Boeing Commercial Airplane's Training & Flight Services unit (formerly Alteon) signed an agreement with ANA to update the visual systems on ANA's three 767-300 full-flight simulators in Tokyo.
Continental Airlines will launch daily Newark-Munich service on March 27 using a 767-200ER. Virgin America launched twice-daily service to Fort Lauderdale from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. Horizon Air will start daily Spokane-Sacramento-San Jose and Spokane-San Jose-Sacramento service March 26 aboard 76-seat Q400s. American Eagle launched daily Los Angeles-Santa Fe service. Spirit Airlines launched twice-weekly Fort Lauderdale-Armenia, Colombia service.
Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng called for airlines in the Asia/Pacific region to line up in support of the Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines in order to counter the regulatory strength of the EU and US.
Ascent Aviation announced the launch of its commercial aircraft MRO operation at Tucson International. It will specialize in 737 Classics, 737NGs and MD-80s, performing heavy and line maintenance, modifications, transition services, storage, paint, disassembly and consignment parts sales. It recently purchased the assets of Hamilton Aerospace Technologies and World Jet Corp. and "has retained a substantial base of skills and experience from those two firms," it said.
Air Works, a third-party MRO company based in India, received EASA repair station certification for its maintenance facilities in Hosur, marking the first time EASA has awarded repair station approval to an airframe MRO company in India, it said. The approval will cover airframe and component maintenance on ATR 42/72-500s and 737 Classics.
Worldwide Flight Services won contracts from Royal Air Maroc, Air Caraïbes, Air Mali, Air Burkina and Mauritania Airways for full ground handling at Paris Orly.
China's cargo industry appears to be moving toward consolidation as airfreight players look to mitigate damage from continuing losses that have resulted from the global economic downturn.
ICAO conference in Rio de Janeiro last week adopted a "Global Framework on Aviation and Alternative Fuels" endorsing the use of sustainable alternative fuels for aviation, "particularly the use of drop-in fuels in the short to mid-term." The "dynamic Web-based document" will be located on the ICAO website and "will serve as a global platform for the sharing of information, best practices and future initiatives by ICAO member states and the air transport industry." It will be updated regularly, the organization said.
Boeing Friday broke ground on a second 787 final assembly line site in North Charleston, S.C. The company last month announced that it would place a second 787 FAL in North Charleston rather than near Seattle ( ATWOnline, Oct. 29). It is expected to be completed by mid-2011 and is being built with the capacity to support production of three Dreamliners per month.
US Air Transport Assn. reported that US airlines' passenger revenue sank 15% year-over-year in October, marking the 12th consecutive month of falling passenger revenue. It said the drop was "fueled primarily by the 11th consecutive month of ticket price declines." US airlines' average domestic yield in October was down 12.9% to 13.68 cents, according to ATA. Yield fell 14.4% to 11.63 cents on transatlantic flights, dropped 17.3% on flights to/from Latin America to 12.8 cents and plunged 17.8% to 10.69 cents on transpacific flights.
IATA and Russia's Ministry of Transport signed an MOU Friday to form "a strategic partnership" focusing on safety, security, technology, airport infrastructure, air navigation, ground handling and training. DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, in Moscow for the signing, also met with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. "IATA's global standards can contribute significantly to the development of safe, efficient and environmentally responsible aviation in Russia," Bisignani said.
Lufthansa Technik signed a Total Component Support contract with Air Berlin Group covering component support of its entire fleet of 737s, A320/A300 family aircraft and Q400s. It additionally signed a three-year contract extension with Air Transat covering total engine support for CF6-80C2 turbofans powering the carrier's A310 fleet. Iberia Maintenance won a three-year contract to provide line maintenance for DHL in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville and Vitoria.
The Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines, which held its 53rd Presidents Assembly in Singapore last week, called for a fresh approach from governments and regulatory agencies to commercial aviation, pushing for greater freedom from taxation and increased ATC system efficiency.
Travelport announced a new multiyear full-content GDS agreement with JetBlue Airways. Deal includes an upgrade to e-ticketing, interactive sell and interactive seats during the first quarter of 2010.
Air Berlin officials yesterday touted their strong third-quarter results, first reported Wednesday ( ATWOnline, Nov. 18), with CFO Ulf Huettmayer telling analysts and reporters that the more than doubling of its net income to €95.2 million ($142.4 million) "distances ourselves from other carriers" struggling through the economic downturn. CEO Joachim Hunold said AB's results "would be better by €10 million. .
US FAA yesterday issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making "to put limits on airlines and other operators hiring FAA safety inspectors and their managers for two years after those employees leave the agency." It said the proposed rule "would prohibit air carriers, flight schools, repair stations and other certificated organizations from employing or contracting with former FAA inspectors and managers to represent them in agency matters if the former employee had any direct oversight of the certificate holder in the preceding two years."
American Eagle yesterday launched service from Miami to Charleston (daily using an ERJ-145, increasing to twice-daily April 6), Knoxville (daily, ERJ-145), Eleuthera (thrice-weekly using an ATR 72) and Treasure Cay (four-times-weekly, ATR 72) and today will begin four-times-weekly MIA-Governor's Harbour service aboard an ATR 72. JetBlue Airways launched daily San Francisco-Fort Lauderdale service aboard an A320. Finnair will operate five-times-weekly Helsinki-Toronto service June 6-Sept. 9.
Air Canada said it has begun trials of onboard Wi-Fi on select flights to Los Angeles from Toronto and Montreal using Aircell's Gogo Inflight Internet service. Initially the system will be available only while flights are over the continental US. AC said it plans eventually to extend it to other routes in North America, pointing out that development of appropriate infrastructure in Canada is required to allow air-to-ground wireless communications in that country.
US FAA's computer system that processes flight plans failed for about 4 hr. yesterday, leading to numerous flight delays and cancellations throughout the country, the second such glitch in the past 15 months.
GECAS delivered one new 737-700 to Aerolineas Argentinas and one new A320-200 to Tiger Airways as part of sale/leaseback deals. Avia Solutions Group received one ex-British Airways 737-300; it plans to acquire three more this year. BOC Aviation delivered one new 737-800 on long-term lease to Skymark Airlines of Japan, its first delivery to a Japanese carrier.
Assn. of Asia Pacific Airlines' Assembly of Presidents started on a sober note yesterday with DG Andrew Herdman telling media that the group of 17 Asia/Pacific carriers is expected to lose $4.8 billion this year owing mainly to the global economic downturn.
SR Technics' contract with Etihad Airways announced earlier this week in Dubai is worth up to $250 million. Under the 10-year Integrated Component Services contract, SRT will handle component exchange, MRO, engineering and logistics services, access to SRT's components pool and component management for Etihad's current Airbus fleet of more than 40 A320s, A330s and A340s as well as future deliveries. EY's separate agreement with International Aero Engines is potentially worth $200 million.
ARINC renewed its contract with Korean Air to continue to provide GLOBALink data and voice communications and AviNet wide-area network service. Terms were not disclosed. Lufthansa Systems won a five-year contract extension with Germanwings to continue to provide its Lido RouteManual navigation charts and will begin providing its electronic version, Lido eRouteManual.
The European Court of Justice ruled yesterday that passengers on flights delayed for more than 3 hr. have the same right to seek compensation from airlines as passengers on cancelled flights.
