Sino Swearingen Aircraft Company Chairman Ed Swearingen was named the recipient of the 1996 Career Contribution to Aviation Award, conferred annually by the Aviation Division of the Texas Department of Transportation.
Cathay Pacific Airways will forego this year the 70,000 Christmas cards and 27,000 Chinese New Year cards it has sent out in years past. It will contribute the savings, HK$360,000, for a mobile classroom to teach grade- school children health awareness and drug prevention.
Granted orally to Asiana Airlines renewal for a two-year period an exemption to conduct scheduled combination service between Seoul and Detroit and authority to hold out Northwest's designator code on flights operated by Asiana between Seoul, on the one hand, and New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu and Saipan, on the other, under a code- share/blocked-space arrangement between the two carriers...Granted orally to Continental authority to operate scheduled combination service between Houston and Mazatlan, Mexico, and between Houston and Veracruz, Mexico.
ABSA-Aerolinhas Brasileiras, operating as Brasil Tranasair, has applied at DOT for an exemption to operate all-cargo flights between Miami and Sao Paulo, with an intermediate stop in Manaus, Brazil. Until DOT and FAA give it authorization to operate its own aircraft on the proposed service, the carrier plans to operate through long-term wet-leases with duly authorized U.S and foreign carriers. (Docket OST-96-1372)
Air Canada will open a customer service call center in St. John, New Brunswick, this fall, employing 100 reservations agents. The number of workers is expected to climb to more than 650 within five years, Air Canada said. The airline, which has been expanding its domestic and U.S. operations aggressively over the past year and a half, said it has experienced a large increase in call volume. Initially, the St. John call center will handle toll-free calls from within Canada, which will improve Air Canada's service in major cities.
National Air Transportation Association elected Kurt Herwald, Stevens Aviation, chairman and Michael Pittard, Aviation Charter Services, vice chairman.
Delta is offering double SkyMiles until July 31 to Texas residents using Dallas/Fort Worth Airport. Delta said it wants to show Texans that the airline is committed to DFW and the Texas marketplace with 143 flights at the airport every day. Delta Connection Atlantic Southeast offers 88 flights a day.
AirWays Corp. reported net income of $737,000 or $0.08 per share in its fourth fiscal quarter, which ended March 31. The company had net income of $1.2 million for fiscal 1996, or $0.13 per share. The results include funds from the carrier's Orlando-based jet subsidiary - AirTran Airways - as well as its fixed-based operation in Grand Rapids, Minn. Operating revenues for the fourth quarter increased 50.5% from the third quarter, to $27.4 million from $18.2 million.
Allied Pilots Association and American went through another week of mediated negotiations with no meeting of minds on the big issues - scope, pay, pension and work rules - but did reach a tentative agreement on new grievance and arbitration procedures. The union's leaders meet this week to vote on whether to authorize sending strike ballots to members if and when it is deemed necessary. The APA expects the authorization to be granted.
- In Federal Register dated May 17...Superseded an airworthiness directive on certain Piper PA31, PA31P and PA31T aircraft requiring the replacement of main landing gear forward sidebraces as a terminating action for currently required repetitive inspections for cracks and replacement as necessary...Superseded an AD on Piper PA31, PA31-300, PA31-325 and PA31-350 aircraft requiring modification of both wings in the area of Wing Station 147.5 as a terminating action for currently required repetitive inspections for cracks of the outboard flap tracks, wing rib flanges and
Air China has applied for an exemption to operate four additional flights between Beijing and Shanghai, on the one hand, and San Francisco and Atlanta, on the other, during the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The carrier also asked for permission to operate two charter flights from Beijing to Atlanta, via Anchorage, during the Olympics. The carrier proposes operating the flights sometime in July and August, using 400-seat Boeing 747-400 aircraft.
LOT Polish Airlines has developed a frequent flyer plan that it hopes will attract more passengers to the carrier. The program, LOT Voyager, is similar to frequent flyer offerings at other airlines. LOT previously issued its passenger mileage credits, which could be used for travel on other international airlines. The new program will be in place as of June 3. Passengers traveling on LOT from North America will become program members after one flight. Awards on New York routings will allow passengers to earn between 4,000 and 16,000 miles.
United has signed a one-year contract with Clark Refining&Marketing in St. Louis for 100 million gallons of jet fuel, to be used at Chicago O'Hare Airport. Clark said at today's prices, the contract is worth $55 million. Clark owns a refinery in Port Arthur, Texas, that ships fuel north via the Texas Eastern Products Pipeline.
Boeing has started offering a modification for 747-300s, allowing them to be reconfigured from combis or passenger jets to pure freighters, the company's Wichita division said. The first 747-300 combi-to-freighter modification position is available in November, while the first 747-300 passenger-to-freighter position is available in the second quarter of 1997, Boeing said.
Viscount Air Services named John Caravan, former FAA maintenance inspector, director-maintenance, and Michael Predmest, formerly of Air Margarita and Liberty Airlines, VP-marketing.
Dassault Falcon Jet appointed Kenneth Root director-Little Rock Jet Center, replacing Earl Philpott, who has resumed his duties as director- production engineering.
Abacus Distribution Systems has signed a contract with IBM to purchase and license IBM's advanced communications systems access product, which provides the graphical user interface emulation to computer reservations systems. Abacus said the agreement with IBM signals the first step of a partnership to develop more advanced applications for the travel industry. The partnership will result in software programs that Abacus expects will enhance its PC/Windows-based work station product that will be launched next month in all Abacus markets.
DOT has assessed civil penalties of $8,000 against CaribAir for violations of the department's accounting and reporting requirements. After becoming delinquent in filing reports in late 1994 and again in 1995, the carrier "was sent warning letters," said DOT's Office of Aviation Enforcement and Proceedings. However, "as of April 8, 1996, CaribAir had not yet filed three reports...with an average delinquency of 55 days," said the Enforcement Office, adding, "This amounts to a serious violation of our reporting requirements that justifies enforcement action."
U.S. officials hope open skies will be addressed during this week's European Transport Ministers Conference in Budapest. The U.S. is expected to hold informal bilateral talks with about six countries. Likely candidates are France and Hungary. Among U.S. attendees are DOT Deputy Secretary Mortimer Downey and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs Mark Gerchick.
The cost of travel in April, compared with April 1995, grew at a faster pace than the cost of other goods and services, the Travel Industry Association said. Travel prices rose 3.5%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased 2.9%. The cost of travel for the first four months of the year increased 3.4%, compared with 2.8% for the CPI. For the year to date, the cost of airline fares was up only 0.4%, while intracity public transportation jumped 9.7%, motor fuel 3.3% and lodging 5.6%.
All Nippon Airways (ANA) has applied to the Japanese Ministry of Transport for authority to fly from Osaka Kansai Airport to Milan, Frankfurt and Yangon (Rangoon) and to increase its service to Rome. The carrier will operate Osaka-Frankfurt twice per week and Osaka-Milan once per week. It will increase its flying between Osaka and Rome to five flights per week from two. Service to Europe will be operated with two-class, 360-seat 747- 200s. Frankfurt flights will begin Sept. 8 and service to Milan, a new destination for ANA, Sept. 9.
