annual rate of 34 cents per share. The dividend is payable June 15 to shareholders of record on June 1, ASA said.
Arrow Air, which expects to resume service within a few weeks, has appointed three new VPs and restructured its management to enhance flight and maintenance operations and reinforce customer service. Sales and Service Director Edward Lesko has been named to the newly created position of VP-sales and service, responsible for all marketing programs, customer service and airport services. Kenneth Wilson will be VP-maintenance and engineering and Lee Steele VP and director of operations.
An Arinc Inc. international consortium formed to carry out the modernization of Harbin Airport in Heilongjiang Province, China, received a $29.9 million contract from the Harbin Airport Expansion Command. The first phase of the project is scheduled for completion by February 1996, when the province is to host the Asian Winter Games. The consortium will acquire and integrate products from more than 30 U.S. companies, and the U.S. Export-Import Bank will support the project.
EVA Airways and TransAsia Airways announced separate plans to launch service between Taiwan and Surabaya, Indonesia. EVA will begin three- times-weekly flights between Kaohsiung and Surabaya on June 28. TransAsia, as its first regularly scheduled international service, will fly between Taipei and Surabaya in September.
Northwest and the Tomorrow Mall of America will sponsor a two-day concert July 3-4 to raise funds and collect food for Minnesota hunger relief organizations. The Jam Against Hunger includes appearances by the Beach Boys, Ringo Starr and REO Speedwagon, and a "drop-in" by the Flying Elvi - a skydiving team dressed as Elvis.
United Parcel Service, accelerating its schedule, plans to launch international next-flight-out service from the U.S. on May 30. The new, round-the-clock delivery option will get packages to major business centers in the Asia/Pacific region, Europe and Latin America within 24 hours. UPS said the success of its domestic same-day service, launched April 17 by subsidiary SonicAir, prompted it to launch the international version ahead of its original target of late 1995 (DAILY, April 12).
Two-thirds of small businesses in the U.S. expect their export volumes to increase this year and 80% see an increase over the next five years, according to the Federal Express Survey of Small Businesses, issued yesterday. FedEx attributed the optimism to federal government support for global trade and to the falling dollar, which makes U.S.-made goods cheaper overseas. In the survey, Intersearch Corp. interviewed 751 export managers of businesses with 100 or fewer employees.
Aerolineas Argentinas has opened a downtown office in Buenos Aires where passengers can check baggage and obtain boarding passes. The office, which is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., will alleviate airport congestion and reduce the time passengers spend at the airport prior to departure. Aerolineas offers nonstop and direct service to Buenos Aires from Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Montreal and Toronto.
DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo said yesterday her office cannot work on investigations involving suspect or unapproved parts with Anthony Broderick, FAA associate administrator for regulation and certification, who she said is under investigation by the FBI because he tried to interfere with an investigation by her department. She made the charge during a hearing by a Senate oversight subcommittee into whether unapproved parts affect aviation safety.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is proposing to reduce from $61 to $53 its fee for agricultural quarantine and inspection of commercial aircraft arriving in the U.S. from departure points outside the country. The 13.1% reduction is "necessary to avoid collecting more revenue than needed to cover the costs of the services we provide," the Agriculture Department agency said in a notice in yesterday's Federal Register. The fee was set at $61 on Jan.
Apollo is enhancing its cancel/rebook functions and other processes in an effort to improve productivity and customer service, according to Apollo Travel Services, which markets the Apollo computer reservations system. Apollo has changed the way it processes single-entry cancel and rebook air segments to process the new air segment before canceling the old segment.
Continental's pilots rejected the company's latest contract offer of a 38% raise over five years, a signing bonus and work rule improvements. The Independent Association of Continental Pilots is holding out for 26% over three years. Continental pilots believe there still is a disparity between their pay and that of other airlines' pilots.
American Society of Travel Agents has issued its 1995/1996 Publications Catalog, offering books, videos and cassettes designed to improve travel agents' knowledge of the travel industry. "In light of recent industry happenings, these publications are essential to agents who wish to remain profitable," ASTA President Jeanne Epping said. ASTA offers destination guides, gift books and materials intended to help agents manage finances, train staff and develop marketing plans. Non-members can order the catalog by calling 1-800-ASTA-FAX and requesting document 089.
U.S. and Japanese officials met "recently" to explore a resumption of aviation talks, DOT Secretary Federico Pena said yesterday, but he refused to comment on the outcome.Industry officials said the meeting took place Tuesday and failed to produce a breakthrough.
Passenger traffic and aircraft movements rose 5% at the world's airports in February compared with the same period in 1994 and cargo increased 10% during the same period, according to the latest airport traffic report from Airports Council International in Geneva. Cumulative growth for the first two months of 1995 shows passenger traffic up 7%, cargo up 12% and aircraft movements up 5%. ACI collected February 1995 traffic data from 404 airports.
A DOT administrative law judge said yesterday that the landing fees at Los Angeles Airport are unreasonable in part, because rental charges for the land under the airfield and apron are not based on historical costs, and because some other charges, such as crash-fire-rescue and a police substation, include costs for non-airfield or off-airport services. The recommended decision of Administrative Law Judge John Mathias also concluded that the city improperly failed to adjust the landing fees to reflect actual and budgeted expenses in the 1993-1994 fiscal year.
El Al has improved its Matmid Frequent Traveler Club to offer more members more opportunities to earn bonus tickets, upgrades and other benefits. Matmid members earn benefits each time they fly El Al, and can use their bonus tickets and upgrades for travel any day of the week, any time of the year, on any El Al flight worldwide. There are no blackout periods and no limits on the number of seats allotted for bonus travel, according to the airline.
U.S. National Carriers Traffic April, 4 Months 1995 April April % 1995 1994 Change Alaska Revenue Passenger Miles (000) 660,000 546,000 20.9 Available Seat Miles (000) 1,091,000 873,000 25.0 Load Factor (%) 60.5 62.5 Passengers 773,500 649,500 19.1
American has introduced "last chance" fares for the summer, discounted by an average of 35% off advance-purchase excursion fares, for domestic travel June 7-Oct. 15. Tickets must be purchased by June 2, and require 14-day advance purchase and a Saturday night stay. In the New York-Los Angeles market, the off-peak sale price is $388 roundtrip, compared with the current $763, and the lowest Chicago-San Francisco fare is $378 instead of $731.
Bill McFarlane, president of Aqua Software Products Inc. (ASPI) has proposed the development of a code of ethics to be used by independent travel industry hardware and software developers. At the recent Travel Weekly Conference '95 in Chicago, McFarlane said the code should be a "central effort" of the Independent Travel Technology Association (ITTA). He also called on ITTA to develop an arbitration procedure that would add "teeth" to a code.
The Justice Department has dropped its review of TWA's agreement with U.S. travel agents to return to the 10% commission rate on domestic tickets that raised anticompetitive concerns, now that TWA and the other parties have proposed to revise the settlement. Justice yesterday filed a brief in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, which is considering a lawsuit brought by the travel agents and the American Society of Travel Agents against six airlines for capping domestic commission.
Industry officials squared off over the viability of the proposed "mini- deal" between the U.S. and the U.K. in a hearing yesterday before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation aviation subcommittee.
U.S. National Carriers Advertising Expenses Third Quarter 1994 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenues Alaska $ 4,439,000 2.15 Aloha 1,362,247 3.17 American Trans Air 2,166,949 3.17 Carnival 942,484 2.79
