A U.S. bankruptcy court judge in Anchorage will rule today on MarkAir's filing for Chapter 11 protection. MarkAir needs a favorable ruling to keep creditors from repossessing its aircraft (DAILY, April 18).
United Parcel Service daily volume of express packages and documents rose 22.6% in the first quarter to 1.38 million. Domestic U.S. express volume grew 21.7.% from the first quarter last year, and international express volume jumped 36.3%. UPS said the just-ended quarter is the 10th in a row in which its combined domestic and international express volume grew more than 20%.
Alaska Airlines and the Machinists union have reached a tentative agreement on an amended four-year contract covering the carrier's clerical, office and passenger service personnel. The accord comes less than a week after the National Mediation Board sent the two parties into a 30-day cooling-off period. The Machinists have been negotiating the contract since it became amendable in September 1992 (DAILY, April 14).
Carnival Air Lines plans to begin scheduled jet service between New York Kennedy and Nassau on June 23. The flights, to be operated five days a week, will depart New York at 7:30 a.m. and will arrive in Nassau at 10:30 a.m. The airline, which has been flying the route as a charter for several years, is offering an introductory fare of $119 each way.
Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.), ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, this month introduced at the request of the the Clinton administration legislation (S.703) to simplify the organization of DOT by consolidating the various surface modal administrations into a single Intermodal Transportation Administration (ITA). The bill, identical to one (H.R.1440) introduced by Rep. Norman Mineta (D-Calif.) by request, also would transfer the functions of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation to FAA.
A decision on the potential sale of John Wayne Airport, stricken from the Orange County Board of Supervisors agenda yesterday, has been put off for at least 60 days, airport spokeswoman Courtney Wiercioch told The DAILY. Chief Executive Officer William Popejoy removed from the board's agenda a vote on whether to issue a request for qualifications for the potential purchase of the airport.
Four airlines - Aero Zambia, First Air, Gulfstream International and Maersk Air - have been added recently to the roster of carriers participating in the GETS computer reservations system, according to GETS Marketing Co. The four additions bring the total number of GETS participants, including airlines and other travel-related businesses, to 299.
USAir will offer $151.10 roundtrip fares on its new Montreal-Washington National service from June 19 until July 17 on tickets purchased through May 9. It will offer double frequent flyer miles between June 19 and Aug. 31.
Minnesota's Metropolitan Airport Commission this week approved a plan for a potential new airport in Dakota County that could serve as a replacement for Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport. Under a state-mandated dual-track planning process, state officials have prepared a comprehensive plan for an airport on a site southwest of Hastings, Minn., while also developing a long-term comprehensive plan for the existing airport.
Continental will unveil tomorrow a system to enhance electronic ticketing systems that it says will take the industry one step closer to the "airport of the future." The system, in development with EDS and AT&T Global Information Systems for a year, will simplify and expedite business and leisure travel, Continental said.
FlightSafety International has appointed Jerry Nickelsburg to be director of airline marketing, a position the company said it created "to provide a marketing interface for the greatly enlarged training services and facilities" it offers. Nickelsburg has been at Douglas Aircraft Co. for eight years, most recently as deputy regional VP-Asia sales. He was an economics professor at the University of Southern California for six years.
FAA has issued a final rule updating the fee schedule for airman and repair station certification services performed outside the U.S. The new rule and schedule of fees, published in today's Federal Register, take effect in 30 days. FAA said the new rule is needed to allow the agency to recover all the costs it incurs in performing certification outside the U.S., and to bring current airman fees in line with the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and other international treaties.
Emirates is running a Tom Hanks film festival for its first-class passengers, offering a choice of "Forrest Gump," "Big," "Philadelphia," "Splash" and "Turner and Hooch." In the past, Emirates has featured Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood festivals.
Qantas yesterday observed the 60th anniversary of its first overseas flight, a four-day, 18-stop journey from Brisbane to Singapore.The flight now takes seven hours and 45 minutes, nonstop.
The World Health Organization has presented Singapore Airlines with a medal and citation in recognition of the carrier's policy of offering smoke-free services on more than 90% of its flights. Last Oct. 30, all SIA flights except those originating or terminating in Japan became smoke-free. Today, 842 of SIA's 930 weekly flights, or 90.5% of its schedule, are non-smoking. SilkAir, SIA's wholly owned subsidiary, operates smoke-free flights on all of its services.
Auxiliary Power International Corp. reported that it has been chosen by SAETA of Ecuador and Sky Service, a Canadian FBO, to equip A320 aircraft with its APS 3200 auxiliary power unit. The company said the orders will serve as the "launch" of its A320 business in South America and Canada.
Controllers United, which says it represents the interests of 11,400 former Professional Air Traffic Control Organization members, estimates that FAA could save $500 million in training costs by hiring available former controllers, instead of beginners, to fill vacancies at understaffed facilities.
Continental is praising FAA for taking action to reduce delays at its Newark hub by staffing New York-area air traffic control facilities with 30 extra controllers. FAA also has commissioned an instrument landing system at Newark that Continental expects to reduce delays by increasing the use of the third runway during IFR conditions. Newark has led the nation in delays in four of the last five years (DAILY, April 11), and Continental has made improving its on-time performance one of the top priorities in its Go Forward Plan, implemented a few months ago.
Weber Aircraft Inc., Gainesville, Texas, said it has completed TSO C127 dynamic testing of its electrically actuated 7070 seats for the first- class cabin of A340 aircraft ordered by Air Canada from Airbus Industrie. The certification tests were the first conducted on the company's recently completed 16g test track.
The Supreme Court agreed Monday to hear an appeal that centers on whether relatives of a passenger killed in an airline accident must show that they were financially dependent on the victim in order to collect damages from the airline under the Warsaw Convention. The suit was brought against Korean Air Lines by the mother and sister of a passenger who died in September, 1983, when KAL Flight 007 was shot down by Soviet military aircraft.
DOT has granted Horizon Air authority to serve Spokane and Calgary. The department also renewed United's authority to serve the same route. (Dockets 45651&49175)
Aeromexico has applied for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Tijuana, Mexico, and Bakersfield, Calif. The carrier currently operates daily service on the route via its code-share arrangement with Air L.A. It uses 19-seat Metro III aircraft operated via Las Vegas and/or Los Angeles. (Docket 50294)
Air Jamaica will launch daily service from Fort Lauderdale to Montego Bay and Kingston on May 1. Jamaica-bound flights will leave Fort Lauderdale at 8:30 a.m., arrive in Montego Bay at 9:25 a.m., and continue to Kingston. "This is a step in the right direction for the new Air Jamaica," said Gordon Stewart, chairman of the newly privatized carrier. "We have a growth and development plan for Air Jamaica, and Fort Lauderdale is the perfect place to begin."
Delta has turned to the federal government for mediation help in contract talks with its pilots on labor cost reductions after determining that they cannot reach agreement on their own. The Air Line Pilots Association called Delta's appeal to the National Mediation Board for intervention "premature." The parties have been negotiating since last fall, and Delta asked for mediation after ALPA rejected the carrier's suggestion last week that the two make the filing together.
Passenger volume at the London area's three largest airports - Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - rose 4.6% in March to nearly 6.09 million passengers, according to BAA plc, the airport management and development company that runs the three facilities and four other U.K. airports. Total passenger volume at the seven BAA airports increased 3.9% to 6.9 million. Passenger volume at Heathrow, the largest of the seven, increased 5.8% to 4.36 million, but Gatwick volume rose 0.9% to 1.49 million.
