Frontier Airlines launched 12-times-weekly Hartford–Milwaukee service using ERJ-145s. Alaska Airlines launched daily Seattle–St. Louis service with a 737.
Tianjin Airlines will launch its first international route with services to Tianjin–Hohhot–Ulan Bator on Oct. 19. The Hainan Airlines subsidiary was originally launched in June 2007 under the name of Grand China Express Airlines ( ATW Daily News, June 15, 2009).
Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp. reiterated that the development of its MRJ “is on track” and that production of the first aircraft will officially start Thursday, with a metal cut ceremony at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ Nagoya Aerospace Systems Works Oye plant ( ATW Daily News, Sept. 16).
International Airlines Group, the holding company formed by the British Airways and Iberia merger, yesterday appointed Iberia Chairman & CEO Antonio Vazquez as chairman of the board, BA Chairman Martin Broughtonhas been named deputy chairman and BA CEO Willie Walsh has been named managing director.
A major outage of Virgin Blue’s Navitaire New Skies reservation and check-in system caused more than 100 flights to be cancelled on Sunday and Monday, affecting more than 100,000 passengers. The system crashed at 8 a.m. local time and a back-up system was supposed to take over within three hours but, for a yet-unexplained reason, this did not happen until 5 p.m.
ATR won an order from Caribbean Airlines for nine 72-600 aircraft, with deliveries starting in late 2011. The order is valued at $200 million. The aircraft will be configured with 68 seats, featuring ATR’s new Armonia cabin.
Airports are urging governments around the world to take a second look at their aviation security regimes and to work cooperatively to develop a global, standardized approach, officials said Monday at the opening of the Airports Council International-North America Conference and Exhibition in Pittsburgh.
Southwest Airlines on Monday morning announced an agreement to acquire Orlando-based AirTran Airways for $1.4 billion in cash and Southwest common stock in a deal that brings together the world's largest LCC with the third largest LCC in North America.
Southwest Airlines' acquisition of AirTran Airways for approximately $1.4 billion in cash and SWA stock (see item below) is expected to yield net annual synergies of more than $400 million by 2013, SWA said on Monday. One-time costs related to the acquisition and integration of AirTran are expected to be in the range of $300-$500 million.
Southwest Airlines on Monday morning announced an agreement to acquire Orlando-based AirTran Airways for $1.4 billion in cash and Southwest common stock in a deal that brings together the world's largest LCC with the third largest LCC in North America.
Aergo Capital Limited and ASL Aviation Group reached a sale and purchase agreement under which ASL will acquire aircraft assets valued at $250 million. It will take ownership of "various Irish aviation leasing entities" including Safair Lease Finance Limited and Safair Operations and will acquire five 737-800s, five A300 B4 freighters and three ATR 72-500s. The acquisition is expected to be finalized by the end of November.
LOT Polish Airlines subsidiary EuroLOT is in talks with ATR and Bombardier regarding an order for 14 ATR72-600s or Q400s, respectively, and a further six options to renew its ATR fleet, EuroLOT President and CEO Leszek Sieluk told ATW on the sidelines of the European Regions Airline Association AGM in Barcelona late last week.
Norwegian Air Shuttle announced Friday it plans to order wide-body aircraft as it gears up to begin its first long-haul flights in 2011. CEO Bjoern Kjos told Bloomberg that the carrier held talks with Airbus and Boeing and will choose between ordering the A350 or 787. Because there are delivery backlogs for both aircraft, Kjos said Norwegian may agree to take older models such as the A330 or 767. According to Bloomberg, the carrier is planning its first routes from Oslo Gardermoen and Stockholm Arlanda to New York JFK and Bangkok respecitvely in the second half of 2011.
Etihad Airways Head of Network Planning Imed Ben Abdallah said the carrier is pursuing a growth strategy "distinct" from Gulf rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways by focusing on developing point-to-point traffic to/from its Abu Dhabi base rather than pursuing broad based East-West transit traffic.
European Regions Airline Assn. airline and airport members are not accepting that Europe’s politicians and regulators have not yet taken any action to provide financial compensation to the industry following the volcanic ash crisis in April and agreed to seek to recover financial damages through legal action. The decision was taken up late last week at the association’s AGM in Barcelona.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said that India's airlines are expected to post a $400 million loss in 2010 despite an increase in passenger traffic, and that a coordinated policy approach among government ministries is “urgently needed” to shore up the gains made in India’s aviation industry.
The US Air Transport Assn. took a cautious approach to the US Dept. of Transportation's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on new airline consumer protections, saying in comments filed with the regulator late Thursday that "there is much [in the proposed rule] that ATA and its members support," particularly regarding the transparency of information provided to customers, though the organization does voice a number of major objections.
SR Technics said it is the first member within the Airbus Maintenance Training Network to sign a Maintenance Training Services Contract with Airbus. Under the agreement, SR Technics will offer different types of training services for Airbus customers. GE Aviation signed a 10-year OnPoint solution agreement with EVA Air covering OEM material management and repair solutions for 100 CF6-80C2 engines that power the carrier's fleet of 747-400s and MD-11s. The contract is valued at $230 million.
Ukraine International Airlines said it operated 2,157 flights and carried 228,000 passengers in August, up 10% compared to August 2009. Kenya Airways and Travelport jointly announced a global, full-content 5-yr. agreement for Galileo and Worldspan-connected users worldwide that will enable full access to KQ’s flights and fares.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating a "near midair collision" near Minneapolis-St. Paul International on Sept. 16 between a US Airways A320 and a Bemidji Aviation Services Beech 99 freighter. The incident occurred shortly after the A320 took off from MSP en route to La Crosse under a 900 ft. ceiling and 10 mi. of visibility.
