Airbus has concluded testing of A320 Blended Winglets developed by Aviation Partners that it launched in December and is "4-6 weeks" from making a decision on whether to proceed with the program, Airbus Executive VP-Programs Tom Williams told media in Hamburg this week ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18, 2008). Director Product Marketing-A320 Family Stuart Mann said the manufacturer is "taking time to evaluate what we've learned" and that a conclusion will be reached "in a few weeks time, hopefully. .
Japan Airlines blamed the economic downturn for a net loss of ¥63.1 billion ($651.2 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31, an ¥80 billion reversal from a net profit of ¥16.9 billion in the prior year.
The captain and first officer of the Colgan Air Q400 that crashed Feb. 12 near Buffalo were carrying on a "nonessential conversation" for at least 3 min. before the disastrous end of the flight, the National Transportation Safety Board revealed yesterday. Under FAA rules, pilots are to operate a sterile cockpit environment below 10,000 ft., confining any discussion to matters related directly to flight operations. During the conversation, both pilots voiced concerns about flying in icing conditions.
ABX Air parent Air Transport Services Group reported first-quarter net income of $11.1 million, a nearly threefold increase from a $3.8 million profit in the year-ago period, as the loss of a good portion of its DHL business led to expense cuts that outpaced lost revenue. DHL, for which ABX provides US air lift, ceased domestic US service on Jan.
Airbus announced creation of a new subsidiary, QuoVadis, based in Toulouse that will "sell and provide Required Navigation Performance services. . .ranging from RNP procedures design, testing and flight operations packaging to RNP training." The manufacturer said it signed a cooperation agreement for RNP procedure design with the French Civil Aviation University in Toulouse and CGx Aero in SYS, a specialist in aeronautical and geographic information systems based in Castres, France.
Ryanair called for the early sale of London Stansted after BAA figures confirmed that passenger traffic at the airport dropped 14% year-over-year in the first four months of 2009, including a 13% decline in April.
European Commission adopted a proposal for a directive on aviation security charges that seeks to establish common principles for the levying of security charges at EU airports as well as the creation of an independent supervisory authority in each member state to ensure the correct application of the measures and mediate disagreements between airports and users. "We need to take steps to ensure the most cost-effective provision of security services," EC VP-Transport Antonio Tajani said.
SITA unveiled what it described as a next-generation PNR, Customer Journey, which will provide "a live record of the passenger's experience with the airline right down to seat preference, meal choice and the last time they made a complaint." It said Customer Journey is a new feature in its Horizon passenger management portfolio used by 138 airlines. It claimed "several" carriers have been given a demonstration of the new offering but no sales were announced.
The Royal Bank of Scotland's RBS Aviation Capital subsidiary is the customer that canceled its order for 25 787s, Airbus Executive VP-Programs Tom Williams confirmed to ATWOnline in Hamburg. Boeing revealed the cancellation on its Orders and Deliveries website for the week ended May 5 ( ATWOnline, May 8). RBS was hit hard by the financial crisis and the UK government has taken a majority stake as part of its bailout effort.
US National Transportation Safety Board hearings commence today on the Feb. 12 Colgan Air Q400 crash outside Buffalo that killed 50 including one person on the ground, and a great deal of attention is expected to be focused on the flight captain's training and competence.
The European Commission received notification of Lufthansa Group's proposed acquisition of Austrian Airlines Group and set a June 17 deadline to complete a first-phase review of the deal. LH launched a public offer for AAG on March 2 after reaching agreement with state holding company OIAG to buy its 41.56% stake for €366,000 ($498,843) plus an "earn-out option" that could amount to as much as €164 million depending on AAG's future economic performance and LH's share outperforming its competitors.
Hawaiian Airlines and Korean Airlines will expand their codesharing agreement from June 15 to allow HA to place its code on flights operated by KE between Seoul Incheon and Honolulu and between ICN and Busan, as well as from ICN to destinations in Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. The two carriers began a codeshare relationship in 2007, with KE putting its code on HA's inter-island and Hawaii-US mainland flights. Flydubai announced daily flights from Dubai to Damascus starting June 8 and daily Dubai-Alexandria service from June 9.
SunExpress, the Lufthansa-Turkish Airlines JV, said it will buy three additional 737-800s and lease five -800s to bring its fleet to 25 of the type by the end of next year, by which time it will phase out three 757-200s.
Delta Air Lines said it has installed Wi-Fi on 139 of the more than 300 domestic mainline aircraft it operates including its entire MD-88 fleet. The aircraft are equipped with Gogo Inflight Internet. It added that all of its MD-90s will be equipped by the end of May with the remainder of the domestic fleet scheduled for completion by September. The cost of Wi-Fi on a DL flight ranges from $7.95 to $12.95. In June it will begin offering "month-long, unlimited use passes."
Mesa Air Group reported a net loss of $36.7 million for its fiscal second quarter ended March 31, reversed from net income of $9.4 million in the year-ago period, as revenue plummeted 27.3% to $233 million.
Oxford Aviation Academy said it received UK CAA "agreement" for its first Multi-Crew Pilot License course to be launched in partnership with Flybe. According to OAA, it "will be the first MPL to be delivered using instructors, aircraft and simulators based in the UK." Students selected to launch the program will benefit from a joint sponsorship under which Flybe and OAA will prove £20,000 ($30,100) per student in funding.
Japan Airlines subsidiary JALways closed its Oahu office and terminated the assignments of 130 contract pilots that operated 747s from Hawaii to Japan and Asia, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin reported. Wages will be paid through June. Japan-based JAL pilots now are crewing the five daily flights formerly operated by JALways, the paper said.
American Airlines flew 10.28 billion system RPMs in April, a 4.7% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 6.1% to 12.64 billion ASMs, lifting load factor 1.2 points to 81.3%. American Eagle's RPMs fell 5.5% to 644.4 million against a 7.8% drop in capacity to 887.7 million ASMs. Load factor rose 1.8 points to 72.6%. Continental Airlines said April consolidated RASM fell an estimated 12.5%-13.5% year-over-year while mainline RASM dropped an estimated 10.5%-11.5%.
United Airlines Chairman, President and CEO Glenn Tilton called upon regulators to press ahead with liberalization, warning that "this is hardly the time for further protectionism in our industry." Speaking last week to the European Aviation Club in Brussels, Tilton stressed that airlines are doing their part to move beyond the current recession, "but we need governments to work with us, to partner with us, across the globe to put policies in place, and the infrastructure in place, to allow us to meet the demands that will be placed on us."
Ukrainian government intends to sell its 62% stake in Ukraine International Airlines, according to a government statement cited by Reuters. Existing shareholders Austrian Airlines (22.5%) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (10%) will have rights of first refusal.
Airports Council International-Europe said it "regrets" the European Parliament's adoption of the proposal suspending the use-it-or-lose-it rule for airport slots for the summer 2009 season, while the EC confirmed that it has no plan in place to maintain the suspension during the winter.
