AviancaTaca, the parent of Avianca and TACA, said preliminary results of its IPO reveal that the requests for shares exceeded $1.5 billion, more than five times the initial offering of 100 million shares priced at a total $250 million.
US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt and US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on Sunday announced changes to air traffic controller scheduling practices giving controllers “more time for rest between shifts,” as yet another air traffic controller was suspended Saturday for falling asleep while on duty during the midnight shift at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.
Fokker Aircraft Services reached a contract with Germania Airlines to provide nose-to-tail maintenance and C checks for its five Boeing 737s. After service work, three of the aircraft will retire to FAS’s Boeing storage program, while the remaining two will return to operation until October, after which they will also join the FAS Boeing storage program.
Copa Holdings said that JP Morgan will provide US Export-Import Bank guaranteed funding for five Boeing 737-800s scheduled for delivery this year. “The facility, totaling $178.5 million, includes 12-year financing terms at very competitive rates and will finance all direct Boeing purchases scheduled for delivery to Copa Airlines in 2011,” said Copa.
Alaska Airlines last week launched its new and enhanced touch-screen digEplayer inflight entertainment devices, which boast a lighter weight and smaller size than its predecessor that debuted in 2003. At the time of its introduction eight years ago, AS "was the first carrier in the world to offer customers portable video-on-demand technology from a convenient handheld device," it said.
Zambezi Airlines announced it is "preparing to sign" an interline agreement with Proflight Zambia, a domestic Zambian carrier formerly known as Proflight Commuter Services. The agreement will allow connections to be sold to other Zambian destinations, including South Luangwa National Park and Lower Zambezi. ZJ, which is on the EU list of banned carriers, is based at Lusaka International and operates a fleet of three Boeing 737-500s. On June 30 it will launch thrice-weekly service from Capetown to Livingstone and Lusaka.
EgyptAir took delivery of its sixth new Boeing 777-300ER as part of an order for six of the type ( ATW Daily News, Dec. 3, 2007). MS received four last year and the remaining two this year. All six are leased from GECAS. The new delivery lifts EgyptAir Group’s fleet to 75 aircraft.
Japan's Star Flyer on Friday signed an order with Airbus for two CFM56-5B-powered A320s. The carrier operates five leased A320s and is slated to receive four more of the type on lease. Friday's order was its first direct purchase of aircraft.
Buckingham Research predicted that Boeing will push back the announcement of an all-new aircraft to replace the 737NG to late 2012 with launch approval likely in 2014.
Concern that travel plans for millions of Qantas passengers could be severely disrupted next month grew after the airline's engineers voted overwhelming to take industrial action to support wage and job security demands.
Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Assn. and the Air Line Pilots Assn. on Thursday signed a "four-party process agreement" that allows the two carriers' pilot groups to move forward with seniority list integration discussions in advance of SWA's acquisition of AirTran closing.
British Airways and its cabin crew, represented by the Unite union, pledged to seek “an honorable and fair settlement to the long-running dispute” and both agreed to continue negotiations, lifting the threat of strikes over the Easter and the Royal Wedding bank holidays.
[Updated] Southwest Airlines, AirTran Airways, the Southwest Airlines Pilots' Assn. and the Air Line Pilots Assn. on Thursday signed a "four-party process agreement" that allows the two carriers' pilot groups to move forward with seniority list integration discussions in advance of SWA's acquisition of AirTran closing.
NASA awarded contracts for what are termed N+3 aircraft designs that could enter service between 2030 and 2035 and would be on the cutting edge of the industry’s goal of carbon-neutral flight in 2050.
Certification of biofuel for commercial aviation use has been delayed until August owing to an oversight in the testing process. According to ATAG Executive Director Paul Steele, an error occurred in the testing protocol and USAF overlooked a test for contamination. Ironically, the missed test relates to standard jet fuel. Boeing Director-Biofuel Strategy Darrin Morgantold ATW’s Eco-Aviation Today that the tests were repeated by the USAF Research Laboratory and the report is scheduled to be submitted to the fuels subcommittee in June.
Airbus is sponsoring an electric concept technology demonstrator aircraft. The "eGenius" is an electrically propelled two-seater designed by the Institute of Aircraft Design at the University of Stuttgart. The concept aircraft made its debut at the international Aero-Expo in Friedrichshafen.
Boeing and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne announced the creation of the Sustainable Biomass Consortium, a “research initiative focused on increasing collaboration between voluntary standards and regulatory requirements for biomass used to create jet fuel and bioenergy for other sectors.” The consortium also will “seek to lower overall sustainability certification costs,” Boeing said.
Air Transport Action Group Executive Director Paul Steele will address ATW's 4th Annual Eco-Aviation Conference May 3-5 in Washington. Steele will deliver the morning keynote on May 5. Also on the agenda is a panel discussion among executives from Aeromexico, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and WestJet discussing the biggest environmental challenges they face.
The Air Transport Action Group released a report, Powering the Future of Flight,at the World Biofuels Market in Rotterdam last month to assist governments in forming policy to take advantage of the opportunities that the fuel source presents.
The European Commission said it is committed to a “complete modernization of Europe's air traffic control system by 2020, delivering the Single European Sky … and the completion of the European Common Aviation Area of 58 countries and 1 billion inhabitants by 2020.”
US President Barack Obama directed the Energy and Agriculture Depts. and the US Navy "to work with the private sector to create advanced biofuels that can power not just fighter jets but trucks and commercial airliners."
Europe’s controversial Emissions Trading Scheme for aviation has been criticized by Chinese airlines while Lufthansa has repeated its call for a 12-month delay because "too many problems remain unresolved" regarding implementation of airlines' inclusion in the ETS.
Cathay Pacific has increased its shareholding in Air China from 18.43% to 18.77% after acquiring 5.48 million shares for HK$40 million ($5.17 million). SAS Scandinavian Airlines, along with Star Alliance partners Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines, said it has again won the Swedish government's procurement of air travel, in a contract carried out by Swedish Armed Forces Logistics FMLOG. The agreement is worth a total of SEK700 million ($111.6 million).
