News from Travel Technology Update: Among all the marketing concepts that have arisen in the airline industry, perhaps none has created more buzz than ancillary revenues.
Shenzhen Airlines subsidiary Henan Airlines, which has been grounded since a fatal Embraer 190 crash in August 2010, is expected to resume operations soon, ATW has learned.
Boeing has suspended deliveries of parts for the 787 from its suppliers for a month while mechanics catch up on work. According to The Seattle Times, Boeing spokesperson Scott Lefeber said the production slowdown won't affect delivery of the first 787 to All Nippon Airways, now expected in September.
Aer Lingus will launch weekly Cork-Las Palmas service Oct. 30. It will launch Cork service to Barcelona (thrice-weekly) and Rome Fiumicino (twice-weekly) this winter, as well as twice-weekly Belfast service to Rome Fiumicino and Alicante. Turkish Airlines will increase its four-times-daily Los Angeles-Istanbul Ataturk service to five-times-daily Aug. 31, and up to daily from March 26, 2012.
US FAA proposed a total of $275,500 in civil penalties against two regional airlines and an MRO provider. The agency called for a $77,500 fine against Dallas-based American Eagle Airlines because its line maintenance contractor at Richmond, Va., allegedly used uncalibrated tools to test the anti-freeze used for de-icing aircraft. Also, FAA alleges the tools were not specified for use by the airline’s FAA-approved general maintenance manual and its ground de-icing program. The alleged violations took place between Feb. 13 and March 9, 2010, FAA stated.
US Airways recorded an "all-time record" of 87.1% for its average mainline June load factor, up 0.2 point over June 2010. It operated 5.73 billion mainline RPMs for the month, up 2.5% year-over-year, against a 2.3% lift in capacity to 6.58 billion ASMs. US expects 2011 system capacity to be 1% higher than 2010; mainline capacity is projected at 1.5% higher. It is scheduled to take delivery of 12 Airbus A321s in the second half of 2011 and 12 A320 family aircraft in 2012 (to replace Boeing 737-300s/400s).
Shanghai-based LCC Spring Airlines is accelerating the pace of its Japanese market expansion. The carrier operates thrice-weekly Shanghai-Ibaraki service and is scheduled to open a twice-weekly Shanghai-Takamatsu route this week. It also plans to start Shanghai-Kyushu flights this year and a Shanghai-Hokkaido route next year. Spring delayed the opening of new routes in Japan owing to the natural and nuclear crises in March ( ATW Daily News, March 24).
Qantas’ long-haul pilots on Monday voted overwhelmingly for industrial action—expected to take place in early August—to drive home demands for higher wages, re-grading and job security.
As part of a new Air France strategy to give no-frills carriers a run for their money and regain some of the market share lost to lower cost rivals, the carrier on Monday released details of its revised business model that includes deploying Airbus A320s from several regional bases on point-to-point short- and medium-haul routes.
The Australian government’s carbon dioxide tax announced Sunday will cost Qantas up to A$115 million ($124 million) a year and passengers will foot the bill; the airline said Monday it will raise fares by up to A$8.
Lufthansa plans to start its scheduled biofuel flights Friday, launching a six-month trial in which an IAE V2500-powered Airbus A321 will operate on the Frankfurt-Hamburg route.
Qantas’ long-haul pilots on Monday voted overwhelmingly for industrial action—expected to take place in early August—to drive home demands for higher wages, re-grading and job security.
Singapore Airshow 2012 has 90% of its exhibition space filled, organizer Experia Events said. It recently secured pavilion reservations from Italy and Mexico, bringing to 21 the number of country pavilions scheduled to date. The event will take place Feb. 14-19 at the Changi Exhibition Centre.
US FAA proposed a $689,800 civil penalty against FedEx Corp. for allegedly violating US hazardous materials regulations. The agencyalleged Friday that in 89 instances from June 13-Sept. 4, 2009, "FedEx failed to provide pilots-in-command with complete, accurate information on the nature, quantity and weight of hazardous materials loaded on their aircraft. Pilots-in-command must be given this information under hazardous materials regulations."
Air Berlin reached a codeshare agreement with future oneworld partner Iberia. The agreement, which went into effect Friday, will soon be expanded to the frequent flyer programs of both airlines.
Virgin Atlantic Airways pilots represented by the British Airline Pilots' Assn. withdrew their threat of a strike after reaching a last-minute pay deal with management. Pilots had voted to strike for the first time in the airline's history as part of their ongoing dispute over pay and conditions with management ( ATW Daily News, May 18).
UK Civil Aviation Authority instructed Gatwick Airport Ltd. to implement a more transparent and non-discriminatory pricing structure for check-in and baggage processing by April 2012 and consult its users when revising the pricing system.
Following several months of negotiations, financially troubled Cimber Sterling announced Thursday it secured a subscription agreement with Mansvell Enterprises, which agreed to inject DKK165 million ($31.8 million) in the Danish carrier “subject to certain conditions.”
Swiss International Air Lines reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with its pilots, avoiding a strike that had been threatened for this week.
BAA appointed Normand Boivin COO for London Heathrow. Boivin is currently serving as operations director for Aeroports de Montreal and will join BAA at the end of August. Baltic Ground Services won a contract from AeroSvit to provide aircraft and passenger ground handling for the Ukrainian carrier at Warsaw International.
