Durban International Airport closed for commercial services at the end of April and all airline operations serving South Africa's third-largest city were moved to the new ZAR7.9 billion ($1.08 billion) King Shaka International, which commenced operations May 1. The move was made in anticipation of the influx of visitors coming for next month's World Cup. The former airport had served the city since 1955.
Chicago Midway privatization,which collapsed a year ago in the wake of the global financial crisis, is attracting new interest from potential bidders, according to Southwest Airlines VP-Properties Robert Montgomery, who spoke at last month's Phoenix International Aviation Symposium.
With talks between the Chicago Dept. of Aviation and O'Hare's two largest airlines over funding for ORD expansion on hold indefinitely, CDA secured a small victory last month by winning $410 million in US federal funds that it can put toward the "completion phase" of the busy airport's long-term expansion project.
Just a few weeks after rolling out its first Advanced Imaging Technology body-scanning machines, Boston Logan International has seen "an improvement [in security] without a decrease in the efficiency," according to George Naccara, the Transportation Security Administration's Federal Security Director for BOS.
European airports estimate they lost more than 16 million passengers and more than €250 million ($332.6 million) in aeronautical and commercial revenue owing to the volcanic ash crisis that closed much of Europe's airspace April 15-21.
The EU Transport Council met in Brussels yesterday and endorsed most of the European Commission's proposals for addressing last month's six-day volcanic ash-induced airspace closure, while Spanish Transport Minister Jose Blanco admitted the closure decision was based on "bad science."
Boeing said India's domestic freighter airline Blue Dart Aviation selected its Maintenance Performance Toolbox for its 757-200 freighter fleet. The software-based productivity tool unifies airline maintenance data, streamlining the documentation process.
Aer Lingus almost halved its first-quarter pre-tax loss to €36.2 million ($47.9 million) from a €67.9 million deficit in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue declined 1.8% but operating costs fell at a much higher rate of 13.3% owing to lower staff costs and a 42.6% reduction in fuel costs. Consequently, operating loss before net exceptional items dropped 49.5% to €37.8 million from €74.8 million last year.
US Dept. of Transportationyesterday gave final approval to the Delta Air Lines/US Airways slot swap at Washington National and New York LaGuardia announced last August.
Lufthansa reported a first-quarter net loss of €298 million ($393.9 million), widened from a €267 million deficit in the year-ago quarter, but said it is seeing "positive demand trends in the cargo and passenger businesses." First-quarter revenue lifted 16% to €5.8 billion and operating loss was €330 million, significantly widened from a €44 million operating deficit last year.
Great success stories in commercial aviation are rare even in good times. ATW's Regional Airline of the Year for 2010, Regional Express, is one of those and much more. Remarkably, the Sydney-based carrier has stayed profitable during the worst economic downturn in at least four decades while both rebuilding and expanding a business that was born out of the collapse of Ansett Australia in 2001.
Despite all the advances in airframe durability and engine reliability over the past 50 years that have helped to make air travel the safest form of transportation the world has ever known, one thing has not changed: Bad weather is a threat to be avoided, not confronted. Fortunately, airlines have a weapon in their arsenal that gives them a huge advantage in the never-ending war of wits with Mother Nature--highly advanced weather radar systems.
As the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight was being celebrated in late 2003, it was becoming increasingly clear that aviation's ability to grow and prosper in its second century would depend heavily on mitigating its environmental impact. In particular, the air transport industry was coming under intense scrutiny over its reliance on fossil-based jet fuel, which was seen widely as contributing to global warming. Paradoxically, few foresaw the possibility of developing greener alternative fuels in the near term.
In this most competitive and capricious of industries, and during this most trying of times, staying on top is difficult even for those airlines with entrenched advantages. Simply leveraging a timeless brand, a supportive government, a key hub or sheer size no longer guarantees success, especially when the effort required to innovate increasingly is focused on ensuring survival.
At a time when carriers all over the world are searching urgently for new business models in reaction to the downturn, ATW's Airline of the Year for 2010 has identified and is implementing a multifaceted commercial strategy that is paying dividends today while positioning it for greater success when the recovery arrives. Under CEO Rob Fyfe, it has established itself as a global leader in financial, operational, customer service and environmental performance.
The most acute problems are on Europe's periphery, where many smaller economies are experiencing crises strongly reminiscent of past crises in Latin America and Asia. Latvia is the new Argentina." Thus wrote Paul Krugman, 2008 Nobel Laureate in economics, in The New York Times in December of that year. The Baltic state's GDP contracted 10.5% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the steepest decline in the EU, and plunged an estimated 18% in 2009. Neighboring Estonia and Lithuania were similarly hard hit.
Boeing yesterday announced that it chose South Carolina as the location for fabrication and assembly of airplane interior parts for the Charleston 787 final assembly line and delivery site. It is still reviewing potential sites for the Boeing Fabrication Interiors South Carolina facility and plans to make a decision by midsummer.
airBaltic will launch thrice-weekly Riga-Belgrade service May 5 aboard a 737. Frontier Airlines launched Denver service to Madison, Wisc.. (six-times-weekly aboard an E-190, becoming daily June 10) and Newport News (four-times-weekly) and launched daily Port Columbus-Kansas Cityservice aboard an E-190. JetBlue Airwayslaunched twice-daily Raleigh/Durham-Boston service.
