Martinair Holland will launch service Nov. 2 to San Juan, Puerto Rico, its 10th North American gateway. The weekly flight from Amsterdam will begin with fares as low as $698 roundtrip. The carrier operates MD-11s and 767- 300ERs on its transatlantic service to Newark, Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Denver, Los Angeles, Oakland, Seattle and Toronto.
In what the union called an "unprecedented move," FAA's Flight Standards division invited nearly 100 members of the Professional Airways System Specialists to participate in a three-day strategic management conference, which opened yesterday in Arlington, Va. The PASS representatives are mainly aviation safety inspectors, and the timing of the conference coincides with completion of the FAA 90-day safety review spurred by the ValuJet crash.
America West is offering fares as low as $60 to $140 each way for travel on most of its routes from Nov. 23, 1996, to Jan. 8, 1997. Noting there are no blackout dates, John Garel, senior VP, sales and marketing said the carrier "is offering special low fares for cost-conscious travelers any date during the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day holiday seasons." The non-refundable tickets must be purchased within 72 hours of making a reservation, but not later than Oct. 4. A two-day minimum stay and seven-day advance purchase are also required.
Reno Air has kicked off a fare sale on many of its West Coast services for travel beginning Sept. 28. The carrier is offering $19 one-way coach seats for all service between Seattle and Portland. In addition, Reno is offering $29 one-way fares for most of its West Coast service, including Reno/Tahoe/San Jose-Seattle/Portland/Las Vegas/San Diego/Orange County/Los Angeles, Las Vegas-Colorado Springs/Tucson, San Francisco-Orange County and Tucson-Los Angeles.
India's state-owned domestic carrier for the first time has hired a foreign-based firm - Time Manager International (TMI) of Denmark - to carry out a corporate training program for its staff, an IA spokesman said yesterday. To be called Parivartan - "change" in Hindi - the program is aimed at achieving a change in the airline's work culture by instilling "a positive attitude" in employees to help them improve the quality of customer service, officials explained.
Lufthansa Cargo flew a 49-ton electric motor on a 747F from Frankfurt to Chicago on Aug. 30. Together with transport carriage, pallets and other materials, the cargo weighed 51 tons. Boeing said the shipment could be the heaviest single piece of cargo transported on a 747F.
Greenwich Air Services, which earlier this week reported the loss of its USAir CFM56 engine business, announced yesterday it has signed seven new overhaul and repair contracts (DAILY, Sept. 24). The work will be performed at facilities in the U.S. and in Prestwick, Scotland. New one- year contracts to be fulfilled domestically include Alfa Romeo for Alitalia JT8D-200 engines; Royal Moroccan Air Force JT3D-38 engines; McDonnell Douglas Lease Finance CF6-50 engines; U.S. Turbine Engine Corp. JT9D engines, and Midway V2500 engines.
The Association of Flight Attendants is keeping up its battle to oust ValuJet management as the carrier continues to wait for approval to restart service. "We are still anxiously awaiting" the go-ahead from DOT, said a ValuJet spokesman yesterday. DOT officials said they were still reviewing comments on ValuJet's application. The carrier said last week that it could lose $10 million each month its aircraft sit on the ground, and a prolonged delay could force it to seek bankruptcy protection (DAILY, Sept. 20).
AlliedSignal yesterday named Paul Wong as chairman-Greater China. The company is a partner in six ventures in China, including aircraft wheel and brake repair and overhaul, aircraft component repair and overhaul, aircraft environmental control systems and industrial polyester fiber and fabric. Wong was VP-China and Hong Kong for National Semiconductor Corp.
Southwest introduced yesterday its Rapid Rewards Visa Card, the latest feature of its frequent flyer program. Available through First USA Bank, the card has an introductory interest rate of 6.9%, which is fixed for the first six months, and has no annual fee for the first year. "Our frequent flyers have requested a Southwest Airlines credit card, and we have responded with a program that gets them a free ticket faster than any other airline," said Herb Kelleher, chairman, president and chief executive of Southwest.
Passengers who fly Air South three times by Jan. 16 will receive a free roundtrip ticket good for travel to New York, Norfolk-Virginia Beach and Savannah-Hilton Head. The free ticket is good until April 16, and also between Sept. 3 and Nov. 16, 1997.
Airbus Industrie of North America reorganized its sales and marketing departments, naming Henri Courpron VP-sales and Earl Odom VP-marketing development.
U.S. Major Carriers Top 10 City-Pairs Market By Passengers Per Day The Year 1995 Passenger Revenue Rank Market Per Day Per Day Alaska 1 Los Angeles Seattle/Tacoma 730.6 73,986 2 Seattle/Tacoma San Francisco 550.0 37,925 3 Oakland Seattle/Tacoma 538.8 30,929
Air France Chairman Christian Blanc is expected to argue against U.S.- France open skies arrangements when he meets with DOT Secretary Federico Pena, scheduled Thursday in Washington. While in the U.S., Blanc also is expected to discuss possible alliances with officials of potential U.S. partners.
Macau Airport, which opened 11 months ago, expects up to 1.3 million passengers its first year of operation. Nineteen airlines operate 282 weekly flights from the Portuguese territory. Macau is negotiating air pacts with Japan, Nepal and the Philippines and expects new service from each country next year.
CIBC Wood Gundy, a Canadian bank with a diversified focus a year ago, has zeroed in on the needs of airlines lately, becoming a financing source and adviser for $4 billion in aircraft transactions in the last seven months. "It's just the beginning," said Tom Gallagher, managing director of CIBC's global airlines and aerospace group and former lead aviation financier at Chase Manhattan. CIBC's hiring of aviation-insider Gallagher in January came just as airlines in various countries were about to make fleet moves.
The Royal Bank of Canada will arrange C$3 billion in financing for Nav Canada to acquire the Canadian civil air navigation system from the government and help finance ongoing needs, Nav Canada said. A three- tranche facility will provide the initial funding for the company until it phases in capital markets financing, Nav Canada said. Nav Canada, a non- share capital corporation, is expected to acquire the air traffic system assets at the end of October.
All Nippon Airways is studying the feasibility of beginning new service next year to Honolulu, spokesman Tom Fredo said. ANA holds three-times- weekly rights to Honolulu from Nagoya, but it has no international crew base in Nagoya and the cost and logistics of establishing one will weigh heavily in the decision. ANA intended to begin code-share service with Delta between Osaka and Honolulu, but delays in U.S.-Japan bilateral negotiations have forced ANA to consider other routes. "New Honolulu- Nagoya service is under consideration," said Fredo.
FAA has prohibited flight operations over Iran airspace by U.S. operators. The agency said that increased military presence and activity adjacent to civil air traffic corridors in Iran have "increased the potential threat to civil aircraft overlying the area." The order is to remain in effect until further notice. Iran last year set up an Improved Hawk surface-to-air missile site near its border with Turkey, and FAA said it has determined that the site increases the potential threat to civil aircraft.
Set to begin extensive services Oct. 27, Delta and alliance partners Austrian Airlines, Sabena and Swissair have applied for authority to operate international code-share services to points on Delta's route network and to enable Delta to provide code-share services to international points on the other carriers' networks. The alliance partners noted the U.S. has open skies pacts with their respective homelands, and they earlier received antitrust immunity from DOT that essentially permits them to operate as if they were a single carrier.
General Services Administration expects to save $2.4 billion in Fiscal 1997, starting Oct. 1, through contracts it awarded 18 airlines for service on 6,100 domestic city-pairs. Delta has by far the most city-pairs, 1,410, worth an estimated $367.3 million. The government rates are on average 62% less than unrestricted commercial rates, an improvement on last year's average of 56%. The one-year contracts include about 1,300 new markets. The fares do not require advance purchases or minimum stays.
House and Senate aviation leaders will resume today their informal efforts to resolve differences between the House and Senate versions of the FAA authorization (H.R.3539, S.1994) in hopes of completing action before Congress adjourns. The official target date for adjournment is Sept. 27, but many observers believe legislators will remain in Washington beyond Friday. It is unclear when on if lawmakers will meet for a formal conference on the FAA bill, but staff and legislators are continuing to hash out differences behind the scenes.
Hawaiian Airlines completed both a shareholder rights and an investor offering last week, raising $39.3 million in new capital for ongoing operations. Hawaiian will use the net proceeds for general working capital and possibly to retire existing debt, said airline spokesman Keoni Wagner. The airline sold 12.1 million shares at $3.25 per share. Separately, Hawaiian next week will increase Honolulu-Portland service to daily from five times per week.
Officials of Dalfort Aviation were determining their next step this week following a DOT ruling that their plan to use large aircraft configured for 56 or fewer seats for a new airline at Dallas Love Field still violates Wright Amendment limits on commercial airline service at the close-in airport. DOT General Counsel Nancy McFadden wrote Dalfort owner Bruce Leadbetter that the 1979 law limits commercial service from Love Field to points in Texas and the four contiguous states for aircraft with a "capacity" greater than 56 seats.
