SilkAir will launch daily service from Singapore to Bangalore (on May 17) and Chennai (on June 14). Royal Brunei Airlines will launch four-times-weekly Brunei-Shanghai Pudong service on March 28. Midwest Airlines will operate service from Milwaukee to Seattle (thrice-weekly May 14-June 10, increasing to four-times-weekly June 11-Sept. 6, aboard an E-190) and San Diego (daily April 19-Nov. 17 aboard an A319).
British Airways flight attendants represented by Unite will conclude their three-day walkout today amid contradictory claims regarding the impact of the airline's first strike in 13 years.
Virgin America yesterday announced it will add nine A320s (six arriving this year and three scheduled in the 2011 first quarter), bringing its fleet to 37 and enabling it to launch new daily flights to Orlando International from Los Angeles and San Francisco on Aug. 19.
Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh believes China will become a significant competitor in civil aircraft manufacturing, but he does not expect COMAC's C919 to achieve a major sales presence outside the country. "It will probably be a good airplane. Will that be the airplane that they market outside China? Probably not," Albaugh told media this week at Boeing offices in Arlington, Va., adding, "But the airplane after that and the one after that. . .We have to look at China as a real competitor for years to come."
FedEx Corp. reported a $239 million net profit in its fiscal third quarter ended Feb. 28, more than double the $97 million posted in the year-ago period, driven by significant improvement at its FedEx Express segment. "Outstanding execution of our business strategy and an improving global economy drove solid financial performance," Chairman, President and CEO Frederick Smith said. Group revenue was up 7% to $8.7 billion and operating income soared to $416 million from $182 million in the quarter ended Feb. 28, 2009.
US National Transportation Safety Board determined that last October's Northwest Airlines overflight incident occurred "because the pilots became distracted by a conversation unrelated to the operation of the aircraft."
FAA yesterday proposed a $300,000 fine against American Airlines for an MD-82 maintenance violation, adding to the company's bill that already features a $787,500 penalty levied last week and $5.4 million in proposed fines against American Eagle Airlines ( ATWOnline, March 15). The latest violation concerned five flights operated improperly during a period of deferred maintenance on an MD-82 pitot probe heater.
Delta Air Lines announced the launch of an 11-times-daily New York LaGuardia-Chicago O'Hare E-175 shuttle service beginning June 10, replacing its existing flights between LGA and Chicago Midway. It will establish dedicated check-in desks and kiosks at ORD ahead of the launch. DL also announced an expansion at Los Angeles, featuring new flights to San Francisco (daily), Columbus (daily), Hartford (six-times-weekly) and Raleigh-Durham (six-times-weekly) on June 10. Flights will be operated by a mix of 737-800s, A320s and CRJ900s.
China Southern Airlines announced the introduction of a premium economy product on all domestic routes operated by 777, 737NG, A320 family and A330 aircraft. Seats will be available for purchase from March 28, and CZ said it expects to have 7,000 premium economy seats available on nearly 300 aircraft by July. The service currently is available on its Guangzhou-Los Angeles flights and features seats with a 35-37-in. pitch rather than the 31 in.
Thai Airways said it will lease 3-6 aircraft with 300-350 seats for 3-5 years each to cover short-term needs, with at least three aircraft joining the fleet by mid-year. It did not offer additional details. It said it carried 3.5 million passengers in the first two months of 2010, up 13.4% from the year-ago period, on a 12% lift in ASKs. January load factor rose 4.8 points year-over-year to 80% and February's climbed 5.2 points to 82.2%.
Air New Zealand promised to slash fares, introduce more choice and cut waiting times at airports for its Transtasman and Pacific Island services. ANZ will reconfigure the A320s it uses on those routes to a single class with 171 seats, although it will continue to offer business class on its 767s for peak flights from Auckland to Sydney and Melbourne. Details of the new product offering will be unveiled before fares go on sale April 29. Eight airlines compete for a market of 5.8 million passengers per year between Australia and New Zealand.
CAAC joined FAA in issuing an Airworthiness Directive requesting domestic operators of 737-600s, -700s, -800s, -900s and -900ERs to inspect elevator tab control mechanisms
Boeing said the third and final test 747-8F successfully completed its first flight yesterday afternoon. Aircraft RC 521 took off from Paine Field, reached an altitude of 30,000 ft. and an airspeed of 282 mph, then landed at Boeing Field 2.5 hr. later. The three aircraft will conduct a test program totaling 3,700 hr. on the ground and in the air. First delivery is scheduled for the fourth quarter ( ATWOnline, March 16).
Continental Airlines joined the list of carriers requesting a partial exemption from US Dept. of Transportation's ground delay rule because of runway construction at New York JFK. It said that delays at JFK could impact traffic throughout the region, including at its Newark hub, according to a filing cited by the Associated Press. The rule is scheduled to enter effect on April 29 ( ATWOnline, March 17).
Continental Airlines and dispatchers represented by the Transport Workers Union reached a tentative four-year labor agreement. A ratification vote is will be held in the coming weeks.
Gategroup, which counts Gate Gourmet among its 11 subsidiaries, posted a 2009 net profit of CHF51 million ($48.4 million), down 12.8% from the CHF58.5 million reported in 2008, on a 6.7% drop in revenue to CHF2.71 billion. It said "new contract wins and increased volume among low-fare carriers mitigate[d] effects of [the] aviation industry downturn."
Sabre Airline Solutions reached an agreement with Air India to provide flight control solutions from its Sabre AirVision and Sabre AirCentre suites. Kale Consultants will provide its Revera passenger revenue accounting solution to LOT Polish Airlines.
Boeing is leaning toward increasing production rates for the 737 and 777 families with decisions expected by mid-year, Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh said yesterday. The current 737 build rate is 31.5 units per month and the company expects to make a decision in June on whether to raise it. Last week, Airbus announced it was taking the A320 rate to 36 per month from 34 as of December ( ATWOnline, March 10).
IATA reported that the number of premium passengers on international flights grew 5.5% in January, the second straight month of gains following 18 consecutive months of declines. In its latest "Premium Traffic Monitor" released yesterday, the organization said the extreme drop in premium passengers that began in mid-2008 now appears to have been "a very large cyclical fall" rather than a structural shift, but warned that yields on premium traffic are still very low.
British Airways yesterday said it was increasing its March 20-22 schedule as "the number of cabin crew offering to work as normal has increased significantly," while Unite called on the UK government to "investigate standards" on flights featuring "strike-busting" crew.
CAAC implemented its toughest measures yet to combat domestic flight delays, announcing that it will suspend an airline's right to operate a particular flight for one year if the carrier is found to be at fault for a single delay exceeding 4 hr. According to the regulator, the regulation is targeted mainly at domestic airlines operating at Beijing, Shanghai Pudong, Shanghai Hongqiao and Guangzhou. These four airports handle 3,500 aircraft movements daily, accounting for half the country's total.
Garuda Indonesia reported a 2009 net profit of IDR1.01 trillion ($109.9 million), up 50% from the prior year, and an operating surplus of IDR807.6 billion, CEO Emirsyah Satar said at a Jakarta news conference, adding that the airline is working on restructuring $527 million in debt ahead of its third-quarter IPO ( ATWOnline, Feb. 4). Largest creditor is the European Credit Agency ($241 million), according to reports. Passenger numbers last year rose 3% to 10.3 million but revenue dropped 7% to IDR16.7 trillion.
Japan Airlines CEO Kazuo Inamori, the iconic Japanese business figure who took the helm of the bankrupt carrier in January, told reporters yesterday that he has been surprised by the lack of business acumen among company executives but vowed to return the carrier to operating profitability as soon as this fall. He candidly expressed his assessment of JAL's corporate office in a Tokyo news conference, according to multiple reports, saying that an "extremely low" number of the airline's executives have business sense.
