After spending $1 million over the past year in an airline incentive program that offered a 75% reduction in landing fees at Myrtle Beach Airport, officials decided to extend it through mid-2010 in an effort to protect the current domestic air service program. The fee structure will continue for a nine-month period starting in September.
The airline industry has weathered a stormy year, marked by the swiftest and broadest economic collapse since at least the early 1970s, a spate of high-profile accidents, soaring jet fuel prices and historic losses by both LCC and legacy airlines.
Boeing and its industry partners released high-level elements at the Paris Air Show of a study that proves sustainable biofuels analyzed in a series of pioneering test flights over the past six months performed favorably in comparison to petroleum-based fuel. According to the study, "Evaluation of Bio-Derived Synthetic Paraffinic Kerosene (Bio-SPK)," a series of laboratory, ground and flight tests conducted between 2006 and 2009 indicated the test fuels performed as well as or better than typical petroleum-based Jet A.
ACI-Europe launched an Airport Carbon Accreditation program that will assess and recognize airports' efforts to manage and reduce CO2 emissions within their control.
Israel Aerospace Industries and Airbus signed an MOU at the Paris Air Show to develop and test an innovative pilot-controlled semirobotic towing system. The Taxibot Dispatch Towing system, designed by IAI, can be used by both widebody and single-aisle aircraft to taxi to and from the gate and runway without engine power. Potential fuel savings reductions are expected to be $6 billion along with 16 billion tons of CO2.
A new accreditation plan dubbed Airport Carbon Accreditation was launched last month at the 19th Airports Council International annual congress in Manchester. ACA will "assess and recognize airports' efforts to manage and reduce CO2 emissions within their direct control" while taking into account collaborative efforts with airlines, air traffic controllers, ground handlers and others on the airport site, ACI said.
Long Beach Airport can move forward with planned terminal improvements following a ruling from a California District Court in Orange County that confirmed an environmental impact study conducted by the City of Long Beach was adequate. The Long Beach Parent Teachers Assn. brought a lawsuit alleging that the report did not consider the noise impact of airport operations. LGB drew attention in April when JetBlue CEO Dave Barger publicly stated that he was considering pulling service unless there were terminal improvements.
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport formally launched a new corporate structure July 1 that will manage and oversee airport operations. The restructuring and privatization of the airport first was announced in August 2007. The CAAS group will focus on development of the air hub and aviation industry in Singapore as well as provision of air navigation services. Changi Airport Group will manage and operate the airport. Luton Airport announced that three new carriers launched service there in the last three months.
American Airlines parent AMR Corp. said it plans to issue $520.1 million in 20-year notes to finance the acquisition of 16 737-800s scheduled for delivery by the end of 2010 and to refinance four 777s. Separately, AA said it is closing down its Windsor, Conn., reservations center, according to reports.
AirBaltic will launch service from Riga to Warsaw (daily on Sept. 17) and Pskov (twice-weekly on Sept. 1) aboard F50s. Singapore Airlines will add a fourth daily Singapore-Manila 777 flight on July 10. Qatar Airways will launch thrice-weekly Doha--Melbourne on Dec. 6 aboard a 777-200LR, becoming daily with the delivery of another -200LR in early 2010. Safi Airways launched thrice-weekly Kabul-Frankfurt aboard a 767-200ER.
Boeing said it completed the joining of the center wing box to the fuselage on the first 747-8 freighter in Everett and the assembly is being prepared to be connected to the forward and aft fuselage sections. "The airplane is coming together well and will be ready to fly later this year as planned," 747 Program VP and GM Mo Yahyavi said. The aircraft has garnered 78 orders.
East Star Airlines continues to expect to be acquired as a majority of its debtors prefer a takeover to bankruptcy, a spokesperson said at a Beijing news conference yesterday. "We have talked with almost all our debtors and 75% of them prefer takeover to bankruptcy, because a takeover offer can best safeguard their interests," the spokesperson said.
The Yemenia Yemen Airways A310-300 carrying 153 passengers and crew on its way from Sanaa to Moroni in Comoros that crashed in the Indian Ocean late Monday night specifically was barred from operating to France owing to safety concerns, a senior French official said yesterday, but the airline was not on the EU's list of banned carriers and Yemeni officials insisted the plane was safe to operate.
US National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating two runway incursions that occurred in Cleveland last month, the most recent being a June 26 incident in which the tower cleared an ExpressJet E-145 to cross Runway 24L and then approximately 19 sec. later cleared a CommutAir Dash 8 for takeoff on Runway 24L. "The ExpressJet flight crew saw the departing airplane and advised the tower controller they would not cross the runway," NTSB stated.
Austrian Minister of Finance Josef Proell said this week that "the situation facing Austrian Airlines Group is too serious to delay a decision from the EU regarding the takeover by Lufthansa," Der Standard reported as speculation increased that the EU may postpone its ruling.
News from Travel Technology Update: United Airlines told some travel agencies that they would "no longer have continued access to United's credit card merchant agreements," effective July 20. United said agents who received the notice but continued to process transactions using United's merchant facilities would receive $75 debit memos.
Kuwait Airways should be fully privatized by year end, Kuwaiti Minister of Communications Mohammed Al Busairi said, according to the Arab Air Carriers Org. The government will keep 20% while 35% will be made available to a single investor, 5% to airline staff and 40% to the public.
Continental Airlines and United Airlines told ATWOnline yesterday that they remain "confident" their application for antitrust immunity will be approved despite the vehement objections raised recently by the US Dept. of Justice.
Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said the EU will lift its ban on Garuda Indonesia, Mandala Airlines, Prime Air and Air Fast this month, according to The Jakarta Post. "The EU judge[s] that our local airlines have fulfilled 62 out of the 69 requirements to fly to the continent," Hassan said during a hearing with the House of Representatives Commission for Foreign Affairs. Indonesian carriers have been on the EU's blacklist for two years ( ATWOnline, July 6, 2007).
Bombardier Aerospace announced the conversion of two options for Q400 NextGen turboprops held by Porter Airlines into firm orders, raising to 20 the number of commitments made by the Toronto-based carrier. The two firm orders are worth approximately $45 million, according to the manufacturer.
Travelport GDS announced a new multiyear, full-content agreement with Porter Airlines, giving all Galileo- and Worldspan-connected travel agents access to the airline's full published fares and inventory, including Web fares. Access will be implemented in a phased approach, with Apollo customers gaining access June 30 followed by Worldspan and Galileo in August, according to Travelport.
AWAS delivered a 737-700 to Aerovias de Integracion Regionales, the first of two winglet-equipped 737-700s that Colombia-based AIRES will take from AWAS this year.
Iberia will not be required to launch a full bid for Vueling Airlines following its merger with Clickair, Spanish stock market regulator CNMV ruled. Iberia will own 45.9% of the merged entity, exceeding the 30% threshold that normally triggers the obligation to make a full bid under domestic regulations. Completion of the two competitors' merger is expected in mid-July ( ATWOnline, June 29).
