Japan Airlines on Tuesday unveiled a more radical restructuring plan than expected, calling for the retirement or layoff of more than 16,000 staff by March 31, 2011, as well as the disposal of 103 aircraft and the scrapping of 49 loss-making routes.
Wizie.com acquires assets of Canadian IT firm AA sells far-forward seats for $19-$39 Virtuoso spins off technology department as a separate company 'Sooner or later, servers fail.' SteelEye advises protection Trust Int’l launches first of several Asian-language CRSs In Focus: 'Ancillary revenues' that don’t make passengers recoil World news briefing
The term "ancillary revenues" has come to make some travelers cringe: Too often, it is a euphemism for "charging for things that used to be free." Every now and then, however, an ancillary product comes along that travelers feel good about purchasing. Airsavings' "weather warranty" may fall into that category.
News from Travel Technology Update: The term "ancillary revenues" has come to make some travelers cringe: Too often, it is a euphemism for "charging for things that used to be free."
Qatar Airways said it will increase service from Doha to Amritsar (four-times-weekly to daily on Sept. 1), Cochin (daily to 11-times-weekly on Nov. 5) and Delhi (daily to twice-daily on Oct. 31). The increases will boost Qatar's Indian capacity from 74 weekly services to 88. Royal Jordanian will add a third weekly frequency to its Amman–Brussels service from March 28, 2011.
US Dept. of Transportation on Monday assessed a $500,000 civil penalty against AirTran Airways "for violating rules protecting air travelers with disabilities." DOT said up to $200,000 of the airline's fine "may be used to improve its service to disabled passengers beyond what is required by law" including using up to $140,000 to "employ an automated wheelchair tracking system at AirTran's major hub airports within one year that will generate real-time reports of the carrier's wheelchair assistance performance."
A combined United Airlines and Continental Airlines would have earned $223 million more in the six months ended June 30 than they achieved operating independently, according to a pro forma statement of operations included in a recent proxy statement by the carriers. United earned $191 million for the period, while Continental netted $87 million. But had the merger occurred on Jan. 1, 2009, they would have reported income of $501 million for the 2010 half-year, according to the filing.
CSA Czech Airlines released its 2010-11 winter flight schedule, signaling a change in its network philosophy to focus on offering passengers an East-West air bridge rather than operating to the highest number of destinations throughout Europe. The airline said the new network will take shape gradually, reaching a final form in 2012.Significantly, from Oct. 31 Brno, Munich, Cologne/Bonn, London Heathrow and Manchester will all be dropped from CSA's network.
EgyptAir said its corporate jet aircraft charter subsidiary Smart Aviation Co. has formed a commercial airline unit that will be launched with two Q400 NextGen aircraft ordered Monday. Bombardier said the order's value is $62 million based on list prices but could rise to $158 million if EgyptAir exercises three Q400 options also placed Monday.
China Eastern Airlines reported net income of CNY1.76 billion ($259.3 million) for the six months ended June 30, up 78.7% over a CNY985 million profit in the year-ago period.
IATA said yesterday that 47 major airlines worldwide reported a cumulative $3.9 billion net profit for the second quarter, reversed from a $900 million net loss in the prior-year period.
Mexicana Airlines suspended operations over the weekend, citing its "delicate financial situation." The carrier had been operating under creditor protection in both Mexico and the US since Aug. 3, and a Mexican business consortium called Tenedora K earlier this month acquired 95% of MX's holding company, Nuevo Grupo Aeronautico, in an attempt to rescue it ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 24).
EASA last week published a proposal to the European Commission calling for "harmonized regulation" of flight crew licensing among all EU member states. "This new regulation will ensure that the same pilot licensing requirements and related high safety levels apply in all member states," it said. The EC is expected to implement a new pilot licensing standard by April 2012, EASA said.
The Assn. of Flight Attendants representing 7,000 Delta Air Lines flight attendants who formerly worked for Northwest Airlines filed a lawsuit against DL last week, claiming that DL is not following many of the rules outlined in AFA's collective bargaining agreement with NWA, according to multiple news reports. DL said the lawsuit has "no merit."
CAAC said Friday it started safety inspections of China's passenger aircraft fleet in response to the Henan Airlines Embraer 190 crash at Yichun late Tuesday that killed 42 ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 26).
Virgin Blue last week reported a net profit of A$21.3 million ($18.9 million) for its fiscal year ended June 30, a major reversal from a A$160 million loss in FY2008-09 that marked the Australian carrier's worst-ever fiscal-year result.
The US Dept. of Justice on Friday said it had closed its investigation into the proposed merger between United Airlines and Continental Airlines after the carriers agreed to address competition concerns in the New York market by leasing 18 slot pairs at Newark International to Southwest Airlines.
Iberia Friday reported second-quarter net income of €31 million ($39.4 million), reversed from a loss of €73 million in the year-ago quarter, a turnaround the airline attributed to the recovery of international markets, cost control and increased productivity.
Dreamliner launch customer ANA said in a brief statement Friday that the latest delay to the 787 program "is regrettable," while a Boeing official said the delay "is much less important than the thoroughness of the process that gets us" to first delivery.
Boeing early Friday confirmed ATW Daily News's report that it has been informing customers of a further three-month delay in 787 first deliveries. Kenya Airways Group MD and CEO Titus Naikuni told this website Thursday in Nairobi that Boeing had informed him of the delay (ATW Daily News, Aug. 27). The manufacturer said in a short statement that it "now expects delivery of the first 787 in the middle of the first quarter 2011." It had been targeting first delivery to launch customer ANA during the 2010 fourth quarter.
Malev Head of the Executive Board Laszlo Urban resigned after just one month in the position. CSA Czech Airlines named Jiri Marek as its new sales director effective Sept. 1. Turkish Airlines appointed Sukru Nenem strategic planning and investments manager. US National Transportation Safety Board named Alfonso Montano an Administrative Law Judge.
