Authorities have launched an investigation into the cause of Monday morning’s crash of an Aires 737-700 as it landed in a storm at San Andres Island, killing one passenger who reportedly died of a heart attack ( ATW Daily News, Aug. 17).
BAA and the Unite union representing the UK airport operator's ground staff reached an agreement that both sides said will avert strikes that had threatened to heavily disrupt or even close six major airports this weekend including London Heathrow, London Stansted, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.
News from Travel Technology Update: Sabre Travel Network plans to work with Cisco to develop a telepresence distribution and reservations platform, enabling agencies and corporations to book services from any telepresence provider and any point of sale. Telepresence goes beyond teleconferencing by using high-definition video and audio to create the illusion that meeting participants are sitting in the same room, even though they may be thousands of miles away in separate "telepresence suites."
With Delta Air Lines leading the way with a $467 million second quarter profit, the nine largest US passenger airlines posted cumulative net income of $1.45 billion for the three months ended June 30, turned around from a net loss of $556 million in the year-ago period, ATW calculated.
China Southern Airlines reported net income of CNY207.6 million ($30.5 million) for the 2010 first half, a considerable expansion over a CNY38 million profit in the year-ago period and said the increase is owing to robust domestic market growth and the sale of its 50% stake in MTU Maintenance Zhuhai to parent company China Southern Group for CNY1.1 billion.
UBM Aviation acquires The Route Development Group STA Travel buys Bridge the World brand Travelport’s second-quarter shows corporate rebound, Asia growth Tripbase seeks to provide inspiration in the stars LOT to launch Lufthansa Systems’ Web Kiosk In Focus: The search for intelligent data in the corporate travel universe World news briefing
Sabre Travel Network plans to work with Cisco to develop a telepresence distribution and reservations platform, enabling agencies and corporations to book services from any telepresence provider and any point of sale. Telepresence goes beyond teleconferencing by using high-definition video and audio to create the illusion that meeting participants are sitting in the same room, even though they may be thousands of miles away in separate "telepresence suites."
Air Berlin transported 3.7 million passengers in July, up 6.4% from the year-ago month. Load factor fell 2.1 points to 81.2%. Air France KLM flew 19.7 billion RPKs in July, up 1.2% from the year-ago month. Capacity stayed flat at 22.86 billion ASKs while load factor climbed 1.1 points to 86.2%.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union announced Monday that 99% of Air Berlin pilots voted to strike during the high-traffic holiday month of August if the airline does not meet their demands in an ongoing dispute over wages and benefits. Pilot complaints include daily changes to schedules and failing to provide a third pilot on long-haul flights, a standard practice for other airlines, according to Cockpit.Further negotiations between the two parties are planned for Tuesday and Wednesday this week and in the second week of September.
Boeing Training & Flight Services said it was granted provisional approval by US FAA for its 787 pilot training courses. It added that the courses will enable pilots to "transition to the new airplane in five to 20 days, depending on pilot experience." 777 pilots can qualify to fly the 787 "in as little as five days, given the high level of commonality between the two airplane types," the Boeing training unit stated.
The Virgin Blue Group has announced a major revamp of its network including withdrawing from New Zealand domestic flying to cut losses. It will increase services to Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands using 737s and its long-haul focus will be on the US and South Africa, which it plans to serve with 777-300ERs. It will additionally increase Australian domestic capacity by 490,000 seats.
IATA reported that international passenger traffic continued in its recovery in June with premium seats up 16.6% and economy travel up 9.5% compared to June 2009, but cautioned that the post-recession rebound in travel may be slowing.
AirBaltic is confident it will post a net profit this year despite the volcanic ash-related airspace closures in April and an uncertain economic climate, President and CEO Bertolt Flick told ATW.
The prospective LAN Airlines/TAM merger, if it is cleared by both companys' shareholders and relevant regulators, will create a new airline company that aims to be the dominant operator in Latin America and a formidable presence on the world stage, with a major battle over alliance membership likely on tap.
TAM and LAN Airlines entered into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to merge under a single parent company called LATAM Airlines Group that the carriers said would be "the clear number one player in South America."
Sabre Holdings announced it has acquired Fayetteville, Ga.-based Flightline Data Services, a provider of crew scheduling management solutions. Flightline's products and services, including real-time trip trading, mobile applications, preferential bidding, vacation bidding, system and training bidding capabilities. will be integrated into Sabre's solutions.
Kenya Airways leased a 737-300 from KLM for two months. It will initially be used to boost services on the airline's Nairobi-Mombasa route. Jetscape leased one E-175LR to Royal Jordanian for an eight-year term beginning in October.
Lufthansa's second A380 underwent an inflight engine shutdown Aug. 6, 1 hr. before landing in Frankfurt en route from Tokyo Narita, it was learned last week. The Rolls-Royce Trent 900-powered aircraft was delivered on July 19. LH said the engine shutdown decision was made after "confusing numbers" related to oil pressure appeared on a cockpit indicator. LH replaced the engine with a new one and the aircraft returned to service the next day.
Defunct Lithuanian scheduled services airline flyLAL's assets continue to be operated by flyLAL Charters, but the company has decided to rebrand as Small Planet Airlines. It said in conjunction with the new name, it is embarking on a product upgrade to enable it to add more services. It plans to install ergonomic seats from Acro Aircraft Seating on new 737NGs arriving that are replacing its 737 Classics.
Delta Air Lines last week launched the industry's first Facebook-integrated "Ticket Window" to allow bookings directly from its Facebook page. DL has over 35,000 followers on its company Facebook page. "Our customers are spending more time online and are looking for new ways to connect with us," said VP-eCommerce Bob Kupbens. "We're now delivering technology where our customers are—from our own website to our Facebook page to Internet news sites and beyond. We already know Facebook is the most used website by inflight WiFi users on more than 2,000 Delta flights every day."
Emirates announced it is doubling services to Los Angeles and Houston Intercontinental from Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 respectively to twice daily aboard a 777.
