Imperial Airlines has asked for DOT authority to operate charter service between the U.K. and the U.S. via intermediate or beyond points in other countries. The Bermuda-based airline plans to begin operations Jan. 10, using DC-8-52 aircraft. (Dockets 49995&49996)
Sabena surpassed its target for the year by boarding 4.26 million passengers in 1994, an increase of 16.7% over 1993, when it carried 3.65 million. The Belgian airline's goal was four million passengers for the year. Sabena said it experienced traffic gains on routes within Europe and to Africa, the U.S. and Asia.
Delta Connection carrier SkyWest Airlines moves today from Terminal 1 to the new Concourse E in Terminal 2 at Salt Lake City Airport, tripling its gate space from five to 15. SkyWest said the move will reduce walking time to connecting Delta flights by half, and it offers more convenient access from parking garages. About 60% of SkyWest's passengers connect to Delta flights. SkyWest will expand its service to Salt Lake City this spring, after it takes delivery of four 50-passenger Canadair Regional Jets.
A federal court judge in Los Angeles yesterday set aside a jury verdict that awarded Litton $1.2 billion in damages in a ring laser gyro patent infringement suit against Honeywell, ruling that Litton's patent was not valid. U.S. District Court Judge Mariana Pfaelzer found that Litton's patent is unenforceable because it was obtained by "inequitable conduct," and that the technology - a process to coat mirrors used in ring laser gyros for navigation systems - was "obvious" and therefore not eligible to be patented. In its suit, filed in March 1990, Litton Systems Inc.
Proposed revisions of airman medical standards and certification will be the subject of FAA public hearings Jan. 20 at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., Jan. 26 at the Radisson Hotel Orlando (Fla.) Airport and Jan. 31 at the Doubletree Suites in Seattle, Wash. For more information, contact Effie Upshaw at 202-267-7626.
SAS Commuter operations are expected to be back to normal today following yesterday's 24-hour pilots strike, which forced the SAS Group unit to cancel all 170 of its daily flights. Contract talks between the union representing SAS Commuter's 200 pilots and company management broke down during the weekend.
Tower Air appointed Robert Mann VP-marketing, services and planning. Mann has been principal of R.W. Mann&Company, an airline and travel industry analysis and consulting firm. Earlier, he was VP of SH&E and held marketing positions with TWA, Pan Am and American.
Power failure at Newark Airport delayed departing flights and left three terminals without power for about three hours yesterday. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said a crew working on an airport monorail ruptured a cable, causing the outage at 8:30 a.m. With emergency power in the tower, air traffic control was not affected.
Orders for 69 British Aerospace Jetstream 41 commuter aircraft by Trans States Airlines and SA Airlink of South Africa swelled AlliedSignal Engines' order book for TPE331 turboprops by at least 138 engines, many of which will be delivered this year, the company said yesterday. AlliedSignal estimated the engines' value at more than $220 million, including spares and service. More than two-thirds of the engines will go to Trans States, which began receiving aircraft this month. Deliveries to SA Airlink are to begin next month.
Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) has not canceled plans to conduct an aviation safety hearing this week (DAILY, Jan. 9). Scheduled Thursday afternoon, the hearing will focus on the working relationship between FAA and National Transportation Safety Board, with General Accounting Office testimony.
Southwest's December traffic increased 11% over the same month in 1993 on 15.8% more capacity, decreasing the load factor to 62.1% from 64.8%. The traffic data include former operations of Morris Air, which was absorbed by Southwest.
Continental's systemwide passenger traffic declined 1.68% in 1994 on 1.64% less capacity, resulting in a load factor decline of 0.1 percentage points. The carrier's domestic traffic, including its unprofitable Continental Lite operation, increased 0.7% on 0.2% more capacity, increasing its load factor 0.4 points to 62.5%. International traffic fell 8% on 6.8% less capacity, however, producing a load factor decline of 0.8 points to 65.2%. Continental does not report passenger boarding figures.
Health groups and smokers rights advocates are squaring off over an eight-airline initiative to ban smoking on some international service. The eight carriers - American, British Airways, Continental, KLM, Northwest, TWA, United and USAir - have asked for antitrust immunity so they can come together to discuss a voluntary smoking ban on transatlantic flights. The Coalition on Smoking OR Health, composed of the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, is supporting the request.
Two provisions of the July 1992 agreement between the U.S. and the European Union to limit government support for manufacturers of large civil aircraft have caused "ongoing disagreement" and "contributed to a contentious relationship," leaving the long-term viability of the deal "uncertain," according to the General Accounting Office. In a report to Congress, GAO said the U.S.
National Transportation Safety Board called on FAA Friday to ground Robinson R44 and R22 helicopters following four recent fatal accidents involving inflight breakups. The board recommended in 1992 that FAA suspend the airworthiness certificate of the R22 following a fatal accident. It said it is aware of 339 R22 accidents that have occurred in the U.S. There are about 855 R22s now registered in the U.S.
Sino-Swearingen, a joint venture of Swearingen Aircraft and Sino Aerospace Investment Corp. of Taiwan, will assemble the SJ30, a new eight- place business jet, in Martinsburg, W.Va. Investment in Sino-Swearingen will exceed $150 million, including $48 million from Taiwan.
TWA and its former chairman, Carl Icahn, are nearing an agreement that would remove another hurdle from the airline's continuing financial restructuring effort. The $190 million TWA owes Karabu Corp., an Icahn- controlled company, was due Sunday, but the maturation date of the two outstanding loans passed without apparent effort by Icahn to force payment. TWA wants either to push out the maturity date at least two years or refinance the loans through another lender.
TransBrasil Airlines has joined the LatinPass frequent flyer program. "We view LatinPass as an extraordinary opportunity for TransBrasil to substantially increase the number of our U.S.- and Latin America-based frequent business travelers," said Carlos Augstroze, VP-international sales and marketing. "As LatinPass gains further momentum and expands into a global operation, TransBrasil will generate far more frequent flyer business than we would ever have been able to do through our own sales and marketing programs," he said.
Vanguard Airlines, new-entrant carrier at Kansas City, is offering a "take a friend for free" promotion during January on its flights from Kansas City to Denver and Salt Lake City. The purchaser must fly roundtrip on the same flights as the companion, and an overnight stay is required.
AT&T has awarded Emery Worldwide a three-year contract for international freight and ocean shipments. The telecommunications company signed an agreement with Emery early last year for domestic air freight.
Continental and America West, in a significant expansion of their alliance, will add 30 airports to the network served by their code-shared flights to cut costs and increase revenues. The two began code sharing Oct. 1 to 29 airports. Code-sharing activity also will increase at six airports - Columbus, Newark, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Seattle. Of the 30 new points, both carriers will serve 13 and Continental 17, Continental said.
Amadeus Global Travel Distribution and Estonian Air have created Amadeus Estonia, a national marketing company (NMC) that will market the Amadeus computer reservations and distribution system to travel agents in that market. Amadeus Finland, the CRS company's NMC in Finland, also is a shareholder in Amadeus Estonia. The company is based in Tallinn.
Douglas Aircraft selected EDS Management Consulting Services to streamline its buyer-furnished equipment (BFE) operations. BFE, equipment supplied by airliner customers for aircraft manufacturers to install on their aircraft, includes seats, galleys, avionics and other cabin and flight deck selections. Douglas and EDS plan to provide customers and suppliers with on-line access to BFE information. EDS said the current process is subject to delays due to multiple data entries, inconsistent reports and "literally hundreds of pounds" of paperwork.
Northwest's passenger traffic declined 0.3% in 1994 on 2.4% fewer available seat miles, producing a load factor gain of 1.4 percentage points. The airline does not issue data on passenger boardings with traffic reports, although figures will be available in a few weeks when it publishes its financial results. In December, traffic increased 3.5% despite a 2.1% decline in capacity, boosting the load factor 3.5 points. "Northwest finished the year on a strong note," said John Dasburg, president of the airline.
