International Assn. of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said it asked the US National Mediation Board to declare that Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines are operating as a single carrier with respect to the 12,700 fleet service, flight simulator technician and plant protection employees at the combined airline. Such a declaration would clear the way for IAM to launch an organizing campaign among those workers.
Cathay Pacific Airways said it will park six passenger aircraft despite its better-than-expected half-year result announced last week. Thanks to fuel hedge gains and cost/capacity cuts, it posted an HK$812 million ($104.8 million) profit for the six months ended June 30 ( ATWOnline, Aug. 6). But Chairman Christopher Pratt told media in Hong Kong yesterday that CX does not see "signs of any pickup in business," Bloomberg reported. The parked aircraft will comprise four A340-300s and two 747-400s.
ASIG was selected by JetBlue Airways to provide cabin cleaning services at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International. ASIG also provides JetBlue with aircraft refueling services at FLL.
China Southern Airlines yesterday became the first Chinese mainland carrier to gain regulatory approval to launch a branch company in Taipei that will be allowed to sell tickets for cross-strait flights.
The fallout over last week's incident in which 47 passengers were stranded overnight on an ERJ-145 operated by ExpressJet Holdings continued yesterday, with House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar (R-Minn.) claiming that more than 415 flights had "taxi-out times of three hours or more" in the US in the first half of 2009.
Jet Airways launched daily Mumbai-Jeddah flights using a 737-800. It now operates to seven cities in the Gulf region including Kuwait City, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. On Aug. 16 it will start daily service to Dubai from Hyderabad and add a second daily flight to its Mumbai-Bangkok route. Alaska Airlines will launch daily Portland-Chicago O'Hare service Nov. 16 aboard a 737. Flydubai will launch thrice-weekly Dubai-Djibouti service Sept. 1.
Airline ticket sales through Arlington, Va.-based Airlines Reporting Corp. continued to be well down in July compared to the year-ago period, but the number of transactions was off less than 1% year-over-year and credit card sales transactions actually rose 2.6%. Total sales including airfares, taxes and fees were $5.65 billion, down 16.7% compared to July 2008, following a 20.3% year-over-year decline in June. Total fares sank 17.7% to $4.81 billion, slightly improved over the 21.3% decline in June.
AirAsia posted second-quarter net income of MYR139.2 million ($39.6 million), a nearly fifteen-fold improvement over a MYR9.4 million profit in the year-ago quarter. It credited robust traffic growth stimulated by low fares, growing ancillary revenue and "substantially lower" fuel prices for the strong performance. CEO Tony Fernandes noted that the LCC's results "stand in stark contrast to those of most legacy carriers" and pointed to its "three-prong strategy of lowering fares, stimulating travel. . .and capturing market share."
Delta Air Lines and US Airways yesterday announced a massive slot swapping deal that, if approved by regulators, will greatly enhance US's presence at Washington National and enable DL to "create a domestic hub" at New York LaGuardia.
AirTran Airways announced yesterday that it will expand operations at New York LaGuardia and Washington National from Nov. 4, and reportedly it will cease operations at Newark on Oct. 25. The Associated Press reported that AirTran obtained additional slots at LGA and DCA from Continental Airlines in exchange for its slots at EWR. Neither airline confirmed the deal. AirTran did say in a statement that it will begin offering LGA-Indianapolis service and boost LGA-Orlando flights from Oct. 25.
Goodrich and Xi'an Aircraft International Corp. signed agreements to form two 50/50 joint venture companies that will manufacture landing gear and engine nacelle components "focused on the fast-growing Chinese aerospace market," including competing to be selected on Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China's C919 single-aisle transport currently under development. The two JVs will be between XAIC on the one hand and Goodrich Landing Gear and Goodrich Aerostructures on the other.
Airlines PNG DH6-300 Twin Otter wreckage from Tuesday's crash was located yesterday at an altitude of 5,500 ft. in the Kokoda area of Papua New Guinea, according to a statement on the carrier's website. All 13 passengers and crewmembers were killed in the accident ( ATWOnline, Aug. 12).
Piedmont Airlines, a wholly owned regional subsidiary of US Airways, stands to lose the most in the slot swap agreement that was announced yesterday between US and Delta Air Lines (see story above). Piedmont, which operates a fleet of 56 Dash 8s, will end all service at New York LaGuardia and eliminate 300 positions when the reduced flight schedule begins. It also will close its pilot and flight attendant domiciles and line maintenance at LGA.
US Air Transport Assn. earlier this week called on FAA to withdraw its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking overhauling airline training programs for aircraft crewmembers and flight dispatchers.
CAE announced that President and CEO Robert Brown will retire Sept. 30 to be succeeded by Marc Parent, currently executive VP and COO. Brown will continue as an adviser until the end of December. He became president and CEO in August 2004.
SAS Group launched a new SEK2 billion ($272 million) cost-saving program after posting its seventh consecutive quarterly consolidated net loss, a SEK1.05 billion second-quarter deficit that compared to a SEK422 million net loss in the year-ago period.
Gol reported second-quarter net income of BRL353.7 million ($191 million), reversed from a BRL166.5 million loss in the year-ago period, citing its revamped route structure focused on shorter-haul flying and the "successful consolidation" of Gol and Varig assets at the end of 2008. It said the strong quarter reflected its "strategic focus on generating consistent operating results. . .based on high frequencies between the main domestic airports, underpinned by punctuality and regularity, and a modern standardized fleet" composed of 737NGs.
Afriqiyah Airways took delivery of its first new A330-200, one of three of the type ordered in 2006. The aircraft features a 230-seat dual-class configuration and will be deployed on long-haul operations on routes from Tripoli to Africa and Europe.
TAM and Air China announced yesterday that they will begin codesharing on flights this month to allow passengers to travel between Sao Paulo and Beijing via Madrid Barajas. TAM passengers originating at GRU will be able to connect to MAD-PEK Air China flights while Air China passengers originating in the Chinese capital will be able to connect to MAD-GRU TAM flights. Both carriers are members of Star Alliance.
News from Travel Technology Update: Air Canada suspended activity related to the implementation of a new reservations system under development with ITA Software. The carrier recorded a second-quarter impairment charge of C$67 million (US$61.9 million) related to the development of the system, dubbed Polaris.
Premium Aerotec, the largest aerostructures supplier for the A350, last week began construction of a 25,000-sq.-m. hangar in Augsburg that will serve as the manufacturing plant for the new aircraft's fiber composite components, especially the large side shells of the rear fuselage section. The facility's shell is expected to be completed in November, with production set to begin in the 2010 first quarter, according to Airbus parent EADS.
Virgin America will launch service to Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 18 with twice-daily flights from both San Francisco and Los Angeles. It will be VX's 10th destination. Separately, President and CEO David Cush told Bloomberg News yesterday that the airline would be interested in Frontier Airlines' A320 family aircraft if the Denver-based carrier is acquired by Southwest Airlines, which operates 737s ( ATWOnline, Aug. 11).
PNG Airlines DHC-6-300 Twin Otter that is believed to have crashed in Papua New Guinea yesterday, killing all 13 passengers and crew onboard, may have been located by search parties near the remote Kokoda airstrip. Flight CF4684, a charter flight that was en route from Port Moresby to Kokoda, is believed to have gone down near its intended destination. According to press reports, villagers told search parties that the wreckage was located nearby.
Bombardier Aerospace announced the termination of its firm purchase agreement with Italy's MyAir, which suspended operations last month ( ATWOnline, July 24). The original 2006 order was for 19 CRJ900s, 15 of which were converted to CRJ1000s in early 2007. Four CRJ900s have been delivered. Bombardier said the CRJ1000 development program "continues to move ahead" and that the first production aircraft is flying from its Wichita test base.
US Dept. of Transportation announced civil penalties against Continental Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines and US Airways for consumer regulation violations. DOT said CO was fined $75,000 for "violating the Department's requirement that airfare ads must state the full price to be paid by the consumer" on its website. HA and US "failed to disclose to consumers when flights sold by the carriers were being operated under a codesharing arrangement" and were fined $50,000 and $70,000 respectively.
