Travelport acquired Galileo Polska from Galileo Distribution System. The entity will become the second wholly owned direct operation for Travelport in Poland. The former Galileo Polska employees will have new roles working for Travelport, it said.
Aer Lingus yesterday revealed a two-phase "transformational" restructuring plan to reduce annual operating costs excluding fuel by €97 million ($142.7 million) before the end of 2011 and remove "legacy work" practices from its operation.
Lufthansa plans to re-launch onboard Internet service, which it suspended in late 2006 when Connexion by Boeing shut down ( ATWOnline, Aug. 18, 2006). German news service dpa reported that LH and Panasonic Avionics will hold a press conference next week announcing the new service. Panasonic's solution will be able to use some of the Connexion infrastructure onboard the nearly 70 aircraft that LH previously equipped for Internet access.
Assn. of European Airlines pushed back against European pilots who earlier this week held protests across the continent calling for changes to EU flight/duty-time rules. At an "action day" Monday, pilots unions lobbied for "concrete legislative changes. . .to ensure passengers and crews are protected against fatigue-related safety risks" ( ATWOnline, Oct. 6).
US Dept. of Transportation yesterday issued a safety advisory regarding the shipment of lithium batteries in passenger and cargo aircraft, warning that battery-caused "fires in aircraft can result in catastrophic events presenting unique challenges not encountered in other transport modes."
Rockwell Collins was selected by Condor Berlin to supply its Airshow 4200 moving map and inflight information system for its new fleet of A320s. Upgrades are scheduled for between 2009 and 20011.
Embraer delivered 57 jets during the third quarter: 29 for commercial aviation, 27 for executive aviation and one for defense. It has delivered 153 jets this year. Its backlog as of Sept. 30 totaled $18.6 billion, a 6% drop from the $19.8 billion recorded on June 30.
SITA signed a five-year contract with Norwegian Air Shuttle to provide ACARS services for the carrier's fleet of 58 737-800s, the last of which is due for delivery in 2014. The ACARS service will allow Norwegian to meet the EU's Single European Sky requirements for all new aircraft supplied after 2011.
EU and US negotiators commenced the fourth round of Stage 2 open skies talks in Washington yesterday, focusing on liberalization of traffic rights and foreign investment, state-aid, security and the environment. The Stage 1 agreement now in effect requires the conclusion of a Stage 2 accord by October 2010 ( ATWOnline, May 6).
Libyan Airlines signed a contract with ATR for the purchase of two ATR 42-500s valued at $35 million. The aircraft, to be delivered later this year, will be configured with 48 seats and powered by PW127M engines.
Verizon Business signed a six-year agreement with JetBlue Airways to manage the airline's IT data center and network needs as well as provide security and IT consulting services. A newly built IP-based voice and data network will support airport kiosks, wireless Internet access and an advanced reservation system. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
TAM signed agreements with Austrian Airlines and bmi that allow members of its frequent-flyer program to accumulate and redeem points on flights operated by both airlines.
US Dept. of Transportation's "Air Travel Consumer Report" said the nation's largest airlines had a higher ontime performance rate in August (79.7%) than in both July (77.6%) and the year-ago month (78.4%). BTS data showed carriers canceled 1% of their scheduled domestic flights in August, down from 1.6% in August 2008. Hawaiian Airlines led US carriers with an ontime arrival rate of 94.7%, followed by Alaska Airlines at 85.8%. Comair was last at 65.9%.
Swiss International Air Lines will launch a twice-weekly service between Geneva and Manchester Dec. 20. Jet2.com announced four new routes from Manchester: Four-times-weekly to Prague starting April 1 and twice-weekly to Dubrovnik (April 29), Split (May 8) and Reus (May 25). The LCC will operate 28 routes from MAN in the 2010 summer, including nine new routes.
Boeing yesterday pushed back first flight of the 747-8 freighter to "early next year" and first delivery to the 2010 fourth quarter and said it will report a $1 billion charge on the program in its third-quarter earnings.
Japan Airlines announced that it will conduct an ASPIRE (Asia and South Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions) flight on Oct. 10. ASPIRE is a joint venture among US FAA, Airservices Australia and Airways New Zealand. Three previous ASPIRE flights were conducted by United Airlines, Qantas and Air New Zealand ( ATWOnline, Nov. 17, 2008). JAL's flight will be from Honolulu to Osaka aboard a 747-400.
Turkish Airlines and Asiana Airlines will extend their codeshare agreement to include TK's network beyond its hub at Istanbul Ataturk and Asiana's network beyond Seoul Incheon from Oct. 25. Separately, TK inked a six-year leasing agreement with Celestial Aviation Trading 66 for two 737-700s.
Delta Air Lines reached agreement with the City of Atlanta yesterday to extend its lease at Atlanta Hartsfield International, its headquarters hub, through 2017. The pact is subject to finalization of definitive documents and approval by the Atlanta City Council and DL's board.
Ryanair requested that Aer Lingus Chairman Colm Barrington provide a list of all noncurrent employees and board members who have an entitlement to free flights on EI and to explain why the entitlement exists. Ryanair, EI's largest single shareholder with just under 30%, argued that the free flight deals "are inappropriate and unjustifiable" at a time when EI is contemplating significant cuts. It is expected to announce a major cost reduction program this week.
British Airways said it has accepted voluntary redundancy from 1,000 flight attendants and will allow an additional 3,000 cabin crew to down-gauge to part-time. It is seeking to cut 3,700 fulltime-equivalent positions by March 31. It said the latest flight attendant cuts/moves to part-time comprise 1,700 fulltime-equivalent position reductions.
