Taiwan's Council for Economic Planning and Development, which formulates the island's financial policies, has recommended that the tax on passengers departing Chiang Kai-shek Airport be increased from the current US$10.90 to US$18.20. The council also wants to introduce a US$36.40 exit/entry fee. The new taxes, subject to approval by Taiwan's Legislative Yuan, are to be implemented July 1, 1997.
Swissair has appointed Mark Ellinger general manger for its Eastern Region USA. He previously was director of public relations and market communications in New York. He replaces Markus Albrecht, who was named general manager of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei and Sri Lanka.
American will offer Texas-based members of its frequent flyer program double mileage when they fly American or American Eagle out of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport this summer. The offer is in response to a marketing initiative launched by Delta late last week. The Delta offer, which also applies to its connection carriers, is for travel through July 31.
The China Aviation Development Foundation (CADF), the stock shareholder of China Airlines (CAL), said it will offer 210 million shares - 15% of outstanding CAL majority - for sale to large local investors. CADF currently controls 82% of CAL's outstanding shares. The placement is expected to raise about US$256 million. A CADF official said revenues generated by the placement will be used to purchase new aircraft. The official added that CADF has retained six advisers to find local investors who are willing to purchase the stock as a long-term investment.
Taiwan's Civil Aeronautics Administration said it plans to double the number of air traffic controllers employed at the island's airports within the next two years. The CAA currently employs 200 controllers, a number far short of what is needed to meet the demands of Taiwan's rapidly expanding civil aviation industry, a CAA official said. Meanwhile, citing safety concerns, Taiwan's CAA has asked the island's domestic airlines to scale back the number of flights they operate between Taipei and Kaohsiung.
An FAA reauthorization bill to be introduced today by the bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation Committee and its aviation subcommittee would reinstate the aviation excise taxes through Dec. 31, 1999. The tax measure will be considered by the subcommittee Thursday during the panel's markup of the reauthorization bill, which closely resembles draft legislation floated earlier this month (DAILY, May 8).
The great power of United's shuttle is its ability to create loyal passengers on the West Coast who then fly throughout the carrier's network, according to Lehman Brothers analyst Brian Harris, who recently launched coverage of United with a buy rating on its stock. Harris found that 80% of shuttle users are United frequent flyer members, far above the systemwide average, and that this helps generate a "halo effect" of at least $320 million in incremental revenue.
Pemco Engineers, a unit of Precision Standard Inc., has obtained a patent for its Fly-A-Way Door Sill, designed for 727 and DC-8 freighters as a substitute for conventional lift-and-stow door sills. The Pemco unit is attached permanently to the aircraft and folds into a stowed position. The company said it offers convenience, durability and operating cost savings.
The Justice Department is urging DOT to modify its tentative order granting antitrust immunity to the alliance of Delta, Swissair, Sabena and Austrian. In detailed comments reinforcing concerns DOT acknowledged in its show cause order (DAILY, May 28), DOJ asked DOT to withhold unlimited antitrust immunity for four New York city-pairs: New York-Zurich, New York-Geneva, New York-Brussels and New York-Vienna.
Wilcox Electric is challenging FAA's decision to award a single-source contract to Hughes Aircraft to build the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) (DAILY, May 3), the company's new president, Bill Marberg, said yesterday. Wilcox filed a protest letter with FAA's Office of Dispute Resolution, said Marberg, who was named president of the company May 24 succeeding Don Welde, who returned to parent company Thomson CSF.
Boeing 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day 20 Fourth Quarter 1995 20 B737-300 America West Continental Delta Number of Aircraft Operated 37 65 13 Total Fleet Operations Departures 247 286 69 Block Hours 427 633 115
Anticipating huge losses in the current fiscal year, the management of India's state-owned national carrier, Air-India, has begun several measures to cut costs at a number of operational levels, an AI spokesman said this week. These include recalling staff from foreign stations and discontinuing flights that generate little revenue. The measures, to be recommended in detail in the next couple of months by an internal panel comprising three AI deputy managing directors, come in response to the airline's projected losses for fiscal 1996, ending March 31, 1997.
TWA's Air Line Pilots Association unit has passed a resolution absolving the negotiating committee from further talks with the company designed to resolve open issues remaining from the contract finalized in fall 1994. TWA's ALPA unit told its members the union was wasting its resources on "futile discussions" with unprepared and unempowered company representatives. The union said it would rather focus its attention on preparing for new contract negotiations that start next year.
U.S. aerospace companies are more likely to pursue global expansion through majority interest in joint ventures than majority ownership of foreign companies, according to a Futures Group study. Unlike other U.S. industries, aerospace sees Brazil as a more important market than the Pacific Rim. All of the aerospace companies that participated in the survey said their most important objective is long-term market commitments, versus 76% overall.
Southwest edged out two of the Big Three in a popularity contest conducted on the West Coast. A soon-to-be-published airline safety study, as a throwaway question, asked respondents to name their favorite airline. Southwest came in first with 19.8% of respondents, followed by United, 17%, and American, 16.7%. Slightly more than half of the respondents were California residents.
Boeing 727 and 737 Systemwide Aircraft Utilization Per Day Fourth Quarter 1995 20 B727-200 American Continental Number of Aircraft Operated 81 36 Total Fleet Operations Departures 261 113 Block Hours 622 284
Apollo is planning to announce on May 30 a multi-million dollar technology "breakthrough" that it says will help travel agencies compete. Apollo said that while its competitors are introducing consumer-oriented online products, it is investing in the travel agency community.
Airlines are missing out on a potential $2 billion a year in gross revenues from the segment of the U.S. population that is "safety sensitive," according to a new study on the "elasticity" of airline safety. About 30% of the public falls into this category, says San Diego-based Becker Associates, and the airlines should jump at the opportunity to market directly to them and not only to regular customers.
A new contract between United and its flight attendants union probably is a long way off, observers believe. While a new round of negotiations is expected to get under way in July, United will have to negotiate soon on pay raises for its pilots and mechanics, which leaves a flight attendant accord as a low priority. The flight attendants voted down the company's last offer in April.
The American-Canadian Airlines International application for antitrust immunity, expected to be decided last week, apparently is getting another look in view of the possible American-British Airways alliance.
