US FAA will inspect training programs at regional airlines to ensure they are fully compliant with federal regulations, US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, joined by FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt, announced yesterday. The call for inspection follows revelations surrounding the Colgan Air Q400 crash that claimed 50 lives in February ( ATWOnline, May 15). "I have no greater obligation than to ensure the safety of airline travelers in this country," LaHood said. "One fatality is one too many."
Boeing announced the completion of the intermediate gauntlet phase of testing on the first 787, during which pilots and engineers "simulated multiple scenarios using all airplane systems as if the aircraft were in flight, including power, avionics and flight controls." Testing was equivalent to around one week of operations.
Etihad Airways launched service from Abu Dhabi to Athens (thrice-weekly) and Istanbul Ataturk (four-times-weekly) aboard A320s. Athens service will become five-times-weekly in October and daily in January.
Brazilian search teams located and recovered the vertical stabilizer from the downed Air France A330-200 around 600 mi. northeast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago and had found at least 24 bodies as of late yesterday ( ATWOnline, June 8). Meanwhile, AF pilots represented by the Alter union, totaling about 12% of the carrier's flight crew, were told they should refuse to fly A330s or A340s until at least two of three pitot tubes on each aircraft are replaced.
ILFC Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy reportedly has threatened to cancel or reduce the lessor's order for 10 A380s. Speaking to German weekly Wirtschaftswoche, he said, "We are asking ourselves if we are really going to take delivery of the 10 planes. . . We can cancel our order without penalty between January and June 2010, but we might also postpone deliveries or replace the A380 with another plane."
British Airways flew 9.16 billion RPKs in May, a 6.5% decrease from the year-ago month. Capacity fell 5.3% to 12.19 billion ASKs and load factor slipped 1 point to 75.1%. BA said premium traffic fell 17.2% and nonpremium was down 4.2%. WestJet said second-quarter unit revenue will fall 16%-18% year-over-year. It flew 1.06 billion RPMs in May, down 5.8%, while capacity rose 1.2% to 1.44 billion ASMs. Load factor dropped 5.4 points to 74.1%.
British Airways CEO Willie Walsh confirmed to ATWOnline at the IATA AGM in Kuala Lumpur that the carrier has no plans to defer aircraft deliveries next year. "We will take delivery of six 777-300ERs in 2010 and we are also maintaining the plan for the eight A380s for delivery at some stage in 2012," Walsh said. BA is taking delivery of four 777s this year.
Virgin Nigeria said it will take delivery of one 96-seat E-190AR and one 76-seat E-170AR this month. It also announced the appointment of Dapo Olumide as MD and CEO, Richard Murphy as director-engineering services, Erwin Zeiler as head of aircraft maintenance and Joshua Amara as quality and service manager. Olumide, currently deputy MD, will succeed Conrad Clifford, whose contract expires June 18. Separately, industry sources told both the BBC and Reuters that Virgin Atlantic's relationship with VK will end next month, at which point it will have to rebrand.
The government-prompted merger of China Eastern Airlines and Shanghai Airlines is expected to happen shortly as Beijing seeks to implement its long-term plan to position Shanghai as an international aviation hub.
American Airlines will demonstrate several "eco-friendly" procedures on a flight between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Miami on June 11. Flight AA63, a 767-300, will use "single-engine taxi on departure and arrival, continuous climbout and descent, optimized routing over water and a tailored arrival," the carrier said. Demonstration is part of the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions ( ATW, September 2008).
Navtech Inc., which provides crew scheduling solutions, flight planning and navigation charts, is consolidating its operations including European Aeronautical Group under the Navtech umbrella name. EAG was formed in 2002 after SAS Flight Support acquired Thales' Aeronautical Services Group. Navtech acquired the company from SAS Group in 2005 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 24, 2005). According to CEO Mike Hulley, Navtech is No. 3 in the market behind Jeppesen, a unit of Boeing, and Lufthansa Systems' Lido product line.
Alaska Airlines promoted VP-Human Resources, Strategy and Culture Kelley Dobbs to VP-human resources and labor relations succeeding the retiring Dennis Hamel.
Oneworld members American Airlines, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Royal Jordanian expect to receive antitrust immunity to cooperate on transatlantic services from US and EU regulators and AA, BA and IB also expect ATI for their transatlantic joint venture within the broader partnership, they told media Monday in Kuala Lumpur.
Jet Airways expects to break even in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, Chairman Naresh Goyal told Bloomberg News in Kuala Lumpur. It lost INR4.02 billion ($83.9 million) in the recently completed fiscal year. Goyal said cost cuts would drive the improved result. He also said Jet will cut capacity by an additional 10% beyond the 30% reduction already imposed.
Air New Zealand CEO Rob Fyfe told Bloomberg News at the IATA AGM in Kuala Lumpur that forward bookings are down 10% and the carrier is "not expecting any pickup in demand through the coming 12 months." It recently announced plans to cut capacity by an additional 3% in the fiscal year starting July 1 ( ATWOnline, June 3), leaving it in line with the expected decline in demand, he told the news service. Separately, ANZ said its first 747-400 made its final flight last Friday and will be dismantled for parts in t
The Star Alliance board today is expected to approve changes to its organizational structure that will see elimination of the regional member category, CEO Jaan Albrecht confirmed Monday at the IATA annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Currently there are three regional members: Adria Airways, Blue1 and Croatia Airlines. It is expected that all will become full members in the alliance ( ATWOnline, June 1).
United Airlines' request for proposals for up to 150 long-haul aircraft does not include the A380, Airbus COO-Customers John Leahy told the Chicago Tribune. "We have been talking with them for quite some time. But the [RFP] is very recent. Unfortunately [for both companies] the A380 is not [currently] included," he told the paper. Sources told the Tribune that UA is not considering the 747-8 either ( ATWOnline, June 5).
15below inked a deal with Ryanair to deliver booking confirmation numbers directly to passenger mobile phones via SMS within 24 hr. of booking. Cost per SMS will be €1 ($1.40).
Kenya Airways posted a KES4 billion ($49.2 million) loss for its fiscal year ended March 31, reversed from a KES3.87 billion profit in the prior year and the first annual deficit it has endured since its privatization in 1996.
Frontier Airlines reported a 15.7% year-over-year traffic decrease in May to 747.6 million RPMs on a 14.9% cut in capacity to 919.2 million ASMs, producing a load factor of 81.3%, down 0.9 point. Estonian Air carried 45,972 passengers in April, down 31.7% year-over-year. Hawaiian Airlines said its May traffic fell 2% year-over-year to 682.6 million RPMs on a 0.9% lift in capacity to 819.5 million ASMs, producing a load factor of 83.3%, down 2.4 points.
KLM concluded an agreement for the sale of 15 F100s operated by subsidiary KLM cityhopper, Luchtvaartnieuws.nl reported. The carrier declined to name the buyer. KLM has been looking for a buyer for its larger Fokker aircraft since 2007, when it decided to renew cityhopper's fleet with E-190s. It took delivery of its first E-190 last November and currently has four. Another six of the order for 10 plus nine options will be delivered over the next nine months.
French officials investigating the loss of Air France Flight 447 are still processing reams of data yet to be publicly released that was transmitted by the A330-200's aircraft communications addressing and reporting system.
Aer Lingus is "facing the most difficult period in its 73-year history," Chairman Colm Barrington told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting in Dublin Friday, conceding that yields in all its markets continued to decline in April and May.
EADS CEO Louis Gallois reiterated Friday that Airbus will deliver around 480 aircraft this year, roughly the same as the 483 delivered in 2008, but cautioned that "visibility is more limited" for 2010 and 2011. Speaking to reporters in Hanoi, he said, "I think 2010 will be a crucial year for the [financial] crisis. We will see the depth of the crisis. I hope this crisis is not too deep but we are prepared to face all scenarios."
