Colgan Air attempted to push back against allegations that the pilots of the Q400 that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo did not get adequate rest prior to the flight because of possible overscheduling, and the US Senate announced it will hold hearings next month to examine "stunning" issues raised by National Transportation Safety Board hearings on the accident.
Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson said yesterday that the US Dept. of Transportation's granting American Airlines, British Airways and other oneworld carriers antitrust immunity on transatlantic services "would create a monster monopoly on key routes between London Heathrow and the US." In a speech in Washington, he said BA/AA would control "nearly half of all takeoff and landing slots at London Heathrow" and that ATI would prove "disastrous" for the airline industry and consumers.
First Officer Rebecca Shaw had been up for nearly 36 hr. prior to taking the right seat of the Colgan Air Q400 that crashed on the night of Feb. 12, the National Transportation Safety Board estimated at a hearing yesterday.
Sabena Technics signed a five-year contract with Luxair to perform component repair and overhaul services, including pool access and consignment stock located in Luxembourg, on its 737 fleet comprising three 737-700s and one 737-500.
Ryanair said all new bookings from May 20 will be online check-in and bag-drop only as part of its policy to phase out the use of check-in desks at its 146 airports by Oct.1. The compulsory online check-in will come with a £5/€5 fee per person per flight. The LCC also will introduce a €40/£40 so-called "boarding card re-issue fee" for passengers arriving at the airport without a boarding pass. Additionally, it announced that it will not accept bookings for unaccompanied minors (under 16 years old) from May 20.
Continental Airlines announced yesterday that it will close its Tampa reservations office on July 19 with the elimination of 500 jobs. CO said it is offering "a number of voluntary programs to employees, including an early-out severance program and Company Offered Leaves of Absence. Tampa employees who would not otherwise be furloughed will have the option of transferring to other reservations centers located in Houston and Salt Lake City." The airline said the step is necessary in "response to reduced call volumes" caused by a "shift towards Web self-service" and the global recession.
Aer Lingus will remove one of three aircraft at its Belfast International base next winter and temporarily cut five destinations owing to poor demand. It plans to drop BFS-Milan Malpensa in September with services to Faro, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Barcelona and Rome Fiumicino going in October. It said the aircraft and most of the routes at Belfast will be restored from March. It will also remove one aircraft at Dublin.
China Eastern Airlines is expected to receive a further CNY2 billion ($294 million) capital injection from the Chinese government to help the struggling carrier survive. The Shanghai-based carrier was allocated CNY7 billion from Beijing at the end of 2008, which was approved by minority shareholders in February and is awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission.
Lufthansa Technik supervisory board reappointed executive board chairman August Henningsen to continue serving in that capacity for another five years until March 31, 2015. He was named to the position in January 2001.
Aegean Airlines is expected to become a Star Alliance member. An event will be held by the end of this month in Athens, a source from the alliance told this website. Newest member is EgyptAir which joined Star last year as No. 21. Star CEO Jaan Albrecht told ATWOnline earlier that the alliance is working on a long-term project to become an alliance of the 50s, meaning up to 50 members.
The US Dept. of Transportation yesterday announced it intends to cancel proposed slot auctions at New York's three main area airports, reversing a controversial rule put in place by DOT in the waning days of the Bush administration.
Polet Airlines, a Russian charter carrier of heavy and outsize cargo, is entering the international cargo market. It has leased three IL-96-400"s from Ilyushin Finance Co. and wants to bring them into commercial operation by autumn 2009. It plans to add three IL-96-400"s in 2010-11. The company said in a statement that it is expecting to achieve positive results by 2011. Munich has been selected as its main base in Europe. At the initial stage, sales and marketing will be done in cooperation with partners and GSAs, though direct sales may be considered as a long-term plan.
Airbus COO-Customers John Leahy said this week that the manufacturer may ramp up A320 family aircraft production to 40 per month as early as the end of 2010 or early 2011, a signal that the industry has some confidence in an impending economic recovery.
Shanghai Airlines is expected to reduce capacity in its unprofitable cargo operation and expand into the South China market by establishing a second domestic base at Fushan in Guangdong Province for its subsidiary China United Airlines as it seeks to return to profit after losing CNY1.25 billion ($182.8 million) in 2008. "Our main task for this year is to survive the current difficult time," Chairman Zhou Chi said. Fushan is a military airport.
Emirates announced an additional 12 weekly flights to regional destinations, bringing weekly flights across the Middle East to 197. From July 1, the 12 additional flights using A330s will serve Kuwait (two), Amman (two), Damascus (three), Sana'a (one) and Doha (four). Ethiopian Airlines is launching a thrice-weekly Addis Ababa-Malabo service on June 2 using 767-300 and 757-200 equipment and a twice-weekly service to Riyadh with 737-700s and -800s.
Airline ticket sales through the Arlington, Va.-based Airlines Reporting Corp. remained depressed for a fourth month, it reported yesterday. ARC handles US travel agency transactions. April total ticket sales, including airfares, taxes and fees, fell 26.1% compared to April 2008 to $5.79 billion. Total fares excluding taxes and fees declined 27.9% to $4.86 billion.
CHAMP Cargosystems announced that Cargolux will be the launch customer for what it says is "the first-ever graphical weight-and-balance solution specifically designed for the air freight sector."
AJW Aviation announced a five-year power-by-the-hour contract extension with Pakistani airline Air Blue, extending AJW support to cover a further 11 A319s and A321s being inducted into the fleet until 2011. The extension supplements an existing power-by-the-hour agreement between the companies.
Lufthansa said yesterday that its takeover offer for Austrian Airlines has been accepted by "over 85%" of AUA shareholders including the 41.56% stake held by OIAG and "the syndicate of Austrian core shareholders" consisting of LVBG, RIG and WSV-AG Vienna Insurance Group. The purchase is still subject to the approval of antitrust authorities and the provision of €500 million in restructuring aid by the Austrian government ( ATWOnline,May 12).
Iberia Group unveiled a broad cost-cutting plan intended to save more than €200 million this year as it reported a first-quarter consolidated net loss of €92.6 million ($122.3 million), a steep deterioration on the €0.4 million lost in the year-ago period.
Asiana Airlines will introduce daily service between Seoul and New York JFK with the addition of two more flights from May 28. It will use a 246-seat 747-400 Combi on the route. Decision to increase service is owing in large part to "the sharp increase in demand" for seats following commencement of the Visa Waiver Program between the countries.
AirTran Airways will leapfrog its competitors to become the first US major airline to offer wireless broadband Internet access across its entire fleet, the carrier said yesterday. It selected Aircell's Gogo Inflight to provide the Wi-Fi connection after spending about a year evaluating the offerings from four main suppliers, according to AirTran Senior VP-Marketing and Planning Kevin Healy. American Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and others already are offering inflight broadband connectivity on selected aircraft but have not introduced it across their fleets.
