Royal Jordanian and Airbus/SITA joint venture OnAir signed an agreement to provide inflight Internet and mobile phone services including e-mail, SMS and voice calls on two A319s that will be joining RJ's fleet in February and March. Deal's second phase includes installing Mobile OnAir Service with a GSM/GPRS system on RJ's A320 family aircraft at the end of 2009.
British Airways placed a firm order for six E-170s and five E-190SRs, plus options on a further three 190SRs, for its wholly owned BA CityFlyer regional subsidiary. The firm aircraft are worth $376.5 million at list prices "based on January 2008 economic conditions," and the deal could reach $489 million if all options are confirmed, Embraer said.
Iberia flew 3.95 billion RPKs in November, a 10.6% decline from the year-ago month. Capacity dropped 7.7% to 5.12 billion ASKs and load factor fell 2.5 points to 77.1%. Austrian Airlines Group flew 1.31 billion RPKs in November, down 6.7% year-over-year, against a 5.7% drop in ASKs to 1.81 billion. Load factor was down 0.8 point to 72.8%. Copa Airlines flew 484.2 million RPMs in November, up 15.3% from the year-ago month. Capacity rose 17.1% to 627.1 million ASMs and load factor fell 1.2 points to 77.2%.
Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo flight crew voted to join the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the union announced. They formerly were represented by the Air Line Pilots Assn. IBT said Air Canada's 650 US-based customer service employees voted to ratify a three-year labor agreement that will take effect July 1. In addition, 123 Frontier Airlines aircraft and maintenance cleaners represented by IBT ratified a deal providing wage concessions through Dec. 12, 2012.
Five passengers remained in the hospital yesterday as the US National Transportation Safety Board's Go Team continued to investigate the Saturday evening crash of a Continental Airlines 737-500 that veered from Denver International Airport's runway 34R while on its takeoff roll, crossed a field and a taxiway, careened down a 40-ft. hill and caught fire.
ANA confirmed the postponement of selection of its future large aircraft type ( ATWOnline, Nov. 19), citing the "unforeseen changes to its operating environment since the financial crisis of September this year." The airline is considering the A380, 747-8 and 777-300ER as its future long-haul flagship. It said its "New Aircraft Selection Committee will remain on hold until the company deems market conditions conducive to resuming the selection process."
Ryanair is considering reducing its Frankfurt Hahn-based fleet from the current 11 737-800s by "several aircraft," a spokesperson from the carrier said last week. The airport is planning to introduce a €3 ($4.33) per-passenger terminal fee in the 2009 second quarter. Ryanair will make an announcement next month regarding any route cancellations. "We expect cost increase will reduce our passenger numbers at Hahn," the spokesperson said, adding that an employee reduction also is possible. It expects approximately 4 million passengers at the airport this year.
Bogus Qantas aircraft engineer was jailed for a maximum 41 months by an Australian court last week, according to press reports. Timothy McCormack not only forged his qualifications and posed as a licensed engineer for nine months but also forged character references presented to the court for his defense. He was caught last summer, but only after having supervised some 30 "substantial and significant" safety checks in Sydney.
Frontier Airlines launched a new fare structure last week called AirFairs featuring three fare levels. Classic Plus is fully refundable or changeable to a seat on a different flight the same day at no charge. It also features priority boarding, two checked bags, free IFE, a snack and beverage and 150% mileage credit. Classic allows for advanced seat assignments, two checked bags, IFE and 125% mileage credit. Itinerary changes will cost $50 and same-day changes $75.
Aer Lingus will establish its first base in Great Britain in April at London Gatwick, with four A320s operating to Dublin, Knock, Malaga, Munich, Zurich, Nice, Faro and Vienna. EI's only other base outside the Republic of Ireland is at Belfast International, which it opened one year ago ( ATWOnline, Dec. 11). "The Gatwick operation will complement our existing services out of London Heathrow and position Aer Lingus for growth as we roll out new routes and bases in future years," CEO Dermot Mannion said.
Argentine Senate signed off on the expropriation of Aerolineas Argentinas and Austral last week in a 42-20 vote, following the Chamber of Deputies' approval early this month ( ATWOnline, Dec. 5). AR owner Grupo Marsans has filed for arbitration at the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes in response. Senators said last week that AR is losing ARS27 million ($7.9 million) per month, Reuters reported.
Boeing 787 watchers will see some "action" at the Everett plant by mid-to-late February, insiders say, with word from the factory floor indicating that the first aircraft, ZA001, will have all fastener issues resolved by the end of this month and will be rolled out for repainting at the end of February.
In a major blow to US-Israel aeropolitical relations, FAA Friday announced that it was downgrading Israel's aviation safety standard to Category 2 under the agency's International Aviation Safety Assessment program.
CAE sold one 787 simulator and one 777-300ER simulator to Air New Zealand. The 777 device will be delivered in 2010 to coincide with arrival of ANZ's first -300ER, with the 787 FFS to follow in 2012. CAE is providing a suite of Simfinity training devices for each aircraft type, to be used for both pilot and maintenance training.
Bmi launched a six-month trial of Mobile OnAir, offering passengers inflight communications services including the use of SMS-enabled mobile phones/PDAs and Internet access from laptop computers fitted with GSM data cards. Service is being trialed on a single A320 operating between London Heathrow and Moscow. Bmi is the first UK carrier to trial the service.
Athens Airways took delivery of the first of four ex-Flybe ERJ-145s from Aircraft Solutions in a transaction arranged by Airstream International Group. It will enter service next month. AS acquired 16 145s from Flybe last year and 10 have been placed by AIG.
Etihad Airways is considering taking a stake in Air Berlin, according to Munich's Suddeutsche Zeitung, which cited sources from several unidentified banks. The size of the stake was not revealed. EY management has been studying the plan for weeks but has yet to come to a decision, the paper reported. It currently serves both Munich and Frankfurt, but AB does not serve the Middle East. AB's capitalization is approximately €281million. Separately, EY was awarded the right to operate a five-times-weekly Abu Dhabi-Tokyo Narita service beginning in March.
SriLankan Airlines announced the launch of a "re-fleeting program" with the Nov. 30 delivery of an A320 on a three-year lease from AWAS. The two-year-old aircraft is the first to join the airline in more than four years and will seat 20 in business class and 132 in economy. A second A320 is scheduled to arrive this month, with a third and fourth expected in the 2009 first quarter and a fifth sometime next year. They will replace existing A320s, with two to leave the fleet by year end.
Volvo Aero said its low-pressure compressor for the EU's VITAL (Environmentally Friendly Aero Engine) successfully completed testing performed in partnership with the Swedish Defense Research Agency at Sjoland & Thyselius Aerodynamic Research Centre AB in Stockholm. According to Volvo, the LPC is designed to be 15% lighter than current LPCs. Increasing the performance of each stage permitted a reduction in the total number of stages, thus saving weight and length. "The testing. .
KLM cityhopper will deploy a new E-190 on one of its six daily Amsterdam-Brussels flights beginning today as part of a fleet renewal program that includes integration of 10 190s by March 2010 to replace its oldest F100s ( ATWOnline, Aug. 6, 2007). The first 190 arrived Nov. 10. The KLM subsidiary also will take over five F70s from Regional in 2009. At the start of 2010, the cityhopper fleet will consist of 10 190s, five newer F100s, 26 F70s and 12 F50s.
US Air Transport Assn. expressed satisfaction with last week's reports that Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) will be nominated by President-elect Barack Obama to be the new Secretary of Transportation ( ATWOnline, Dec. 18). ATA said LaHood "has a well-deserved reputation for his even-handed, thoughtful and deliberative approach to complex issues" and that it "look[s] forward to working closely" with LaHood if he is confirmed.
The Chinese government cut the domestic fuel price 32% to CNY5,050 ($736.49) per ton from CNY7,450, effective last Friday, marking the sixth time this year Beijing has adjusted the domestic price. Because of the way in which fuel prices are managed by the government ( ATWOnline, Oct. 7), Chinese airlines have not reaped the immediate benefit of the collapse in oil prices. Fuel expense currently accounts for 40%-50% of Chinese carriers' total operating expenses.
US National Transportation Safety Board said it is investigating an incident last month in which a Delta Air Lines 777-200ER experienced an "uncommanded engine rollback in the cruise phase of an intercontinental flight." DL Flight 18 was over Montana en route from Shanghai to Atlanta on Nov. 26 at about 12:30 p.m. MST when the incident occurred to the No. 2 engine.
Turkish Airlines said it extended the deadline of its RFP for 25 widebody and 50 single-aisle aircraft plus 10 widebody and 10 narrowbody options by one month until Jan. 19 "at the request of the manufacturing companies." The planned order was announced two months ago and the tender was scheduled for completion on Dec. 17 ( ATWOnline, Oct. 15).
FedEx reported net income of $493 million for its fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30, up 3% compared to $479 million in the year-ago period, and announced it is initiating "broad cost reduction actions" to contend with a "decline in shipping trends" and "very difficult" economic conditions. The company implemented a hiring freeze, a 7.5%-10% salary reduction for senior executives and a 5% pay cut for salaried personnel exempt from labor contracts. Chairman, President and CEO Frederick Smith said his salary would be lowered by 20%.
