British Airways will begin operating with its own aircraft to Charlotte, Pittsburgh and Baltimore from London Gatwick, beginning Jan. 1, instead of under its wet-lease arrangement with USAir. USAir operates the flights with its own aircraft painted in BA colors, and with its own crews wearing BA uniforms. BA will begin operating the flights to Charlotte Jan. 1, to Pittsburgh March 1, and to Baltimore April 1. It will operate the flights to the U.S. with 767s that will be available after it takes delivery of three new Boeing 777s.
Delta, the official carrier of the 1996 Olympic Games in hometown Atlanta, may bear the title again in the winter games of 2002. The International Olympic Committee ruled Friday that Delta hub Salt Lake City will be the host of the games. Delta already has provided $1 million in transportation support to the city in its fifth bid for the games.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) today will convene an eight-day Worldwide Airline Liability Conference in Washington, D.C., after receiving antitrust discussion immunity from the U.S. and the European commission, IATA said Friday. The conference is scheduled for June 19-27. IATA said it is bringing together representatives of the world's airlines in an effort to "preserve the advantages of the universal Warsaw Convention region while correcting the convention's deficiencies." Current international liability limits range from $10,000 to $153,000.
Sunbird Vacations will offer nonstop service from Salt Lake City to Honolulu and Maui, beginning in October, on American Trans Air. Sunbird is a California-based wholesale travel company. The flights will be operated exclusively for Sunbird on American Trans Air's 757s. Roundtrip fares begin at $399 for off-season flights to Honolulu and $449 to Maui. Special introductory fares of $369 are available to Honolulu through July 31, and $399 to Maui.
British Airways Friday named Ford Ennals, currently executive VP-marketing and business operations for Fruit of the Loom, as the airline's new director of marketing. The 39-year-old Ennals succeeds Mike Batt, who left BA in March to move to Florida and take up the post of executive VP-sales and marketing for Alamo Rent a Car (DAILY, Feb. 24).
Tour operator Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays is expanding flights offered on American Trans Air to Hawaii from Los Angeles and San Francisco for the summer. Pleasant's service provided by American Trans Air increased last week to 12 weekly flights from Los Angeles. Six are nonstop to Maui, continuing on to Honolulu, and six are nonstop to Honolulu. The carrier has been providing four flights to Maui and three to Honolulu. From San Francisco, it operates five weekly flights nonstop to Maui, continuing on to Honolulu, and two Honolulu nonstops.
Cathay Pacific estimates that changes it made to its U.S. operation in Los Angeles will save it $1.5 million annually. The changes, which include consolidating North American reservations in Vancouver, employing home- based sales staff, reducing airport staffing and consolidating ticketing in Los Angeles, resulted in 22 employees losing their jobs.
U.S. helicopter industry shipped 83 U.S.-manufactured commercial in the first quarter of 1995, up from 76 in the same period last year, the Aerospace Industries Association said. Of the 83, 74 were civil helicopters worth $43 million, a $13 million increase over the first quarter last year, when 70 civil models were shipped for $30 million. Nine were direct military export helicopters, compared with six in 1994.
The Air Courier Conference of America (ACCA) said Congress should enact legislation to prevent the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from acting as both a participant and regulator in the delivery services sector. "Quite aside from whether or not Congress should, for the public good, grant the Postal Service a monopoly over some portion of the industry, it is clear that the administration of this public power should be in the hands of a disinterested agency and not a 'business-like' Postal Service," said Harry Geller, president of Global Mail Ltd., on behalf of ACCA.
Aeroflot will add two Airbus A310-300s to its fleet under an agreement with Diamond Sakha Airlines, bringing to six the number of long-range A310s it operates on its international network. The airplanes will be used on routes from Moscow to Berlin and to Beijing, and to northeastern Siberia.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) says the radar at Miami Airport is unreliable. The association recently complained that Congress is making budget cuts that will result in reduced aviation safety. The Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR-9) has failed seven times at Miami since May 24, NATCA said, and on June 5, 33 aircraft were on final approach when all tracking information disappeared from controllers' screens.
Air Ontario and Air Alliance have applied for authority to operate scheduled and charter combination service from any point or points in Canada and the U.S. Both carriers are wholly owned subsidaries of Air Canada. Operating a fleet of de Havilland Dash 8-100 and 300 aircraft and a Beech King Air 200, Air Ontario currently operates scheduled service between Toronto and Baltimore, Cleveland, Columbus, Hartford and Indianapolis. Air Alliance operates scheduled service between Canada and Hartford, New York and Philadelphia. The carrier flies all Dash 8-100s.
United has revamped its North American Division by appointing five officers, as well as two officers to handle international and public affairs. United Chairman Gerald Greenwald said the changes were made to focus on customers, key markets and profitability. "The role of these regional officers in key North American markets will be to ensure that United responds quickly to customer needs and market opportunities."
The first group of pilots from Gujarat Airways - a new Indian regional carrier based in Baroda, the capital of the Gujarat state - has completed training at Flight Safety's LaGuardia Airport and Wichita centers. The pilots completed type ratings at FlightSafety for Beech 1900D aircraft. The carrier will use 1900Ds to serve a 12-city route system, connecting regional cities with Baroda and Bombay.
Official rollout and simultaneous first flight of two new regional aircraft are scheduled for the same day - Aug. 18. That is the 26th anniversary of Brazilian manufacturer Embraer and therefore the day selected for the rollout of the new 50-passenger EMB-145 regional jet. Embraer established the precedent in 1983 when the prototype EMB-120 Brasilia made its "first flight" immediately after rollout. Aug. 18 also is the 50th anniversary of Indonesian independence from the Dutch, so IPTN will roll out its new N-250 high-speed turboprop and fly it on the same day.
Delta is the favorite domestic airline of travelers on long- and short-haul routes in first class and coach, according to a customer satisfaction survey conducted by J.D. Power and Associates in conjunction with Frequent Flyer Magazine and Official Airline Guide. The results are derived from 3,000 respondents who average more than 25 roundtrips a year. The ranking, in terms of overall customer satisfaction, was Delta, American and United, followed by America West, Northwest and TWA - in a three-way tie - USAir, Southwest and Continental.
Northwest Airlink carrier Mesaba Aviation flew 26.6 million revenue passenger miles in May, a 0.6% increase from the 26.5 million it logged in May 1994. Capacity dropped 4.3% to 58.8 million available seat miles from 61.5 million, pushing the load factor up 2.2 percentage points to 45.2%. The number of passenger enplanements rose 0.5% to 120,542 from 119,948. Mesaba operates Northwest Airlink flights to 54 cities in 16 states and one Canadian province. May 1995 May 1994
Mesa Air Group's five airline divisions flew a combined 20% more revenue passenger miles last month than in May one year ago on 23.5% more capacity, producing a load factor decline of 1.5 percentage points to 51.2%. The number of passengers carried rose 19.2%. May 1995 May 1994 5 Mths 1995 5 Mths 1994 RPMs 100,792,000 83,969,000 455,631,000 390,334,000 ASMs 196,850,000 159,407,000 935,519,000 775,833,000
Business Express has appointed Alan Rusinowitz director of safety and compliance. In the newly created position, he will research, interpret and disseminate safety related information, supervise audits, and assure compliance with company and FAA policies.
Airport and Airway Trust Fund Income Statement October 1, 1994 - April 30, 1995 Current Month RECEIPTS (Revenues) Revenues: Excise Taxes (Transferred from General Fund): Liquid Fuel other than Gas $ 17,863,000.00 Transportation by Air, Seats, Berths, etc. 364,823,000.00 Use of International Travel Facilities 13,220,000.00
Switzerland yesterday became the fifth country to sign its open skies agreement with the U.S.Belgium, Sweden, Denmark and Norway have yet to sign their pacts.
The Dash 8 Series 400 program, launched this week, has been in the works for so long that designers will be able to incorporate new engine technology into the product. When discussed some five years ago, officials were eyeing offerings from Allison and General Electric/Lycoming for the Series 400. Pratt&Whitney, which produces engines for other Dash 8 models, did not offer an engine deemed suitable for the Series 400 then. P&W, however, since designed the PW150 based on its PW100 and again landed the contract for a Dash 8 aircraft (see story below).
Kenyan Airline Eagle Aviation has ordered one ATR 42, Avions de Transport Regional announced in Paris. The aircraft will link Eagle Aviation's main base at Mombasa with Nairobi, Kisumu, Masai Mara and Kilimanjaro, as well as connecting Nairobi to Mombasa, Malindi, Zanzibar and Lamu. The aircraft is expected to be delivered next month.
Qantas has opened a national training center in Melbourne for domestic cabin crew. The A$2 million facility will provide training to more than 600 Qantas staff each year and handle training for other airlines, including China's Yunnan Airlines and Nordstress, which will operate leased aircraft for Alitalia. Crews will train in the 767 and 737 service trainers.
United Express affiliate Great Lakes Aviation's traffic rose 8.8% in May to 19.9 million revenue passenger miles from 17.3 million, as capacity rose faster - 13.5% - to 45.5 million available seat miles from 38.7 million. The load factor, as a result, dipped 1.1 percentage points to 43.7% from 44.8%. Enplanements increased 10.8% to 65,132 from 54,708. May 1995 May 1994 5 Mths 1995 5 Mths 1994 RPMs 19,905,000 17,343,000 87,575,000 80,493,000
