Correction: Delta operated an average 2,617 flights per day last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The DAILY erroneously reported the number as a total for the three days (DAILY, July 30).
CenStates Travel and Tourism Research Association Conference will be held Sept. 4-6 at the Frontenac Hilton Hotel in St. Louis. Its theme focuses on travel marketing challenges and solutions, and discussion topics cover marketing with online services, applying for research grants and understanding the new Travel Census. For more information, call Warren Wiethaupt, 314-225-6339.
Continental's improvement in operational performance during the past year is evidenced by its employee rewards. Starting with free slices of pizza for hard workers, the carrier gave $65 and then $100 monthly bonus checks when it performed well. Yesterday, it gave 1996 Eddie Bauer limited edition Ford Explorers with leather seats to seven employees whose names were drawn from several thousand with perfect attendance records for the first half of the year.
DOT has issued Panagra Airways a certificate authorizing it to engage in foreign charter air transportation. The action follows the department's earlier approval of the carrier's bid to start up interstate charter service. Planning to operate 727-200 aircraft initially within the U.S. and between the U.S. and Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean Basin, Panagra plans to seek charter opportunities in Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia as business conditions permit (DAILY, July 12). (Dockets OST-96-1019&OST-96-1020)
Standard&Poor's, citing the proposed alliance with British Airways, yesterday said it has revised its ratings outlook on AMR Corp. and American Airlines to positive from stable. About $6.7 billion of securities is affected. S&P said the revision reflects progress in restoring financial strength and the potential revenue and competitive advantages of a proposed alliance with British Airways.
USAir signed a confidentiality agreement allowing it to discuss commercial opportunities with American shortly after American Chairman Robert Crandall said in mid-June that American could not talk to the carrier until it did so (DAILY, June 13), American said yesterday. USAir has had separate conversations with BA. American said the discussions were not about bringing USAir into the prospective American-BA alliance or acquiring it.
The bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation Committee and its aviation subcommittee introduced legislation yesterday to establish formal procedures and entities to assist the families of people injured or killed in aviation disasters. The bill would establish a National Transportation Safety Board family advocate to be a liaison between families and the government and the airline, and directs NTSB to designate an independent organization, such as the Red Cross, to take primary responsibility for the care and support of the families.
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association told the General Accounting Office this week that it opposes closing Chicago's downtown Meigs Field. Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Ill.), whose district includes part of Chicago, asked the GAO to investigate Mayor Richard Daley's plan to replace the airport with a $27 million park. Meigs Field, an FAA reliever airport, has received special federal support to attract general aviation and corporate aircraft that otherwise would use nearby airline hubs, according to Bill Dunn, AOPA VP for regional affairs.
U.S. Major Carriers Systemwide Share of Service First Quarter 1996 Total Revenue Departures Alaska 36,554 America West 50,097 American 193,432 Continental 107,590 Delta 229,159 Northwest 140,512 Southwest 179,085 TWA 70,091 United 190,457
Joyce Fleischman, the Department of Agriculture's deputy inspector general, will be named, probably today, to replace DOT Inspector General Mary Schiavo, who resigned July 3. At DOT, Fleischman will be the acting IG.
While clearing American and British Airways to go ahead with their alliance plans, the British House of Commons Transport Select Committee provided some comfort to opponents of the alliance. The government panel voted Tuesday against referring the alliance proposal to the U.K. Monopolies and Mergers Commission, where it would have gotten much greater scrutiny (DAILY, July 31).
Anthony Broderick, FAA's former top enforcement official, believes a "difference in perspective" between himself and Mary Schiavo, DOT's former inspector general, probably figured in the FBI's potentially devastating investigation of Broderick. Speaking with Aviation Week Group editors, Broderick said he was "shocked" when he learned of the FBI probe, which began after Schiavo linked him to an alleged cover-up of unapproved parts infractions.
American Automobile Association has named 12 tour suppliers and 11 cruise providers to its preferred supplier team for the 1997-98 program. AAA reduced the number of preferred travel suppliers from more than 400 to 26 last year to enhance member benefits. The preferred tour suppliers are ATS/Island in the Sun, Brennan Tours, Certified Vacations, Classic Custom Vacations, Der Travel Services, General Tours, TBI Tours, Kingdom Tours, Northwest World Vacations, Pleasant Holidays, Tauck Tours, Trafalgar Tours and Travel Impressions.
Citing a recent upgrade in FAA's assessment of compliance by Ghana with ICAO safety standards, Ghana Airways asked DOT to amend its U.S. exemption authority to permit it to use its own aircraft and crews for scheduled combination services between Accra and New York. In October 1994, when it originally received U.S. exemption authority, Ghana was classified by FAA as a Category 3 country, forcing the carrier to wet-lease operations by other carriers for the service it was authorized to provide.
World, having decided to withdraw from the scheduled service business, will end its passenger service to Tel Aviv and Johannesburg in the next two months to focus on profitable operations. The carrier said in June it was dropping its European scheduled charter business to focus on wet-leasing and military charters (DAILY, June 26). It now says it will withdraw "in an orderly way" from Tel Aviv after Sept. 3, and from Johannesburg after Aug. 23. World said it has reached an agreement with TWA and Tower Air to honor World tickets for Tel Aviv flights after Sept.
Far Horizons, based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., is organizing a 16-day food tour of India Jan. 8-23. The tour, led by Food&Wine television celebrity David Rosengarten, costs $5,495. The price covers roundtrip air transportation from New York, seven special lunches and seven dinners. Sightseeing includes the Taj Mahal, Dhulikhel, the shore temples of Madras and a cruise in the lagoons of Cochin.
U.S. and U.K. ended negotiations yesterday in Washington without setting dates for future talks. They promised to exchange working papers and consult on dates for future talks, a DOT spokesman said.
A U.S. "getaway guide" is being developed by Publishing Concepts of St. Louis to persuade Canadians to visit the U.S. The guide is expected to debut in March as an insert in major Canadian newspapers.
India's Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has issued a permit to a travel agency consortium comprising Travel Corp. of India, SITA World Travel and UVI Holidays for charter flights from Britain to Agra, site of the Taj Mahal, during the country's tourist season - October 1996 through March 1997. The DGCA had ordered a ban on all tourist-chartered flights following the Purulia arms dropping case in January, when weapons intended for terrorists were airdropped from a chartered aircraft in India's eastern region.
New reference guide to business travel in 11 Pacific Rim countries is available. Passport Pal: The Pacific Rim, is a 56-page reference on conducting business in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, China, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. The guide provides cultural insights, including dining customs, Asian holidays, greetings in the local language, business and social protocols and advice on how to get around. Passport Pal costs $29.95 and can be ordered by calling 1-888-PASSPAL.
Taiwan's Ministry of Transportation and Communications has ordered the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) to speed up the introduction of private helicopter service. A ministry official said the MOTC is unhappy with what it sees as unnecessary delays in the opening of private service and has told CAA officials to begin accepting applications from potential operators before the end of this year.
U.S. Major Carriers Atlantic Share of Service First Quarter 1996 Total Revenue Departures American 5,527 Continental 1,282 Delta 6,648 Northwest 1,386 TWA 2,104 United 3,265 USAir 539 Total 20,751 Average Number of
Western Pacific's affiliate Mountain Air Express has ordered 12 Dornier 328-120 regional turboprop aircraft and taken options on 12 more, Dornier parent Fairchild said yesterday. Deliveries begin in September. The manufacturer said the aircraft will cruise at 335 knots, opening new markets with distances approaching 600 nautical miles, and will provide "unmatched performance from high-elevation resort airports in the Rocky Mountains, even during the hot summer seasons."
