One of the great strengths of the LatinPass frequent flyer program has been its unifying effect on Latin American airlines, according to TACA Chairman Federico Bloch, who admits that Latins have trouble agreeing on anything. Bloch said he hopes LatinPass will be a platform for other joint ventures that could include a computer reservations system, possibly in conjunction with another CRS provider.
Great Lakes Aviation has announced its intention of terminating essential air service at Ironwood, Mich., July 1. The United Express carrier operates Beech 1900 service from the community to Minneapolis/St. Paul. It is the only carrier to offer service between Minneapolis/St. Paul and Ironwood.
A group of investors led by Virgin Atlantic Chairman Richard Branson has signed a contract to acquire 90% of Brussels-based EuroBelgian Airlines (EBA). Closure on the $62 million deal is scheduled for April 30. Branson said he will hold a news conference in Brussels in the next three weeks to detail his plan for the low-cost airline. "The main thing Europe needs in short-haul markets is low fares," Branson said yesterday.
Airbus Industrie said it is increasing its 1997 delivery schedule by 37% to a record 185 aircraft, compared with 135 planned for delivery this year. The previous record of 163 deliveries was set in 1991. First quarter 1996 results and current negotiations led it to revise its p`B9lans, Airbus said. Since Jan +. 1, it received 129 firm orders, valued at more than $8 billion, from eight customers. The orders, which exclude options, comprise seven A319s, 70 A320s, 13 A321s, 22 A330s and 17 A340s.
LTU said it has transferred all its transatlantic operations to Cologne/Bonn Airport for the remainder of April and May due to a fire April 11 at Dusseldorf Airport. Cologne is about 30 minutes south of Dusseldorf. Bus transfers are available between the two points.
Swiss carrier Air Alpes will acquire an ATR 42-320 aircraft, the first ATR certified in Switzerland, Aero International (Regional) said. The carrier will place the aircraft in charter service in May. Air Alpes, founded in February, will use the ATR 42 in the summer to operate charters between Sion in the canton of Valais to various cities in the Mediterranean region, such as Tunis, Palermo and Ibiza. In the winter, the carrier will operate ski charters from various European cities to Sion and the several ski resorts in the Valais valley, AIR said.
USAir said yesterday it will disallow smoking on all international flights as of June 1. USAir's domestic flights already are non-smoking. The carrier is adding three new routes to its transatlantic network and will fly to Frankfurt, Madrid, Munich, Paris and Rome from the U.S. The airline still will allow smoking in designated areas of its USAir Clubs in airports.
National Air Transportation Association has published what it describes as a manual "designed to end all confusion in the industry regarding the expiration of the aviation excise taxes." The organization of Part 135 charter airlines and fixed-base operators produced the manual for participants at its annual convention and trade show, scheduled in Las Vegas next week, but is making the document "available to all aviation businesses immediately following the convention for $20," NATA said.
Kiwi International Air Lines reported a first quarter net profit of $1.3 million on operating revenues of $49.6 million. The favorable result compares with a first quarter 1995 net loss of $1.5 million on revenues of $37 million. "In all our markets, we have shown steady growth," said Jerry Murphy, president and chief executive, but added, "Kiwi still has to tighten up more." The carrier grew revenue passenger miles by 50% from 1995 levels while keeping only 15 aircraft in the fleet.
United Express and Midway Connection affiliate Great Lakes Aviation reported a net loss of nearly $2.7 million, or 35 cents per share, for 1995 and $470,000, or six cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 1995. The yearend figure compares unfavorably with a 1994 yearend profit of $404,000; the quarterly figure was an improvement from the Dec. 31, 1994, quarterly net loss of $920,000.
Air Canada said yesterday it will issue 250 million Deutschmark Eurobonds to help pay down its debt. The five-year unsecured bonds will be sold in Euromarkets by a syndicate of banks led by Bayerische Landesbank and traded publicly on the Frankfurt and Munich exchanges.
Northwest Airlines Corp. carried its winning streak to 11 quarters of earnings with a record first quarter net profit of $53.4 million. The profit compares with net earnings of $2.6 million in the first quarter of 1995. While operating revenues jumped 10.9% to $2.26 billion, operating income fell 8.8% to $134.4 million from $147.3 million. The decline occurred because Northwest took a $120.1 million non-cash charge related to stock earned by the carrier's employees.
McDonnell Douglas reported yesterday record quarterly operating earnings of $347 million, compared with the $293 million record established in the first quarter of last year. Net earnings rose to $198 million from $159 million. Revenues dipped slightly to $3.2 billion from $3.3 billion. A decrease in revenue from commercial aircraft was mostly made up by increases in other segments. The results were led by increased earnings in the military aircraft segment.
Federal Communications Commission has dropped individual radio licensing requirements and associated fees for domestic aircraft radios and aviation ground radios. Phil Boyer, president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, called the action a victory in the organization's battle to reduce the cost of flying. Registration had cost as much as $10 a transmitter, Boyer said.
Delta is exploring use of a "wireless aircraft communicator" using data link for the high-speed transmission of data both from the gate and airborne aircraft. Collins and AT&T are working on a prototype system, according to Clay Jones, VP and general manager of Collins Air Transport Division. Much of the data would be for logistics purposes, such as controlling meal and bar inventories and other business related to passenger needs, although cockpit data also would be involved, he said.
FAA Deputy Administrator Linda Daschle left little doubt where the agency's costs are headed - up. According to FAA's in-house newsletter, Headquarters Intercom, "Daschle reinforced the agency's support of the McCain/Ford/Hollings FAA Reform Bill [S.1239], which comes the closest to providing the FAA with a predictable source of revenue that will grow along with its workload." The bill would impose "user fees" for FAA services, such as air traffic handling, and is strongly opposed by regional air carriers and other high-frequency, short-haul operators...
In a joint reply, United and Lufthansa answered critics of their bid for antitrust immunity for their strategic alliance. While American and Delta claim their applications should be acted on first because they were filed earlier (DAILY, April 5), "neither alleges any facts suggesting that the carriers' due process rights or any applicable statutory provision requires the department to delay acting on the application," United and Lufthansa said.
Legislation establishing a National Tourism Board and National Tourism Organization has the support of a majority of the House, according to the Travel and Tourism Government Affairs Counsel (GAC), the lobbying arm of the Travel Industry Association. The Travel and Tourism Partnership Act, sponsored by Rep. Toby Roth (R-Wis.), has 221 co-sponsors. The new tourism board would advise the President, Congress and the travel industry on policy issues affecting travel and tourism.
TWA managed to improve its operation, winnowing down its net loss to $37.12 million for the first quarter of 1996. The loss, which comes in the first quarter, when TWA is especially susceptible to weaker results, was a 70% improvement from the $122.8 million TWA lost in the first quarter of 1995. The carrier managed to slim down its operating loss to $54.19 million, a 29% improvement from a $76.26 million operating loss in the comparable 1995 period. The losses were minimized by a 13% jump in revenues.
Reno Air appointed Steve Sarner VP-marketing and sales, and Bruce Sutherland VP-customer service. Sarner worked as director-sales since July 1994. He replaces Ron Cole, who is leaving Reno to take a position at another airline. Sutherland was instrumental in establishing QQuick Escapes, Reno's in-house tour program. Reno also named James Lloyd, formerly executive VP, general counsel and secretary at USAir Group, to its board. Lloyd was succeeded at USAir by Lawrence Nagin (DAILY, Feb. 6).
American Automobile Association is warning consumers to be on the lookout for travel scams attempting to lure the public to warm-weather getaways. "Although most travel packages being offered are from legitimate suppliers, a small number are from dealers trying to rip off the consumer," said Jack Mannix, managing director of AAA Travel Related Services. Consumers should be wary of direct mail pieces claiming they have been "specially selected" to receive a free trip, and of multi-day travel packages that may be overpriced.
Continental Express will operate its first international service June 6, when it starts daily service to Montreal from Newark and to Monterrey, Mexico, from Houston. It will serve both markets with 46-seat aircraft. Continental Express President David Siegel said, "This is just the beginning of international service from our hubs to Canada and Mexico," adding that the carrier becomes the first regional airline to serve all three countries. Continental also serves Monterrey and Montreal.
DOT has approved Continental's application for authority to operate combination service between Newark and Dublin, Dakar, Johannesburg and Belfast under its code-share agreement with World Airways. The arrangement enables Continental to place its designator code on World flights on the four routes, and on World's services between Newark and Shannon and Tel Aviv, beginning in June. (Docket OST-96-1164)
American parent AMR Corp. moved yesterday to separate its money-making Sabre unit from the airline as it reported record earnings for the first quarter. The action, announced by AMR yesterday, would split its Sabre unit out from under American and into a separate legal entity by the third quarter this year. The new unit still will be 100% owned by AMR, at least for the present. The entity, which will include all three of the unit's current divisions, will be incorporated as the Sabre Group Inc.
