All Nippon Airways will join the multi-carrier-owned Passages frequent flyer program on March 1. The program is operated by Asian Frequent Flyer Ltd., a joint-venture company established in 1993 by Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysian Airlines System and Singapore Airlines. With ANA's membership, nine airlines, five hotel chains and three credit card companies will be participants in Passages. Koji Yamashita, ANA VP- international marketing and sales, said ANA believes membership in Passages will greatly improve its marketing strength in Asia.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Maintenance Expenses Third Quarter 1994 % Of Total Operating Systemwide Expenses America West $ 30,061,330 9.25 American 298,625,000 8.73 Continental 142,939,000 11.75
Business Travel Contractors Corp., which touched off controversy last June with its proposed "business contract fares" to be worked out between 30 to 40 large corporations and domestic airlines, is slowly beginning to raise its profile again. It dropped out of sight when it filed its plan for Justice Department review in September, but its president, Kevin Mitchell, says it has three corporations ready to sign up as participants if and when Justice gives the nod. BTCC had lined up 17 corporations before the September filing.
Kiwi International is seeking swift approval of its request to operate scheduled combination service between Newark and Bermuda, so it can inaugurate Chicago Midway-Newark-Bermuda service May 4. It plans seven weekly roundtrips using 727-200 aircraft. (Docket 50011)
Former TWA captain H.G. (Hoot) Gibson said Friday that he believes that rudder problems that caused his 727 to go into a six-mile spiral dive in 1979 were responsible for the crash of a United 737 in Colorado Springs and a USAir 737 near Pittsburgh. He petitioned the U.S. appeals court in Washington, D.C., to order the National Transportation Safety Board to reopen the case and reconsider its finding that cockpit crew had been responsible for the accident (DAILY, Jan. 12).
Continental will make a major announcement this week on changes in its OnePass frequent flyer program - including repeal of some changes made earlier - in response to customers. Startup carrier Frontier, which flies from Denver to several points in Montana, North Dakota, Texas and New Mexico, became a OnePass member Sunday.
Canadian Transport Minister Doug Young's failure to rule on Air Canada's four-year-old request for Hong Kong authority is inconsistent with the intent of the country's new International Air Transportation Policy, according to Air Canada Chairman Hollis Harris. In a six-page Jan. 6 letter to Young, a copy of which was obtained last week by The DAILY, Harris called on Young to designate Air Canada as the second Canadian carrier - after Canadian Airlines International - in the Canada-Hong Kong market.
Siemens Corporate Research scientists are developing a prototype airport surface traffic detection and tracking system, according to the Princeton, N.J.-based company. The system is intended to help control towers monitor aircraft on the ground and enable aircraft to dock automatically at terminals without human intervention, the company said. The system will be able to function in all types of weather, providing controllers with pictures of ground traffic from runways to the parking position and of automatic docking operations.
FAA Technical Center and eight industry associations are sponsoring the 1995 Airport Technology Conference and Exposition, scheduled Feb. 13-15 at Bally's Park Place in Atlantic City, N.J. The program will include sessions on airport surface control and lighting, weather, pavement, capacity, wake vortex issues, landside and airside technology, wildlife control, new large aircraft, aircraft rescue and firefighting, and airport/airline security.
As an example of what he means by "proactive" safety, FAA Administrator David Hinson told Congress his agency issued 377 airworthiness directives in the past fiscal year, of which about 95% were developed on the basis of incidents "rather than accident data."
U.S. efforts to persuade foreign carriers to stop spraying insecticide on flights arriving in their home countries have been positive, an administration official says. DOT is set to identify this week eight countries that have dropped the practice. At the same time, the department will announce a rulemaking aimed at ending it totally.
Southwest Airlines will open a crew base for up to 300 pilots at Oakland Airport in early March, making Oakland its fifth largest city in terms of staffing. The carrier opened a flight attendant base there in October. It also will begin service to Omaha, Neb., March 4 with five daily flights to Chicago Midway, two to Las Vegas and two to Phoenix. The introductory seven-day advance purchase fare is $39 to Chicago and $89 to Las Vegas and Phoenix. Tickets must be purchased by March 3 for travel through May 23.
American, already immersed in talks with its pilots and flight attendants, will negotiate eight Transport Workers Union contracts, affecting about 29,000 employees, that become amendable March 1.The TWU units comprise mechanics, fleet service employees, dispatchers, simulator technicians and four smaller groups. Contract openers will be exchanged Feb. 7.
Continental Connection will add 34 nonstop flights to eight new cities March 1 from Piedmont Triad Airport in Greensboro, N.C. On the same day, Continental will begin three new daily nonstops to Washington National from Piedmont, and one from Piedmont to Fort Myers, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Continental Connection will offer introductory one-way fares of $89 to Knoxville, Tenn., and Columbia, S.C., and $99 to Nashville, Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Louisville, Savannah and Washington Dulles. The fares are available for travel through March 31.
Southwest's pilots have ratified an unprecedented 10-year contract tentatively reached in mid-November to freeze wages for five years in exchange for stock options, saving the company hundreds of millions of dollars if the agreement lasts the full term. Southwest Airlines Pilots' Association (SWAPA) members approved the contract by a margin of 67.6% to 31.8%.
NatWest Securities analyst Michael Derchin generally doubts that United will be able to replicate its new shuttle operation away from the West Coast, with a couple of exceptions - there may be opportunities at St. Louis if TWA folds, or along the East Coast as Continental Lite shrinks. United and Southwest would be the most logical operators to fill a void at St. Louis, he says.
Alaska Airlines is seeking DOT authority to operate scheduled passenger service between Vancouver and points in California and Mexico. It proposes two daily departures from the Canadian city - a nonstop to Oakland, Calif.; and a flight to San Diego that continues to Los Cabos, Mexico - using 737- 400 and MD-80 aircraft and offering fares that are as much as 53% less than current prices. "The Bay Area, Southern California and Mexico are important leisure destinations for Canadians," said Harry Lehr, senior VP- planning and finance.
- In Federal Register dated Jan. 6...Issued an airworthiness directive on certain Boeing 747-100 aircraft for an inspection to detect discrepancies in the lap joint in certain fuselage stations...Proposed an AD on certain Boeing 747 aircraft to require modifying the nacelle strut and wing structure...Proposed to supersede an AD on certain Boeing 767 aircraft concerning tests of the thrust reverser system.
Mesa Air Group's board has promoted Clark Stevens, president of FloridaGulf, to president of Mesa Air Group. He also will assume the newly created position of chief operating officer. Current President Larry Risley will retain his positions as chairman and chief executive. Stevens will be responsible for supervising the five Mesa operating divisions and subsidiaries. The legal and finance/accounting departments of Mesa Air Group will continue to report to Risley.
DOT has granted Russian carrier Krasnoyarsk Airlines authority to operate scheduled combination service between Russia and New York, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Operating as KrasAir, the carrier plans to inaugurate its U.S. service with three weekly Moscow-New York roundtrips, using DC-10-30s. A former division of Aeroflot, KrasAir is 51% owned by the Russian state and 44% by employees, with the balance held by an investment fund. It operates a fleet of 50 Russian-made transport aircraft and two DC-10-30s, leased from Douglas Aircraft (DAILY, Dec.
National Transportation Safety Board plans to address FAA certification requirements for flights in icing conditions when it conducts its public hearing on the Oct. 31 ATR-72 crash in Indiana. Chairman Jim Hall says the board is "aware" that weather conditions at the time "might have been more severe than the conditions required" for FAA certification of the aircraft.
The LatinPass frequent flyer program, comprising 14 Latin American carriers and USAir, is fully operational, the company said Friday. More than 15 million members of the individual carriers' frequent flyer plans can begin accruing miles on LatinPass member airlines, as well as Avis and Hertz, said Robert Booth, president of Aviation Management Services, which manages LatinPass. Separately, LatinPass has named Rosa Maria Plasencia general manager. She was formerly international director at Ladeco.
