TWA has applied for authority to operate scheduled combination service between St. Louis and Mexico City and between New York and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. If approved, the carrier plans to start daily roundtrip St. Louis-Mexico City flights Oct. 1, using MD-83s. TWA intends to inaugurate the New York Kennedy-Santo Domingo service in the winter 1995-96 season, using L-1011 aircraft. (Dockets OST-95-345&OST-95-346)
As Congress considers elimination of the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration budget, a national tourism policy strategy announced yesterday by federal agencies envisions USTTA taking the lead on data collection and analysis, and distribution of domestic travel statistics. USTTA also would educate states, cities and communities on the importance of establishing travel and tourism as an industry in the Standard Industrial Classification.
TWA launched a two-day fare sale yesterday from 15 U.S. cities and San Juan, Puerto Rico, to designated cities. Today is the deadline for purchasing tickets. The sale cuts fares by up to 45% and provides additional savings for students and seniors. Tickets are good for travel Aug. 16 through Nov. 15.
FAA experts are trying to determine whether the most recent outages at the Chicago center are traceable to the IBM 9020E computer output control element "or something in the interface between the 9020E and the Host computer processor," Gary Duffy, manager of the Chicago Systems Management Office, said yesterday. The permanent solution to the outage problem is to replace the 1970s-vintage equipment, Duffy said.
FAA said yesterday that it has begun using a new and enhanced oceanic sector workstation for air traffic controller operations at its Oakland air route traffic control center (ARTCC). The project is being supervised by Rowena Mendez, the workstation manager. The workstation, called the telecommunications processor, is the first phase of the agency's oceanic data link system, which is expected to offer greater capacity and improved efficiency, economy and safety.
American Express Travel Related Services has put Express Reservations on America Online. ExpressNet is limited to airline bookings, with hotel and car rental reservations to be added in the future. Customers receive their tickets via overnight delivery.
After productive talks in May, expectations are high for the U.S. and South Africa to reach agreement on a bilateral in negotiations scheduled July 31- Aug. 3 in Pretoria. World Airways, TWA, USAfrica Airways, American, United and Northwest will be watching closely. The first three want to operate direct service to Johannesburg, and the others seek approval of code- sharing operations.
Singapore Airlines plans to make its second investment in a hotel project in Indonesia by taking a 20% stake in the Sedona Hotel, a joint venture in Manado, North Sulawesi. The $40 million, 250-room hotel, a 30-minute drive from Sam Ratulangi Airport, is expected to be completed in 1997. SIA's managing director, Cheong Choong Kong, said Indonesia is the "jewel in the crown" of Asian tourism. Singapore and Indonesia signed a tourism cooperation agreement last September. SIA operates to Jakarta, Denpasar and Surabaya, and subsidiary SilkAir operates to Manado.
Reno Air is seeking authority to operate scheduled combination service between Los Angeles and Loreto, Mexico. If approved, the carrier plans to offer three weekly roundtrips beginning Sept. 1, using MD-87 aircraft. Reno added it plans to increase its service on the route "to daily roundtrip shortly in response to market demand." (Docket OST-95-344)
DOT has issued a final order granting authority to Northwest, Delta and United to operate with their respective code-share partners service to Ukraine. Northwest received three weekly frequencies to operate with KLM service from the U.S. to Kiev via Amsterdam; United gained 3.5 weekly frequencies for service with code-share partner Lufthansa to Kiev via Frankfurt, and Delta was allotted seven weekly frequencies to operate service to Kiev and Odessa with code-share partner Austrian Airways (DAILY, May 8). (Docket 50321)
Royal Jordanian Airline is tempting travelers headed for points beyond Amman, Jordan, to stay in Amman two nights for only $149. Anyone flying in coach can take advantage of the Jordan stopover, which includes accommodations at the Alia Gateway Hotel, breakfasts, a one-day trip to Petra - "the rose-red city half as old as time" - and a half-day tour of Amman, the Dead Sea or the ancient Greco-Roman city of Jerash. Lunches are included except on the city tour.
An Aviation Foundation study issued this week on airline/travel agent commissions concludes that airlines, which capped domestic commissions this year and are contemplating further changes in ticket distribution, should quit paying commissions altogether and force agencies to move toward a fee- based system. The study, Travelnomics: The Dismal Science of Travel Agency Economics, written by Darryl Jenkins, states agents would be better off without commissions because they will benefit from a more predictable revenue stream.
Swissair and Sabena finalized the agreement by which the Swiss airline will purchase 49.5% of the Belgian carrier. The European Commission authorized the deal last week (DAILY, July 20). The transaction brings Sabena a capital increase of 9.5 billion Belgian francs, of which BF6.5 billion will be subscribed by Swissair. The Belgian state is putting up BF1.5 billion and a group of Belgian investors are contributing BF2 billion.
Impact of electronic marketing on the travel industry will be examined at the International Conference on Information Technology and Tourism, Sept. 25-27 in Kansas City. The conference is hosted by more than a dozen industry and government organizations, including the American Association of Travel Agents and the United Nations' World Tourism Organization. The Internet address for information is http://ten-io.com/wc/. The e-mail address for registration is [email protected].
Mundytours, a Bahamian travel agency, said it will renew its contract with Worldspan. The agency, which also offers a travel school to agents in the Bahamas, intends to expand from five current locations to 10 by the end of the year. Worldspan said Mundytours, founded in Nassau in 1960, is the oldest agency equipped with the DATAS II computer reservations system, a predecessor to Worldspan.
America West Vacations is offering tour packages to San Francisco. The packages include roundtrip travel on America West, a choice of hotel and 500 bonus frequent flyer miles.
Iberia's passenger traffic rose 8.9% last month to 2.02 billion revenue passenger kilometers. The number of passengers boarded increased 5.9% to 1.2 million, and cargo traffic jumped 18.6% to 54.8 million freight ton kilometers. For the first six months, passenger traffic rose 7.4% to 11.12 billion RPKs and passenger volume 4.9% to nearly 6.8 million. Cargo traffic was up 21.7% to 323.5 million FTKs.
The union representing FAA's system specialists, who install and maintain equipment for air traffic controllers, expressed concern yesterday over outages of aging equipment and the dwindling number of union members who service a growing number of facilities.
A day after confirming that it has reached a tentative agreement with its pilots that will save C$41 million a year, Canadian Airlines International (CAI) yesterday loosed a triple dose of bad news - it lost money in the second quarter, it will likely lose money for the full year, and it plans to eliminate 160 maintenance jobs by October.
Air Transport Association called on FAA yesterday to pursue a short-term remedy for aging computers at busy air traffic control centers. ATA President Carol Hallett, in a letter to FAA Administrator David Hinson, urged a speedy replacement of the Display Channel Complex (DCC) at the centers with the Display Channel Complex Replacement (DCCR) (DAILY, July 26). The DCCR project was restarted as part of overall ATC modernization as "insurance" against program delays that place the ATC system in jeopardy, Hallett said. "We believe that point has been reached.
TAP Air Portugal's June passenger traffic rose 5% from the same month a year ago to 665.7 million passenger kilometers, and its passenger volume increased 8.5% to 317,192. TAP's cargo traffic rose 1.5% to 16.4 million freight tonne kilometers. Through the first six months of 1995, TAP's passenger traffic was up 0.4% to 3.46 billion RPKs, and its passenger volume was up 5% to 1.7 million. Cargo traffic rose 2.7% to 94 million FTKs.
Pilots at Milwaukee-based Skyway Airlines have voted for representation by the Air Line Pilots Association. The National Mediation Board counted 58 votes for ALPA from the 101 pilots who were eligible to vote. Although the victory was narrow, ALPA still described it as "solid" because of what it called an "aggressive anti-union campaign by the company." Skyway is a Midwest Express subsidiary that operates 15 Beech 1900Ds, mainly in the East and Midwest.
Airlines have offered the San Francisco Airport Commission what they termed a few "common sense" principles for consideration in planning to connect the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system to the airport. The current proposed alternative, the most expensive design option, calls for an underground segment to the airport. Cost efficiency, interference with airport operations and adverse social and environmental impacts should be considered in choosing a plan, the Air Transport Association said.
GATX Corp. yesterday reported record second quarter net income of $29.9 million, up from $20.9 million during the same quarter last year. For the first half, net income was $55.6 million, up from $41.1 million. GATX Air and GATX/CL Air recently announced securing or acquiring leases and loans for about $380 million worth of aircraft to eight carriers, including two MD-83s, a 767-300, a 757-200, a DC-10-30 and five A320s. The MD-83s are on lease to Aero-Lloyd and Reno Air. GATX Air acquired a lease and loans on a 767 and a 737 for Canadian Airlines International.
DOT issued an order Tuesday terminating its show cause proceeding against Japan Airlines and Nippon Air Cargo Airlines. "In view of the Japanese approval of Federal Express's schedules, the purposes of the show cause proceeding have been achieved," the department said. (Docket 50508&OST- 95-216)
