Air Transport World

Lufthansa's third A380 launched its first scheduled service from Frankfurt to Beijing Wednesday. The A380 will operate once-weekly service to Beijing and twice-weekly flights from FRA to Johannesburg beginning Sept. 12.

Lufthansa said it reached an agreement with subsidiary Germanwings to cooperate more closely, in particular to offer benefits for the airlines' frequent flyers. LH's Miles & More members will be able to not only exchange miles but also collect award miles on all GWI flights. Since December 2009, Miles & More members have been able to redeem their miles for flights across the entire GWI network.

Management teams at Air Berlin and LTU reached a framework agreement with the Vereinigung Cockpit pilot union concerning working conditions for cockpit crew, ending the threat of strike in a collective bargaining process that has been ongoing since the beginning of the year ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 17).

The Southwest Airlines Pilots Assn. representing the LCC's pilots was scheduled to meet Wednesday with airline management to discuss the prospect that the carrier may convert some of its future 737-700 deliveries to -800s ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 17).

Air China announced Wednesday that it has changed its order for 15 787-800s to 15 -900s valued at $3.19 billion at list prices, according to a CZ filing with Hong Kong regulators cited by multiple media outlets. The original order was placed in 2005 ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 9, 2005). Boeing last week delayed the 787 program for the seventh time ( ATW Daily News, Sept. 1).

CAAC ordered China Express Air to suspend operations Wednesday after the right wing of one of its CRJ200's scraped the runway on landing at Guiyang Airport in southwest China Saturday. No one was injured in the incident.

The German government approved a highly criticized air passenger duty tax, which took effect Wednesday for bookings beginning Jan. 1, 2011.

Bombardier reported net income of $148 million for its fiscal second quarter ended July 31, down 26.7% from a $202 million profit in the year-ago period, saying its Aerospace unit "continued to be impacted" by the global financial downturn.

Delta Air Lines regional subsidiary Comair said Wednesday it will retire 49 50-seat CRJs by the end of 2012 and also "realign our staffing over the next two years to support the new, smaller size of the airline."

Airlines need to pay more attention to the cost and risks of foreign object damage.

Commercial considerations are driving a new round of consolidation among the country’s airlines.

Alaska Airlines has flown through the downturn guided by the principals of Alaska 2010 and is looking at bright skies ahead.

Airport privatization has resulted in rising charges and declining service levels say critics. But that view is hardly unanimous.

The US passenger airline industry returned to profit in the second quarter but a slowing economy is cause for concern.

The dramatic exit of a JetBlue Airways flight attendant from his aircraft via an emergency slide after unleashing a foul-mouthed tirade over the intercom, allegedly after an encounter with a badly behaving passenger (see Odds & Ends, p. 88), says much more about the breakdown of civility and self-control in 21st century America than it does about flight attendants or airline passengers.

Six years of traffic growth came to an end in 2009. Growth resumed this year, but it is uneven. Arthur D. Little and ATW present the fourth annual World Airport Report.

Boeing signed an agreement with Qantas Airways to perform landing gear exchange, repair and overhaul services for the carrier's six 747-400ERs. QF will be the launch customer for the manufacturer's 747-400ER Landing Gear Overhaul and Exchange Program.

Air New Zealand is adding more than 9,500 seats per week across its regional network and main jet routes, significantly increasing capacity on its domestic operations. Key increases will include: Tauranga to Christchurch, up 120%; Invercargill to Wellington, up 63%; New Plymouth to Christchurch, up 20%; Palmerston North to Christchurch, up 11.3%; and Napier to Auckland, up 4.5%. According to ANZ Group GM Australasia Bruce Parton, the additional capacity is being introduced as signs emerge of the anticipated recovery in demand for domestic travel within New Zealand.

Aircell announced Tuesday it has installed its Gogo Inflight Internet service on the 1,000th aircraft to be equipped, a Delta Air Lines DC-9. Delta currently has 527 out of a planned 549 Gogo installations complete, Aircell said. "This is a big milestone for our company and for consumers who want to stay connected at 30,000 feet," Aircell President and CEO Michael Small stated. "A few years ago Internet on a commercial flight was unheard of, and today it is commonplace."

Ryanair said it will close its Belfast City base at the end of the current summer schedule on Oct. 31, citing the airport's confirmation that a public inquiry into a planned runway extension will be further delayed. The runway extension was originally scheduled to be delivered in 2008. Runway 04/22 is just 1,829 m. long.

Hainan Airlines reported net income of CNY557 million ($82 million) for the six months ended June 30, more than tripling a CNY175 million profit posted in the year-ago period, on a 42.3% lift in operating revenue to CNY9.6 billion. Operating expenses increased 35.2% to CNY7.4 billion.

Boeing Corporate President and CFO James Bell indicated Tuesday that the manufacturer is unlikely to re-engine the 737, saying the potential fuel-burn improvement over today's narrowbodies does not look "sufficient enough" to justify a "business case" for doing so.

Airbus said it began A350 XWB production in Germany with the launch of upper wing shell fabrication at its Stade plant, and reiterated that first delivery to Qatar Airways is on track for 2013.