United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and US Airways last week followed American Airlines' lead in imposing a $10 surcharge on travel on three peak days following upcoming holidays. The four carriers will tack the charge on to nearly all tickets for travel on Nov. 29, the Sunday of the four-day US Thanksgiving holiday weekend that traditionally is one of the country's busiest travel days, as well as the weekend of Jan 2-3, which follows a Friday New Year's Day.
Austrian Airlines Group is increasing the number of potential layoffs as a result of its acquisition by Lufthansa. CCO Andreas Bierwirth told the Austrian Press Agency that "the total workforce could be reduced to 6,000" by the middle of next year, as opposed to the originally planned 6,500. "In several areas, it is necessary to reduce the workforce more than planned." As many as 300 of those jobs could come from Austrian's Vienna maintenance operation. "AAG has to operate profitably when ticket prices are down," Bierwirth said.
Naverus said Friday that it received a Letter of Qualification from US FAA "to design and validate Required Navigation Performance flight paths for public use in the United States."
Jet2.com will launch service from Edinburgh to Dubrovnik (weekly from May 2, 2010) and Faro (thrice-weekly on May 20). Canadian North will stop serving Calgary (Oct. 10) and Hay River (Oct. 25) due to what it called "an oversupply of seats and a price structure that compromises our commitment in other areas." The Yellowknife-based airline said that "operational and administrative staff reductions" will be made at YZF, YYZ, YHY and Edmonton (where frequencies to YZF will be cut). Canadian North operates 737-200 Combis and Dash 8s.
Pinnacle Airlines pilots represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. rejected an amended labor contract, the airline announced last week. Pinnacle President and CEO Phil Trenary said he had been "optimistic" before the vote, and that now the US National Mediation Board "will decide the next steps and we are hopeful that we can achieve a swift resolution." USA3000 Airlines cabin staff are deciding whether to join the Assn. of Flight Attendants-CWA in an election conducted by the US National Mediation Board. Voting closes Oct. 6.
OAG reported that global airline capacity grew 1.4% year-over-year in September, the second consecutive month of growth. The world's airlines scheduled 296.9 million seats for the month, or 4.13 million more than in September 2008, OAG said. "As the summer season winds down, the steady upward trend we have seen since May is continuing," VP-Market Intelligence David Beckerman said. "After 11 straight months of capacity cutbacks, these figures indicate a growing confidence within the industry that demand for air travel is starting to pick up."
Turkey's MNG Airlines doubled its commitment to the A330-200F, placing an order for two more of the type in a move that Airbus said revealed the carrier's intent to "expand its network as the freighter market gradually rebounds." MNG placed an order for two -200Fs in 2007. The Istanbul Ataturk-based carrier launched operations in November 1997 and currently operates eight A300B4-200Fs, seven F27s and one Challenger CL-601, according to its website.
British Airways is introducing a charge for pre-selection of seats on Oct. 7, claiming that the new "service will give customers more control over their seating options."
Pace Airlines CEO William Charles Rodgers was arrested Tuesday and charged with one count of willful failure to pay group health insurance premiums. North Carolina officials alleged that Rodgers terminated the policy without providing required notice to Pace's 337 employees. Pace is a charter carrier based in Winston-Salem and operated 17 Boeing aircraft, according to its website.
CSA Czech Airlines will cease operating from Prague to both New York JFK and Manchester, UK, during its winter schedule and will reduce frequencies to London Heathrow, Riga and Hamburg. Flights will be added to Moscow Sheremetyevo, Yekaterinburg, Yerevan, Rostov-on-Don, Tbilisi and Minsk. Emirates now is scheduled to launch its previously postponed Dubai-Luanda service on Oct. 25. Route will be operated thrice-weekly with a 777-300ER.
SkyWest Airlines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines flew 1.67 billion RPMs in August, up 8.5% year-over-year, against a 5.7% increase in capacity to 2.05 billion ASMs. Load factor rose 2.1 points to 81.5%. Hawaiian Airlines flew 734.8 million RPMs in August, a 7.3% lift year-over-year. Capacity was up 3.2% to 860.1 million ASMs and load factor rose 3.3 points to 85.4%. Republic Airways Holdings airlines flew 1.07 billion RPMs in August, a 14.7% increase year-over-year. Capacity rose 13.3% to 1.36 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1 point to 78.5%.
US Dept. of Transportation and National Air Traffic Controllers Assn. are expected to sign a new labor agreement today following an affirmative ratification vote by union members ( ATWOnline, Aug. 14). Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the vote "marks a new day between the controllers and the FAA."
Lufthansa took delivery of its first E-195 that will be operated by its CityLine subsidiary. LH took over an order for 30 E-Jets by Swiss International Air Lines when it acquired the carrier ( ATWOnline, April 18, 2007). The first six are flying with Air Dolomiti ( ATWOnline, Jan. 23). The new E-195 is configured for 116 passengers in two classes with a moveable divider. It will be based in Munich.
Jet Airways said it received shareholder approval to raise up to $400 million through private share placements, global depository receipts or foreign currency convertible bonds, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange cited by numerous press reports.
Airlink Jetstream 41 on a repositioning flight from Durban to Pietermaritzburg crashed shortly after takeoff yesterday morning owing to what the airline called an "engine loss of power." The aircraft hit in a vacant lot and slid into the grounds of a school about 400 m. from the runway, causing substantial damage to the plane and injuring the two pilots, one flight attendant and a bystander. There no passengers. The Johannesburg-based carrier said the four were being treated at a local hospital.
Boeing said it has started making the upper wing join area fix on the first flight test 787 and the static test Dreamliner to address the structural weakness identified in June that led to the program's latest delay. The manufacturer said in August that first flight "is expected by the end of 2009" with first delivery to launch customer ANA pushed back to the 2010 fourth quarter, and insisted that the wing join area modification is relatively simple ( ATWOnline, Aug. 28).
China expects to secure the launch customer(s) for the new C919 large commercial aircraft sometime in the first half of 2010, Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China Marketing Director Chen Jin told reporters at this week's Aviation Expo/China event in Beijing. "A lot of airlines and aircraft leasing companies have applied to be the launch customer for the C919, but since launch customers can get a favorable price, the number of launch customers is limited," Chen said. He said the initial order could number as many as 90 aircraft.
DHL Express introduced two new 767ERFs into its fleet. Aircraft are operated by DHL Air (UK) on flights from Nottingham East Midlands and Leipzig to New York JFK and Cincinnati. A third new 767ERF will enter into service on the EMA-CVG route next month, with three more joining the DHL fleet by 2013. The aircraft will replace shared capacity on MD-11Fs secured through a joint venture with Lufthansa Cargo. They offer payload capacity of 59 tons.
Alitalia has sufficient funds to support its operations through next year and does not need new capital, CEO Rocco Sabelli told a parliamentary transport committee. "Alitalia has been stabilized. It has moved from the recovery room to another room where it will complete its rehabilitation," Chairman Roberto Colaninno said, according to Dow Jones. Sabelli reportedly said that AZ is focused on shoring up its Rome Fiumicino operation and solidifying its position at secondary and tertiary airports where LCCs have eaten into its market share.
Ryanair yesterday said it now expects to carry 66 million passengers this year rather than 67 million owing to its cuts at London Stansted ( ATWOnline, July 22) and Dublin ( ATWOnline, June 18).
AVIC this week strengthened its international OEM relationships with the announcement of a significant agreement with Safran covering the design, production and support of landing gear systems and engine nacelles that also will pave the way for extensive Franco-Chinese cooperation on China's C919 150-seat commercial transport.
Pratt & Whitney announced maintenance contracts with El Al and Martinair. El Al deal is a $70 million, five-year Fleet Management Program extension covering PW4060s on its 767s and 747-400s, plus a five-year option. Martinair signed a 10-year service agreement covering its PW4056, PW4060 and PW4462 engines. No value was announced. Lufthansa Technik signed a three-year contract with Vietnam Airlines for MRO on the PW124s powering seven ATR 72-200s and the PW127s on up to 16 ATR 72-500s. LHT also extended its deal with VN covering APU MRO on its A321s until mid-2010.
Japan Airlines President Haruka Nishimatsu yesterday asked Seiji Maehara, Japan's new transport minister, for a government bailout, conceding that even a cash infusion from a foreign investor likely won't be enough to keep the troubled carrier afloat.
Embraer said it plans to raise an unspecified amount of money through an offering of a series of notes due 2020 to global capital markets through its Embraer Overseas subsidiary. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and repayment of short-term debt. Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley are book-running underwriters.
An Aer Lingus source confirmed to ATWOnline that the airline's ambitious cost-cutting plan is targeting "every single part of the company," especially its long-haul operations.
