Ogden Corp. Chairman Richard Ablon said yesterday that weaker-than-expected performance by its yet-to-be-sold Atlantic Design unit will cause third quarter earnings to be below expectations. He said Ogden's core businesses, Entertainment, Aviation and Projects, continue to show "meaningful earnings growth versus last year but will not compensate for the Atlantic Design earnings shortfall, prior earnings from construction activities and earnings from previously disposed operations."
Aircraft production and new deliveries should peak in 1999, "just in time for another major recession and massive declines in traffic," according to Avmark Inc. "This repetition of under-and-over capacity in the industry has existed for 30 years, and the cycles never seem to vary by much time," the aviation marketing and management company said. It said that while the Farnborough Air Show was "awash with order announce-ments...unfortunately, these orders will not translate into deliveries until the late 1990s."
The U.S. National Tourism Organization bill, establishing a private/public national tourism office, passed Congress during the weekend and is expected to be signed into law by President Clinton. The bill does not provide any federal funding mechanism for USNTO, but after it is signed, "we will be on a fast track to organize, make appointees to the board, [and] find a funding source with which Congress will agree," said Roger Ballou, chairman of the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Council.
Chicago Mayor Richard Daley yesterday named Mary Rose Loney Commissioner of Aviation. Since 1993, she was director of aviation for Philadelphia and before that, deputy executive director at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Philadelphia Mayor Edward Rendell said he will appoint a search committee to seek her replacement and made first deputy director of aviation Charles Isdell the acting director of aviation. Loney's last day in Philadelphia is Oct. 11.
National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association will focus on the increasing use of business aircraft and other issues at its annual Aviation Safety Law Seminar and Reception Oct. 29 in Washington. Attendees also will be briefed on potential changes in the emergency revocation provisions of the current law. For more information, contact Mark McDermott at 202- 331-1955.
In what was either a very successful strategy or an unnecessary one, American Chairman Robert Crandall last week urged AMR Corp. employees who live or work in the Dallas area to lobby against a proposal to open Dallas Love Field to more jet competition. American told employees Rep.
ValuJet said it has sold a record number of seats since the introductory fares for its resumption of service went on sale, and its first flight in 104 days landed at Washington Dulles Airport yesterday from Atlanta with every seat filled. The carrier said it sold more than 1,400 seats in the first three hours its reservations center was open last Thursday. From Thursday until Sunday, it sold 30,000 seats. Although ValuJet is back in business, the Association of Flight Attendants kept up its attempt to keep the carrier from flying. A U.S.
Ad Opt Technologies said it will provide the pilot schedule bidding system for Delta Express, the new low-cost operation established by Delta. Ad Opt said it was awarded the job after "several benchmark tests against competitors." Ad Opt said its "Preferential Bidding Systems differ from traditional bidding systems by allowing a pilot to construct his own schedule based on seniority on a trip-by-trip basis, rather than the monthly line-of-time construction." It said this scheduling method is more flexible for the pilot and more efficient for the company.
The House Saturday passed the 1997 omnibus spending bill, which funds President Clinton's request for more than $1.1 billion to fight terrorism and improve aviation security and safety. The measure does not address the 10% ticket tax, slated to expire at the end of the year. The bill, which was set for a Senate vote late yesterday or today, provides funds to implement the recommendations of Vice President Gore's Commission on Aviation Safety and Security and FAA's recent 90-day safety review.
Burning eight million gallons of fuel a day and paying $6 million a day for it, United is alerting employees about what they can do to help reduce fuel costs. With fuel inventories at an all-time low, United says employees can reduce use of auxiliary power units, slow aircraft to optimally efficient speeds if a flight is arriving earlier than scheduled, plan the most efficient routes and eliminate any extra weight on the aircraft.
Aviation companies operating in California are expected to save more than $25 million in the next three years from the repeal, effective today, of the state's 6.25% sales and use tax on aircraft spare parts. United, with its big maintenance base in Oakland, expects to save several million dollars, and the Air Transport Association said the legislation that repealed the tax is a job-creator for the industry. United said repeal will benefit parts vendors and ensures a favorable climate in California for aircraft maintenance.
Fine Airlines is seeking renewal of its exemption to operate scheduled all- cargo service between Miami and two points in Venezuela, Caracas and Maracaibo, using DC-8 freighter aircraft.
Incompatible computer systems emerged as a core factor in why Air France and Sabena could not operate a Paris-Brussels shuttle efficiently. The two airlines dissolved their short-lived shuttle agreement last week, and one Air France source said rival Swissair's control of Sabena did not help the situation.
The House last week approved the fiscal 1997 budget reauthorization for the National Transportation Safety Board and sent the legislation to President Clinton for his signature. The House passed a version of the bill the Senate approved earlier, which allows the withholding of certain safety data from the public (DAILY, Sept. 20). Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), chairman of the House Transportation Committee, said the legislation authorizes the board for another three years, with $42.4 million in fiscal 1997, $44.4 million in fiscal 1998 and $46.6 million in fiscal 1999.
U.S. Major and National Carriers Landing Fees Second Quarter 1996 Average Amount Systemwide Spent Per Landing Alaska $ 5,782,000 $ 146.71 America West 8,307,548 160.29 American 60,981,000 307.32 Continental 25,288,000 227.67 Delta 63,626,000 269.62
Tyrolean Airways has confirmed an order for two more Canadair Regional Jet aircraft, Bombardier said. The two aircraft, valued at $44 million, will be delivered next January and March. They bring the carrier's Canadair Jet orders to seven.
Alaska Airlines broke ground yesterday on an $8 million cargo facility at Anchorage International Airport. John Kelly, chairman, said the 65,000- square-foot facility "will stand as a model for expedited cargo handling throughout our system." For example, since cargo customers are frequently loaded with packages, an electronic eye at the front entrance will open doors automatically, he said. The facility also will have automated bar- coding technology and container-handling systems. It also will be able to handle all-cargo aircraft.
Standard&Poor's affirmed its single B minus credit rating on ValuJet Inc., and its triple C minus rating on $150 million of the company's senior unsecured notes. It removed the ratings from CreditWatch, where they were
SBS International said it was selected by Western Pacific Airlines for crew planning and for Maestro, the SBS crew management and operations control system. Mark Hornby, SBS president, said that with impending, stringent FAA requirements, "regional and startup carriers find SBS systems useful in the certification process." He said the crew planning system comprises pairing and line-building modules, which allow airlines to generate crew schedules with greater speed and accuracy.
Getting travel times and dates wrong is the biggest "travel blunder" made by the public, according to Uniglobe Travel. One-third of the 140,000 yearly calls to Uniglobe's 24-hour help line are for reservation changes, said Paul Oles, senior VP and general manager.
Rod Eddington has departed his post at the head of Cathay Pacific Airways and will return to Australia and run Ansett Australia, replacing Ken Cowley. The charismatic Eddington has been credited with guiding the Hong Kong-based carrier through many airline growth issues and local political struggles. Peter Sutch remains chairman of Cathay. Cowley will stay with Ansett Australia, becoming chairman of Ansett New Zealand. David Turnbull will become managing director of Cathay Pacific, effective Dec. 1.
ALM Antillean Airlines is seeking an exemption to provide scheduled combination service between Fort Lauderdale and Curacao, The Netherlands Antilles, via Aruba, beginning Dec. 1. The carrier proposes twice-weekly roundtrip service on the route, using an MD-80 aircraft configured for 139 seats. Noting that the Miami-Netherlands Antilles route is well-served by both U.S. and foreign air carriers, ALM said it is proposing the alternative service at Fort Lauderdale to meet the needs of North Dade and Broward County markets, including Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale.
Federal Express asked DOT to defer action on Nippon Cargo's application for renewal of its current scheduled all-cargo authority and an exemption enabling it to serve Anchorage as well. NCA also asked DOT to coterminalize Anchorage and its authorized U.S. points - Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.
South African Airways and American have been approved to expand their code- sharing between Johannesburg and Cape Town and several U.S. points, American said yesterday. As of today, American's code will appear on SAA's flights between Johannesburg, Cape Town and Miami. The two share codes on Johannesburg-New York Kennedy service. On Oct.
