In a filing with the Shanghai Stock Exchange Friday, Air China said it had agreed to buy four 777-300ERs valued at $1.15 billion to expand its fleet's capacity.
Taipei-based China Airlines confirmed Friday it has agreed to join SkyTeam, with a formal announcement expected Tuesday. CI would become the first Taiwanese carrier to join a global airline alliance.
Virgin Blue Group’s strategy for a network of global alliances to help it take on Qantas received another blow Friday when the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a draft ruling rejecting its bid to forge an alliance with Air New Zealand.
US FAA on Friday issued its long-awaited Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on pilot flight time, duty and rest requirements, setting the stage for the likely adoption of new regulations that call for flight deck crew at US airlines to get more rest time and spend fewer hr. on duty.
Transportation is behind other industries in terms of environmental impact Joule Unlimited believes it will be delivering biodiesel fuel US airlines have improved fuel efficiency 110%
While a majority of Australians polled through the recent federal election campaign said they favor strong action on climate change, only a fraction of Australian air travelers are opting to pay to offset the carbon generated by their flights. New figures released by Qantas and Jetstar, both of which have carbon-offset programs, show that only 9% of passengers are paying what amounts to a tiny fraction of the airfare. On longer flights across the country, where the carbon offset costs just A$6.26 ($5.81) return, the figure drops further to just 4%.
Singapore Airlines is committing $3 million toward the Harapan Rainforest Initiative aimed at restoring ecosystems threatened by deforestation in Indonesia. The initiative supports a new government policy introduced in 2004 to avoid further deforestation and maintain lowland forests. The project straddles Indonesia's Jambi and South Sumatra provinces and the forest is 1.5 times the size of Singapore and also home to some endangered wildlife such as the Sumatran tiger and Malayan tapir.
The all-electric Cri-Cri, jointly developed by EADS, Aero Composites Saintonge and the Green Cri-Cri Assn., made its first flight at Le Bourget last month. It is the first four-engine all-electric aerobatic aircraft and was first shown at the Green Aviation Show at Le Bourget in June.
A comprehensive study carried out for the European Commission found that energy efficiency improvements of up to 50% are anticipated by 2050 for aircraft and ships, whereas for other modes of transport the potential improvements are likely to be less without the use of alternative fuels and energy carriers.
Ignoring strong and widespread criticism from the air transport industry, the German government imposed what it is calling an "ecological air travel levy" that took effect Sept. 1 for travel beginning Jan. 1, 2011. The tax was included in a package of government spending cuts introduced earlier this year by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has maintained that Berlin needs to slash spending by €80 billion ($101.5 billion) by 2014 to alleviate the nation's shaky fiscal situation.
Includes: Top 20 Airlines World Airline Traffic Jet Fuel Prices World Airport Traffic IATA Fuel Prices Exchange Rates Aircraft Data Aircraft Values Aircraft Deliveries US Major and National Airline Traffic US Ontime Performance U.S. Fuel Cost and Consumption US Mishandled Baggage US Consumer Complaints
Universal Travel Group sells kiosks to online insurance company Three groups urge action on airline fees Amadeus rolls out corporate, car rental enhancements TRX offers stand-alone travel technology utilities Rainmaker to launch revenue management package for tribal casinos In Focus: ‘Turning information into knowledge World news briefing
Open AXIS, the new organization that is seeking to establish technical standards for the sale of airline ancillary services, signed a memorandum of understanding to work with the OpenTravel Alliance. The agreement is designed to dispel the confusion surrounding the new group's intent, according to Jim Young, Open AXIS' executive director. "It is not our intent to usurp OpenTravel's role," he said.
Turkish Airlines introduced 777-300ERs on its thrice-weekly Istanbul Ataturk–Sao Paulo Guarulhos route starting Dec 26. TK will increase flights to SAO to four per week on Feb 22. Ethiopian Airlines increased its cooperation with ASKY Airlines, in which it has a 25% holding, and introduced new connectivity between West Africa and ET's network through its hub Addis Ababa. ET has announced it will transfer its Monrovia operations to ASKY.
Aeronautical Engineers announced it redelivered four 737SF passenger-to-freighter conversions in the third quarter, consisting of one 737-300SF to Cargo Air, one 737-400SF to MNG Airlines, one 737-300SF to Sideral Air Cargo, and one 737-200SF to Transmile Air Services. "The redelivery of four 737SFs in one quarter is a strong indicator that economies around the world are starting their upwards journey towards recovery," AEI VP-Sales & Marketing Robert T. Convey said.
American Airlines will in spring 2011 relocate its San Francisco International operations to Terminal 2 from its current location in Terminal 3. American will have 14 ticket counter positions and 20 self-service machines in the newly constructed 575,000 sq. ft. terminal, as well as a 9,000 sq. ft. AA Admirals Club lounge.
Canadian regional Jazz Air announced Thursday it has reached a tentative labor contract with approximately 43 crew schedulers represented by CAW. Terms of the agreement were not released. "I commend the CAW leadership and Jazz management teams involved in the process for their hard work and professionalism," said Jazz President and CEO Joseph Randell.
Finnair yesterday reached a preliminary agreement with Finncomm to acquire a 20% stake in long-time regional partner Finnish Commuter Airlines and to acquire 100% of the companies that own Finncomm Group's 12 ATR 42/72 aircraft.
Delta Air Lines said Thursday it will begin codesharing with Hawaiian Airlines on Sept. 15, placing the DL code on HA flights between Honolulu and Kahului, Lihue, Kona and Hila, as well as between Kona and Kahului.
