The Indian capital of Delhi is in the middle of a massive makeover as it gets set to host the Commonwealth Games starting in October. Apart from new stadiums and roads, one elegant element of the package is a new integrated terminal for Indira Gandhi International, by far the largest airport in the country. About 55 international airlines already have started using Terminal 3 since it opened at the end of July. Glitches in power and water supplies have delayed the opening for domestic passengers until the end of this month from a planned start date of Aug. 27.
Delta Air Lines operated 18.94 billion system RPMs in August, up 1% year-over-year, on a 1.2% rise in capacity to 21.91 billion ASMs. Load factor was flat at 86.5%. Alaska Airlines flew 1.96 billion mainline RPMs in August, up 10% year-over-year, on a 7.1% increase in capacity to 2.26 billion ASMs, producing a load factor of 86.5%, up 2.2 points.
Lufthansa Technik Philippines, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, said it intends to expand its activities to attract more business, particularly from LCCs. "We will be offering new products such as overhaul layovers and cabin refurbishments designed specifically for low-cost airlines," President and CEO Bernhard Krueger-Sprengel said.
ExpressJet Holdings pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn., said Friday they "see reason for optimism" in the proposed sale of ExpressJet to SkyWest Inc. and merger with Atlantic Southeast Airlines ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 5). According to the union, ExpressJet's pilots initially "reserved judgment" on the sale until they could determine "how the merger would affect" them.
Boeing said Friday that four of its five operating 787 flight test aircraft were in the midst of conducting "remote test operations" away from Seattle, enabling the manufacturer to measure Dreamliner performance in a variety of conditions. Flight test aircraft ZA001 is conducting a week of testing in Roswell, N.M. that will include rejected-takeoff conditions. ZA001 has actually been on remote deployment to Edwards Air Force Base in California for several weeks "with a focus on takeoff- and landing-performance conditions," according to the manufacturer.
The Air Lines Pilots Assn. representing Continental Airlines pilots said Friday that it has been informed that CO will be “recalling all of its pilots from furlough.”
The UPS 747-400 freighter that crashed 50 min. after takeoff from Dubai International Friday attempted to return to the airport after its pilots reported "smoke in the cockpit" and that they were "unable to maintain altitude," according to a preliminary report issued by crash investigators Sunday.
Singapore Airlines named SilkAir Chairman Goh Choon Phong its new CEO, effective Jan. 1 following the year-end retirement of CEO Chew Choon Seng, who has held the post since June 2003.
United Airlines and Continental Airlines have agreed on a path to obtain a single operating certificate from FAA that will see the merged carriers retain the "legacy Continental operating certificate and the legacy United repair station certificate," according to UA VP-Corporate Safety, Security, Quality & Environment Michael Quiello.
Airbus said it secured 301 gross aircraft orders through the first eight months of 2010, more than double the 147 orders it received in the year-ago period. It delivered 335 aircraft through Aug. 31 compared to 330 in the equivalent 2009 period.
Emirates introduced an A380 on one of its double-daily Dubai-Manchester services. The airport invested around £10 million ($15.4 million) to upgrade its infrastructure to handle the aircraft.
Emirates successfully completed migration to SITA's Airfare Insight platform, SITA announced. EK implemented the software tool across its global network of sales offices. Air Berlin extended its agreement with Lufthansa Flight Training to train its pilots exclusively on LFT flight simulators through 2015. Training involves the use of simulators for A320, A330, 737NG and Q400 aircraft. Most of the required simulator training takes place at AB's Berlin base.
Polar Air Cargo, a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, said Thursday it reached an agreement with the US Dept. of Justice to plead guilty to antitrust violations related to cargo pricing and pay a $17.4 million fine in installments over five years. Polar becomes the 17th carrier to have pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty in the DOJ's ongoing investigation into air cargo price fixing ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 3).
Kingfisher Airlines said its board this week approved share sales aimed at raising more than $350 million. The carrier said it will "immediately" attempt to raise $250 million by selling global depository receipts. The rest will be raised via an equity offering in India. "The financials of Kingfisher Airlines are expected to be significantly strengthened by these initiatives," the company said.
Troubled Malev received a HUF5.7 billion ($25.5 million) loan from the Hungarian government Thursday, according to multiple news reports. Hungary's National Development Ministry, which officially extended the loan, told Reuters that "Malev's situation would have become almost unsustainable" without the financial help.
The European Commission Wednesday amended its list of airlines banned from the EU for safety reasons to include Ghana's Meridian Airways. It also placed restrictions on another Ghanaian carrier, Airlift International, banning it from operating three of its aircraft to EU airspace.
SuperJet International and US lessor Willis Lease Finance Corporation signed an MOU for the purchase of six Sukhoi SuperJet 100s plus four options. The deal has an estimated value of up to $300 million, Superjet International said.
ANA sources confirmed Thursday to ATW that Boeing has informed the airline it will increase the 787 flight test fleet by at least two production aircraft. The additional two aircraft would be used primarily for ground testing and specific flight tests, Boeing spokesperson Lori Gunter told HeraldNet.com Wednesday.
Boeing forecast Thursday that North American airlines will take delivery of about 7,200 new aircraft valued at $700 billion over the next 20 years. Around 75% of new deliveries will be narrowbodies, it said.
