Miami-based Gulfstream International Airlines continued to post substantial traffic and capacity increases last month, as revenue passenger miles increased 88.6% to nearly 8 million; available seat miles rose 92.1% to more than 15 million, and passenger boardings jumped 72.4% to 41.1 million. The load factor was off one percentage point to 53%.
Air Transport Association reported that revenue passenger miles flown by its 14 member carriers increased 10.2% in February, to 38.9 billion, in the highest month-over-month increase since July 1992. ATA President Carol Hallett said three factors contributed to the healthy traffic gain. "First, the extra day from leap year provided for an additional travel day. In addition, there was probably some spillover traffic from passengers who postponed trips during the brutal weather in January.
TACA CEO Federico Bloch predicts a financial and operational consolidation of South and Central American airlines because of a growing need to strengthen the balance sheet. One result, he says, will be more airline ownership of aircraft and less leasing. Currently, 75% of passenger jets operating in the region are under lease, he says.
Business Express is for sale, either in part or in whole, Saab Aircraft President Henrik Schruder said Thursday, countering statements by BizEx management and its adviser SH&E to the contrary (DAILY, March 8). Saab is the carrier's largest creditor at $24 million. Schruder said creditors will not give the airline away, however, and Saab has floated a $4 million line of credit and offered financial incentives to management to keep the airline operational and maximize its value to current and future stockholders.
Tom Moore was appointed VP-general manager of airline financing for Douglas Aircraft in addition to his duties as VP-contracts, said Don Black, senior VP-marketing and airline financing. Moore was VP-deputy general manager of airline financing. Catherine Heide and Jordan Weltman will continue to manage the airline financing group as VPs reporting to Moore.
Germany's largest tour operator, Touristik Union International (TUI), will expand its presence in Belgium's leisure travel market in May when it acquires an equity stake in Belgian tour group JetAir. The two companies agreed last May that TUI would take a 35% stake in JetAir, based in the coastal town of Ostend. The value of the transaction was not disclosed, but TUI's investment is speculated to be as high as 800 million Belgian francs. Under the terms of the agreement, TUI can raise its stake to 50% or more in a few years.
Travel and Tourism Research Association will hold its 27th annual conference at Bally's Las Vegas Hotel in Las Vegas June 16-19. Cost is $350 for members and $525 for non-members if payment is received by May 5. Sessions will cover measurement of tourism impacts, international tourism research, tourism on the Internet, guide for marketing to travelers with children, new marketing approaches, technological advancements in tourism research and marketing, and eco-tourism. For more information, call 303-940-6557.
U.S. government officials report the Egyptian government has gone a long way toward reducing red tape for tourism investors in time for hotel construction in the Red Sea area planned this year, which is expected to be a record-setting period for travel in Egypt. The government decided tourism investors need apply only to one ministry, the Ministry of Tourism, for permission to import duty-free equipment and materials, cutting delays in obtaining Customs exemptions.
Transat A.T. Inc., a Canadian air transportation and travel services company, has signed an agreement to purchase French tour operator Look Voyages SA in a move it says will double its revenues. Look, the second largest tour operator in France, has annual sales of more than 2 billion French francs (US$550 million) and employs 600 workers. Look created its own air carrier - Societe de Transport Aerien Regional (STAR) - in December under a vertical integration strategy similar to what Transat has done in Canada.
Preferred Holidays, a wholly owned subsidiary of Avis Rent A Car, and SYSOPS, an airline reservations management system software developer, have signed an agreement to provide complete reservations management to airlines. The third-party reservations service is expected to add jobs at Preferred Holidays' Fort Lauderdale center. The aviation operating software offers on-line, real-time management, including reservations, inventory control, yield management, airport check-in, flight-following functions and "800" number and Internet access, all using a ticketless system.
Southwest, currently the No. 2 carrier at Nashville, expects to knock American out of the top spot this summer. Last month, Southwest's enplanements at Nashville increased 124% from 1995, while American, which is pulling back, shrank 87%.
Southwest has decided to invest another $47 million in Dallas Love Field by the end of 1997, leasing an additional 10 acres from the city for construction of a new pilot training facility, and expanding its headquarters building and related parking area. The $9.8 million training facility, which will include several million dollars in new flight simulators, will be built on five acres west of Love Field. It is scheduled for completion in spring 1997, and will eventually hold six flight simulators.
Trimble Navigation said yesterday it will acquire Terra Corp., an Albuquerque, N.M.-based avionics company that supplies the general aviation market. The acquisition is valued at $2.7 million and will be made via an exchange of Trimble common stock for the assets of Terra. Trimble said the purchase will enable it to fulfill a range of avionics needs, from sport aviation to air transport.
Airport Group International, Atlantic Southeast Airlines, Air South, Kiwi International, TWA and ValuJet will shuffle concourse and gate locations at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport. The move, to occur by May 1, responds to several factors, such as passenger growth and work being done under a $200 million airport improvement program, the airport said. The relocation will enable each airline to grow without spreading its operations over more than one concourse. ASA will move from Concourse D to E.
Delta, insourcing selected work to increase revenues rather than outsourcing to cut costs, set a monthly insourcing revenue record of $4.8 million in February, more than $1 million more than in January, due mainly to 727 heavy maintenance for another airline, support for Air Jamaica A310s, engine leasing, ground-handling and deicing.Delta, which netted only $3.3 million in insourcing revenue in fiscal 1994, expects $40 million in fiscal 1996.
GoldenWare Travel Technologies, Nashua, N.H., has developed the Electronic Travel Desk, a floppy-disk electronic periodical containing airline flight timetables and hotel and car rental company listings. Companies can advertise on the disk.
Value Rent-A-Car reported February revenues of $18.6 million, a monthly record and $4 million more than last February. Dan McNamara, executive VP and chief operating officer, said, "The market recovery in Florida was a factor as well as the right mix of aggressive marketing programs and the fact that we had the fleet to back up our projections."
Banner Aerospace shareholders yesterday approved acquisition of Harco Inc. from Fairchild Corp., which makes precision aerospace fasteners. Following approval, Banner acquired Harco by issuing 4.4 million of its shares for all outstanding shares of Harco.
Hotel Roundup: Sholodge Inc., owner and operator of 80 Shoney's Inns and three Sumner Suites, posted record 1995 results, with hotel operating revenues up 21% to $44.1 million. Net income increased to $17 million from $7.8 million...Marriott Hotels, Resorts and Suites is offering a Visa Gold card to members of the Marriott Honored Guest Awards program.
Reno Air's traffic in February jumped 60% to 212.4 million revenue passenger miles from 132.6 million a year earlier. Load factor was up 10.9 percentage points to 68.2%. Capacity increased 34.4% to 311.2 million available seat miles from 231.6 million.
Lufthansa will offer "Lufthansa InfoFlyWay," a new product that enables personal computer users to book reservations using CD-ROM or online services, beginning in April. The CD-ROM format will be introduced first, and access to the carrier's schedule via online services will be available later. Using the system, customers can book a flight on Lufthansa or 700 airlines around the world, check flight times, make hotel reservations or rent a car. Members of Lufthansa's Miles and More frequent flyer program can use the system to check their accounts.
American has created an operations planning business development unit to offer operations control and consulting services to other companies. "We have many years of experience providing solutions to clients in the aviation community," Scott Nason, VP-operations planning and performance, said.
The Joint Financial Management Improvement Program (JFMIP), a cooperative program of the Treasury Department, General Accounting Office, Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management, has drafted legislation on ways the government can cut the cost of permanent change of station travel, taken by workers whose jobs require relocation. Donald Charney, director of finance for the U.S.
A one-week vacation in Switzerland will be awarded to 23 contestants March 25 in a sweepstakes sponsored by Swissair, Switzerland Tourism, Best Western Swiss Hotels and E! Entertainment Television. The winners will be announced on E! during the live Academy Awards pre-show. Winners will fly from the U.S. to Zurich on Swissair and will design their own trip by choosing from among 77 Best Western hotels and resorts, including four new properties in alpine ski areas Zermatt, Saas-Fee and Lenzerheide. Winners have one year to take the trip.
The two largest U.S. airport associations yesterday called on Congress to increase the ceiling on passenger facility charge levels and change Airport Improvement Program formulas to "fully fund" airports' AIP entitlements rather than cut entitlements to preserve discretionary funds. In testimony to the House Transportation aviation subcommittee, the Airports Council International-North America and the American Association of Airport Executives also proposed priority funding for general aviation, reliever and non-primary commercial service airports.
