Worldwide airport passenger traffic rose 7.7% in the first quarter from the same 1995 period, while cargo tonnage rose 3.5%, the Airports Council International said this week in Geneva. ACI said 460 airports worldwide reported 556.87 million passengers during the first three months and 11.42 million metric tons of cargo. Aircraft movements rose 1% to 11.45 million.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California ordered a permanent injunction against attempts by Barry and Holly Michaels to control an airline. The court imposed a disgorgement of $363,306 and civil penalties for a fraudulent offering of $5 million of unregistered stock on the Michaelses, who tried to start up Family Airlines in 1992. The Michaelses were found to have lied to FAA and DOT about past civil lawsuits and judgments against them, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Officials in Taiwan say Chiang Kai-shek Airport faces a serious threat of power outages during this year's typhoon season because of procurement delays in acquiring an uninterrupted power supply system. An official of the Civil Aeronautics Administration said a sixth round of bidding failed to generate an acceptable proposal, and a seventh round will be held in July. A series of strong typhoons last September left the airport without electricity several times.
The information technology joint-venture company between Delta and NCR Corp., TransQuest, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta on July 1. TransQuest will continue to operate as a separate company with its own management team and directors. Rex McClelland, senior VP-corporate services, said, "TransQuest had a successful first year of operation, with a direct and positive impact on Delta's Leadership 7.5 initiative and business results.
Egyptair ordered four A321s for delivery beginning in mid-1997, Airbus Industrie said. The carrier did not choose an engine immediately. Egyptair already operates seven A320s, 14 A300s and one A340, and it has three more A340s on order with the next delivery in November. The A321s will seat 200 in a single class, with the option of convertible seats at the front of the cabin.
Seven of the top 14 sources of visitors to the U.S. gained market share since 1994, according to the Travel Industry Association's (TIA) report, Market Share Indicators. The U.S. lost travelers from Canada, Mexico, Italy, the U.K., Australia, Korea and Taiwan, but gained in France, Germany, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Japan and Brazil. The new index, produced in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization, measures the number of citizens leaving a country for a long-haul trip and calculates the percentage of trips that are bound for the U.S.
Alaska Airlines is seeking an exemption to perform scheduled combination service between Los Angeles and Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Alaska's said it plans to operate nonstop roundtrip service beginning Nov. 4, offering four weekly flights through late April 1997. It will use MD-80 aircraft configured for 140 passengers, and flights will be scheduled for connections at Los Angeles with Alaska and Horizon Air service to and from other points.
FAA has approved the $750 million master plan for Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, including plans for a third 8,000-foot runway and existing runway extension. The plan also calls for replacing two existing terminals with a single building. Rental car and air cargo facilities would be expanded and relocated under the plan.
Delta Air Lines' subsidiary DeltaTel and Worldwide Cellular, which provides short-term cellular telephone rentals, are offering cellular phones to travelers around the world for the cost of the air time. Travelers can reserve cellular phones through their DeltaTel Communications Card or by using a direct toll-free number.
Offering expanded opportunities for non-incumbent carriers, Japan will continue to dispute the U.S. position on existing fifth-freedom rights when U.S.-Japan talks begin today in Washington. "The major objectives of the consultation are to equalize the opportunities between Japanese and U.S. airlines, and to expand the opportunities for the airlines of both sides on the basis of equality," according to a Japanese government outline of its basic position, dated today and made available to The DAILY.
The City of Atlanta's $300 million sale of airport facilities revenue bonds received an "A" rating from Moody's Investors Service based on the airport's niche as a "key hubbing facility" in the southeastern U.S. Since the rating is based on the airport's fundamental strengths, it said, ValuJet's recent suspension from operations does not pose a long-term credit concern. "Airport officials project that the elimination of ValuJet service at Atlanta will result in only a minor decline in debt service coverage in fiscal 1996," Moody's said.
American and St. Louis are boosting TWA's bid for services to London Heathrow, but the rest of the industry is urging DOT to reject the application. Acting on the possibility that the proposed American-British Airways agreement will open up slots at Heathrow, TWA requested authority to begin operating a daily 747 roundtrip between Heathrow and New York Kennedy Sept. 4, with the option of adding two daily 767 flights Oct. 27 (DAILY, June 12).
Fresno-based Air 21 and Reno Air signed an interline and marketing agreement for connections through Reno/Tahoe Airport, beginning yesterday. The agreement will enable Air 21, a wholly owned subsidiary of International Jet Engine Supply, to market service to eight new cities - Chicago, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, Denver and Colorado Springs. Reno will provide the ground-handling.
Summary of U.S. Major Carriers International Traffic The Year 1995 Revenue Average Revenue Passengers Length of Passenger Enplaned % Travel Miles Carriers (000) Change (Miles) (000) American 14,606 8.90 2,160 31,541,845 Atlantic 3,651 7.13 4,119 15,038,573
Continental's board approved a two-for-one stock split yesterday, payable July 16 to holders of record of Class B and Class A common stock July 2. The split is intended to "make our stock more affordable to retail investors" and "bring additional liquidity to the market for our shares," Lawrence Kellner, chief financial officer, said. At the carrier's annual meeting, shareholders re-elected all of the directors and approved a new one, George Parker, professor of management at the Graduate School of Business of Stanford University.
SabreTech President Steven Townes, stung by congressional testimony Tuesday by ValuJet President Lewis Jordan that SabreTech errors caused the fatal crash May 11 of one of the carrier's DC-9s, said yesterday the crash was a "shared responsibility" of his company, the airline and FAA. Jordan told Congress that if boxes containing oxygen generators had been properly marked as hazardous materials, they would never had been loaded onto the aircraft and the crash would never have occurred (DAILY, June 26).
LatinPass is offering travel agents the opportunity to rack up their own frequent flyer miles when their clients purchase a full-fare ticket on any LatinPass carrier to Mexico, Central and South America and the Dominican Republic from the U.S. and Canada. The promotion, Miles&Miles, also gives agents 10,000 bonus miles whenever they sign up a client in LatinPass. Agents must book clients on at least three different LatinPass carriers. The agent accumulates mileage based on the type of fare their clients purchase, and mileage flown.
Canadian Airlines International said it will resume nonstop service between Montreal Mirabel Airport and Rome, offering two 767 flights per week beginning July 30 and continuing through the summer, and cutting back to one per week during the fall and winter, all in cooperation with code-share partner Alitalia. The carrier currently offers daily flights between Toronto and Rome.
American Automobile Association predicts travel for the July 4 holiday will be at its highest level in eight years, and up 2% from 1995. AAA said 35.7 million Americans plan to take a trip for Independence Day. The association estimates 30.3 million will travel by auto, truck or recreational vehicle, up 1% from last year, and 5.4 million will travel by airplane, train or bus, up 8%. AAA's predictions are based on a telephone survey of 1,500 adults conducted by the Travel Industry Association.
Kenmore Air Harbor, a seaplane operation in Kenmore, Wash., celebrates this year its 50th anniversary of offering adventure getaways in the northwestern U.S. and flying to fishing and boating destinations along Canada's Inside Passage to Alaska. Kenmore operates a fleet of 22 seaplanes, departing from Lake Union in downtown Seattle and the northern tip of Lake Washington in Kenmore.
Amtrak has chosen Novus to design its Internet booking and payment system, to be completed by December. Initially, the system will involve a World Wide Web page and booking engine, but the booking and payment functions for travel agents, and an enhanced pricing and rating system, will come later. Tickets can be picked up at the station or travel agency or can be delivered to homes. The Novus solution is based on the same core technology as the system used by VIA Rail, Lufthansa and British Midland.
U.S. District Judge Joan Lenard has postponed until Oct. 15 the July 8 trial on a lawsuit filed by five tenant airlines over American's planned Super A expansion at Miami Airport. A different judge in March gave Dade County and American the green light to issue bonds and move ahead with planning for the Super A Terminal; that judge dismissed part of the plaintiffs' suit which sought to stop the co-defendants from entering into the agreement for the terminal and issuing bonds and assessing fees associated with the Super A plan.
Runzheimer International predicts business travel costs will rise 4.7% in 1997, attributable in large part to increased spending on rental cars. Spending on air travel will go up 4%, lodging 7.5%, car rentals 8.5%, meals 5% and ground transportation 4%, the company predicts. But by the end of 1997, competition among new services such as automation of reservations, ticketless travel and hotel productivity improvements will spark an overall decline in costs, Runzheimer said.
Virgin Atlantic Airways Chairman Richard Branson, who used his airline's inaugural London-Washinton Dulles flight yesterday to highlight his opposition to the proposed American/British Airways alliance, is taking his message to congressional leaders, DOT and the Justice Department today.
