American Airlines customer service manager fell from a lift at Miami International Airport early yesterday morning and was killed, the airline confirmed in a statement cited by The Miami Herald.
Niki took delivery of the first of five E-190s on firm order. President Niki Lauda told ATWOnline that the jets will be used initially on flights from Vienna to Innsbruck and Munich and eventually to open new routes. Niki also holds five E-190 options.
News from Travel Technology Update: Imagine a business traveler whose flight has been delayed for the third time. She's going to be late to an important meeting, where she is scheduled to give a presentation. The look on her face says it all: She's frustrated and stressed.
Hainan Airlines Group plans to relaunch its Grand China Express Airlines subsidiary as Tianjin Airlines on June 8 after reaching a deal with the local government. Originally started in June 2007, Grand China operated 10 E-190s, 12 ERJ-145s and 29 Do 328-300s in April on more than 80 domestic routes. In December, the Tianjin government agreed to inject CNY200 million ($29.3 million) into Grand China, giving it a 15.4% stake in the reconstituted carrier, which has been approved by CAAC.
Despite what it called its responsiveness to unprecedented conditions in the second half of its fiscal year ended March 31, Air France KLM Group incurred its first loss since the 2003 merger, an €814 million ($1.1 billion) deficit that compares to a €756 million profit in 2007-08. Its operating loss amounted to €129 million, reversed from a €1.41 billion operating profit the prior year.
Boeing yesterday released its "2009 Environment Report," touting its participation in biofuel test flights ( ATWOnline, April 10) and tailored arrival demonstrations. It also pointed to efforts to reduce energy and water use at its manufacturing facilities.
Aeroflot declined Alexander Lebedev's offer to purchase his 49% stake in Blue Wings for €1 ($1.35) ( ATWOnline, May 8), Blue Wings Chairman Jorn Hellwig told Der Spiegel. Lebedev now is considering negotiating with S7 Airlines and Rosavia, as well as Arabian investors, in his search for more capital. Discussions with Air Berlin or the German government also may occur, Hellwig said.
Jazeera Airways lost KWD1 million ($3.4 million) in the first quarter, reversed from a KWD745,815 profit in the first three months of 2008, on a 7.4% decline in revenue to KWD10 million. It cited "heavy investments in our operations," which Chairman Marwan Boodai said "were tasked with putting in place the right launchpad for our next wave of growth." It expects to take delivery of two A320s by July, bringing its fleet to 10.
UK airports operator BAA said yesterday that it will appeal the Competition Commission's ruling that it must sell both London Gatwick and Stansted and either Edinburgh or Glasgow International, claiming that the decision was both "affected by apparent bias" and failed to account for the current economic climate. BAA is asking the Competition Appeal Tribunal to review the March ruling. It said its accusation of bias is based on "links between a member of the Competition Commission panel and an organization interested in acquiring the airports that BAA is required to sell."
Skyways Aviation announced the placement of an ERJ-145 with Andalus of Spain on behalf of Air Vendee Investissement. Aircraft will be based in Gibraltar and operate service to Madrid starting this month and Barcelona from June. Andalus currently has two 145s and plans to operate four by year end. Skyways also said it was selected by Ernst & Young to remarket an ATR 42-500 formerly operated by Macair Airlines, which ceased operations in February.
Spanish government is eliminating airport taxes for all carriers that increase or maintain the level of traffic at the country's "largest airports" during the second half of 2009 compared to the year-ago period, Ryanair said. The LCC again called upon the Irish government to end its €10 ($13.49) air passenger duty ( ATWOnline, March 17), citing recent efforts by Belgium, Greece, the Netherlands and Spain to reduce charges "to reverse recent traffic and tourism declines."
The number of premium passengers continued to slump in March, falling 19.2% year-over-year, which IATA said "is consistent with the view that business expectations of recovery remain weak while consumers remain concerned about job security."
Owing to the global economic downturn and the depression in the cargo market, China Southern Airlines has decided to postpone the launch of its cargo joint venture with Air France KLM, according to CZ Chairman Si Xianmin. "Based on the original plan, our cargo JV with AF KLM should have been launched in the first quarter. But we have to reconsider this plan after taking the current market situation into account," Si said.
Islandbanki, formerly Glitnir, increased its share of Icelandair Group to 47% from 5%, both the bank and the airline announced yesterday. The parties said the move "will not affect the daily operations of the company" and that Islandbanki will sell the stake "in an open and transparent sales process as soon as possible." The shares acquired yesterday were pledged as security for loans to finance other shareholders' investment in Icelandair.
Singapore Technologies Aerospace announced the acquisition of Precision Products Singapore for S$7.7 million ($5.2 million). Shares were purchased from Precision Products Singapore, Nippon Precision Casting, Renaissance Capital Management and Singapore Technologies Industrial Corp. PPS manufactures casting and mold toolings for customers in the aerospace, defense, commercial and oil and gas industries.
American Eagle will launch four-times-weekly Los Angeles-Roswell flights on Aug. 25 aboard an ERJ-140. Yangtze River Express will extend its Shanghai-Los Angeles freighter service to Dallas/Fort Worth four-times-weekly beginning May 22. VLM Airlines suspended Manchester-London City service last week, stating the route has been "heavily loss-making" and was "impeded by unfair competition from a subsidized rail network and airline ticket taxes that often make up over 50% of the overall fare."
The first A320 assembled outside Europe successfully completed its inaugural flight yesterday, taking off from Tianjin International in the morning and landing safely a little more than 4 hr. later. The aircraft assembled at Airbus Final Assembly Line China was ordered by Dragon Aviation Leasing and is set to be delivered in June to Sichuan Airlines. "This A320 assembled in China unquestionably demonstrated the same quality and performance as those assembled and delivered in Hamburg or Toulouse," Airbus Senior VP-Flight & Integration Tests Fernando Alonso said.
AeroLogic, the joint venture between Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express, took delivery of the first of eight 777-200Fs last week. A second aircraft is due in July, with the next two scheduled for December delivery. It plans to operate all eight by December 2010 and said it is considering adding more 777Fs over the next two years. The first scheduled flight is set for June 29.
Turkish Airlines flew 10.7 billion RPKs during the year's first four months, up 10.7% from the year-ago period. Capacity climbed 17% to 15.9 billion ASKs and load factor fell 3.9 points to 67.2%. Air Canada and Jazz flew a combined 3.83 billion RPMs in April, a 4.1% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 2.2% to 4.73 billion ASMs, lowering load factor 1.6 points to 81.1%. EasyJet transported 3.8 million passengers in April, up 6.3% year-over-year, while load factor rose 4.2 points to 84.2%.
Southwest Airlines cabin staff represented by the Transport Workers Union ratified the four-year labor agreement reached in Mach. Contract covering more than 9,700 flight attendants runs through May 2012 ( ATWOnline, March 30).
Thales will supply two RealitySeven full flight simulators to Turkish Airlines under a contract announced last week. The FFS features a common core element that allows various aircraft modules to be "swapped out." THY's simulators will be compliant with the A320 and A330/A340.
