Eastwind Airlines' new flights to Atlanta that begin June 6 will be operated twice a day - one from Boston and one from Providence, R.I., through its Trenton, N.J., base with a stop in Greensboro on one and Richmond on the other. Eastwind does not compete with low-fare airlines like ValuJet in any of the markets except the route to Boston. A carrier spokesman said one-way fares from Atlanta to Boston will range from $119 to $179, to Greensboro $49 to $109, Providence $119 to $179, Richmond $59 to $119, and Trenton $69 to $129.
The Association of Flight Attendants, the only union at United that is not part of the carrier's employee ownership structure, has set up an alliance with flight attendant unions of United's international partners, Lufthansa and Thai Airways.Representatives of the three unions met last week in Bangkok to exchange information and coordinate strategy.
Gulfstream International of Miami will not be the U.S. launch customer for the N270, as originally planned. President Tom Cooper would not elaborate when queried on the decision; however, The DAILY is told that officials of IPTN's U.S. affiliate, American Regional Aircraft Industry (AMRAI), did not believe that rapidly expanding Gulfstream had sufficient prestige or national visibility to be the launch customer for the aircraft. Executive vice chairman of AMRAI is Brian Rowe, former chairman of GE Aircraft Engines.
DOT has made final its tentative order terminating the subsidy for essential air service at Anniston, Ala. and permitting Gulfstream International Airlines to suspend its service there as of June 1. The Chairman of the Anniston Metropolitan Airport Board of Commissioners had objected to the service termination, contending that recent low traffic figures did not accurately reflect local demand for scheduled service.
IPTN moved closer to completing its twin-turboprop N250 as Hispano- Suiza delivered the first shipment of nacelle parts for the aircraft. The shipment is intended for the first prototype aircraft, which was scheduled to undergo a series of test flights this month. Hispano-Suiza, a subsidiary of French firm Snecma, was chosen to supply the nacelle components in June 1995. The current order covers parts for seven aircraft and options for another 14 - a total of 42 nacelles.
Vanguard Airlines is offering summer fares as low as $19 one way between Salt Lake City and Denver; Kansas City and Dallas/Fort Worth; Wichita and Des Moines, and Chicago and Des Moines. Bob McAdoo, president and chief executive, said, "The big airlines come along and say they are slashing their fares by 40%, even 50%. Not so fast. These so-called bargain fares are still too expensive for many travelers, and they come with lots of strings attached." Vanguard's fares do not require a Saturday night stay or roundtrip purchase.
Seven U.S. airlines are proposing that Congress adopt user fees for airlines on a temporary basis while permanent changes in FAA financing are evaluated. The fees would take the place of the 10% passenger ticket tax, which lapsed Dec. 31 along with the waybill, non-commercial jet fuel and international departure taxes. The tax on aviation gasoline did not expire. Taxes other than the passenger ticket tax would be reinstated under the proposal, which is supported by American, Continental, Delta, Northwest, TWA, USAir and United, sources said.
Qantas has named a top Australian aviation negotiator to its international relations department. John Kerr, formerly assistant secretary of the International Relations Branch in the Aviation Policy Division of the Australian Department of Transport and Regional Development, will be Qantas's general manager of international relations. He will report to David Hawes, recently promoted to group general manager in charge of the company's government and international relations branch.
Nations Air has discontinued its service between Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in favor of new scheduled flights to Gulfport, Miss., from cities in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions. It is studying high- density cities and will announce its new Gulfport schedule shortly, the carrier said. The Smyrna, Ga.-based carrier said the Boston, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh routes were "marginally profitable.
Abu Dhabi Aviation will acquire two 37-passenger de Havilland Dash 8 Q Series 200 aircraft from Bombardier Regional Aircraft Division for about $25 million, with delivery slated in February and March 1997.
The emergence of powerful, antitrust-immunized alliances and increasingly open aviation regimes is fueling expectations of breakthroughs in U.S.-U.K. and U.S.-European Union relations. In a Senate floor speech Tuesday, Commerce Committee Chairman Larry Pressler (R-S.D.) said "a truly historic opportunity may be at hand to finally force the British to join us on the field of free and fair air service competition." The chief catalyst for this opportunity is the potential alliance between American and British Airways.
Eastwind Airlines is moving into the Atlanta market June 6, in time for the summer Olympics. It will operate from its Trenton, N.J., base with 737- 200s with stops in Greensboro, N.C., or Richmond, Va. It serves Greensboro/Winston Salem/High Point, Richmond, Providence, R.I., and Boston.
The city of Austin, Texas, has agreed to postpone until March 1997 the inauguration of cargo operations at Austin-Bergstrom Airport. The city had planned to open the new airport to cargo in late fall, but the cargo carriers asked that the opening be delayed to avoid possible service disruptions during the peak delivery season in November and December.
FAA said yesterday it probably will wind up its intense safety surveillance of ValuJet in mid-June, but the aftereffects of the carrier's fatal crash into the Florida Everglades will last much longer. ValuJet Chairman and Chief Executive Robert Priddy told the financial community yesterday in a telephone news conference that the carrier probably will not return to its previous level of flight operations until sometime in the fourth quarter.
FAA published in the May 22 Federal Register details of its Airport Capital Improvement Program (ACIP) National Priority System and asked for comments by July 22. The priority system uses numerical designations for types of projects and classes of airports to help evaluate requests for Airport Improvement Program funds according on an established formula. Comments are to be submitted to FAA, Airports Financial Assistance Division, Programming Branch, APP-520, Room 615, 800 Independence Ave. S.W., Washington, D.C. 20591.
Continental slashed fares yesterday for the Memorial Day weekend by as much as 65% throughout the U.S. The fares are good only for the weekend, to select destinations from the carrier's three major hubs - Houston, Newark and Cleveland - and from Greensboro, N.C. Fares range from $99 to $199 roundtrip. Travel must originate on Saturday or Sunday, and return flights must be on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance.
House late Tuesday passed 301 to 108 legislation (H.R.3415) to repeal the 4.3 cents-per-gallon transportation fuels tax enacted in 1993. While passage was easy in the House, conditions are different in the Senate. The repeal, a Republican-led initiative, has been linked politically with a Democratic proposal to increase the minimum wage. Earlier this month, Senate Republicans dropped consideration of a fuel tax repeal bill because Democrats were trying to force a vote on minimum wage as a condition.
Boeing has awarded UPS Worldwide Logistics a three-year contract to manage part of the aircraft manufacturer's transportation business, beginning July 1. UPS will manage Boeing's domestic air freight and international door- to-airport and door-to-door data shipments, and it will coordinate domestic shipments of special products, exhibits and display material. Initially, the UPS unit will dedicate a multi-disciplinary, 11-person team to work with the Information&Support Services group at Boeing's Seattle headquarters.
DCX Inc. said it has signed a binding letter of intent of purchase the outstanding stock of Airtech International Corp. of Dallas in exchange for DCX common stock. A definitive agreement, including purchase terms for the proposed deal, still must be worked out. Airtech is a distributor of advanced commercial air-purification systems manufactured by Honeywell.
Northwest filed a complaint with the Minnesota News Council against WCCO- TV, a local television station that broadcast an investigative report on Northwest's maintenance and employment practices. The report portrayed the airline as having a questionable safety record and a poor attitude toward female employees. Northwest said it spent seven hours meeting on the record with the station, which ignored its statistics and safety record, and did not provide a context to interpret accident rates or the scope of Northwest's operations.
Sen. John McCain (R.-Ariz.) is expected to introduce a bill in the Senate today that would reauthorize the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) at $1.8 billion and address funding of FAA. The bill, the Omnibus Aviation Act of 1996, would expand restrictions on airport revenue diversion and provide a bottom-down reform of FAA. It also would require airlines to share employment performance records of pilots.
Lufthansa is not engaged in talks to purchase a stake in British Midland, the German carrier said yesterday after reports surfaced in Germany that it might be doing so.Lufthansa has no plans for any sort of agreement or partnership with British Midland, a company representative said, and it has an unstated policy not to take equity in foreign carriers when it forms alliances with them.
U.S. National Carriers Operating and Net Profit Fourth Quarter 1995 Operating Net Profit/Loss Profit/Loss (000) (000) Fourth Quarter 1995 Alaska $ 7,246 $ 808 American Trans Air (7,964) (3,795) Carnival (1,165) (1,027) Hawaiian 329 (124)
USAir Chairman Stephen Wolf, addressing his first shareholders meeting yesterday since taking the carrier's helm, sketched out plans to reduce the company's costs and "substantially increase our size." In remarks that were long on vision and short on specifics, he said only one thing is certain for the airline at this point: nothing is being ruled out as the best way to improve customer service and reduce costs, and everything still is on the table, from employee concessions to airline partnerships.
