Scandinavian Airline Systems appointed Discover the World Marketing to serve as its GSA in Portugal. It already represents the carrier in Brazil, Mexico and South Africa. Olympic Air appointed Aviareps to serve as its GSA in the Benelux countries. Gabon Airlines has elected ANA Aviation to serve as its GSA in the UK and Ireland.
Travelport signed a multi-year deal with flydubai to allow the carrier to "tap into" the network of agents who use Travelport's Galileo or Worldspan GDSs. It will also enable travel agents to book flights with FZ and partner airlines under the same passenger name record. Lufthansa Technik AG is utilizing ANSYS software to simulate wear and tear of aircraft components, "to prolong service intervals and to create new ways to repair used parts."
A Qantas A380 en route from Singapore to Melbourne Tuesday was caught short on fuel, forcing it to divert to Adelaide. QF Flight 10 encountered stronger-than-forecast head winds associated with an unseasonably cold weather affecting the eastern states of Australia, which forced the crew to land at ADL. The QF flight, with 249 passengers, landed safely at 4:15 a.m. local time during the city’s curfew after an emergency was declared. A QF spokesman said the likely reason for the fuel issue was “as a result of changed flight conditions en route.”
Virgin Atlantic pilots, represented by the British Airline Pilots' Assn., will vote on possible strike action over pay, BALPA confirmed Tuesday. BALPA represents over 85% of Virgin Atlantic's 750 pilots.
Cimber Sterling on Tuesday issued a profit warning and said it needs to strengthen its capital base “due to the continued surplus capacity in the airline industry and the resulting low profitability.”
Embraer Executive VP-Airline Market Paulo Cesar Silva said the Brazilian manufacturer is waiting for Boeing to make a move on a 737NG re-engining or replacement before making a decision on its next commercial aircraft development step.
Brazil's TAM Linhas Aereas, which has announced an agreement to merge with Chile's LAN Airlines, reported first-quarter net income of BRL128.8 million ($78.6 million), a major turnaround from a loss of BRL70.9 million in the year-ago period.
Airbus confirmed Tuesday that based on the continuing investigation by the French Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses into the causes of the crash of Air France 447 it issued an Accident Information Telex to its customers that "does not include any safety recommendation at this stage of the investigation."
Pratt & Whitney Canada is prepared to launch a next-generation turboprop engine for an aircraft in the 90-seat range next year for EIS in 2016, according to VP-Marketing Richard Dussault.
News from Travel Technology Update: The US Dept. of Transportation fined several online travel agencies for failure to comply with regulations that require disclosure of the operating carrier of a codeshare flight, but the agencies all blamed their GDS providers. At least two GDS companies were involved; TTU has learned that one of them was Amadeus.
Airbus confirmed Tuesday that based on the continuing investigation by the French Bureau d'Enquetes et d'Analyses into the causes of the crash of Air France 447 it issued an Accident Information Telex to its customers that "does not include any safety recommendation at this stage of the investigation."
US Airways will operate daily seasonal Dublin-Charlotte Boeing 757-200 ETOPS service beginning May 15. AirBaltic will launch daily Vilnius service to Stockholm Arlanda and Berlin Tegel June 7 in cooperation with its partner, Skyways. Eastern Airways will begin operating seasonal thrice-weekly Southampton-Dijon Jetstream 41 service June 6.
EasyJet flights from/to its Berlin Schoenefeld base were disrupted Saturday morning, owing to a wildcat “warning” strike by flight crew—represented by the trade union ver.di—in a pay dispute. U2 employs around 110 pilots and 240 cabin crew at SXF.
Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia Airlines said Monday they will revamp their networks across the Tasman Sea linking Australia and New Zealand as part of their alliance, which was approved in December ( ATW Daily News, Dec. 22, 2010). The alliance connects ANZ’s domestic network of 26 cities to Virgin’s domestic network of 31 domestic destinations, offering the largest Australasian route network for transtasman travelers.
French Air Accident Investigation Bureau on Monday said it succeeded in downloading all of the data from the flight data recorder of Air France Flight 447 as well as the complete recording from the CVR, covering the final two hours of the flight ( ATW Daily News, May 16). The A330-200 crashed in the Atlantic while en route between to Paris-Charles de Gaul from Rio de Janeiro on June 1, 2009, killing all 228 passengers and crew on board.
For the second time in two months, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce lashed out at “ridiculous” union demands and warned that the airline’s international operations are losing money.
Chinese carriers posted aggregate net income of CNY3.18 billion ($489 million) in April, up 57.9% from a net profit of CNY2.01 billion in the year-ago period, according to CAAC.
Aer Lingus reported a deepening of its first-quarter operating loss to €55.9 million ($78.9 million), reversed from negative EBIT of €37.9 million in the year-ago period, and warned that its €96 million cost-cutting plan might not be enough to keep the company out of the red. A net result was not supplied.
Chinese carriers posted aggregate net income of CNY3.18 billion ($489 million) in April, up 57.9% from a net profit of CNY2.01 billion in the year-ago period, according to CAAC.
GECAS announced it will deliver a total of 20 new leased aircraft to China this year, representing an investment of $7 billion in the country. It will deliver 11 new Boeing 737s, two new 777Fs, and seven new Airbus A320s in 2011, representing a 10% increase of its leased portfolio in China, it said. Lufthansa took delivery of its seventh Airbus A380, scheduled to begin daily Frankfurt-San Francisco operations May 10. The carrier has ordered a total of 15 A380s.
Southwest Airlines announced Friday it reached a tentative agreement on a new six-year contract with the carrier’s approximately 260 appearance techs, represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Assn. The contract becomes amendable February 2015. The current agreement became amendable in February 2009 ( ATW Daily News, Feb. 2, 2009).
Air Astana President Peter Foster told ATW that Ukraine-based AeroSvit approached Air Astana about forming a possible partnership and will hold talks this month. Foster said the two carriers “have a lot in common,” such as a Boeing fleet, and he believes the network of both carriers would “fit perfectly,” but didn’t provide additional details on the potential deal.
Fokker Technologies confirmed Friday to ATW it signed an MOU with COMAC. The agreement was signed Thursday in Shanghai by COMAC President Jin Zhuanglong and Fokker Technologies CEO Sjoerd Vollebregt. It would not confirm any further details. According to Dutch News Service NIS New Bulletin, the partnership covers “the development and supply of components for planes.”
