Lufthansa confirmed to ATWOnline yesterday that it temporarily has removed four A300-600s from service as a result of reduced demand. "We have parked the aircraft for an unspecified time," a spokesperson said. LH has no current plans to park additional aircraft, but if further capacity adjustments are necessary it will consider removing A340-300s from the fleet, the spokesperson added.
Bangkok Suvarnabhumi's week-long siege by antigovernment protesters appeared to be at an end yesterday after Thailand's Constitutional Court banned Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat from politics for five years, forcing his resignation. The protesters announced they would leave BKK and domestic hub Don Muang, both of which shut down after being stormed on Nov. 25 ( ATWOnline, Dec. 2). An estimated 100,000-300,000 foreign passengers have been stranded in Bangkok.
Teledyne Controls won a contract with Wizz Air to provide its Flight Data Interface Management Unit for installation on 70 A320s and possibly 25 more. Technology will handle flight data acquisition, aircraft condition monitoring and data recording. Wizz also selected Teledyne's Application Generation Software to enhance aircraft condition monitoring capability.
Qantas and Virgin Blue welcomed the Australian government's draft National Aviation Policy Statement or "Green Paper" as "forward-looking and balanced." The new policy allows a single overseas interest to take up to a 49% stake in Qantas, up from 25%. The government also said it will relaunch its effort to select a site for a new Sydney airport well away from the so-called "Sydney basin."
Alitalia's relaunch under the ownership of the Compagnia Aerea Italia investor group will be delayed until "after Christmas vacations to avoid the most congested holiday period," Italian Minister of Productive Activities Claudio Scajola told reporters in Rome, according to Reuters. "I don't see any major problems if it becomes operational after 10-15 days. With all the problems we've had, this is definitely the least of them," he said. CAI originally was supposed to take control of AZ on Nov. 30 but now will assume ownership on Dec.
Airbus donated $6 million to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum to help cover Phase 2 construction of the Udvar-Hazy Center near Washington Dulles. The new buildings will be dedicated to behind-the-scenes care and storage of the Smithsonian's collection of historic aircraft, spacecraft, related artifacts and archival materials.
Air New Zealand is allowing economy passengers to purchase an otherwise empty seat for NZ$75 ($41.12) per sector. Called a "comfort seat," it has been available for the past month at check-in for flights from Auckland to Los Angeles and San Francisco and was added to Vancouver service last week. GM-International Airline Ed Sims said response has been enthusiastic despite the fact that ANZ has "not marketed the product as yet." Inbound availability is expected soon, with the entire long-haul network to follow.
Ryanair launched a new takeover bid for rival Aer Lingus yesterday with an all-cash offer valuing the Irish flag carrier at €748 million ($949 million). The LCC's hostile offer of €2.80 per share was thwarted two years ago ( ATWOnline, Dec. 22, 2006). It now intends to offer €1.40 per EI share, a price that represents a premium of 25% over last Friday's closing price of €1.12. Ryanair already is EI's largest shareholder at 29.82%.
China Southern Airlines last week received notice that China's Ministry of Finance agreed to inject CNY3 billion ($438.9 million) in the carrier's holding company, it said in a filing with the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong. China's beleaguered national carriers have been appealing to the government for aid ( ATWOnline, Oct. 31). Trading in CZ shares was suspended Nov. 26-27.
Saudi Arabian LCC Sama named Bruce Ashby CEO, replacing Andrew Cowen. Ashby formerly was president and CEO of IndiGo and US Airways executive VP-marketing and planning.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International remained closed yesterday, but antigovernment protesters who seized the airport allowed 37 aircraft carrying no passengers to take off late Sunday and early Monday. While an estimated 100,000-300,000 foreign passengers remain stranded in Bangkok, airlines are trying to get aircraft out of the facility. There reportedly were 88 aircraft at BKK when protesters seeking the resignation of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat stormed it on Nov. 25 ( ATWOnline, Nov. 27).
Arik Air took delivery of the first of three Trent 500-powered A340-500s. Aircraft will be operated on flights to London Heathrow, New York JFK and Houston, Airbus said.
Mesa Air Group announced a settlement with the former controlling shareholder of Aloha Airlines, Yucaipa Cos., ending the latter's lawsuit against the go!
Malev Hungarian Airlines took delivery of the first of four former SAS Group Q400s. It plans to introduce four new Q400s beginning in 2012, replacing its F70s and CRJ200s.
Tiger Airways and Tiger Airways Australia parent Tiger Aviation posted a S$9.9 million ($6.5 million) profit in the fiscal year ended March 31, the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation reported. Result compares to a S$24.7 million loss the previous year. The Singapore-based mainline reported a S$37.8 million profit ( ATWOnline, Aug. 11), while the new Australian subsidiary posted a A$12.2 million ($8 million) operating loss.
WestJet yesterday began offering passengers a "blanket and pillow kit" for C$7 ($5.64). Passengers may keep the pillow and fleece blanket or continue to use WestJet's reusable blankets for free during flights.
Volvo Aero Services Corp. reached a five-year preferred supplier agreement with Ethiopian Airlines to position more than $20 million in engine material to support MRO activities. In exchange, ET will provide VAS with MRO support on select engines and material.
United Airlines parent UAL Corp. entered into agreements with J.P. Morgan Securities and Morgan Stanley & Co. to sell up to $200 million in stock "from time to time" through either broker. Air Canada reached agreement with Aeroplan to "accelerate" approximately C$70 million ($56.4 million) in payments by Dec. 31 for reward tickets issued for travel through May 29, helping AC boost near-term liquidity.
China's ARJ21-700 made its first flight on Nov. 28, GE Aviation announced ( ATWOnline, Oct. 10). The GE CF34-10A-powered regional jet reached an altitude of 9,000 ft. during the 1-hr. flight, which took place approximately 11 months after rollout. The aircraft is produced by Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China. A second flight is planned for this month, "followed by engineering flight tests in early 2009," GE stated.
A French rescue team yesterday recovered the flight data recorder from the Air New Zealand A320 that crashed into the Mediterranean Sea Nov. 27 on approach to Perpignan during a test flight, but the FDR and previously recovered cockpit voice recorder reportedly are badly damaged.
US Airways was selected by the US Dept. of Transportation to operate daily Washington National-Akron/Canton service beginning by Jan. 25. Slots became available when AirTran Airways ceased operating DCA-Milwaukee on Sept. 3. Midwest Airlines also applied for the slots.
Austrian Airlines Group said it expects €240-€290 million ($304.5-367.9 million) in one-off impairment charges to appear on its full-year financial report, which could drag the company's net loss to nearly €500 million. In late October it said it expected a €100-€125 million net loss before special items ( ATWOnline, Oct. 29). AAG said €150-€200 million will be related to the falling value of its fleet, especially its 767-300ERs, while around €90 million is related to tax deferrals.
SITA said Malaysia Airlines selected its in-house reservations system as part of a $130 million improvement program. Ten-year deal includes e-ticketing and departure control system upgrades allowing for self-service options including kiosk and Web check-in. Separately, SITA reached a deal with Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport Computer Informatics Service Center to offer its AirportConnect Open common-use check-in systems and baggage management solutions to regional hubs in China.
