Sabre Travel Information Network has unveiled Planet Sabre, its Internet- enabled application suite for travel agencies, which, Sabre says, will increase productivity and reduce training time. Planet Sabre 2.0, due this summer, will have airline booking and marketing capability for travel suppliers. It is intended to combine all the tools agents need in one desktop display with a Windows '95-based graphical user interface.
Annapolis, Md.-based Arinc and subsidiary Communications By Proxy said they have added features to their Data Network Service that enable airlines to take advantage of the Internet without the high cost of restructuring their reservations and operations applications. Arinc is providing public and private World Wide Web application hosting, firewall protection and secure access to private Web servers, databases and existing systems.
Congress could reinstate the 10% ticket tax and other aviation levies as early as this week, Wall Street and industry sources said yesterday. The House Ways and Means Committee is expected to approve legislation identical to the Senate's, which would make passage possible before Congress adjourns for a week.
New Aircraft Orders And Options November 1996 Last 12 Months Firm Orders Options Orders Options Carrier # Type # Type Engines Del. Dates # Type # Type Air Europa* 2 737-300 - CFM56-3B2 3/97-5/97 - - Air Europa* 1 737-400 - CFM56-3C1 Jul97 - - Air France 10 777-200IGM 10 777-200IGM GE90 98- 2 A340-300 -
Telecom Terminal Systems (TTS), which supplies software and printers for Airlines Reporting Corp. documents, has joined the Apollo Travel Services' Partners Program. The program approves only a few selected vendors for use by travel agency partners.
New Jet Aircraft Deliveries November 1996 Last 12 Months Carrier # Type Engines Delivery Air Mauritius 1 A340-300X CFM56-5C4 - Air Canada 1 A340-300X CFM56-5C4 - Air India 1 747-400 PW4056 1
Air France Europe canceled all its flights Sunday after four unions representing pilots called a 24-hour strike to protest the regional carrier's planned merger with sister company Air France. The average salary of pilots at Air France Europe, formerly Air Inter, is 15% higher than at Air France. "The chairman of Groupe Air France [Christian Blanc] persists in his sole objective of breaking the social benefits in place at Air Inter," union officials said.
Delta reported 7.4 billion revenue passenger miles traffic in January, up 13.4%, and a capacity increase of 9.2%. The load factor rose 2.4 percentage points to 64.3%. International traffic was up 14.5% and domestic traffic 13.1%. January 1997 January 1996 RPMs 7,398,074,000 6,523,711,000 ASMs 11,508,629,000 10,540,209,000 LoadFtr% 64.3 61.9 Psgrs 7,783,358 6,881,273
Boeing's 737-700 made its first flight Sunday, taking off from Renton Airport and landing at Boeing Field in Seattle after three hours and 35 minutes in the air. The flight test program for the next-generation twinjet models involves 10 aircraft - four 737-700s with 128 to 149 seats, three 737-800s with 160 to 189 seats and three 737-600s with 108 to 132 seats.
American Airlines, structuring itself for a possible pilots strike this weekend, is drawing $1 billion from company credit lines that expire in 2001 and has negotiated an additional $1 billion in a credit agreement underwritten by Morgan Guaranty Trust Company of New York, Chase Manhattan Bank, Citibank and Credit Suisse First Boston, according to a document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The new financing, which will expire Dec. 31, is secured with airline-owned aircraft. American had $1.7 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of Dec.
British Airways will take delivery this month of six Boeing widebody aircraft, which BA called a "record to one airline customer for the Everett plant," where 747s, 767s and 777s are assembled. BA took delivery last week of its first new long-range 777 IGW (increased gross weight). It will get two more this month plus two 747-400s and one 767-300ER. BA has 18 777s on order with options on another 12, all to be delivered by the end of 2002. They will take over some long-haul routes currently operated by its 767s.
British Airways yesterday reported a 94 million pound (US$160 million) net profit for the December quarter, up 6.8% from the 1995 quarter but depressed slightly by 33% higher fuel prices. Revenues were up 6.4% to 2 billion pounds (US$3.4 billion), but operating profit dropped 13.8% to 131 million pounds (US$223 million). The airline's fuel bill was 56 million pounds (US$95 million) higher in the quarter, and if fuel prices had not increased, its operating results would have risen 23%.
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) has appointed William Norman, president and chief executive of the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA), to an eight-member, international working group on WTO's future. The WTO will hold a meeting of top tourism officials in October in an effort to modernize its 21-year-old intergovernmental organization, TIA said.
Tower Air applied for an exemption for scheduled combination service from New York to Athens and beyond to Tel Aviv, using 747s. Tower is applying because TWA, one of two U.S. flags designated for Greece service, will withdraw from the route on April 18. Tower, which applied for scheduled Athens service in 1986 and 1991 without success, has operated seasonal charters there for more than a decade. The U.S.-Greece bilateral permits beyond service from Athens to Tel Aviv. (Docket OST-97-2120)
Setting the stage for new slot allocation rules, three top European Commission officials last week spread the EC's view that airport slots are not for sale. "Auctioning slots at congested airports could drive prices out of the reach of new entrants," European Union Transport Commissioner Neil Kinnock told The DAILY. Kinnock's chief of cabinet, Philip Lowe, said in Brussels that slot trading in the U.S. had led to the reinforcement of dominant positions.
Sabre Interactive has agreed to acquire Worldview Systems Corp.'s equity interest in the Travelocity brand name and World Wide Web site. Sabre and Worldview were co-creators of Travelocity, The Sabre Group's all- encompassing travel-planning Web site. Sabre now will have creative control of the site, while Worldview will maintain and manage the site's Destinations&Interests, Points of View and Travel Merchandise modules. Sabre said the Travelocity site has registered more than 700,000 members in 11 months.
Orbit Flight Training, a unit of Thomson Training&Simulation, is expanding and relocating from East Midlands Airport to facilities near London Heathrow. It is adding an A340 full flight simulator, with Virgin Atlantic as the first major user. It will retain 777 and A320 simulators and sell two 737 simulators to Southwest and Continental.
KLM Cargo will change the destination of its air freight service from Amsterdam to Sweden. Beginning Feb. 17, the five-times-weekly flights will land in Skavsta Airport, 60 miles southwest of Stockholm, instead of the capital's Arlanda Airport. KLM said Skavsta is closer to the industrial region where many of its major customers are located and will reduce shipment times.
British Airways appointed Martin George director-marketing, reporting to Chief Executive Bob Ayling as one of 11 members of BA's management team. George previously was general manager-telephone and retail sales.
Two former Lifeco executives, whose non-compete clauses have expired, have launched LogiQuest Technologies, a company that will electronically streamline the travel distribution process. The company, based in Del Mar, Calif., was founded by Jeff Hoffman, who will be its president and chief executive, and Steve Taylor, who will be chairman. They said LogiQuest already is in negotiation with major industry suppliers.
Carnival Air Lines will operate nonstop service between Puerto Rico and Orlando this summer using A300s configured for 24 Executive Class and 230 coach seats. The carrier will offer daily flights June 5-Aug. 11 between San Juan and Orlando and three weekly flights to Aguadilla. Fares start at $119 each way.
Tensions at American ran high yesterday as National Mediation Board began supermediation in Washington between the airline and its Allied Pilots Association. With five days left before a strike, a few acts of violence against pilots - or threats of future violence - were reported and assumed to be coming from other employees who are angered over possibly being placed on "emergency leave" after Friday, when the cooling-off period expires and a strike can begin.
American Society of Travel Agents will host its annual conference on travel fraud in Los Angeles March 13 at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel. To register, call 703-706-0387.
DOT is giving startup carrier Baltia Air six more months to launch operations before withdrawing its certificate. Baltia received its certificate Feb. 7, 1996, for service between New York and St. Petersburg, Russia, and had one year to be certified by the FAA and meet other financial requirements. The carrier asked for the extension to complete an initial public offering and complete FAA certification. It plans to serve the route with a 747.
