Airmax, a North American air cargo management service for international airlines, has signed an interline pact with Malaysia Airlines to deliver its import and export cargo between international gateway airports and anywhere on the North American continent. It will provide road feeder service, cargo drop stations and other management systems in nine U.S. cities - Atlanta, Dallas, Austin, New Orleans, Houston, Miami, Phoenix, Denver and Salt Lake City - for cargo being exported to Malaysia and other Asian markets served by the carrier.
Midway Airlines will announce today its plans to move into Raleigh/Durham, N.C., as American continues to cut service. A Raleigh/Durham Airport spokeswoman said Midway will reveal details of startup operations and an "ambitious" growth plan, as well as a "dynamic level of service." A UPI report said Midway has been negotiating to sublease seven of the 25 gates now used by American. The Raleigh spokeswoman said seven is the number that has been circulating, but an American spokesman could not confirm the report.
After meeting with members of the House aviation subcommittee last week in his office at DOT, Secretary Federico Pena is slated for a followup meeting today on Capitol Hill with Chairman John Duncan (R-Tenn.).The main topic will be air traffic control reform. Duncan, who told Pena last week he has an open mind on corporatizing or privatizing ATC, plans hearings on the subject Feb. 14, 15 and 23.
Boeing said yesterday it opened an avionics center in Singapore, its first in the Asia-Pacific area. The center will provide test, repair and maintenance for Boeing-built avionics, including those on the new 777, which seven customers in the region will introduce in the next three years.
Nordam said it has received a supplemental type certificate for its new low-gross-weight (LGW) hush kit for 737-200s, and initial deliveries are under way. General Electric Capital Aviation Services bought three kits for aircraft operated by Air South, Viscount Air Services and AirTran Airways. The carriers are using the kits to meet the Dec. 31, 1994, fleet Stage 3 percentage requirements, Nordam President Charles Ryan said. The company also delivered two shipments of a total of six to an unnamed non- commercial carrier.
Lufthansa plans to begin code sharing to Sydney next fall or winter with partner Thai Airways International. The code sharing operation will replace three-times-weekly Frankfurt-Bangkok-Sydney service that sister carrier Condor currently operates on behalf of Lufthansa with 767-300ERs.
DOT may be ready to unveil its model open-skies agreement to nine European countries this week, according to an administration official. Code-sharing language in the original draft slowed progress on the initiative.
American's agreement to buy Delta's Miami/Tampa-Toronto and Miami/Tampa- Montreal routes for $1 million (DAILY, Jan. 23) will enable it to link its flights to Canada with its significant operations to Central and South America through Miami - if DOT approves. The deal is American's second attempt in recent years to win the service - it entered a route transfer pact with Eastern in 1989 for Miami/Tampa-Toronto but was denied by DOT, and Delta was awarded the route over American in October 1991.
Finnair raised 350 million Finnmarks (US$74 million) through an offering of 10 million new shares to help finance the replacement of its aging DC-9 fleet (DAILY, Dec. 1). The offering was priced at 35 Finnmarks per share, below the expected level, but was so popular that the size of the issue was increased to 10 million shares from eight million. Kleinwort Benson Securities, lead manager of the international offering, has the option to require the airline to offer another two million shares, and appears likely to do so, given the event's popularity.
FAA will hold its 20th annual Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference March 3. The event's theme, "Restructuring for Growth and Profitability," will reflect changes within the industry and issues affecting its growth. Scheduled speakers are DOT Secretary Federico Pena and FAA Deputy Administrator Linda Daschle; Sam Buttrick, PaineWebber; K.
Virgin Atlantic has wet-leased a 757 from Air UK Leisure to operate the London Heathrow-Athens service it recently took back from franchise operator South East European Airlines, which has been having financial difficulties. Virgin is negotiating with aircraft lessor Orix for the return of the A320 that Orix repossessed from South East European. Virgin said loads on the daily Athens service have been good, and the service is profitable. The U.K. airline is likely to operate the service on its own once it secures an aircraft.
DOT Secretary Federico Pena detailed the changes made late last year in structure and philosophy for the department's Consumer Affairs department at a news conference yesterday. Renamed the Office of Consumer Protection - the office will be "stronger and more forceful," Pena said, "with a new and broader mission." No longer a separate department, the office is now part of the DOT General Counsel's office.
A transcript of the cockpit voice recorder tape from the USAir 737-300 that crashed last Sept. 8 near Pittsburgh, killing all 132 persons aboard, shows that less than 30 seconds passed between the time the pilots realized something was wrong and the impact of the aircraft. The National Transportation Safety Board issued the transcript and several other factual reports yesterday in Pittsburgh as it began its public hearing into the accident. The hearing was expected to continue throughout the week as the board tries to determine the cause of the crash.
EDO Corp., which supplies many Western airlines, said it received a $500,000 Airbus Industrie contract for A300-600 and A310 vacuum waste tanks made from composite materials. In December, EDO received a Boeing contract valued at $4.5 million for 737-700 waste tanks.
American has reached an agreement to buy Delta's Miami/Tampa-Montreal and Miami/Tampa-Toronto routes for $1 million, effective May 1.American also is competing in the Canadian route selection proceeding, pending at DOT, for authority to operate from its Dallas/Fort Worth hub to Vancouver and Montreal.
Air South is offering $34 one-way fares between Atlanta and Raleigh/Durham until Feb. 13, with no advance-purchase or Saturday night stay restrictions. The Columbia, S.C.-based carrier offered a similar promotion earlier this month to stimulate traffic to Jacksonville and Miami. "The public response was outstanding, and we want to apply the same approach to acquaint travelers with our new services to Raleigh/Durham from Atlanta," said Tom Volz, VP-marketing. Air South, which began service in August, operates five 737-200s.
TWA is urging DOT to deny American's application for service between Chicago and Birmingham, England. TWA said it was surprised that American would take such an action three months after the U.S. rejected the U.K.'s offer to open its regional airports unilaterally in a bid to jump-start stalled U.S.-U.K. bilateral negotiations. TWA said the U.S. government should stick to its position against "accepting the British offer to open the regional airports - but not Heathrow, the primary U.K. airport - to service by U.S.
Organized crime has moved into the air freight industry at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, according to Hans Leijgraaf, secretary of the air freight shippers council of EVO, the Dutch transport industry association. Leijgraaf was quoted by Reuter as saying that there is strong evidence that criminals know precisely what goods are stored in warehouses at Schiphol. The criminals are aware of which pallets are most likely to contain valuable consignments, such as computers and other electronic products, he said.
Tower Air will expand its passenger terminal and public parking at New York Kennedy under an agreement authorized last week by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey board of commissioners. "The supplemental lease agreement...will allow the airline to create more space in its terminal for air travelers, and provide an additional 300 parking spaces for their use," said Kathleen Donovan, chairwoman of the board. The port authority will provide up to $5.5 million toward construction costs, to be repaid by Tower during the term of its lease.
Simula Inc. said its Airline Interiors subsidiary received a contract from In-Flight Phone Corp. for equipment installation on the Carnival 727 and America West 737 fleets. Hopeful that the market for seating systems incorporating electronic entertainment and communications systems will continue to grow, Simula said Airline Interiors received a letter of intent from Trans-Orient Express for seating systems. California-based Trans- Orient Express plans to begin 747-200 service between the U.S. and Vietnam this year.
Japan Airlines is flying relief supplies for victims of last week's Kobe earthquake on domestic flights within Japan to Osaka free of charge until further notice, JAL said. The goods are carried on JAL's scheduled passenger flights into Osaka Kansai and Itami airports from Tokyo and other cities.
As environmental interests press for immediate tightening of aircraft noise and emissions standards, Aerospace Industries Association has made the search for ways to attain such gains one of its top goals for 1995, AIA President Don Fuqua says.
The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) Friday said Eastern Trustee Martin Shugrue's request for $2.2 million in additional compensation for liquidating the airline is unreasonable (DAILY, Jan. 13). Shugrue has asked the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to approve total compensation of $4.5 million, $2.295 million of which he already has received in "interim" compensation. PBGC has a claim in the Eastern bankruptcy for $565 million in pension underfunding. In its filing, the PBGC said Shugrue did not document the time he spent on the case or the nature of his services.
