Malev CEO Martin Gauss resigned from his position Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement on his compensation. His resignation will be effective from May 31. Virgin America announced the appointment of Mark Bianchi as senior VP- technical operations. Bianchi is “an industry veteran with more than 27 years of hands on experience in air carrier operations, line and base maintenance, fleet management, regulatory compliance and quality assurance,” said VS.
The search for the wreckage of Air France Airbus A330-200, which crashed June 1, 2009 en route to Paris CDG from Rio de Janeiro killing all 228 people, resumed Monday ( ATW Daily News, Jan. 25).
The city of Chicago, having won agreement last week from American Airlines and United Airlines to move forward with $1.17 billion in O'Hare International expansion work, on Wednesday said it planned to issue more than $1 billion in revenue bonds next month "in order to finance runway and other enabling capital projects at the airport."
SITA said it was approved as an electronic fares filing agent by both the US Dept. of Transportation and the Canadian Transportation Agency, becoming just the second approved filing agent after airline-owned ATPCO.
US FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt said the agency is "thoroughly investigating" an incident that occurred shortly after 12 a.m. Wednesday at Washington National Airport in which two aircraft, a United Airlines A320 and a American Airlines Boeing 737, were unable to make contact with a non-responsive DCA tower and landed with assistance from a regional ATC center.
The African Development Bank Board of Directors approved a $40 million second lien corporate loan to Ethiopian Airlines for the purchase of five Boeing 777-200LRs. The aircraft are part of ET's investment plan for 2010-2018 to replace older aircraft and expand capacity on long-haul routes to and from Africa.
Air Berlin announced an agreement with GE Capital Aviation Services for the financing of 12 new aircraft, comprising five Airbus A320s, three A321s and four Boeing 737-800s, all equipped with CFM engines. This sale-and-leaseback transaction, worth $1 billion at list prices, is covering deliveries due in the first three quarters of 2012, according to the carrier.
Lufthansa Cargo, which rebounded from a €171 million ($242.1 million) operating loss in 2009 to post a €310 million operating profit in 2010, is eyeing future growth.
AirAsia Inc., the Philippines-based affiliate of AirAsia Group announced late last year, will be based at Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, the former Clark Field air force base, AirAsia Group said Thursday.
Embraer said it signed an MOU with ABC Financial Leasing Co., a subsidiary of Agricultural Bank of China, covering up to $1.5 billion in aircraft financing and leasing support for Embraer aircraft sales in China and other markets.
Turkish Airlines reported 2010 net income of $191 million, down 48.3% from a $369.5 million net profit in 2009, marking the second consecutive year the carrier's net earnings dropped by around 50% year-over-year.
AirAsia Inc., the Philippines-based affiliate of AirAsia Group announced late last year, will be based at Clark’s Diosdado Macapagal International Airport, the former Clark Field air force base, AirAsia Group said Thursday.
Lufthansa Cargo, which rebounded from a €171 million operating loss in 2009 to post a €310 million ($440.8 million) operating profit in 2010, is eyeing future growth.
Southwest Airlines said the carrier’s 170 material specialists (formerly known as stock clerks), represented by International Brotherhood of Teamsters, ratified a new five-year contract through Aug. 16, 2013. The current contract became amendable on Aug. 16, 2008 ( ATW Daily News, Feb. 16). One year ago, SWA and IBT agreed to seek assistance from the National Mediation Board.
Technology solutions provider Mercator on Wednesday announced plans to develop an ICAO-compliant next-generation safety data management system for the airline industry and said that Emirates Airline will be the pilot customer. The system will be designed to integrate risk management across all areas of a business, and is intended to result in higher performance and reduced cost, said Mercator, which is also a unit of the Emirates Group.
Shanghai-based Spring Airlines will postpone the opening of Shanghai-Kagawa service scheduled for March 27, owing to the crisis in Japan. “We are not sure when to open the new route and I think it won’t be opened within 45 days,” Spring Chairman Wang Zhenghua said, noting the carrier also suspended operation of its Shanghai-Ibaraki route. Wang stressed the carrier is still optimistic about the Japan market and won’t change its capacity allocation plan in Japan.
Boeing confirmed that El Al Israel Airlines completed a contract for four 737-900ERs plus options ( ATW Daily News, Feb. 15). The order is valued at approximately $343.2 million at current list prices, said Boeing.
Service disruptions, long lines at check-in and baggage issues remain the top three areas of customer dissatisfaction with air travel but existing and emerging technology hold the potential to greatly alleviate these concerns, according to a new report from Amadeus. The report also cites passenger frustration with security checkpoints.
Virgin Blue warned that it will post a A$30 million ($30.3 million)-A$80 million net loss for its full fiscal year ending June 30, owing to natural disasters and soaring fuel prices.
Boeing CFO and Corporate President James Bell said "a number of factors" will go into determining whether the manufacturer launches an all-new aircraft this year to replace the 737NG, and cautioned that no decision has been made with all options—including a re-engining—remaining "open."
[REVISED] The UK government decided not to replace the country’s current Air Passenger Duty with a “per plane duty,” and it froze the APD at current levels, delaying the planned increase for a year.
