A little more than a year after the highly touted opening of London Heathrow's Terminal 5 turned into a nightmare for British Airways passengers and a public relations disaster for the airline and BAA, the facility is more than living up to its original promise, say BA officials.
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. But the next time she needs to speak with someone in the airline's call center, the agent is likely to see only her name, membership number and status.
US Trade and Development Agency, along with the American Assn. of Airport Executives and Civil Aviation Authority of China joined forces to launch the Airport Environmental Partnership. The AEP will employ resources designed to mitigate the environmental impact of airport development and management. Several US airports have agreed to share their "best practices" on common environmental issues such as green construction initiatives and waste management with their Chinese colleagues.
Sustainable biofuels for the airline industry are just around the corner, say two suppliers that already have conducted successful inflight demonstrations.
International Assn. of Airport Executives and IATA are working on a series of airport training initiatives including an airport operations certification program as well as specific courses to support airport employees. Topics include Aerodrome Design and Operations; Safety and Management Systems; Airfield Marking and Lighting, and Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting. For more information on the training programs, contact [email protected].
WHILE GLOBAL COMMERCIAL aviation is an intensely competitive business, it is notable among the world's for-profit enterprises for its high level of interconnectedness and reliance on cooperation among competitors. Technology platforms used by one airline often are applicable to another, even fierce rivals. Many of the worldwide aviation business's inefficiencies, in fact, arise from a lack of common standards and systems.
Continental chief Larry Kellner hinted that the carrier may migrate to the Star Alliance Common IT Platform at some point after it joins the alliance in October.
Sapphire Energy, which has conducted flight demonstrations with Continental and Japan Air Lines, likewise is excited about the potential of algae-derived biojet. It claims that by 2011 it will be producing 1 million gal. of diesel and jet fuel per year, double its initial estimates. By 2018 the number will be 100 million gal. annually and by 2025 it will be up to 1 billion gal. of fuel per year. In context, that is 3% of the US's 36-billion-gal. renewable fuel standard.
Following a sharp decline in profit in 2008, Dublin Airport Authority will scale back some of its plans for a renovation and airport improvement projects in the face of an anticipated 11% drop in passenger numbers at its three airports this year. For the year ended Dec. 31, 2008, DAA group, which represents Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports, reported a profit of €78 million, a fall of 28% from a year earlier. Passenger boardings dipped 0.6% to 29.9 million.
Finnair and Qatar Airways have joined the Aviation Global Deal Group that was launched in February to take leadership of the climate change debate and develop a global policy for tackling aviation emissions. Air France KLM, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways, airport operator BAA and international nongovernmental organization The Climate Group formed the organization to present a united front to fast-track an industry response and last month presented their ideas during a UNFCCC session in Bonn. Attendees at the ATW-Leeham Co.
CFM International last month launched its CFM56-7B Evolution engine enhancement program for EIS in mid-2011. The new engine, in combination with aerodynamic refinements to the 737NG, will burn 2% less fuel. Key to the improvement is the use of advanced computer codes and 3-D design techniques to improve airfoils in the high- and low-pressure turbines to lift engine performance. Also, CFM is improving engine cooling techniques and reducing parts count to achieve lower maintenance costs.
Aer Lingus said Chairman Colm Barrington will assume temporarily the duties of CEO Dermot Mannion, who resigned. Aeroflot named Vitaly Savelyev CEO. Air Canada appointed Calin Rovinescu president & CEO, replacing Montie Brewer, who resigned, and promoted Duncan Dee to executive VP & COO. Airline Services Group chose Dan Hepworth as group dir.-sales & marketing. Air Mauritius tapped Andre Viljoen as CFO & CIO. AirTran Airways named Christopher White dir.-PR. A J Walter Aviation selected John Avery as dir,-supply chain services.
Airbus announced the finalists in its global "Fly Your Ideas" challenge to develop creative ideas that could help shape the future of aviation and deliver further reductions in the industry's impact on the environment. The aerospace giant received entries from 2,350 students representing 225 teams from 82 countries that entered the competition launched in October, from which 86 teams were selected for the second round. The five finalists are:
LESS THAN 20 MINUTES BY RAIL OR CAR from the heart of downtown London sits a tiny jewel of an airport with a single runway jutting out into a channel that once was surrounded by crumbling warehouses and vacant docks. London City may have sprung from humble origins, but today it shines when it comes to providing point-to-point service to some of Europe's most important business capitals such as Paris, Amsterdam and Frankfurt.
US airport privatization appears to be another casualty of the worldwide recession as investors back away from facilities with falling traffic and revenue. Collapse of the deal to sell a 99-year lease on Chicago Midway for an up-front payment of $2.52 billion leaves US FAA's pilot privatization program without a major airport.
British consumers believe more airlines are taking the threat of climate change seriously, but a majority thinks carriers need to do more, reports a recent UK survey conducted by Good Business for Times Online. According to the survey, 60% of consumers do not think the industry takes the environmental impact of flying seriously and 37% believe that airlines are responsible for addressing the environmental impact of flying, ahead of government at 20% and aircraft makers at 19%.
FEW AIRLINE EXECUTIVES WILL disagree that the outlook for air cargo is grim. Following eight consecutive months of contraction in international scheduled RTKs, including a 22.6% drop in December and a 23.2% year-on-year collapse in January, IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani in February warned that "alarm bells" were ringing everywhere. Yet Volga-Dnepr Group refrains from such dramatic declarations, preferring to take a more positive outlook.
To truly transform our economy, protect our security and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy. So I ask this Congress to send me legislation that places a market-based cap on carbon pollution . . ."
The airline industry and President Barack Obama's administration scrambled yesterday to allay public fears raised by Vice President Joe Biden's comments about a link between swine flu and commercial air travel on NBC's Today show.
ANA Group blamed an "unprecedented fall in demand for domestic and international air travel--in particular high-yield business travel," for its first full-year net loss in six years, a ¥4.2 billion ($43.4 million) deficit in the fiscal year ended March 31 that compared to a ¥64.1 billion net profit in 2007-08. Executive VP-Finance Tomohiro Hidema said 2008-09 "was a disastrous year for business in general, with airlines around the world hit by the lack of consumer confidence and commercial activity, and ANA was no exception."
Embraer posted a first-quarter net loss of $23.4 million, reversed from an $85 million profit in the year-ago period, as commercial aircraft deliveries dropped 15.8% to 32. Commercial aircraft sales slid 6.4% to $870.4 million and the Brazilian manufacturer conceded that it had incurred an undisclosed number of "deferrals of deliveries scheduled for the commercial aviation segment." It revised down its delivery guidance for all aircraft in 2009 to 242 from 270 previously, with 115 commercial aircraft to be delivered.
Emirates A340-500 tail strike at Melbourne on March 20 was caused by an apparent computer input error, according to Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigators ( ATWOnline, April 14). The preliminary factual report on the incident, issued yesterday in Canberra, found that despite five levels of cross-checking (as recommended by Airbus), an incorrect takeoff weight for the A340 with 257 passengers and 14 crew aboard was entered into the computers that calculate the takeoff speed and thrust.
Hainan Airlines posted a net loss of CNY1.42 billion ($208.3 million) in 2008, a big reversal from the CNY626.9 million profit reported in 2007, on a 19% lift in operating revenue to CNY13.55 billion. Operating expenses climbed 18.2% to CNY12.52 billion. The Haikou-based carrier blamed "the global financial crisis, domestic natural disasters, declining market demand and soaring fuel prices" for the result.
