The number of passengers arriving in Taiwan increased by more than 15% in 1994, reaching 2.1 million. Aviation officials in Taipei attributed the growth to the island's decision to grant visa-free entry to citizens of 12 nations, and they predicted a further increase this year as the government extends the length of visa-free stays and considers expanding the program to citizens of additional countries. The number of outbound passengers rose by only 2% in 1994 after years of double-digit growth.
FAA said this week it will not try to block transfer of $43 million in Los Angeles Department of Airports funds to the city's general fund, and the Air Transport Association charged that DOT is helping the city divert airport revenue. The Department of Airports asked DOT last year to confirm that it could transfer to the city $43 million that was "erroneously allocated" to the airport revenue fund following a sale of land to the state for construction of a freeway (DAILY, April 12, 1994).
Flight simulator technicians at Airbus Industrie's Florida-based training subsidiary, Airbus Services Company Inc., will be represented by the Transport Workers Union. The National Mediation Board counted the ballots of the 15 eligible voters Tuesday. The TWU received 12 votes.
Ellen Horton has been promoted by the American Association of Airport Executives to be the editor of its Airport Magazine, replacing Joan Lowden, who will continue as publisher. Horton, managing editor of the magazine since 1989, worked for Aviation DAILY as a reporter and editor for 13 years.
As Belgium concludes bilateral negotiations with the U.S. this week, it and the other European Union countries involved in open-skies talks face increased pressure to back away from them. EU Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock has written transport ministers from the open-skies target countries, warning them that agreements with the U.S. will be challenged in the EU Court of Justice on grounds that independent negotiations are not permitted.
After months of uncertainty, DOT and the Defense Department have reached an agreement on civil use of corrected Global Positioning System signals, The DAILY learned yesterday. The deal, which follows two days of meetings this week in Washington, frees FAA to award up to $500 million in WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) development contracts (DAILY, March 1). DOD will have up to a year to develop a technique to jam GPS L-1 signals - the basic frequency of GPS satellite transmissions and the frequency that will carry the WAAS corrections - on a local-theater basis.
Airline productivity, measured in the ability to produce capacity per block hour, has decreased more than 8% since 1980, mainly due to the deteriorating efficiency of the air traffic control system, according to a study by Aviation Systems Research Corp.ATC has become the largest controllable cost faced by airlines, even greater than labor, ASRC says.
U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration officials, urging continued funding for their agency, unveiled plans Tuesday to boost international travel to the U.S. "Now, more than ever, our efforts to increase the U.S. share of the worldwide tourism market are an essential element of our nation's growth," said Under Secretary Greg Farmer, citing a projected drop in the number of tourists visiting the U.S. in 1995.
ATR said yesterday it will flight test its ATR-72 twin turboprop again, beginning Saturday, at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., under severe icing conditions, this time with the expanded de-icing boot it developed in response to the Oct. 31 crash of an American Eagle ATR-72 in Indiana. The new boot, which extends almost twice as far back on the top surface of the wing as the current one, is being retrofitted onto in-service ATR aircraft.
Gulfstream Aerospace has opened a parts facility in Bahrain. Under an agreement with DHL Worldwide Express, parts will be warehoused and distributed daily.
Japan Airlines has postponed the launch of two domestic routes because of heavy demands on its fleet and crews to operate extra sections in the wake of the Jan. 17 Kobe earthquake. The earthquake severed the Bullet Train line, Japan's east-west rail artery. The new routes, Osaka Kansai- Oita and Osaka Kansai-Kagoshima, were scheduled to open April 1. JAL said the new launch dates will depend on the resumption of normal Bullet Train service. It said its daily flight to Oita and twice-daily service to Kagoshima from Osaka Itami will continue to operate normally.
USAir yesterday announced new service from Baltimore/Washington to Birmingham and Louisville, beginning March 5, at the same fares announced by Southwest earlier this week, $29 to Louisville and $39 to Birmingham. USAir said business travelers "now have a full-service alternative" and can get double mileage through April 30.
General Accounting Office has removed the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation from its high-risk program, which singles out agencies with areas of financial vulnerability. GAO said that since it first issued a high-risk report on the PBGC in 1992, the agency has improved the management of its finances. PBGC's financial position was strengthened by the Retirement Protection Act, passed in December as part of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The reforms improve funding and increase premiums paid by underfunded pension plans.
World Airways said it has new contracts with Malaysian Airline System to operate three MD-11 freighters and two MD-11 passenger aircraft. One of the freighters is in service and the other two will begin service in June, and World will fly them at least 400 hours per month per aircraft.
Unisys Corp. said it was awarded a contract from NASA Langley Research Center, valued at $23 million over five years, to provide flight simulation services. The Unisys team, which includes PSI International, CAE-Link Corp. and Arinc Research Corp., will support Langley's flight simulation activities and the maintenance of the Advanced Real-Time Simulation System (ARTSS). Services include programming, validation, configuration management and documentation of real-time simulation computer programs.
Senate aviation subcommittee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said yesterday that "the evidence overwhelmingly supports" major air traffic control reform. McCain, who made the comment during a hearing on 1993 National Airline Commission recommendations, later told The DAILY that "probably some form of privatization is in order," but "we don't want to do anything that hurts FAA's credibility" on safety issues.
House Transportation Committee yesterday approved a bill (H.R.1036) to abolish the unconstitutional Board of Review for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) and to make other changes, including possible increased service at Washington National Airport. The committee approved the bill with only one amendment, providing that the four additional presidential appointees to the MWAA board of directors are serving to ensure that the national interest is protected. The aviation subcommittee approved the bill Monday without amendment (DAILY, Feb. 28).
Aerolineas Argentinas plans to increase its transatlantic service to Europe May 1. It will offer daily flights from Buenos Aires to Madrid; three flights a week to Rome and Frankfurt; four flights a week to Paris, and two flights a week to London. Zurich will be served with a change of aircraft at Madrid. Four of the Europe-bound flights will stop at Sao Paulo, continuing to Rome and Frankfurt two days a week and to Madrid and Paris two days a week.
All Nippon Airways' first APEX (advance purchase excursion) fares for domestic flights are set to go on sale March 15 for travel on all of its 89 domestic routes between May and Sept. 30. The fares were made possible when Japan's transport ministry lifted restrictions on the level of discounts airlines can offered without prior approval. Japan Airlines announced its APEX fares last week (DAILY, Feb. 28).
Despite smooth opening-day baggage system operations Tuesday, the new Denver Airport experienced a delay of about two hours in cargo operations due to de-icing problems. Airport Director James DeLong told The DAILY yesterday that environmental regulations require that de-icing be done over specific collection points where glycol retention drains have been installed. He reported some confusion by United Parcel Service on where to park for de-icing. He said that the problem was cleared up and had little impact on the day's 800 operations.
British Airways and other carriers using Terminal 4 at London Heathrow are promoting the airport's "Arrivals Fast Track" system for non-European Union nationals flying in premium classes. The dedicated channel, similar to the Departures Fast Track begun last December, offers rapid access to immigration desks for passengers arriving from the U.S. and Canada between 6 a.m. and noon. It will be extended to departure points around the world by May. EU nationals still will have their own dedicated channels. Arrivals Fast Track is operated by Heathrow Airport Ltd.
Officials at closed meetings Monday and yesterday of DOT's Position/Navigation Executive Committee tried to resolve issues surrounding civil aviation use of the Global Positioning System, including Defense Department concern about national security. DOD has raised the possibility of signal interference as well as the national security issue in connection with an FAA plan to downlink Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) information on the GPS L1 frequency using geostationary satellites (DAILY, Feb. 24).
Lufthansa will launch daily Chicago-Munich service March 26, with connections to 26 U.S. cities through Chicago on its code-sharing partner, United. Lufthansa is offering a $648 roundtrip fare on weekday departures from March 26 through May 21. Weekend flights cost $688. The carrier will use A340 aircraft seating 228 passengers.
Tower Air will resume May 12 scheduled flights from New York to Sao Paulo, Brazil, that connect in Miami, and is offering special bonus commissions to travel agents booking the flights. The carrier declined to reveal the percentage of the commissions. Tower stopped serving Sao Paulo from New York last July because of a slump in traffic to Brazil, and because of political reasons. It has offered charter service from Miami since Dec. 17. Flights will depart New York on Fridays at 6 p.m., and return flights will operate on Saturdays at 11 p.m.
