Aerolineas Argentinas will sign an agreement by the end of this month "to officially start the process of joining SkyTeam as the first South American member of the airline alliance," SkyTeam said in a statement Tuesday.
Spirit Aerosystems announced it inked an agreement with British Airways to supply thrust reverser, fuselage and wing components for its fleet of Boeing aircraft. Separately, it announced the opening of a new sales office in Shannon, Ireland to serve customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa.
United Airlines launched a second daily Los Angeles–Mexico City flight Oct. 15 and will launch a third daily flight on the route Jan. 4. It will increase weekly Chicago O’Hare–MEX service to twice-daily Nov. 4, daily San Francisco–MEX flights to twice-daily Nov. 4, and will operate daily Denver–MEX service Dec. 16-Jan. 3. All flights will be operated with A319s and A320s.
Delta Air Lines said 425 furloughed flight attendants have accepted its recall notice ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 23) and will begin working again next year, and CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a widely cited message that "a few hundred" more are needed and will be hired. Including the recalled workers, DL said it plans to have up to 1,000 more flight attendants in 2011 compared to 2010.
Lufthansa said it will operate an average of 12,218 flights per week this winter, up 3.5% from 11,803 flights in last year’s winter period. Beginning Oct. 31, LH will offer flights to 197 destinations in 85 countries, compared to last year’s 191 destinations in 78 countries. The three latest additions to the route network are five-times-weekly Frankfurt–Bogota service using A340-300s and five-times-weekly FRA–Pointe Noire service via Libreville with a wet-leased 737-800. It will also operate twice-daily Munich–Luxembourg service with CRJ700s.
LOT Polish Airlines, which is on track to be privatized next year, is still on Turkish Airlines’ radar regarding a strategic investment, THY Chairman Hamdi Topcu confirmed to ATW last week in Seattle ( ATW Daily News, May 19). THY still has an interest in investing in LOT “but cannot give more details,” he said.
ICAO's agreement on green house gas emissions reached earlier this month and the planned inclusion of airlines in the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme in 2012 ( ATW Daily News, Oct. 12) have caused CAAC to consider using carbon dioxide emissions data when deciding whether to approve future routes, according to an industry source.
DHL said Monday it is adding time-definite guarantees to express shipping services to/from the US, calling the move an "update to its portfolio" in the country nearly two years after significantly scaling back its US operations.
Asiana Airlines reported third-quarter net income before taxes of KRW203.7 billion ($184 million), significantly widened from a KRW900 million pre-tax profit in the year-ago period, as revenue surged 34.1% year-over-year to KRW1.38 trillion.
Assn. of European Airlines charged that "heavy-handed regulation and structural deficiencies" are holding back its member airlines while "global competitors are forging ahead, sponsored and supported as instruments of national policy."
The French DGAC issued a statement Monday asking airlines to reduce their Tuesday flight schedule by 50% at Paris Orly and by 30% at all other airports in the nation owing to some ATC trade unions' planned participation Tuesday in the country's general strikes over pension reforms (ATW Daily News, Oct. 12).
The French DGAC issued a statement Monday asking airlines to reduce their Tuesday flight schedule by 50% at Paris Orly and by 30% at all other airports in the nation owing to some ATC trade unions' planned participation Tuesday in the country's general strikes over pension reforms (ATW Daily News, Oct. 12).
Asiana Airlines reported third-quarter net income before taxes of KRW203.7 billion ($184 million), significantly widened from a KRW900 million pre-tax profit in the year-ago period, as revenue surged 34.1% year-over-year to KRW1.38 trillion.
Swiss International Air Lines announced it will operate an additional 130 weekly flights this winter compared to the year-ago period, owing to strong market demand. In total it will offer 2,894 weekly flights serving 72 destinations in 39 countries with a fleet of 87 aircraft (including eight that are wet-leased). Compared to the prior-year period, European flying will increase by 6% while the intercontinental network will see its capacity raised by 15%.
SriLankan Airlines said last week it will equip its long-haul fleet with flatbed seats and new IFE systems starting in May 2011. It said the retrofits will occur on two of its five A340s and four of its five A330s. The airline also operates three A320s and plans to take delivery of five more A320s by the end of 2011, according to its website.
The Air Line Pilots Assn. last week elected Delta Air Lines ALPA Master Executive Council Chairman Lee Moak as its new president effective Jan. 1. In balloting among ALPA board members, Moak defeated the union's incumbent president, John Prater, and three other candidates. He will become ALPA's ninth head. He has worked for DL since 1988, currently serving as a 767-300ER captain. ALPA represents nearly 53,000 pilots at 38 airlines in the US and Canada.
ANA reached agreement with seven airlines to codeshare on 11 routes and 44 frequencies daily from Tokyo Haneda beginning Oct 31. The deals involve fellow Star Alliance members Air Canada, Air China, Asiana Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, as well as EVA Airways and Malaysia Airlines. ANA said the additional codeshare services effectively double the daily flight frequencies it can offer from HND after it opens for international services later this month. The codeshares will expand its route network by a third, it added.
Australian Dept. of Infrastructure and Transport Deputy Secretary Andrew Wilson last week directly questioned the US Dept. of Transportation's tentative rejection in September of an application for antitrust immunity for services between the US and Australia from Delta Air Lines and affiliates of the Virgin Blue Group, including Virgin Blue, V Australia and Pacific Blue units in Australia and New Zealand.
