Airbus announced the first four of 10 Korean Air A380s are now in production in Toulouse. The first is being prepared for its first flight, the second and third are in the main assembly hall, and the wings and main fuselage sections of the fourth are complete. First delivery of the 400-450 pax aircraft is scheduled for next May. Teledyne Controls reached an agreement with Boeing to supply its Digital Flight Data Acquisition Unit for Boeing’s Airplane Health Management system for the 737NG.
Estonian Air carried 57,398 in September, up 12.3% year-over-year. Hawaiian Airlines operated 701.1 million RPMs in September, up 8.3% on the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 5.9% to 818.2 million ASMs and load factor increased 1.9 points to 85.7%. Iberia operated 4.48 billion RPKs in September, a 10.1% increase over the year-ago month. Capacity grew 4.3% to 5.38 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 4.4 points to 83.4%.
Pemco World Air Services launched a 757-200 Combi conversion program with an order for four from National Airlines. The initial Combi configuration developed for National Airlines has 10 pallet positions in a Class C cargo compartment, pax compartment, two full galleys, and accommodations for multiple supernumerary personnel, a payload of approximately 36 tons and a range comparable to the passenger version, Pemco said.
Japan Airlines Chairman Kazuo Inamori announced at a Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Japan news conference he had reservations about delving into discount airline operations, signaling his intention to focus on high-quality service instead of expanding into the low-cost carrier business, according to Nikkei.com.
Boeing confirmed to ATW that the manufacturer is telling its suppliers to halt deliveries of 787sections for two weeks owing to delays from Italian supplier Alenia Aeronautica, which makes the horizontal stabilizer for the aircraft, according to spokesperson Loretta Gunter.
Philippines-based Cebu Pacific announced Tuesday that it completed one of the country’s largest initial public offerings, raising PHP23.3 billion ($539 million) prior to exercise of an overallotment option. The airline also claimed it was the “largest international low-cost carrier IPO offered globally to date.”
Delta Air Lines for the first time publicly addressed whether it will retain 18 787-8 firm orders placed in 2005 by Northwest Airlines, stating in a regulatory filing this week that it has entered into an agreement with Boeing "to reaffirm" the orders but has deferred delivery to 2020-2022.
The US National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday kicked off a two-day public forum in Washington on airline codesharing, primarily examining whether regional carriers operating under capacity purchase agreements with US legacy airlines adhere to the same safety standards as the mainline operators.
Travel Ad Network raises $15 million in new financing ITA Software rolls out Android version of OnTheFly Ideas Revenue Optimization teams with RaspberrySky consultancy Ideas showcases new revenue management features The mobile channel looms large at Amadeus Horizons conference What's next for airlines in the ancillary revenue arena? World news briefing
Amadeus is aiming to bring true personalization to airline websites and mobile portals with a new product called Dynamic Website Manager, slated for a launch in the first quarter of 2011 with Finnair. Airline websites recognize frequent flyer numbers but not much else, Denis Lacroix, vice president of product development, sales and e-commerce platforms, said. "Compare this to the shopping experience on Amazon. As you window-shop, they keep track and make recommendations," he said. "You don't find anything like this on any airline site."
News from Travel Technology Update: Amadeus is aiming to bring true personalization to airline websites and mobile portals with a new product called Dynamic Website Manager, slated for a launch in the first quarter of 2011 with Finnair. Airline websites recognize frequent flyer numbers but not much else, Denis Lacroix, vice president of product development, sales and e-commerce platforms, said.
ICBC Financial Leasing has a five-year, $162.8 million loan from DVB Bank, through its Singapore-based subsidiary, DVB Group Merchant Bank Ltd., for eight aircraft on lease to four international and Chinese airlines.
Morten Beyer, who launched the Avmark aviation consulting firm, died Oct. 21 from complications of pneumonia. He was 88. In an aviation career spanning 65 years, Beyer served in senior management positions with such carriers as Pan Am (where he began his career in 1943), Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Capital Airlines, and as president of several others including Modern Air, Capital International, Phoenix Airlines, and Evergreen Airlines.
B/E Aerospace said Monday it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Copenhagen-based Satair's fastener distribution business for $162 million in cash. "The acquisition complements and expands B/E Aerospace's current broad consumables product offerings to include metric fasteners, adhesive fasteners, latches, cables, struts, tooling and lighting products," it said in a statement, adding that the transaction is expected to close during the 2010 fourth quarter.
CAAC announced it is continuing to suspend approval of new entrants owing to safety concerns in the aftermath of the crash of a Henan Airlines jet in August ( ATW Daily News, Sept. 8). In 2007, the regulator noted it would not approve any new start-ups until 2010 owing to there being too many privately-run domestic carriers, the result of a loosening of restrictions in 2004.
Gulf Air claims it will conclude before year end its negotiations with Boeing and Airbus on changes to its orders for 24 787s and 20 A330s, respectively, and decide on a new order for up to 10 RJs, CEO Samer Majali told ATW on the sidelines of the Arab Air Carriers Organization’s 43rd AGM in Cairo last week.
British Airways firmed up options for another two E-190 jets, increasing its E-Jets firm orders to 13, comprising six E-170s and seven E-190s. The aircraft will be operated by its London City-based subsidiary BA CityFlyer. “We are delighted to announce the conversion of these two options, which will increase our fleet size by almost 20% at London City airport,” said BA CityFlyer MD Peter Simpson. “Customer feedback on the new fleet has been fantastic, particularly with the additional space and two-by-two seating.”
Defunct ATA Airlines won a $66 million US federal court judgment last week against FedEx, blamed by ATA in 2008 for pushing it out of business. The Indianapolis-based carrier ceased operations more than 2.5 years ago after a US military transport contract managed by FedEx was terminated ( ATW Daily News, April 4, 2008).
AerCap Holdings reached an agreement to sell a 20% stake in itself to Abu Dhabi-based Waha Capital, a diversified investment holding company, for approximately $380 million.
The Austrian government announced it will create a so-called "ecological air travel levy" similar to the tax introduced in Germany last month (ATW Daily News, Sept. 2).
Royal Jordanian posted a JOD19.6 million ($27.9 million) profit before the provision of a JOD6 million loss on the sale of fixed assets for the first nine months, down 23.1% from JD25.5 million in the year-ago period.
Japan and the US officially signed an MOU on Monday setting the stage for implementation of the "open skies" accord to which the two nations agreed late last year.
