Vanguard Airlines

Staff Jan 10, 1995
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

Staff Jan 10, 1995
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, America West Expand Code-Sharing Pact

Staff Jan 10, 1995
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 Expands Into Estonia With National Marketing Company

Staff Jan 10, 1995
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 Selects EDS To Improve Buyer-Furnished Equipment Management

Staff Jan 10, 1995
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 Traffic Off Slightly In 1994

Staff Jan 10, 1995
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.

China Airlines

Staff Jan 10, 1995
China Airlines is seeking authority to operate scheduled all-cargo service between Taipei, Taiwan, and Miami. Presuming approval, CAL would start the service March 1 with three weekly flights, using 747-200Fs. (Docket 49999)

Kuwait Airways

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Kuwait Airways could have the software capability to operate its own frequent flyer program as early as March, now that it has licensed Sabre Decision Technologies' Reward product. If Kuwait launches its own program, other Middle Eastern carriers may have to follow suit in order to remain competitive.

A measure to slap a freeze

Staff Jan 09, 1995
A measure to slap a freeze on new regulations, sponsored by Rep. Thomas DeLay (R-Texas), should not affect current aviation safety rulemaking, such as the effort to stiffen safety rules for commuter carriers. Expected to be introduced in the House today or Tuesday, the legislation will exempt health and safety rules, a spokeswoman for DeLay said.

Aerolineas Argentinas Expands Service To Brazil

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Aerolineas Argentinas has expanded its service to Brazil with twice-weekly 727 service from Buenos Aires to tourist destinations Salvador and Maceio. The new flights complement Aerolineas Argentinas's service to Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Florianopolis and Porto Alegre. Aerolineas Argentinas also has increased the frequency of its service to Asuncion, the capital of Paraguay, to nine flights per week, to meet growing traffic demand. Separately, Aerolineas Argentinas has joined TWA's frequent flyer program.

ValuJet Passenger Boardings Top 240,000 In December

Staff Jan 09, 1995
ValuJet flew 113.1 million revenue passenger miles and boarded 243,038 passengers in December. The new-entrant carrier, which began flight operations in October 1993, passed the two-million-passenger milestone during the month. "When comparing the year-over-year traffic numbers, it is important to remember that ValuJet profitably achieved tremendous growth during our first year of operation, and today we are a different company than we were a year ago," said Robert Priddy, chairman. Dec 94 Dec 93 12 Mths 94 12 Mths 93

KLM Traffic Up 11 Percent In December

Staff Jan 09, 1995
KLM's overall traffic - passengers, freight and mail - increased 11% last month from a year ago to 626.2 million revenue ton kilometers on 6% more capacity, pushing the Dutch airline's load factor up 3.9 percentage points to 74.3%. Passenger traffic increased 11% to 3.29 billion revenue passenger kilometers on 2% more capacity, increasing the load factor 5.2 points. The airline said its business-class traffic grew 10%, largely because of 18% growth on Far Eastern routes. Passenger growth was particularly strong on North Atlantic and African routes, KLM said.

TWA Noteholders Say Restructuring Plan Is Too Optimistic

Staff Jan 09, 1995
A group of TWA creditors that has come out against the carrier's proposed financial restructuring plan says the airline's management is being too optimistic about the potential value of the carrier's stock. The Unofficial Committee of TWA's 10% Senior Secured Notes came out against TWA's restructuring proposal last week and urged the airline's noteholders to vote against the plan (DAILY, Jan. 6).

Airline Industry Stock Trends

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Airline Industry Stock Trends Closed Closed Exchange 1/3/95 11/30/94 Majors American NYSE $ 54.875 $ 50.750 America West (Class B) NYSE 7.750 9.000 Continental (Class B) NYSE 9.250 14.875 Delta NYSE 51.250 50.125 Northwest OTC 17.000 16.625

By the end of June

Staff Jan 09, 1995
By the end of June, Aer Lingus must provide the European Commission with balance sheet information and other evidence that its TEAM Aer Lingus overhaul and maintenance subsidiary is viable and is not pulling down the entire company. At stake is the third tranche of state money earmarked for the airline.

FAA aviation safety conference

Staff Jan 09, 1995
FAA expects more than 1,000 airline and other aviation officials to attend its aviation safety conference today and tomorrow in Washington. It looks like the press will be attracted, too - last week, FAA Public Affairs handled more than 50 requests for credentials. Because of the conference, Sen. Larry Pressler (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, dropped plans to conduct safety hearings this week.

Government

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Jacksonville Port Authority appointed John Clark deputy director- aviation division.

Air South's "air mail" fares

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Air South's "air mail" fares, for flights from Jacksonville to Miami and Atlanta, cost only $19 for passengers who bring a postage stamp. The promotion offers passengers the chance to hand-deliver their own mail. U.S. Postal Service employees get the discount fare without a stamp. The price applies to travel completed by Jan. 31.

DOT

Staff Jan 09, 1995
- Granted orally an exemption to British Airways to conduct scheduled combination services between London and Tampa for one year, beginning April 1...Granted orally an exemption to Amerijet International to conduct scheduled cargo service between Toledo, Ohio, and Mexico City for two years, beginning Jan.

CRS Industry Pioneer Max Hopper Retires From AMR

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Max Hopper, who was largely responsible for the development of Sabre from an airline-specific computer system to one of the world's largest and most advanced computer reservations system, will retire Jan. 15 after more than 20 years at AMR, the company said. The 60-year-old Hopper, an AMR senior VP and chairman of its Sabre Group, plans to remain active in the information services industry and will continue to serve AMR as a consultant. "Max has rightly been called the 'father of automation' in the travel industry," said AMR Chairman Robert Crandall.

'Doing-Business Problems' Dog Operations Abroad, GAO Says

Staff Jan 09, 1995
U.S. airlines encounter many problems when they operate abroad, including slot access limits and inadequate facilities at airports, the General Accounting Office found in a study completed late last year (DAILY, Jan. 4). After inspecting 13 European and Pacific Rim airports, GAO concluded that these and other "doing-business problems" constrain the operations of U.S. airlines and reduce their opportunities to compete effectively. Such problems were not limited to U.S. carriers, however - they affected all carriers except the host country's national airline.

U.S. Airline Stocks End Down Year On Down Note

Staff Jan 09, 1995
U.S. airline stocks tracked by The DAILY had a combined market value of about $20.99 billion on the final day of the 1994 trading year, a decline of more than 19% from the end of 1993, when the companies' market value was slightly more than $26 billion. It was an up-and-down year for the broader market, but airline company stocks seemed to spend much of 1994 on a downward trajectory. For example, combination carrier stocks peaked in value in January at $18.38 billion but did not come close to that mark again, ending the year at $14.36 billion.

Southwest is offering

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Southwest is offering a $39 introductory one-way fare for its new service, beginning Jan. 15, between Phoenix and Orange County John Wayne Airport. The fare requires a seven-day advance purchase by Feb. 2 and is good for travel through March 15. Southwest will offer four daily flights in the market.

Swissair refers to its talks with Sabena

Staff Jan 09, 1995
Swissair refers to its talks with Sabena about taking an equity stake in the Belgian carrier as "Project Flair." In a recent interview, the project leader, when asked about media reports that Swissair is seeking a 49% stake in Sabena, said, "Only rank beginners or party-poopers mention numbers while negotiations are in progress."

France Lifts ATR Restrictions; FAA Decision Due This Week

Staff Jan 09, 1995
French civil aviation authority - the Direction Generale de l'Aviation Civile - Friday lifted its limited restrictions on use of the autopilot while operating ATR-42 and ATR-72 aircraft in certain icing conditions. The DGAC action sets the stage for a decision by FAA, expected this week, whether to lift or modify its ban on flying ATRs in forecast or known icing conditions. The French authority replaced its restrictions with an airworthiness directive to revise the flight manual to include changes in operating procedures in icing conditions.