Kuoni, the largest Swiss tour operator, intends to make Luton Airport, north of London, its base for daily charter flights between London and Zurich. The new tour program, which will start in April, is expected to carry more than 100,000 passengers. Kuoni will use its new airline partner, Edelweiss Air, which will operate McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft. The decision to select Luton for the full program follows a 13- week trial last summer.
United and British Midland have applied again for code-sharing authority between London Heathrow and Dublin using the U.K. carrier's aircraft. They were denied the rights in 1990 because the Irish do not permit U.S. carriers to serve Dublin via London under a code share unless they also operate to Shannon Airport (DAILY, Feb. 14).
United Chairman and Chief Executive Gerald Greenwald will be the keynote speaker at the 1996 Discover America International Pow Wow in Los Angeles. Greenwald will speak at the opening breakfast June 10 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
"Pernicious infighting" among U.S. carriers "is the greatest single barrier" to U.S. efforts to expand global air service markets for those same carriers, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) said yesterday. In an International Aviation Club speech, Pressler said he plans to introduce legislation to increase the ceiling on foreign investment in airlines to 49%, and he called on U.S. airlines "to stop being 'pennywise and pound foolish' with respect to Fly America traffic."
Atlantic Southeast will move its Dallas/Fort Worth operation to Delta's Satellite Terminal at 4E this spring, eliminating passenger transfers via bus between the terminal and a remote parking area. Walking between ASA gates and Delta connections will take two minutes.
Delta officials in Japan this week are calling on the U.S. and Japanese governments to resume bilateral discussions on passenger service immediately, to break the stranglehold of the United/Northwest duopoly. Senior VP-Corporate Services Rex McClelland, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Tokyo, said Delta joins All Nippon Airways, an alliance partner, in urging Japan to open up more gateways to the U.S.
Some of FAA's proposed changes in flight training rules are needlessly burdensome and expensive to the flight training industry, according to the National Air Transportation Association.
Daimler-Benz Aerospace, which passed up the Berlin Air Show in 1994 as a cost-cutting move, is returning for this year as its biggest exhibitor. The show, scheduled May 13-19 at Berlin Schunefeld Airport, has filled its exhibition halls, even though space was expanded 30% to 30,000 square meters, and about 250 aircraft will be on display on the 120,000 square meters of grounds. The focus will again be relations between Western companies and industry in the former Eastern bloc.
The Travel Industry Association (TIA) is creating an interim national tourism organization to replace the U.S. Travel and Tourism Administration, which will shut down in April, and to market the U.S. while legislation on a permanent National Tourism Organization (NTO) goes through Congress. TIA President and Chief Executive William Norman said industry executives have talked to Senate and House members who are involved in the legislation to ensure that the interim tourism organization is used as a framework for the final NTO.
TWA earned in 1995 its first 12-month operating profit since 1989, the carrier said yesterday as it published fourth quarter and yearend results. Operating income totaled $25.1 million for the year, a substantial turnaround from a $279.5 million operating loss in 1994, but TWA still suffered a 1995 net loss of $277.5 million, versus a full-year deficit of $435.8 million in 1994. Revenue for 1995 fell 2.7% as operating expenses dropped 10.7%.
International Society of Aviation Maintenance Professionals will introduce its new board of directors and describe future plans in the U.S. and worldwide at a reception Feb. 16 in Room 224, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. The board comprises aviation maintenance officers from leading trade organizations and the aviation industry. Representatives of FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board serve in an advisory capacity.
MEDEX Assistance Corp. is offering its "Safe Trip" program to travelers who become ill while abroad. Safe Trip includes 24-hour multilingual assistance, worldwide doctor referrals, help with hospital admissions, assistance in replacing lost prescriptions and travel documents, emergency cash and coordination and payment of medical evacuations. For more information, call 1-800-537-2029.
FAA and NASA officials said yesterday tests are under way at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport on a Final Approach Spacing Tool (FAST), software to improve handling of arrivals and reduce delays. The field tests, conducted in cooperation with American, will continue through May to "validate the new software tools before the FAA displays nationally," said the project leader, Tom Davis, an engineer at NASA's Ames Research Center.
Midwest Express Holdings Inc. said yesterday its board of directors has voted to put in place a poison pill, or shareholder rights plan, designed to protect the company against a hostile takeover. Under the plan, each shareholder of record as of yesterday will receive a Preferred Share Purchase Right for each outstanding share of common stock.
British Airways has awarded its 1995 Global Tourism for Tomorrow Award to Sea to Sea Cycle, a 140-mile bicycle path across Northern England. The path, which follows minor roads, traffic-free cycle tracks and old railway tunnels and bridges, has stimulated local economies while having a minimal impact on the landscape. Two U.S. entries in the competition received honorable mention - Sustainable Living Centers, which manages youth hostels, and Carnival Cruise Line for developing Eco-Waves.
The American Bed&Breakfast Association says the number of inns in the U.S. grew from 5,000 in 1980 to more than 20,000 10 years later, and they are in strong demand today. The industry has changed significantly in the past 30 years, and customers have changed with it. Guests now expect more upscale accommodations but think they should come at a bargain, the association says. It has some words of advice for entrepreneurs wanting to start an inn.
A portion of Mozambique's wilderness could be turned into an $800 million luxury holiday resort and game park developed by U.S. multimillionaire James Ulysses Blanchard III. Blanchard, at a news conference this week in Johannesburg, said he believes the government is close to approving the project. He plans to spend $20 million to stock the resort with big game, and students will be given free rides on the park's steam train, according to news reports from Johannesburg.
Pleasant Hawaiian Holidays has developed travel packages for the 1996 Kilauea Volcano Wilderness Runs, to be held July 27 in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park near Hilo. The runs include a 26.2-mile track past volcanic steam vents and through lava fields that has been called the "world's toughest measured marathon." Packages for a seven-night holiday, including roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles or San Francisco, start at $909.
Korean Airlines has asked DOT to amend its operating permit to include authority to operate scheduled combination service between points in Korea and Saipan. The carrier currently operates seven flights per week on the route under exemption authority, using a 258-seat A300-600. (Docket OST- 96-1070)
Daimler-Benz Aerospace Airbus, having projected demand for about 700 converted freighter aircraft over the next 15 years, is preparing to offer cargo versions of Airbus Industrie's A300 series as well as the A310. In the A310 conversion, DASA Airbus retrofits the jetliner with a large loading door, reinforced floor and cargo loading system to carry between 30 and 50 tons of cargo. The company is developing an A300-B4 conversion and expects to offer it soon.
America West has applied for a one-year renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Phoenix and Mexico City. The carrier currently operates twice-daily nonstop flights on the route, using Boeing 737-300 aircraft. (Docket OST-96-1069)
Japan Airlines has applied for renewal of its authority to operate scheduled combination service between Sendai, Japan, and Honolulu. The carrier wants at least a one-year renewal. Because of the dispute between the U.S. and Japan, JAL has been operating under a series of 179-day renewals since late 1994. The latest extension is due to expire April 1. In its application, JAL maintains that the service is consistent with the 1989 Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel has acquired Jetset Travel of Singapore, its fourth acquisition in the Asia/Pacific region in the past year. Carlson President Geoffrey Marshall said, "Anchoring ourselves in the Singapore market was one of our remaining objectives for the Asia/Pacific area."
Air Express International said its net income increased 36% to $9.1 million in the fourth quarter of 1995 as revenues rose 13% to $334.9 million. For the year, net income gained 28%, to $29 million, and revenues increased to $1.2 billion. Operating income increased 37% for the quarter, to $15.3 million, and 30% for the year, to $49.6 million. Guenter Rohrmann, president, said the company "experienced sold growth in all segments of our logistics business throughout the world" during 1995.
