Airbus confirmed Korean Air's order for six A330-200s ( ATWOnline, Feb. 27), which it said is the first commitment for the new 238-tonne increased takeoff weight version with a 7,300-nm. range. Aircraft will feature seating in three classes and brings KE's total A330 commitment to 16 -300s and nine -200s. KE Chairman and CEO Yang Ho Cho said the order "is part of our ongoing expansion plan and will enable us to open up new long-haul routes. .
Rolls-Royce signed a contract with HNA Group for provision of Trent 700EPs to power Hong Kong Airlines' fleet of 20 new A330s. Contract is valued at $1.2 billion at list prices and includes a long-term TotalCare services agreement. First A330 is scheduled for delivery in 2010. HNA already operates Trent-powered A330-200s and Trent 500-powered A340-600s.
HUNCHED OVER DRAWING BOARDS OR toiling with frames, foam and fabric on workroom floors, designers and manufacturers of cabin seating have a steady stream of work from airlines engaged in that never-ending quest to gain a competitive edge and win the loyalty of coveted premium passengers. Their designs must be innovative as well as functional, while materials must be lightweight, durable and meet stringent certification requirements. Even when times are tough, as they are today, the business remains stable.
BAA is bracing for a final ruling that will force the sale of at least two, and most likely three, of its UK airports. The UK Competition Commission in December "confirmed" that it will require BAA to sell both London Gatwick and Stansted, setting the stage for a breakup of its control of London's airports for which airlines long have pushed.
HAVING CUT most costs as deeply as they can, airlines are looking to regain profitability on the other end, by boosting revenues. United Airlines, for example, has estimated that baggage fees and other add-on charges for meals and seat selection will generate $700 million in additional revenue in 2009.
VIRGIN ATLANTIC AIRWAYS STILL LIKES a bit of flash. Names like James Bond, the pinup girl motif adorning the nose of each aircraft and expressions like "red hot" are part of the makeup of the carrier, which turns 25 this June. But while Virgin has remained true to the fundamentals that marked its launch--foremost among them an exclusively long-haul point-to-point network--its 25th birthday could prove to be a turning point.
The European Low Fares Airline Assn. complained that a new European Commission directive on airport charges will place additional regulatory burdens on airlines and airports at a time of "unprecedented industry crisis" coupled with a global economic recession.
Air Transport Assn. President and CEO James May, commenting on the NationalJournal.com Expert Blog site, stated that "an emissions trading program simply does not make sense for US aviation. Such a program would siphon away the very funds that the airlines need to continue to invest in new aircraft and other advances that are central to our strong environmental record. Instead of working against our efforts through punitive economic regulation, Congress should work in support of them."
Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen International reported a 15% increase in passengers last year to 4.3 million. Airport officials credited the growth to the addition of new routes, frequencies and carriers. A new terminal, which will increase overall capacity to 25 million, will be completed in October, making SAW a major gateway for both Turkey and Eurasia.
HE LONG-EXPECTED SLOWDOWN IN orders for large transport aircraft finally occurred last year as record fuel prices in the first half followed by the credit collapse and recession reduced the appetite for new lift. Boeing and Airbus received net orders for 1,445 jets, the lowest figure since 2004. In 2007, the two booked orders for 2,754 on a net basis.
Travelport GDS will "temporarily" indemnify travel agents from new surcharges that Air France/KLM intends to impose for bookings made through the Galileo and Worldspan systems. The carrier has said that it will assess a €4.50 surcharge for bookings made through the systems by travel agents in France beginning June 1 and in the Netherlands beginning in mid-July.
KOREAN AIR EXECUTIVE VP-CORPORATE STRATEGY AND PLANNING Kyung Hwan Chang pauses when asked to identify KE executives' primary concern in mapping the airline's direction. After several moments of silence in his office at the carrier's Seoul headquarters, he decides to forego spin and offer candor. "Survival at this point," he admits to ATW, a startling but honest assessment by one of the company's top officials.
Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson urged all governments to put maximum effort and spare pennies into alternative energy and saving energy. The key from "a global warming point of view is that the demand for dirty fuel will exceed supply in four to five years time," he told Eco-Aviation Today. Speaking during the recent delivery of V Australia's first 777-300ER, he warned that the reality going forward is not good.
After wrangling with the U.S. Department of Transportation, the carrier last week reinstated a "Passenger Usage Fee" of $4.90 each way. Spirit began charging the fee last summer, along with a $2.50 "natural occurrence interruption fee" and an $8.50 "international service recovery fee." A natural occurrence is more commonly known as "weather." The recovery fee aimed to offset the costs of doing business with international destinations.
IATA DG and CEO Giovanni Bisignani, speaking at the Wings Club in New York last month, reminded governments that the air transport industry needs their leadership to help airlines reduce emissions. "Governments need to stimulate the economy with green investments like biofuel research or with tax breaks for new fuel-efficient aircraft purchases," he said. He also called for a "global approach to climate change."
IT'S BEEN A REMARKABLE RIDE AT AIRTRAN Airways this first decade of the new millennium. While the network carriers downsized and reorganized following 9/11, the Orlando-based LCC made money and won over fliers, in the process racking up impressive increases in capacity. Consider the 2005-07 period: Available seat-miles rose 28.3% in 2005, 23.7% in 2006 and 19.4% in 2007. This kind of growth begets inherent economies as fixed costs are spread over an ever-widening base.
UK-based Origo Industries is working with Liverpool's John Lennon Airport to trial a program in which its Ecobox system will be used to capture CO2 emissions from within the terminal building and recycle them through a "photo-bioreactor" to create an algae-based biofuel to power the airport's ground vehicles and potentially generate electricity.
The EU emissions trading scheme entered into force on Feb. 2, requiring all airlines landing or taking off in EU member states to pay for their carbon dioxide usage through CO2 allowances or carbon credits beginning in 2012. While member states have 12 months to draft the directive into national law, carriers need to lodge a plan that outlines the methodology of fuel burn versus payload data by the end of August.
Airport officials were reminded once again of the dangers posed by wildlife around airports when a bird strike forced US Airways Flight 1549 to ditch in New York's Hudson River on Jan. 15.
AS BOEING STRUGGLES TO GET THE LATEST version of the 747 to first flight, there is more than a touch of deja vu to the situation, recalling as it does events in Seattle 40 years ago this past February when the first 747 took to the air. Across a span of four decades, the company confronts similar issues on the 747-8, as strained engineering resources and delays dog the program again.
Air Algerie/UK named Zoheir Houaoui GM-UK and A. Benabderrahmane station mgr. Airclaims welcomed Paul Jenkins as technical services engineer, Simon Martin as surveyor/project mgr., Ian Cox as powerplant mgr. and James Rust as technician. Airports Council International-North America tapped Jane Calderwood as VP-government & political affairs. Air Southwest appointed Peter Davies MD. ALTA selected Hector A. Chichoni as national immigration counsel. Amsafe chose Terence W. Lyons as president & CEO. ANA elevated Shinichiro Ito to president & CEO.
American Airlines joined the Climate Leaders program of the US Environmental Protection Agency, becoming the first major passenger carrier to enter the program.
A year ago we expressed concern over a growing tendency on the part of certain environmental organizations to "move the goal posts" as soon as the airline industry came close to scoring a green goal. Unfortunately, that habit was fully displayed in the UK last month. On Feb. 5, Adair Turner, Prime Minister Gordon Brown's "environment czar," proposed that one way to reduce carbon dioxide output from aviation is simply to set a limit on how many leisure air trips outside the country UK citizens will be permitted to take.
US airports are set to receive $1.1 billion from the just-passed Economic Stimulus bill, but all the funds must be obligated within the year. The bill restricts expenditures to Airport Improvement Program funding, which must be spent airside on safety and runway improvement projects.
London City saw a 12% increase in the number of passengers in 2008, with a record 3.3 million travelers moving through the Docklands airport. But Chief Executive Richard Gooding is expecting a downward trend in traffic that could be as much as a 10% in 2009. "It's entirely a product of global, financial meltdown," he told AT during a recent interview at LCY.
