The EU and Brazil last week initialed a comprehensive air services agreement that will allow all EU airlines to operate direct flights to any destination in Brazil from city in Europe without restrictions on routes, prices and the number of weekly flights and vice versa, the European Commission said Friday.
ICAO and four other UN bodies issued a joint statement declaring air travel to/from Japan safe, adding that they are "monitoring the situation closely and will advise of any changes."
AirTran Airways said that Executive VP-Corporate Affairs Stephen J. Kolski, 70, will retire April 29. Kolski has been with the company since 1999. Kolski began his airline career in 1966 with National Airlines and also held executive positions at New York Air, Eastern Air Lines and Continental Airlines prior to joining AirTran.
United Continental Holdings said Friday that United Airlines’ technicians, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, have reached a tentative labor contract.
Kuwait's Wataniya Airways ceased operations last week just over two years after it launched as regional unrest further complicated the carrier's troubled financial condition.KW launched operations in January 2009 as a premium carrier, offering business/first and premium economy aboard its fleet of A320s.
The merger of LAN Airlines and TAM under LATAM Airlines Group, which had seemingly been headed for a smooth conclusion this year, hit a possible roadblock last week when Chilean antitrust tribunal TDLC announced it would investigate the proposed combination. A Chilean consumer group filed a petition against the merger with TDLC that the carriers had pushed the panel to reject.
IATA warned there will be "a major slowdown" in the Japanese air transport market in the near-term that could impact a number of key markets worldwide. "Japan is an important link in global air transport," IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said in a statement Friday. "The $62.5 billion Japanese aviation market represents 6.5% of worldwide scheduled traffic and 10% of the industry's revenues."
Despite a successful year in which it rebounded from a €34 million 2009 loss to earn a €1.1 billion ($1.53 billion) net profit in 2010 (ATW Daily News, March 18), Lufthansa Group Chairman and CEO Christoph Franz conceded last week in a letter to shareholders that the performance of LH subsidiary airlines was "mixed."
Taipei-based China Airlines plans to introduce a strategic investor to help fund fleet expansion as air traffic across the Taiwan Strait increases, according to widespread news reports from Hong Kong.
Air New Zealand criticized Qantas and the New Zealand Commerce Commission over press releases issued Friday related to the Australian airline agreeing to plead guilty to cargo price fixing.
IATA warned there will be "a major slowdown" in the Japanese air transport market in the near-term that could impact a number of key markets worldwide.
Thales won a contract from Belaeronavigatsia to supply three radar stations for Grodno, Mogilev and Minsk airports in Belarus. Two sets of co-mounted STAR 2000 primary radars and RSM 970 S secondary radars will be deployed at the GNA and MSQ, Thales said. One additional RSM 970 S secondary radar will be located at MVQ.
MTU Maintenance Hannover was selected by Russian carrier NordStar to maintain its CFM56-7B engines under a five-year contract. It is the German MRO provider's first CFM56 customer from Russia, it said. Turkish Technic has a five-year landing gear maintenance services agreement with SunExpress covering the carrier's Boeing 737-800s.
Southwest Airlines said it will seek assistance from the National Mediation Board as it negotiates with its 185 dispatchers, represented by Transport Workers Union 550.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA said it won a major arbitration ruling Thursday on behalf of former Midwest Airlines flight attendants who were laid off after Republic Airways purchased the airline and “staffed the same flights with non-Midwest flight attendants, who were often compensated up to 70% less” ( ATW Daily News, Oct. 6, 2009).
US Air Transport Assn. said that passenger revenue rose 13% in February compared to the year-ago period, marking the 14th consecutive month of year-over-year revenue gains. RPMs rose 2.1% while average price per flown mile (yield) climbed 10.8%. The information was based on data from most US majors excluding Southwest Airlines. ATA said that international markets "remained especially strong" as passenger revenue grew 17%, led by a 27% increase in Pacific revenue. Domestic revenue grew 11.5% largely driven by a 10.5% rise in yield.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani warned this week that Brazil "will never reach its full potential without major changes in its aviation policies," pointing in particular to airport and ATC infrastructure.
FedEx reported net income of $231 million for its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28, down 3% from a $239 million profit in the prior-year period, but it posted an 11% year-over-year rise in quarterly revenue to $9.66 billion and gave positive guidance for the current quarter and beyond.
The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK said it is "surprised and dismayed" at a BAA proposal to impose so-called emergency timetables on airlines as a means to handle extreme weather or exceptional situations—such as last December's snow that led to major disruptions at several UK airports including London Heathrow.
Lufthansa Group Chairman and CEO Christoph Franz said the company's turnaround from posting a €34 million net loss in 2009 to earning a €1.1 billion ($1.53 billion) net profit in 2010 showed that LH "has quick reactions and responded to market changes with the utmost flexibility in terms of capacities and costs," putting it in a strong position "strategically, financially and operationally."
The Board of Airline Representatives in the UK said it is "surprised and dismayed" at a BAA proposal to impose so-called emergency timetables on airlines as a means to handle extreme weather or exceptional situations—such as last December's snow that led to major disruptions at several UK airports including London Heathrow.
