Unite, the union that represents London Heathrow and Aberdeen baggage handlers and check-in staff employed by SAS Ground Services UK, said the workers "will strike next week unless there is movement on resolving a pay dispute." It said a series of strikes would take place Dec. 22-24 (48 hr.), Dec. 26-27 (24 hr.) and Jan. 3-4 (24 hr.). "The stoppages will hit travelers on Turkish [Airlines], Emirates and Thai [Airways] at London Heathrow and KLM, Air France, Wideroe and [Virgin Atlantic Airways] at Aberdeen," the union said.
Pemco World Air Services agreed to acquire the 757 cargo conversion operations and assets of Alcoa--SIE Conversions, a California-based Alcoa company joined with Structural Integrity Engineering. Pemco will acquire ASCC's 757-200 STC, allowing it to add the conversion program to its product line early next year. It currently offers freighter, combi, and quick-change configurations of the 737-300 and 737-400. Financial details were not disclosed.
Trans States Airlines will cut 50 baggage handlers and customer service representatives handling its United Express flights at St. Louis, according to an announcement cited by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Layoffs will take effect Feb. 11.
Business travelers are returning slowly to the front of the cabin and typical business fares are rising slightly against 2009 lows but still remain well down from year-ago levels, according to the third-quarter American Express Business Travel Monitor. The BTM shows that the average one-way international fare paid from North America including taxes and fees booked through AEBT increased 2.2% compared to the second quarter, from $1,603 to $1,638, but was down 18.5% compared to an average of $2,010 in the third quarter of 2008.
Ryanair said it will begin displaying third-party advertising on boarding passes early next year. The carrier this year implemented 100% online check-in and said the ads will appear on passes printed by customers. "Ryanair passengers must reference their boarding cards on a number of occasions during a trip, providing repeat exposure for advertisers," it said.
Southwest Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Gary Kelly said there has been a "very dramatic shift" in domestic US market share over the last year, with "1% moving from the rest of the industry to Southwest."
British Airways yesterday obtained an injunction from the UK High Court blocking a 12-day flight attendant strike because of irregularities in the balloting conducted by the Unite union, which countered with a promise that its dispute with the airline "is not settled."
Andes Lineas Aereas of Argentina leased two used 90-seat CRJ900s, Bombardier announced. Andes currently operates three MD-80s from its Salta base to five destinations.
Austrian Airlines passed a resolution to squeeze out remaining minority shareholders, who will be paid €0.50 ($0.73) per share. Transactions "probably" will take place in the first half of 2010, it said. Lufthansa subsidiary Osterreichische Luftverkehrs Holding currently holds 95.4% of the company.
United Airlines said it expects fourth-quarter consolidated passenger RASM to fall 6.25%-7.25% year-over-year to 11.09-11.21 cents, while mainline PRASM should be down 7.5%-8.5% to 10.12-10.23 cents.
Aircastle announced the placement of six new A330-200s with South African Airways on long-term lease. Aircraft are powered by Trent 772Bs and will deliver during 2011. The lessor said it now has secured customers for 11 of the 12 A330s it has on order. Two were delivered to Avianca this year, three freighters are headed to an unidentified Asian customer in 2010-11, and the last aircraft is scheduled for delivery in May 2012. Aircastle said it is "actively marketing" that plane.
Rolls-Royce announced an order from Aviation Capital Group for Trent 1000 engines to power the five 787s ordered by the lessor in 2007. The contract is worth $170 million at list prices.
Russia's Ministry of Transport could banish Austrian Airlines from its airspace on Jan. 31 owing to a dispute over the carrier's nationality, with Russian authorities arguing that based on current bilateral agreements with Austria, OS no longer is considered a domestic airline following its acquisition by Lufthansa in September.
Ryanair transported 5 million passengers in November, up 15% year-over-year, while load factor rose 1 point to 82%. EasyJet transported 3.4 million passengers in November, up 12.2% from the year-ago month. Load factor rose 0.9 point to 84.8%. AirTran Airways flew 1.47 billion RPMs in November, a 10.5% lift year-over-year. Capacity rose 9.2% to 1.92 billion ASMs and load factor was up 0.9 point to 76.7%.
In its second interim report on the May 31 loss of the Air France A330-200 over the Atlantic, France's BEA issued its first safety recommendations and concluded that "In the absence of any data from the flight recorders, the main parts of the airplane and any witness testimony on the flight, the precise circumstances of the accident, and therefore its causes, have still not been determined."
Air India plans to operate 105 aircraft by March 2011 compared to the 146 currently in the fleet, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told Parliament, according to The Wall Street Journal. He added that 133 of AI's 192 routes were loss-making during the April-October period and that the loss on unprofitable routes was INR15.23 billion ($325.1 million).
Lufthansa Technik signed a five-year contract with bmi to handle "all aspects" of MRO for V2500 engines powering the airline's 25 A320 family aircraft. First services are expected to be carried out around the end of the 2010 first quarter. No contract value was given.
Airbus said its Tianjin final assembly line achieved its 2009 target when it delivered the 11th A320 family aircraft to HNA Group subsidiary Deer Air yesterday. The first plane went to Sichuan Airlines on June 23 and subsequent units were delivered to the aforementioned pair as well as China Eastern Airlines and Shenzhen Airlines. The FAL has assembled six A320s and five A319s.
Jetstar Airways will add 700,000 domestic seats and 77 new return flights in the first half of next year as it embarks on its biggest expansion since launching operations in 2004. It will add five A320 family aircraft over the next six months, taking its A320 family fleet to 46 as it boosts flights between Melbourne and Sydney and leisure destinations. Another three aircraft will be added to its Jetstar Asia operation in Singapore. An eighth A330 will join the Jetstar fleet this month, followed by two more in 2010. An additional seven A320s will be added in the second half of 2010.
Singapore Airlines will suspend service to Karachi, Lahore and Nanjing as part of a series of capacity adjustments announced yesterday. Twice-weekly flights to Pakistan and Nanjing will cease Feb. 17 and March 26 respectively. SIA cited the routes' performance as the reason for the decision. Other changes include addition of a fifth weekly Singapore-Moscow Domodedovo-Houston Intercontinental flight beginning Dec. 18, ncrease of five-times-weekly SIN-Newark service to daily on Jan.
American Airlines said its proposed $1.1 billion investment in Japan Airlines could be increased, while the troubled Tokyo-based carrier was buoyed when its retirees indicated they would accept significant pension cuts.
Etihad Airways said its technical division was awarded EASA Part 145 certification following an audit by the Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation and now is fully accredited to perform line maintenance on A319, A320, A330, A340 and 777 aircraft for European airlines.
Flyglobespan, the Edinburgh-based low-cost leisure airline, entered administration and suspended operations after a last-minute bid to secure funding failed. The carrier, along with tour operator Globespan, said Monday that a major funding package from Jersey-based Halcyon Investments was imminent. But it did not occur.
