Sabre Travel Information Network (STIN) has developed a low level of participation designed to capture the business of low-fare airlines that have not been interested in computer reservations systems (CRSs), announcing Southwest yesterday as the launch customer. Southwest said it is endorsing Sabre as its preferred CRS - Sabre is the only CRS in which the airline participates - and will help market Sabre to travel agencies.
The virtual grounding of ATR fleets that sparked a public debate on safety by American Eagle's Allied Pilots Association members has now hit Delta Connection carrier Atlantic Southeast.ASA flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, plan to picket Atlanta Hartsfield today to protect scheduling changes - some of them made to incorporate ATR aircraft moved from north to south because of flight restrictions - that resulted in fewer days off.
Air Canada banned smoking in its 16 North American Maple Leaf Lounges, effective Jan. 1. "This initiative is based on customer feedback," said Mary DiBiase, product manager. "The Maple Leaf Lounges are an extension of our cabin's on-board no-smoking policy," she said. Air Canada eliminated smoking on all flights systemwide in January 1991.
American Society of Travel Agents will hold its international conference, Islands of Opportunity, in Manila Feb. 25-28. ASTA said travel agent surveys show a substantial increase in travel booked to Southeast Asia, and sessions will focus on the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Reno Air's traffic for the fourth quarter jumped 47% to 420.9 million revenue passenger miles from the same 1993 quarter on 38% more available seat miles. The carrier transported 589,288 passengers in the quarter, 51% more than in the fourth quarter 1993. The load factor was up six percentage points from 50.3% to 56.3%.
America West Express service will be offered to Des Moines, Iowa, and Spokane, Wash., beginning April 10, to provide feed to America West's Phoenix hub. The new service, operated by a newly formed Mesa Air Group division, Desert Sun Airlines, will be operated with 78-passenger Fokker 70s twice a day. On April 14, the carrier will begin operating four weekly flights between Des Moines and Las Vegas. Desert Sun will offer introductory fares of $99 each way for the first week of service. America West discontinued its own service to Des Moines in September 1992.
DOT is moving its public docket section on Friday from Room 4107 to PL401 on the plaza level of DOT's Nassif Building in Washington. Filings will be accepted on Friday at the new location, but no dockets will be available for review until Monday, Jan. 23.
Hilton Hotels Corp. is offering its HHonors members double points and double miles for business-rate stays in a Hilton Hotel when using the American Express card. The promotion, called the double double dip, begins Jan. 23 and runs through April 30. Participating HHonors members are Air Canada, Alaska, America West, Delta, Mexicana, United and USAir.
Continental is overhauling its OnePass Elite frequent traveler program by overriding changes that were not well received by members last year. The carrier said the new program includes more opportunities for upgrades and increased mileage bonuses.
Vanguard Airlines will begin service to Dallas/Fort Worth and Milwaukee from Kansas City Jan. 30. It plans to operate three daily nonstop flights to each city and will extend its "take a friend for free" promotion to the destinations on roundtrip flights during February. Vanguard Chief Executive Bob McAdoo said passenger response to its new service at Denver, Kansas City and Salt Lake City "has been terrific." It will offer $49 one- way fares during off-peak travel times to DFW and $39 to Milwaukee.
Osaka's offshore Kansai Airport escaped the major earthquake that hit the Kobe and Kansai regions of Japan, airline officials said yesterday. Northwest said it has resumed a full flight schedule to Osaka, and a Japan Air Lines spokesman said the airport was "not affected" by the quake. "Our operations have not been interrupted," the spokesman said. "The only problem we encountered was in ground transportation and getting flight crews to the airport.
ATR Marketing said FAA extrapolation of the force required to keep ATR aircraft from rolling was "erroneous" (DAILY, Jan. 12). Anthony Broderick, FAA associate administrator for regulation and certification, said mathematical extrapolation based on ground tests in Toulouse showed the force required to keep the aircraft from rolling could exceed 100 pounds.
British Airways has filed for renewal of its code-share agreement with USAir. Due to expire March 17, the arrangement, in place for two years, is likely to draw industry and possibly political opposition since a recent DOT- sponsored code-share study showed that the pact had a negative effect on the U.S. airline industry. Renewal of the agreement may be necessary, however, to keep floundering USAir afloat. (Dockets 48640&49086)
Spurred by the new U.S.-Canada framework agreement, Federal Express is seeking to amend its current authority and expand its operations between the U.S. and Canada. The carrier is asking for authority to operate between any point or points in the U.S., on the one hand, and any point or points in Canada on the other. FedEx currently holds U.S. authority to conduct unrestricted all-cargo service between various specific points in the U.S. and Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Virgin Atlantic Airways' new agreement with Malaysian Airline System (MAS) gives the two airlines a new way to compete with British Airways in Australia. Under the 10-year accord, Virgin and MAS will jointly operate twice-daily service from London Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur with onward flights to Sydney, according to Reuter.
America West said its fourth quarter traffic declined 0.4%, while capacity increased 5.3%. Load factor fell 5.3 points to 62.2%. For the year, traffic climbed 9%, capacity rose 5.1% and load factor gained 2.4 points to 67.7%.
Discovery of materials in a "safe house" in Manila led to stricter security measures imposed on U.S. airlines serving points in East Asia, administration officials said. Philippine officials discovered materials mixed among "priestly robes" and other religious materials that pointed to liquids as the vehicle for transporting explosive devices, according to administration officials. Following a warning by the Philippine government on Jan. 9, the State Department on Jan. 10 issued a statement concerning the threats, and the FAA and U.S.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Commission Expenses Third Quarter 1994 % Of Total Passenger Systemwide Revenue America West $ 29,477,456 8.83 American 325,184,000 9.65 Continental 87,215,000 7.78
Lufthansa will test non-smoking flights on several North Atlantic routes, beginning Feb. 1. All of Lufthansa's Canadian service from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver will be non-smoking for a two-month trial period. In addition, the airline will designate as non-smoking one of its three New York departures, as well a new, twice-a-week San Francisco departure, beginning March 30. All of the service operates to Frankfurt.
Executive Jet Aviation has signed an agreement valued at more than $500 million covering 22 new aircraft and maintenance services from Gulfstream during the next five years, the companies announced yesterday. EJA will buy seven new GIV-SPs for delivery this year and next, and it took options for 13 more GIV-SPs and two GVs. The GV, a business jet with a range of 6,500 nautical miles, is scheduled to begin flight tests in November.
UAL Corp. has revised upward United's systemwide capacity projections for 1995 because of the delay of a program to reduce capacity over the Pacific. In a letter to investors and analysts, United said it expects available seat miles to increase 3% in 1995 over 1994, instead of the 1.7% predicted in November. United had planned to reconfigure several aircraft by removing some seats and enhancing the seat pitch in Connoisseur Class, which would have cut capacity by taking some aircraft out of service during the modification and having fewer seats afterward.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Food Expenses Third Quarter 1994 Cost Per Systemwide Passenger America West $ 7,939,852 $ 1.93 American 164,492,000 7.62 Continental 30,923,000 2.79 Delta 120,276,000 5.12
Continental's deactivation of eight A300s last week will contribute to the elimination of about 4,000 jobs in capacity cutbacks first revealed last November. As fewer positions will be needed to handle fewer flights, Continental said it hopes that employees will take advantage of leaves of absence, and that attrition will reduce the number of layoffs that will be necessary. Continental President and Chief Executive Gordon Bethune told employees that it is hard to speculate where and when the reductions in staff will occur.
Canadian Airlines International is strengthening its Asian service with the 1995 summer schedule. Beginning May 1, CAI will add 33% more capacity to Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan and boost service to Shanghai. It also will add 747-400 service to every Asian market it serves. "We've seen double- digit growth for air travel in this region over the last five years," said Don Casey, VP-marketing and scheduling.
United plans to hire more than 1,000 flight attendants this year and is seeking candidates who speak one of 18 languages in addition to English. Paul George, senior VP-people division, said an increasing number of United's domestic passengers have a primary language other than English. The positions will be located in the U.S. initially, so flight attendants must have the legal right to accept U.S. employment. United employs about 17,000 flight attendants, and the new hires will be based in Chicago, New York and San Francisco.
