European Commission revealed last week that 27 European aircraft have been equipped to allow the use of standard mobile telephones onboard since the EC created the regulatory framework for such a service last year ( ATWOnline, April 8, 2008) and that it expects the number of aircraft to double by the end of 2009. Ryanair, TAP Portugal and bmi currently offer the service through either OnAir or AeroMobile, and technical trials are underway at other carriers, the EC said.
EU and Mongolia signed a horizontal aviation agreement designed to "restore legal certainty regarding bilateral air services agreements" between Mongolia and 12 EU member nations. It will remove nationality restrictions in the existing air services agreements, allowing any EU airline to operate between Mongolia and any of the 12 nations in which it is established.
Air France KLM and Gol signed an agreement Friday linking their respective loyalty programs and establishing a codeshare arrangement under which AF will add its code to Gol flights between Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and 13 Brazilian cities by mid-year. A similar deal is being prepared between Gol and KLM. The European carriers operate 21 weekly flights to Sao Paulo Guarulhos and 14 to Rio de Janeiro Galeao.
Delta Air Lines CEO Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian told employees in a memo last week that "it is prudent for us to restructure and reduce the size of our executive team" and announced that five management officials will leave the company June 1, the Associated Press reported. The departing executives are Senior VP-International Laura Liu, Northwest Airlines Senior VP-Customer Service Crystal Knotek, NWA VP-Chief Accounting Officer Anna Schafer, Minneapolis/St. Paul VP-Corporate Affairs Tammy Lee Stanoch and MSP Senior VP-Customer Service Todd Anderson.
Austrian Airlines Group announced a one-year agreement with flight crew at both Austrian Airlines and Tyrolean Airways that includes reduced work time and deferred compensation and constitutes an important step in its effort to cut costs by €225 million ($300 million). OS's executive board, the Inflight Works Council, the vida union and the aviation section of the Austrian Chamber of Commerce signed the deal. AAG already had reached an agreement with ground employees ( ATWOnline, March 12).
Discover the World Marketing was chosen by Condor Airlines for representation in Canada, becoming the 33rd airline represented by Discover the World Marketing.
US National Transportation Safety Board reported that US scheduled airlines operated for a second consecutive year in 2008 with no fatal accidents. In preliminary numbers released last week, NTSB said Part 121 scheduled carriers had an accident rate of 0.189 per 100,000 departures last year. That translated to 28 accidents, identical to 2007. None of the accidents in either year resulted in fatalities. Part 135 regional airline operations resulted in seven accidents in 2008, none of which were fatal, up from three nonfatal accidents in 2007.
Rolls-Royce signed a long-term TotalCare engine service agreement worth more than $350 million with Mexicana Group, covering 25 BR715-powered 717-200s operated by its low-cost subsidiary MexicanaClick.
Following the dramatic slowdown in demand during the second half of 2008, the Chinese airline industry experienced double-digit domestic growth in January and February that is being credited to Beijing's economic stimulation policies. Chinese carriers transported 34.5 million domestic passengers in the first two months of 2009, up 15.3% over the year-ago period. Boardings on domestic routes climbed 21.3% to 16.3 million in January and 17% to 16 million in February, according to CAAC.
British Airways last week maintained its guidance for an operating loss of approximately £150 million ($218.7 million) for the fiscal year ended March 31 and said the deficit will be deepened by £75 million in severance costs.
AirAsia plans to borrow MYR3 billion ($832 million) in 2010 to buy 24 aircraft, Investor Relations Head Mohshin Aziz told Bloomberg News last week. He added that the financing is in addition to the MYR2 billion it lined up to finance 14 A320 deliveries in 2009 and 2010. Separately, CEO Tony Fernandes said Chengdu and Xi'an will be added to AirAsia's network later this year, bringing the number of routes it operates to China to 10.
Lufthansa increased the number of deactivated aircraft from 20 to 24 last month in response to falling demand, a source close to management told ATWOnline. LH Chairman and CEO Wolfgang Mayrhuber previously had said that parked aircraft will vary in size between the CRJ200 and the A300-600, with those two types being the most common. LH Cargo has removed four MD-11Fs from service ( ATWOnline, March 12). The 24 parked aircraft represent approximately 10% of Lufthansa's capacity.
Ryanair will open a base at Pescara in July, using one aircraft to support seven routes including four new ones. It will be the LCC's 32nd base overall and eighth in Italy. New service will be to Cagliari, Treviso (both twice-weekly), Eindhoven (thrice-weekly) and Bergamo (four-times-weekly).
Emirates will allow its flight attendants to take "purely voluntary" unpaid leave of 1-6 months beginning in May. "In anticipation of our growing fleet, Emirates' recruitment efforts over the past 12 months have been highly successful in meeting our operational requirements," an EK spokesperson was quoted as saying. "Combined with a sharp drop in cabin crew attrition, we now find ourselves in a position to be more flexible as an employer."
Singapore Airlines said it signed "in principle agreements" with unions representing ground staff, cabin crew and administrative employees to shorten the work month by one day and "cannot rule out further measures to contain costs if the downturn worsens" ( ATWOnline, Feb. 18). SIA still is discussing the measure with pilots and hopes to implement the scheme across the company on May 1.
US House of Representatives Transportation Committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) yesterday urged the Dept. of Transportation to review whether Virgin America still meets the requirements of US airline ownership and control laws, echoing earlier allegations by Alaska Airlines that VX now is wholly owned by the UK's Virgin Group.
Qantas unveiled a streamlined ownership structure for Singapore-based Jetstar Asia and Valuair designed to provide a growth platform in line with its pan-Asian strategy. Under the structure, Qantas Group and Singapore-based Westbrook Investments acquired all shares in Orangestar Investment Holdings, the previous ownership holding structure, via a new holding company, Newstar Investment Holdings. Financial terms were not disclosed. Westbrook, wholly owned by Choo Teck Wong, will hold 51% of Newstar, Choo is a longtime partner of QF and will be Newstar's chairman.
Jin Air, Korean Air's short-haul subsidiary, will launch its international service in October with flights to Bangkok and Macau, CEO Kim Jae Kun told reporters in Seoul. It currently operates four 737-800s and plans to add three destinations and one aircraft this year. According to The Korea Times, Kim said the carrier reported KRW10 billion ($7.3 million) in sales this year and is aiming for KRW90 billion in 2009, with breakeven targeted for 2010 ( ATWOnline, June 17, 2008).
Air China yesterday revealed in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it has purchased Beijing Capital Airport Holding Co.'s 24% stake in Air China Cargo for CNY718 million ($105 million), completing a process started last year that has seen its share of its cargo unit rise from 51% to 100% ( ATWOnline, Feb. 11).
SkyTeam expects to announce at least one and perhaps several new members this year and is talking with Malaysia Airlines and Vietnam Airlines, with China Eastern Airlines and China Airlines also in the picture, Chairman Leo van Wijk told Luchtvaartnieuws. The alliance currently has 11 full members and three associate members, one of which, Copa Airlines, "informally" has indicated its intention to leave. Former partner Continental Airlines is trading SkyTeam for Star Alliance in October and Copa likely will follow suit.
SAS Scandinavian Airlines, Wideroe and Blue1 signed a 10-year agreement to adopt the full Amadeus Altea Customer Management platform to manage global sales and reservations, inventory and departure control processes. Amadeus will implement the new technology platform "through a phased migration process" starting next year. Altea is the heart of the common IT platform adopted by Star Alliance a few years ago.
Boeing received an order for five 737s from an unidentified customer during the week ended March 31, bringing its gross orders for 2009 to 28 aircraft and its net to -4. It has had commitments for 32 787s canceled. The company delivered 121 aircraft in the first quarter, comprising 91 737s, four 747s, three 767s and 23 777s. It delivered 115 in the first three months of 2008.
Air Jamaica expects to complete its privatization by the end of June. The Jamaican government appointed a privatization committee and has asked International Finance Corp., a private-sector arm of World Bank Group, to serve as adviser ( ATWOnline, May 7,2008). A mid-April meeting is scheduled with an "international airline group" that has indicated it plans to bid on the state-owned airline, which has been losing an estimated $150 million annually.
Qatar Airways will install Mobile OnAir's inflight Internet and SMS services on its 22 A320 family aircraft as well as "several" yet-to-be delivered planes under an agreement announced yesterday. QR does not intend to offer telephone calls.
British Airways announced it will sell 11 of its 15 757s for cargo conversion, with the aircraft leaving the mainline fleet between 2010 and 2012. The four 757s operated by BA's transatlantic OpenSkies subsidiary will remain. The departing aircraft will be replaced by A320 family aircraft. "Replacing the Boeing 757s will give us both environmental and cost benefits," BA Director-Strategy and Business Units Robert Boyle said.
