Under scrutiny -  A closer look at the Boeing 747
     April 9, 1998 2:17 p.m. EST - Recently, the safety of the Boeing
 747 has been called into question. The National Transportation Safety
 Board on Tuesday recommended mandatory inspections and rewiring of
 the fuel tanks in hundreds of older Boeing 747 jets in response to
 faults found in the wreckage of TWA Flight 800 and on other aircraft.
 Just what is a 747 -- and how can you know if your next flight is
 on one?
     The 747 is distinctive for its big hump at the front of the plane
 and its two-story cabin. Also called a "jumbo jet," it can carry up
 to 400 passengers. It has been in the air for a while. "The 747 alone
 has logged well over 20 billion miles and has flown a quarter of the
 world's population," says Boeing representative Doug Webb.
     "The 747 has been the workhorse and a real favorite of business
 travelers."
    --- Chris McGinnis, CNN Business Travel consultant
     But now, the only time you are likely to fly on a Boeing 747 is
 if you are a passenger on an international carrier. "The only place
 you'll see a domestic 747 is on a transcontinental route," says Chris
 McGinnis, CNN's Business Travel consultant.
     Some U.S. carriers use the 747. However, there appears to be a
 move away from the planes. United Airlines has 47 of the jumbo jets,
 Northwest operates 41, Continental has just 3 and American Airlines,
 Delta and U.S. Airways don't have a single 747 among their fleets.
 TWA says that it retired all of its 747s last year.
     "The 747 has been the workhorse and a real favorite of business
 travelers" due to its spaciousness, says McGinnis. But Boeing's new
 jumbo jet, the 777, is eclipsing the 747 as the favorite aircraft
 for international trips.
                   How to check before you fly
     If you want to know what kind of plane you'll be flying before
 you get to the airport, airlines or travel agents can tell you the
 make and model when you make your reservation. The data is also
 available on most travel reservations sites on the Internet.
     The Federal Aviation Administration is the best source for
 safety records. Its Web site lists safety related incidents and
 accidents for all plane models.
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                  Air travel soaring on low fares
           By Bill Brewer, News-Sentinel business writer
 McGhee Tyson Airport set a new record for passenger traffic in March
 with 135,212 travelers passing through the terminal's gates, an
 increase of 13.44 percent or 16,023 passengers.
     The increase marked the highest recorded monthly passenger total
 in the airport's 60-year history, according to the Metropolitan
 Knoxville Airport Authority.
     The previous record of 133,978 passengers was set last July.
 Officials with the airport authority, the quasi-government organiza-
 tion that manages McGhee Tyson, credited lower fares for the higher
 passenger tally.
     "The new low-fare structure, which took effect on March 1, is
 most definitely responsible for the increased number of travelers
 using McGhee Tyson Airport," said Arthur Seymour Jr., chairman of
 the airport authority's board of commissioners. "East Tennessee has
 asked for lower fares, and according to our passenger traffic data,
 they are taking advantage of them."
     AirTran Airlines, which initiated low-fare jet service to
 Orlando, Fla., in October 1994, has in the last four months expanded
 its low-fare jet flights to New York's LaGuardia Airport and At-
 lanta's Hartsfield International Airport, where travelers can
 connect to other destinations.
     Since AirTran introduced lower fares, Delta Air Lines, Northwest
 Airlines, Aspen Mountain Air, Comair, US Airways and other airlines
 serving McGhee Tyson have matched fares on certain routes, according
 to Mark Neuhart, airport authority vice president of corporate
 communications.
     The $48 million airport expansion to be completed in late 1999
 will increase square footage from 109,000 to 138,000 and increase
 airline gates from 10 to 12.
     AirTran reported the largest growth in monthly passenger statis-
 tics with an increase of nearly 96 percent over March 1997 numbers.
 Aspen Mountain Air registered the second-largest growth for the month
 with a 67 percent increase in passengers. Delta, with a 43.1 market
 share, and Northwest, with a 12.2 percent market share, remained the
 market leaders at McGhee Tyson.
 10 April 1998
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