Southern Air Holdings, parent of Connecticut-based ACMI freight carrier Southern Air, took delivery of two 777-200LRFs yesterday that will be operated on behalf of Thai Airways. The aircraft are the first of the type to join the Southern fleet, which consists of 16 747Fs.
Continental Airlines plans to furlough 600 reservations center employees beginning April 11, comprising 350 current employees and 250 currently on leave, according to a company memo cited by numerous press reports. Most of the furloughs will come from its Houston call center.
Russia's United Aircraft Corp. reported 2009 revenue of RUB114 billion ($3.81 billion), an 18.1% increase from the prior year, as sales of commercial aircraft rose 8.7% to RUB12.5 billion. It manufactured 17 commercial aircraft last year and delivered 14, comprising four Il-96s, five Tu-204s, three Tu-214s and two An-148s. Customers included Rossiya, Transaero Airlines, Polet Airlines, Cubana de Aviacion and Air Koryo. The other three aircraft are new Sukhoi Superjet 100s that are involved in the ongoing testing and certification process. UAC delivered nine commercial aircraft in 2008.
American Airlines Cargo yesterday opened a new Los Angeles cargo terminal adjacent to its previous LAX cargo terminal. "The facility will offer streamlined handling capability including a 3,000-sq.-ft. cooler for perishables and expanded areas for courier cargo, mail processing and a designated holding area for live animals," AA said.
Skywest Airlines, the Perth-based regional operator, reported a S$7.1 million ($5 million) net profit in the half-year ended Dec. 31, reversed from a S$2.8 million loss in the year-ago semester. Skywest's parent company is incorporated in Singapore. Revenue climbed 10% year-over-year to S$107.1 million. Skywest said it "has continued to engage. .
Greek air traffic controllers are scheduled to conduct a 24-hr. strike Wednesday, according to Aegean Airlines. The carrier said it was forced to cancel its entire schedule for that day.
American Airlines reached a deal with Chautauqua Airlines to operate AmericanConnection flights out of Chicago O'Hare. Fellow AMR Corp. subsidiary American Eagle was its sole regional partner out of ORD but an AA spokesperson confirmed to ATWOnline that the company's decision to downsize in St. Louis, where it partnered with Chautauqua, prompted the move
ICAO announced that its Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection committed "to a timetable for the development of a [carbon dioxide] standard for commercial aircraft," aiming to have it ready in 2013. CAEP's eighth meeting, held this month, also recommended standards for nitrogen oxides "up to 15% more stringent than the current levels, applicable to new aircraft engines certified after Dec. 31, 2013." A cutoff of Dec. 31, 2012, was recommended for engines produced under existing NOx standards.
British Airways flight attendants represented by Unite overwhelmingly approved a strike in a ballot that closed yesterday ( ATWOnline, Feb. 22). The union said that 80.7% (7,482) of members who voted favored industrial action, with a 78.7% turnout recorded. Unite stressed that it has not announced a strike date.
China Southern Airlines received a CNY1.5 billion ($219.6 million) capital injection from the Chinese government that is expected to reduce the carrier's debt ratio, which stood at around 80% last Sept. 30.
Malaysia Airlines reported 2009 net income of MYR493.1 million ($147.5 million), double the MYR245.7 million profit earned in 2008, as a strong fourth quarter enabled it to overcome an uneven year in which it was in the red in the first and third quarters.
Unsuccessful in its bid to purchase Olympic Air from the Greek government last year, Aegean Airlines yesterday announced a merger designed to create "a national airline champion with enlarged presence in the European market as well as seamless coverage of even the most remote islands of our country."
Lufthansa yesterday reached a settlement with pilots represented by Vereinigung Cockpit, suspending the scheduled four-day strike that started at midnight Sunday/Monday until at least March 8.
Air Works India Engineering said it acquired an 85% stake in UK-based Air Livery, which Air Works called Europe's "leading aircraft refinishing company," with annual revenue equivalent to INR1.35 billion ($29.3 million). Value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Esterline CMC Electronics' PilotView Class 2 electronic flight bag was granted an STC by EASA for the A320. STC was developed by Aeroconseil in Toulouse. Launch airline is Air Mediterranee.
Air France KLM said January unit revenue fell year-over-year. It flew 15.87 billion RPKs, down 1.6%, against a 3.4% decline in capacity to 20.34 billion ASKs. Load factor rose 1.4 points to 78%. British Airways flew 8.26 billion RPKs in January, down 7% from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 8.3% to 11.13 billion ASKs, lifting load factor 1 point to 74.2%.
CAE sold a 777-300ER 7000 Series full flight simulator to Turkish Airlines for delivery this year. THY also signed up for the Simfinity integrated procedures trainer for the 737NG. In addition, CAE sold a 737-800 7000 Series FFS to Skymark Airlines that will be delivered to Skymark's Tokyo Haneda base by year end and an E-170/190 7000 Series FFS to Gulf Aviation Academy, which switched its order from an A330/A340 simulator. GAA will take delivery this year at its Bahrain facility.
EasyJet Chairman Michael Rake said at the company's annual general meeting last week that a cost-reduction program designed to save £190 million ($296.6 million) per year is expected to deliver net savings after inflation of £1 per seat by the conclusion of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2012. He also said that the board agreed to increase seat capacity by 7.5% per year over the next five years, which it expects to boost its share of the European short-haul market from the current 7% to 10%.
Mapjet, a Vienna-based startup, said it will begin selling tickets on March 15 for flights to Stockholm Arlanda, Amsterdam, Sulaymaniyah and Baghdad. Service to Frankfurt, Stuttgart and Munich also is planned. Flights should begin on March 28 aboard three leased E-195s.
American Airlines announced new international service from New York JFK to San Jose, Costa Rica (five-times-weekly from April 6 aboard a 757), Madrid (daily from May 1 aboard a 757) and Manchester (daily from May 13 aboard a 757), boosting the number of foreign destinations it serves from the airport to 31.
US and EU negotiators concluded discussions in Madrid last week without significant progress on a second-stage open skies agreement, sources on both sides told Dow Jones. "It is clear it is going to take some time to get a deal," an EU spokesperson said, although sources said some progress was made. The deadline is November.
Finnair Flight AY022 from Delhi to Helsinki today is the airline's final scheduled passenger flight aboard an MD-11. The type served Finnair for nearly 20 years and flew some 400,000 hr. on more than 50,000 segments. It became the first airline to operate the MD-11 in December, 1990 and had up to seven at one time. It now uses A330s and A340s on its long-haul routes. It has two owned MD-11s up for sale and is considering using the aircraft for cargo operations.
FAA announced a proposed $1.2 million civil penalty against GE Caledonian, a Glasgow Prestwick-based repair station, for "improper maintenance procedures" involving 101 engines between January 2005 and May 2008. The agency said during that time GEC "used a procedure to remove the thrust pins from the forward engine mounts of 101 CF6 engines that was different than the one required by the manufacturer's maintenance manuals.
Chile President-elect Sebastian Pinera will sell an 8%-10% stake in LAN Airlines to the Cueto family, which already owns about 20%-25% of the carrier, Reuters reported. Pinera, who will take office next month and is trying to offload holdings that could represent a conflict of interest, owns 26% of LAN, the largest single shareholding in the carrier
