Japan Airlines yesterday detailed its schedule for international operations from Tokyo Haneda beginning Oct. 31, explaining that it will use its extensive network of domestic flights to/from the airport to feed passengers to international services and to offer arriving international passengers transport from HND to destinations throughout Japan.
Aegean Airlines became the 28th member of Star Alliance in ceremonies in the Greek capital yesterday, just over one year after it officially was invited to join.
An inquiry by French prosecutors concluded that a combination of pilot error and faulty sensors caused an Air New Zealand A320 to crash into the Mediterranean Sea during a November 2008 test flight conducted by XL Airways pilots, killing all seven people aboard.
The World Trade Organization yesterday publicly released its final ruling on the US's 2004 claim that Airbus received state aid for the A380 program in violation of international trade rules, siding with the US that Airbus was given "prohibited export subsidies" to help it develop and build the extra-large aircraft but also rejecting US charges that the subsidies had caused "injury" to Boeing.
Vueling Airlines flew 842.9 million RPKs in May, up 103.9% year-over-year, while capacity jumped 102% to 1.18 billion ASKs; large increases are attributable to its merger with Clickair in July ( ATW Daily News, July 13, 2009). Load factor rose 0.6 point to 71.5%.
Mercator, the IT solutions provider of Emirates Group, said that following acquisition of the tikAERO passenger services system solutions through Bangkok-based TIK Systems, it established an office in Bangkok to be known as Mercator Asia. The office "will provide a base for the ongoing development of the system and other passenger-related solutions," Mercator said. Roland Heller, founder of TikSystems, was appointed CEO of the Bangkok office.
SITA and TravelSky Technology last week signed a 10-year agreement under which TravelSky will host and operate SITA's Airfare solutions in the Chinese market. The deal follows a "very competitive evaluation process," SITA VP-Airline and Passenger Solutions Brian Cook told ATW, noting that the pact "secures SITA's position as a key supplier in this very rapidly growing market,which is expected to more than double to 700 million passengers in 2020."
IATA reported that international scheduled passenger traffic rose 11.7% year-over-year in May while international cargo traffic jumped 34.3% compared to May 2009. "Demand rebounded strongly in May following the impact of the European volcanic ash fiasco in April," DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said. "Passenger traffic is now 1% above pre-recession levels, while the freight market is 6% bigger."
US FAA yesterday issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking significantly expanding its icing certification standards for transport category aircraft. The NPRM "includes a new requirement that manufacturers show airplanes can operate safely in freezing drizzle or freezing rain, conditions that constitute an icing environment known as 'supercooled large drops.'" It is intended to respond to the previously little understood icing phenomenon that led to the loss of an American Eagle ATR 72 near Roselawn, Ind., in 1994.
Second-generation jet biofuel derived from nonfood sources such as jatropha, camelina and algae is technologically feasible and has been proven in flight, but financing production of large enough quantities to power airline operations on any significant scale remains a formidable obstacle, according to experts who spoke last week at ATW's Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington.
UPS yesterday launched the most aggressive campaign to date by an express operator to promote "alternatives" to domestic airline baggage carriage, unveiling a "luggage box" through which passengers can ship bags in advance of flying rather than checking them at the airport.
Singapore Airlines flew 6.65 billion RPKs in May, up 12.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity climbed 0.5% to 8.89 billion ASKs and load factor rose 7.9 points to 74.8%. AirBaltic transported 295,809 passengers in May, a 29% increase year-over-year. Load factor rose 3 points to 69%.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will hold a ceremony today to mark the reopening of New York JFK's longest runway after a 120-day closure for reconstruction and access improvements. Renovation of the 14,572-ft. so-called Bay Runway (13R-31L) cost some $376.3 million and was completed on time and on budget, according to the Port Authority. The runway ordinarily handles about a third of the airport's operations, including more than half of all departures. JetBlue Airways, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines maintained their winter schedules during the project.
Airports Council International-North America Executive VP-Policy and External Affairs Deborah McElroy told ATW's Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington last week that airports are driven to be environmentally friendly by a desire to be responsible members of their communities.
Boeing restarted 787 flight testing Sunday and Monday following a three-day suspension to inspect the Alenia Aeronautica-produced horizontal stabilizers on its five flight test aircraft.
Lufthansa and its pilots represented by the Vereinigung Cockpit union last week reached agreement on a new labor contract through federal arbitration, ending a year-long dispute that included a brief walkout by flight deck crew earlier this year.
A US federal judge on Friday rejected the US Air Transport Assn.'s lawsuit seeking to overturn the National Mediation Board's decision last month to change air and rail union voting rules, allowing a new rule that is likely to ease the path to unionization to go into effect July 1.
Alaska Airlines will launch service to Lihue from San Jose (thrice-weekly beginning March 27) and Oakland (four-times-weekly beginning March 28). ANA will launch service from Tokyo Haneda to Los Angeles (daily), Honolulu (daily), Singapore Changi (daily), Bangkok (daily) and Taipei Songshan (twice-daily) on Oct. 31.
US Air Transport Assn. on Friday welcomed the agreement between House of Representatives and Senate negotiators that could enable massive financial reform legislation, versions of which passed in both houses of Congress, to move forward to the White House for US President Barack Obama's signature. Both chambers are expected to vote on a unified bill this week.
