Singapore's Changi Airport Group launched the Changi Airport Growth Initiative to replace the Air Hub Development Fund, which expires at the end of December. According to CAG CEO Lee Seow Hiang, the focus of CAGi will be to incentivize airlines and airport partners to grow their traffic volumes at Changi. "While the priority of the AHDF in the past year was to provide urgent across-the-board cost relief, the key thrust of CAGi is to increasingly shift towards promoting growth--for both Changi Airport as well as our partners.
World airport traffic rose 1.8% in October compared to October 2008 to 287.6 million arriving and departing passengers, continuing the upward trend seen in September, according to Airport Council International's PaxFlash traffic report. Domestic traffic climbed 3.5% to 151.7 million passengers while international traffic dipped 0.2% to 131.6 million passengers.
Airports Council International-North America is urging US lawmakers to fund airport infrastructure projects because they will help create jobs and promote economic growth.
Early next year, Amadeus will begin rolling out technical standards that it has developed in conjunction with ATPCO to enable travel agencies to sell airlines' ancillary fees through the GDS, David Jones, Amadeus chief executive officer, told TTU. The pace and urgency with which airlines have gone "charging in" to create new ancillary revenue streams is uncharacteristic of the industry, Jones said. The development of electronic distribution and the protocols of interlining required a shared set of technical solutions, he said.
US National Transportation Safety Board will dispatch a team to assist China's investigation into Saturday's crash of an MD-11F owned by Avient Aviation. The aircraft crashed on takeoff at Shanghai Pudong, killing three crewmembers and injuring four others. Indications are that it may have lifted off before the tail struck the runway. It was built in 1990 and subsequently converted. It was delivered recently to Avient and was en route to Bishkek.
Icelandair Group reported a ISK3.96 billion ($32.3 million) third-quarter profit, down 9.7% from the ISK4.39 billion earned in the year-ago period, and announced an agreement with co-owner Unimex Group to sell 20% of its stake in Czech LCC Travel Service at a ISK889 million loss.
EasyJet called for introduction of mandatory environmental standards covering the next generation of aircraft that will ensure a 40% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. "Step-change technology is in the pipeline, and we need tough legislation on emission standards for it to be delivered sooner," CEO Andy Harrison said last week. "Wartime has led to the biggest leaps in aviation technology.
Aer Lingus scheduled an extraordinary board meeting for today to determine an "alternative" plan to achieve its targeted €97 million ($145.4 million) in cost cuts in case ongoing negotiations with labor unions do not result in an agreement ( ATWOnline, Nov. 19). CEO Christoph Mueller confirmed that EI will "proceed with alternative means of delivering the savings within the same timeframe as the plan in the absence of agreement."
BAE Systems concluded the sale of one 98-seat BAe 146-200 to Indonesian charter operator PT Aviastar Mandiri, which will operate the aircraft on behalf of Transnusa Air Services out of Denpasar. BAE also is remarketing a CF6-80C2B7F-powered 767-300ER operated by an unidentified Middle East carrier.
US FAA will allow more than 130 Trent 800-powered 777s to continue operating through early 2011 with parts that are suspected of having played a role in the January 2008 British Airways -200ER crash landing at London Heathrow and a loss of thrust on a Delta Air Lines -200ER one year ago ( ATWOnline, March 6).
China Eastern Airlines' merger with Shanghai Airlines received final approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission yesterday, giving CEA clearance to grab about 50% of the Shanghai market. China Eastern plans to acquire SAL through a share swap in which each SAL share will be exchanged for 1.3 CEA shares. SAL will keep its brand ( ATWOnline, Oct. 12).
AirBridgeCargo Airlines added a fourth 747-400ERF to its fleet, which also includes one 747-300 and two 747-200 freighters. Through the first 10 months of 2009, ABC transported 124,835 tonnes of cargo, a 14% increase over the year-ago period.
Continental Airlines is adopting a cashless cabin for onboard purchases (except duty free) from today utilizing hand-held credit card readers on all mainline flights except to/from China. CO said it is working with China on accepting The China Union Pay card. It expects to go cashless on Continental Express, Continental Connection and Continental Micronesia flights in the 2010 first quarter.
Lufthansa will charge economy passengers €40/$50 for a second piece of checked luggage on flights between Europe and North America beginning Jan. 1, a spokesperson was quoted as saying in German press reports. The first bag weighing up to 23 kg. and ski transport will remain free. Premium loyalty program members and passengers whose North Atlantic itineraries do not originate in Europe will be exempt.
Finnair announced the transfer of some 490 Northport ground handling employees at Helsinki Vantaa to Barona Group, a staffing agency, and some 130 Cargo Terminal Operations warehouse employees to Suomen Transval, effective today. "By creating solutions based on strategic partnerships, we can change our fixed costs into variable costs and focus on Finnair's core business," Deputy CEO Lasse Heinonen said. Around 200 Northport employees went on strike yesterday to protest the decision and AY said that "delays and individual cancellations are possible" as a result.
Bombardier last week said it will lay off 715 Montreal-based employees during the first seven months of 2010 as it slows the CRJ production rate, citing the "economic and airline industry environments [that] continue to make it difficult to gain new aircraft orders." It did not provide further insight into the current or future production rate for the CRJ family. Its operating profit, revenue, deliveries and order book all fell in its fiscal second quarter ended July 31 ( ATWOnline, Sept. 3).
ALAFCO, the Kuwaiti lessor, earned a KWD10.2 million ($35.8 million) net profit in its fiscal year ended Sept. 30, "slightly more" than the previous year, it said.
Virgin Blue CEO Brett Godfrey told shareholders that the airline is back in the black after a difficult period at the beginning of 2009 and now is forecasting a profit for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2010. "We are currently profitable again," he told the airline's annual general meeting in Brisbane. "We expect that if the market continues as it is at the moment we'll be able to maintain that guidance through to June 30 [2010]."
